1961 EK HOLDEN – JAY HARRISON
Back when a young(er) Jay Harrison was infatuated by TV shows like the iconic Brum series, he knew that as soon as he had a chance to hold a drivers licence, he was going to own a special set of wheels.
“Dad was more of a boat guy, but he did do up an Escort panel van back in his day,” he quips, “he also took me to car shows because he knew that I was into them.”
By the age of 16, Jay had saved years of car wash money and was ready to hand over his childhood fortune for his first automotive acquisition.
“I was really into American cars and I saw an EK Holden and thought that they had the look of a ’57 Chevy with an affordable price tag.”
Seeking experienced advice about a potential purchase, Jay was steered in the right direction by local enthusiast, Les Smith. Les is co-organiser of one of the West Coast’s most iconic events, Big Al’s Poker Run, and introduced him to other car guys who he could call on for guidance. It’s an act of good will that continues to pay dividends that is very much appreciated.
With a target in mind, Jay hunted his prey, cornering a potential kill in the form of a 1961 EK. Through the sights at 20 foot, it was all he desired, but on closer inspection, paint bubbles raised alarm. Inexperienced to the pitfalls of undisclosed possible disasters, Jay revisited the citrus coloured catch with a family friend who confirmed that it was ‘a bit rusty’. Along with the textured paintwork, Jay’s EK sported a shredded original interior and a stock motor and box that were just clinging to life.
“Being naïve I thought… ‘Yeah Ok, I can fix that’. It turned out a lot more rust than I expected,” he now admits.
From the outset of coughing up his hard earned cash, Jay wanted a project that he could drive whilst he updated, refined and continued to personalise to his own taste when time and money would allow. With L and P plates proudly attached during those formable years, Jay drove his ’61 everywhere. Although there were plenty of moments where he would have rather been anonymous, that’s hard to do when your car stands out like a tennis ball on steroids.
“The fuel gauge didn’t work and it was a common sight to see me in the middle of the road with a jerry can,” he laughs… now.
One other amusing story was when Jay was running late for school and couldn’t find a car park, so he decided to take a teachers space to make it on time. As inconspicuous at it was (not), the EK decided to leak its entire 32 litre fuel tank contents throughout the day. Once detected, Jay was forced to wag a couple of classes to rectify the situation. Karma he says, for parking in the wrong spot! Between the impromptu fuel stops, overheating issues that plagued the old six slugger and tilt tray valet trips to home, it was the sound of metallic percussion that proved the final straw for the EK’s present form.
“I was out for a cruise one night and heard the tinkling of bolts or something under the car as I went down the road, ten minutes later I came to an intersection and had no brakes. That was an interesting drive home!”
He also chuckles that the local RAC tow truck drivers knew his home address off by heart.
With a bit of coin now saved from his fly-in-fly-out mine occupation, Jay deemed that it was time to inject some cash back into his beloved baby Chevy and create the mild custom that he envisaged. Unfortunately once he ripped the old Holden apart, the dreaded car cancer was far worse than first thought.
“It had major rust in the floors, outer sills, firewall bulk head, boot, sub frame, doors… It would have been better off to get another shell,” he relents now.
With basically every panel requiring corrective surgery, Jay enlisted the help of a professional metal man. After a couple of years with little progression, Jay retrieved the unfinished shell and entrusted it to John Gilbert, who wasted no time in rectifying the remaining metalwork required. While at it, John teamed up with Paul Bozavich and added a few custom touches along the way, including shaving the boot lid and stock side trim as well as filling and welding the lower front pan and guards together. Jay’s friend, Brodie also cleverly modified VE Commodore boot hinges to work as bonnet hinges, making room for a GM dual diaphragm booster and master cylinder.
Once all the repairs and bodywork were completed, it was time to say adios to the former eye popping hue. Jay states that he never really liked the lime green colour. It was a bit of a girl magnet, but most blokes were repelled! The new exterior finish was gleaned from the blue oval’s colour chart that Jay spotted on a Ford Fiesta and proclaimed that it was the transformation the EK needed. Executed in Glasurit Vision Blue by Shane Ballard and Dave Cleary, the vibrant new two-pack radiates an old school charm. Coupled with chrome smoothies spinning spider caps and hand painted thin white walls, it’s a winning combination.
No to be content with just overhauling the visual aesthetics, Jay rolled up his sleeves and got his hands dirty for all the right reasons. To avoid future brake failures and to upgrade the front suspension, a Holden HR front end replaces the tired original unit. Equipped with dropped spindles and HQ callipers, the EK profiles superior stance and stopping ability thanks to mechanical upgrades by Armadale Auto Parts. The tired 138 inline six and Hydro were tugged and turfed, soon replaced with a red 202 sporting twin Strombergs, all rebuilt by Brodie and Leigh Mitchell and Craig Clements of AAP. Backing up the new power plant is a shift kitted Tri-matic by Town & Country Transmissions that links to a narrowed VN Commodore diff. Outfitted with Koni adjustable shocks on all corners and beefy front sway bar, it is now a joy to drive. Oh, and reliable! An alloy HR radiator sunk into a modified support panel also provides year round peace of mind motoring.
As the old EK continued to evolve into a mild custom of our grass roots era, Jay knew that the fragmented interior needed to step up to the plate without blowing the budget already vastly depleted by the body and paint. Utilising the original ‘camper’ folding front seat, Eddie Stephens did a first rate job at an old school price, covering all existing components in white vinyl with blue piping. Dark blue loop pile carpet under foot is aptly immensely upstaged by an original headliner installed by Drew Menzies. Painted original gauges in crisp white and the addition of underdash mounted instrumentation are about the only detours from the original art deco interior styling that defines the EKs era. It’s a style that enticed a young and very green (automotive-ly speaking) future gearhead, to it in the first place.
Now with eight years of messing with cars under his belt and a cruiser to be proud of, Jay is about to embark on a new project; a ’32 Ford coupe. And you can bet the lessons learned during resurrecting the old EK will be an education that money can’t buy. For that he wishes to thank all the many individuals that have helped with his auto schooling.
