1975 HOLDEN HJ KINGSWOOD

MILD MAKEOVER FOR HOLDENS VOLUME-SELLINGSEDAN

HoIden’s HQ series was one of its most successful. From its debut in 1971, it was a strong seller, keeping Holden at the forefront of the Australian car market. Three years alter its debut, the HQ was set for a redesign, which eventuated in the ‘HJ’ series that was released in October 1974.

By any definition, the redesign was pretty mild, but with the HQ being an all-new model, it was neither economical nor practical for GM-H to make major changes. Additionally, the HQ Kingswoods had been selling well, certainly better than a lot of the competition, but Ford were closing the gap, and the design had been stretched beyond the usual two-year cycle for local cars, so a new look was overdue. General body shape and dimensions were unaltered across the range - Belmont, Kingswood, Premier, Statesman and Nlonaro - with most of the external changes confined to reworkings of the front and rear end sheetmetal. in the case of the HJ Kingswood, the sloping

front end and recessed grille were replaced with a squarer and blunter front end, including a slightly raised bon net with a prominent grille that some say was inspired by Cheyrolet’s 1970/71 Monte Carlo. The grille was trimmed with a thick chrome surround and identified by seven horizontal bars.

The headlights were encased in square bezels, while the parking lights and indicators were moved up frorn within the front bumper to the outer edges of the headlight grille front clip, and wrapped around the corners for better front and side visibility. The bum per itself was heavier and ohunkier, with repositioned fittings designed to limit body damage in minor bingles. In conjunction with this, full length plastic side mouldings, designed to limit car park dings more than anything else, became standard on the HJ Kingswood. At the rear, the HQ’s bumper-mounted tail lights were moved up onto the rear guards, and wrapped around the corners in a similarfashion t0 the front indicators. This only applied to the sedans though, with HJ Kingswood wagons having the same rear sheetmetal and tail lights as the HQ.

The HJ’s rear bumpers followed the pattern of the front bumper, being more solid, but lacking the style of the HQ’s. The doors and roofline were carried over from the HQ for both HJ Kingswood sedans and wagons. While body changes were mild, mechanical changes were almost non-existent. What did change with the release of the HJ Kingswood was the fitting of the 202 (known as the '3300’ under the decimalisation of displacement at the time) as the standard Kingswood engine. The old 173ci six was only fitted as standard to the entry and fleet—spec Belmont. Above the 202, both the 253 and 308 V8 engines were available as options, but no 350.

The big Chevy V8 bowed out with the HA column-shift 3-speed manual was the standard HJ Kingswood transmission, with a 4-speed console floor shift manual and Tri-Matic 3-speed auto available as options. The Turbo-hydramatic auto was available for 308 V8- eouipped models, but this combination wasn't offered as a Kingswood option. The HJ saw front disc brakes fitted as standard to a Kingswood for the first time. This was a welcome safety feature, but hardly new, as both Ford and Chrysler had offered this feature on their volume models before GM-H.

The effectiveness of the disc brakes was also limited by the inherent understeer common to fami|y-size Holdens of the period, and the cross ply tyres, which were standard fitment on the 1975 HJ Kingswood when new. Early road tests also found the rear drums could lock up under extreme braking, too Interior changes included a dash redesign that claimed to offer five inches (13 cm} more front seat space. This applied more to the passenger than the driver, as the redesign primarily 'stepped’ the dash to move the glovebox and its surround closer to the firewall. The circular speedo ot the HQ was replaced with a strip-styIe speedometer for the HJ Kingswood. This was seen by some as a backward step, while others criticised the legibilitv ofthe instrumentation, even though it was moved closer to the driver.

Controls for headlights, windscreen wipers, etc., were still located on the dash (no column controls yet), while the headlight dipper switch was still a f|oor—mounted button. The Kingswood’s smaller two—spoke steering wheel was actually lifted from the Torana, and was applied across the rest of Ho|den's full—sized models, too. One of the HJ Kingswood’s most welcome new features was to be found in the seats. These used a ‘full-foam’ construction that made them more comfortable and supportive. After debuting on the LH Torana, the full-foam seats were available on both bench and bucket seats for the Kingswood and the rest of the full- size Holdens.

Vinyl was still the standard trim material for seats and door cards, and followed the Torana style, with the front door-mounted ashtrays moved to the centre of the dash. Aiding the comfort level was a modification to the ‘Flow—Thru’ ventilation system that debuted on the HQ. This now comprised four adjustable face-level outlets in the dash. Adding optional air conditioning meant an additional vent was added to the dash centre. Interior carpet was still an option, as were things like a radio! stereo cassette, power antenna, and internally- adjustable side mirrors. While the Kingswood had previously held a price advantage over the Falcon, its main rival, that changed with the HJ. Compared to a base- spec Falcon 500, a 202 manual Kingswood was dearer by around $60 - $70 1975 dollars.

Doesn't sound like much now, but was considered significant in road tests of the HJ when new. With the price of a standard spec HJ Kingswood 30 percent dearer on average than a simi|ar|y-equipped '71 HQ, those same road testers queried whether the mild restyle was instituted to justify the price hike, and wondered if GM-H were pricing the Kingswood out ofthe reach of the "everyman". With the market getting ever more competitive throughout 1975, and the spectre of government-mandated emissions regulations on the horizon for 1976, Holden reverted to the old trick of releasing ‘l.imited Edition' deals to keep sales ticking along. In the case of the HJ Kingswood, two were offered in 1975, the first being the limited edition Kingswood "de Luxe", which was released in July.

This took some of the most commonly-ordered factory options and packaged them together at a discounted price. In the case of the HJ Kingswood sedan, the de Luxe package added bucket front seats with centre armrest, full carpeting, push- button radio, additional instrumentation, T-bar Trimatic auto, wider wheels, radial tyres, a tinted windscreen, and a choice of two-tone colour schemes. The l-lJ Kingswood de Luxe wagon offered much of the same, as well as a power- operated tailgate window and chrome root rack. This was followed in November 1975 by the "Vacationer ll" limited edition, a revival ofthe original Vacationer package that appeared on the HQ. This offered many of the same options as the de Luxe, all at a reduced price over a separateIy—optioned Kingswood.

Today, the HJ Kingswood tends to compare poorly to its predecessor, the HQ, in terms of popularity and desirability. This was much the same when the HJ was new. However, it must be remembered that the HJ was only an update of the HQ, not a new model, so those expecting a lot of new features or major upgrades were bound to be disappointed. While mechanical specs were largely unchanged, the HJ Kingswood did offer improvements in the form of better driverfpassenger comfort, and revised suspension settings for a softer, smoother ride.

Then, of course, there was the mild restyle of the front and rear sheetmetal. The front end changes, while right for the time, arguably haven't aged as well as the HQ design. As such, HJs aren’t as sought after as the model it replaced. This in turn has made HJ Kingswoods relatively rare today, but usually cheaper. |t’s almost patriotic duty for Aussies to own a Kingswood at some stage in their life, so if you’re looking for a classic Holden that’s cheap to buy and usable on a regular basis, a ’75 HJ Kingswood is a worthy addition to your garage.

SPECIFICATIIJNS:
l975 Holden HI Kingswood - with 202 six cylinder engine
Engine: 202 cubic inch *3300cc) OHV inline six cylinder
BoreJSiroke: 92.0 mm x 82.5 mm
Compression: 9.4:1
Poweriltorque: 10lkW (l35hhp} @ 4400rpm/ 263Nm (19U4lb/ft) @ 2000rpm
Fuel system: Bendix—Strumherg single barrel dawn drail carburetler
Cooling system: Liquid
Electrics: 12 Volt
Transmission: 3-speed manual, celumn shih
Front Suspension: lndependentwishbunes w/coil springs and stabiliser bar
Rear Suspension: Fcur link with ccil springs
Steering: Rccirculeting ball
Front brakes: 10.8 inch 9274 mm) disc
Rear brakes: 10.0 inch (254mm) drum
Wheels: 14 x 5 inch FrERr
Tyres: C?8 L 14 cross ply Fr/Rr
Wheelbase: 111 inch (2,819 mm}
Length: 190.5 inch (4,838 mm)
Width: 74.1 inch 91,882 mm)
Weight: 2,965 pounds (1,395 kg)
D-100 kph: 13.5 seconds -approx
Top Speed: 150 kph -approx

TRIVIA:

In addition to Shane Jacobson and Paul Hogan, Aussie film 'Charlie & Boots' also starred an HJ Kingswood  three of them actually! For the road trip- style movie released in 2009, the producers started with a brief of finding a "classic Aussie car". An HJ Kingswood was settled on, with three purchased for ditferentduties in the film. The three were painted and modified (including convening one T-bar auto car to column auto) to appear identical. Jacobson fell in love with the best of the HJ trio, and ended up buying it after shooting of the film was completed. It joins a HQ ute and EH Special in his collection.

One of the most iconic Aussie TV ads of the 70s was HoIden's "Footba||, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars." The catchyjingle extolled the "Australian- ness" of Holden cars and featured footage of an HJ Kingswood barrelling along country roads, as well as other models from the GM-H range.

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