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Australian Cars In The UK


Richard_FM

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While Lonsdales have been discussed before, I couldn't see much if any mentions of some other Australian made cars that have been officially imported over the years.

In the 1970s Chrysler Europe tried bringing over some Australian made cars to replace the bigger Humbers, which unsurprisingly didn't sell very well.

At the same time Ford tried to do a similar thing with their Australian models to the same response, though I know more recently some have been imported for hearse conversions.

I did wonder if any of these still survive.

Once I was driving home from work when I still lived with my parents & suddenly noticed that the Vauxhall Vectra ahead of me had odd badges, & getting closer I could see that they were Holden ones!

It seems odd to import a car which you can buy here, so maybe it was an Antipodean expat who had managed to get a set of Holden badges to fit on their car.

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Couple I have seen

7898641658_dfc71a0686_c.jpg1975 Ford Fairmont Falcon XB. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

7156687322_08a03d8a9b_c.jpg1971 Ford Fairmont 4.9 V8 Station Wagon. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

7156684168_f35254f7a0_c.jpg1971 Ford Fairmont 4.9 V8 Station Wagon. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

7159796478_155e2a1fde_c.jpg1972 Ford Fairmont 4.9 V8 Saloon. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

 

14183235575_563b3892bc_c.jpg1961 Holden EK. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

7430667822_f63e51599d_c.jpg1973/74 Holden Kingswood. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

5435923810_10270f9c1c_c.jpg1993 Mitsubishi Magna 2.6 GLX Estate. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

14198694680_1aed235c69_c.jpg1996 Ford Falcon Longreach GLi. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

8600918888_347db5bf63_c.jpg2004 Ford AU Falcon Utility. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

Seen a few of those pickups about, most recently near Buckingham around Christmas time, I think they were imported for a very short period.

15442509763_a602e29085_c.jpg2003 Coleman Milne Fairline. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

One of the batch of converted Fairmonts for funeral use, these were marketed as funeral transport I think. I have seen one or two for sale, one not being very much. Saw another about a week ago. 

 

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Not surprising you saw a Falcon ute near Buckingham @bramz7, they were imported by a company based in Thorton which is halfway between  Buckingham and Milton Keynes. I think they were all LPG too. 

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/2002/5/27/lpg-first-drive-the-verte-tempest-a-truck-that-s-a-gas-gas-gas/11442/

just found this , didn't realise they were only LPG and not petrol and LPG, also didn't remember they sold them as Vertes, seems they were 15 years too soon for the green revolution.

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1 hour ago, chaseracer said:

Back in the 70s, a bloke who owned a shop on Vaughan Street in Llandudno, round the corner from my gran's place, ran a series of Chrysler Valiants.  There seemed to be a different one each time we visited her.

Blooming love Chrysler Valiants. The closest thing you could buy in the UK to a muscle car (even if they only had the 318ci V8 in) 

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Now this is a topic I will enjoy.

I recall a thread here a while ago where some shitters attended a banger race (Stan Woods Memorial?) that had a Holden HQ wagon go around the oval, it stood out to me as it had a seemingly rust free tailgate which is quite the rarity.

There was a Holden HQ Statesman that was sent to the UK for evaluation, though I think it is no longer with us.

image.jpeg.afb5fb6915502d8d60dbb1ddbbf53c01.jpeg

On the P76 front, there were 2 sent for evaluation, a saloon and a coupé, the latter never reaching production. There is also a Targa Florio in the UK too. All 3 of these cars survive to the best of my knowledge.

image.jpeg.6b6fece50ac66f9282a0c26881e588c8.jpeg

image.jpeg.7a3363bcb3bc5219c1e10ee46ac352d6.jpeg

image.jpeg.9e36501bd2448e7c443732bcfb95ae2d.jpeg

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Even the Aussies got better cars than us. Lucky bastards. My mates girlfriend worked over there and bought a Ford Mondeo mk4 back as it was the model you can’t get over here. I’ve looked into buying an F250 (because RHD) but the prices are mega in comparison. Would love a holden commodore though, they look the business. 

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There was a company in Wellingborough, Linden Special Vehicles, that used to import Holden Commodores and Maloos (utes) in the late 1990s / early 2000s, as well as offering tuning packages for them. They seemed to be doing alright and then suddenly disappeared overnight. Shame, really, as the cars seemed to be better value than the BMW E39 5-series which was the nearest rival at that time. 

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31 minutes ago, Asimo said:

Presumably because Vauxhall began selling the Monaro and VXR8?

They went off a while before the Monaro was officially imported.

Still think it was a pity, as the Commodore saloons were quite good value, although running a "basic" 3.8litre V6 would probably have put a few people off...

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Saabnut could your Valiant have been the body shape which ended in 71? Around very late 80s, 1990ish, I did some on-site work at an engineering workshop in Stonehaven. Was based there for a couple of weeks living in a B&B and remember an old 2-door hardtop Chrysler Valiant driving around, right hand drive obv, but it was the shape from before 1972. I think it was red, quite rough looking, but great to see on the street.

This body shape 

vlV7QGs.jpg

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