10 Facts you may not have known
Introduced on 2 May 1961, the EK series replaced the FB Holden. Visually both cars looked quite similar. Differences were subtle, subtle enough to sell a little over 150 000 models in its 14 months on the production line.
It would become the second new Holden released in the 1960’s, a decade of great change for Australia and in turn for Holden. The 1960’s would start and end with Australian buyers having very different demands for a family car.
The EK was a minor cosmetic facelift of the previous model. A number of changes took place to improve the car including electric wipers and a new heater . Arguably the most significant change brought about by this model was that it was the first Holden to offer an automatic transmission, a three speed automatic, named the ‘Hydramatic’, imported from the United States. The Hydramatic transmission would soon become very popular amongst buyers. Although a relatively small percentage would sell initially, the automatic transmission would see its popularity increase enormously as time went on. In later Holden models, automatic transmission would be more popular than manual models.
All EK models had a 138 cubic inches (2,260 cc) inline six-cylinder engine. It produced 75 brake horsepower (56 kw). This is the same engine as the FB that came before it.
Although still a respectable engine at the time, competition could be seen on the horizon for Holden. Ford had debuted the Falcon and Chrysler had debuted the Valiant, both bigger cars, with more larger and more powerful engines to boot.
150,214 examples were produced. 36 228 of them featured the all new ‘hydramatic’ automatic transmission.