Rods '70 HG Brougham

[MR.HG]

no probs dude u didnt miss much anyway

 

[hi_ryder]

looks like you got some work ahead of you... im a fan of this shape. so in a nut shell whats the difference between the brougham and a premier? brougham is longer, body is stretched out couple more inches? dont make fun im an import (yank)... ive only seen these at car shows...

 

[Calaber]

The Brougham was a cheap attempt by Holden to match the Australian Ford Fairlane which had been released a year earlier. The Fairlane was a stretched wheelbase Falcon and gave much greater rear seat space. By comparison, the Brougham retained the 111 inch wheelbase of the Premier, but lengthened the boot only, with new rear three quarter panels, an additional panel welded to the boot floor, a longer in-fill between the rear window and boot lid, a unique (on HK's at least) boot lid, new tail-lights and upgraded external trim. Internally, the car was trimmed with expensive brocade upholstery unique to the Brougham. It was standard with a 307 or 308 V8, depending on model, whereas the Premier was standard with the 186 cube in-line 6.

The Brougham failed to convince many buyers that it was a true luxury car and was given a hard time by the motor media at the time. For many years, the Fairlane sales numbers flogged the Brougham and the Statesman that superceded it from the HQ on.

 

[OldDog]

Mmmmm Brougham's. I got a soft spot for these things, i reckon they look a million times better than the Premier / Kinswood etc of the same period. A mate of mine used to own one, had the 308 and Trimatic in it, we did a few mods and it went quite well for what it was. All the best with the build HG!

 

[hi_ryder]

The Brougham was a cheap attempt by Holden to match the Australian Ford Fairlane which had been released a year earlier. The Fairlane was a stretched wheelbase Falcon and gave much greater rear seat space. By comparison, the Brougham retained the 111 inch wheelbase of the Premier, but lengthened the boot only, with new rear three quarter panels, an additional panel welded to the boot floor, a longer in-fill between the rear window and boot lid, a unique (on HK's at least) boot lid, new tail-lights and upgraded external trim. Internally, the car was trimmed with expensive brocade upholstery unique to the Brougham. It was standard with a 307 or 308 V8, depending on model, whereas the Premier was standard with the 186 cube in-line 6.

The Brougham failed to convince many buyers that it was a true luxury car and was given a hard time by the motor media at the time. For many years, the Fairlane sales numbers flogged the Brougham and the Statesman that superceded it from the HQ on.

so when they came out they wernt as sought after as the fairlane... does that mean the production numbers were low? broughams are like hens teeth i take it....

 

[Calaber]

That's right, the Brougham is considered to be a failure, based on the numbers sold compared to Fairlanes. I don't know the production figures for Broughams but they were only a very small percentage of overall production between the HK, HT and HG models which ran from 1968 until 1971.

Another reason the Brougham failed was that the Fairlane not only was a longer car than the Falcon, it looked completely different. It had its own grille and four headlights compared to the Falcon's two headlights, a longer wheelbase so the rear seat room was much better and completely different rear quarter panel, boot and taillights. You couldn't really confuse a Fairlane for a Falcon and it looked like a luxury model in its day. Later Fairlanes went for even more individuality, with stacked headlights.

By comparison, the Brougham looked like a Premier from head-on and front three quarter angles. From the side, it looked a bit unbalanced with the standard wheelbase and that long boot. Only from behind was it easy to tell it wasn't a cheaper model. Because the wheelbase was unchanged, the interior space was the same as a much cheaper Belmont. Holden tried hard to convince buyers it was a real luxury car by loading it up with very expensive imported brocade nylon trim on the seats and doors and it did look a classier interior than the cheaper models. Outside, the trim used parts from the Premier, but treated with a frosted silver finish on the hubcaps, a thicker, more heavily grained vinyl roof and more ornate trim across the boot between the taillights. On the HT and HG, a new lower front valance panel was fitted with trims designed to give the impression the grille extended below the bumper bar.

Back on subject - for the OP - any further developments with this project? (and apologies for hijacking the thread)

 

[MR.HG]

That's right, the Brougham is considered to be a failure, based on the numbers sold compared to Fairlanes. I don't know the production figures for Broughams but they were only a very small percentage of overall production between the HK, HT and HG models which ran from 1968 until 1971.

Another reason the Brougham failed was that the Fairlane not only was a longer car than the Falcon, it looked completely different. It had its own grille and four headlights compared to the Falcon's two headlights, a longer wheelbase so the rear seat room was much better and completely different rear quarter panel, boot and taillights. You couldn't really confuse a Fairlane for a Falcon and it looked like a luxury model in its day. Later Fairlanes went for even more individuality, with stacked headlights.

By comparison, the Brougham looked like a Premier from head-on and front three quarter angles. From the side, it looked a bit unbalanced with the standard wheelbase and that long boot. Only from behind was it easy to tell it wasn't a cheaper model. Because the wheelbase was unchanged, the interior space was the same as a much cheaper Belmont. Holden tried hard to convince buyers it was a real luxury car by loading it up with very expensive imported brocade nylon trim on the seats and doors and it did look a classier interior than the cheaper models. Outside, the trim used parts from the Premier, but treated with a frosted silver finish on the hubcaps, a thicker, more heavily grained vinyl roof and more ornate trim across the boot between the taillights. On the HT and HG, a new lower front valance panel was fitted with trims designed to give the impression the grille extended below the bumper bar.

Back on subject - for the OP - any further developments with this project? (and apologies for hijacking the thread)

The reason the brougham failed was based on the price of production compared to its eventual sale price. They were far more expensive than a Fairlane making it less appealing to the market at the time. The original sale value was around $7,500.00 and the production price was around the $5,000 mark. Holden ended up lowering the price to $5,500 after failure to sell stock almost sending Holden broke.

We are currently working on the last of the rust - behind the front guards/kick panel area and the inside of the boot. all the exterior rust is fixed and we hope to get the old girl in primer in the next month or so. Its a slow project but in good hands and everything is being done properly so im not too concerned about how long this is taking. Life is busy atm and i hope to get some more pics uploaded soon.

 

[Calaber]

The reason the brougham failed was based on the price of production compared to its eventual sale price. They were far more expensive than a Fairlane making it less appealing to the market at the time. The original sale value was around $7,500.00 and the production price was around the $5,000 mark. Holden ended up lowering the price to $5,500 after failure to sell stock almost sending Holden broke.

We are currently working on the last of the rust - behind the front guards/kick panel area and the inside of the boot. all the exterior rust is fixed and we hope to get the old girl in primer in the next month or so. Its a slow project but in good hands and everything is being done properly so im not too concerned about how long this is taking. Life is busy atm and i hope to get some more pics uploaded soon.

Rod

I don't know where you got your information from but it's not correct regarding pricing for the Brougham. The HK Brougham sold for $3990 and this had risen to just on $4100 by the time the HG was released - I'm old enough to remember the selling price when the cars were released. It was never anywhere near $5,000 - in the late 60's and early 70's, $5k and up was European import territory. The Brougham was a very cheap and half-hearted effort to produce a luxury car, as it was 90% the same as the cheaper Premier, with 8 inches of extra boot length tacked on. It was also rushed into production because Ford caught Holden on the hop when the ZA Fairlane was released, shortly after the XR Falcon range. The HK was due for release in February 1968 and Holden had no LWB luxury car planned, so the longer boot was quickly designed and engineered as Holden's answer. You can see this fact for yourself when you look at the boot floor on your Brougham - you will see where the standard floor was used and a small extension was welded in.

Inside the car, Holden used very expensive imported brocade upholstery, but buyers weren't fooled and the Brougham was a flop. It was heavily outsold by the Fairlane, because it had the same wheelbase as the standard cars and looked little different to the Premier, whereas the Fairlane had an extended wheelbase, yielding greatly increased rear seat leg room compared to the Brougham, and had unique front and rear end styling - it looked much more upmarket than a Fairmont (and the Brougham).

Anyway, the history isn't important. It sounds like your car is progressing well.

 

[kingswood country]

So what's happened to this old girl? Keen for progress!