In 1979, if you were looking for a family sized Holden, you could buy the first ever Commodore, the VB model which had just been released in 1978, or you could stick with the traditional Kingswood, in the form of the HZ, which ended its run in 1980.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kylie and Darren Lydford have recently purchased an HZ Premier which seems to be somewhere between the two.
"It's an August 1979 model and it was factory ordered with the alloy wheels and the interior trim of the VB Commodore," said Kylie and Darren.
They laughed as they told me they were the third 'elderly' owners of the HZ, so I was interested to find out more.
Kylie and Darren have recently got back into the car scene now that their children have grown up.
"In the 80's and 90's we were involved with the Central West and competed in hill climb events on the Golden Bar and sprinting Car Club time trials on Saleyards Rd when Hay's Hardware was all that existed there," they said.
Kylie grew up with her dad as a mechanic, so was always hanging around cars at home while Darren and his brothers raced a few cars that they worked on themselves.
READ MORE CENTRAL WEST CAR CLUB STORIES:
"Darren's been restoring a Mini and I got sick of waiting," Kylie laughed.
"So I started looking for a car to buy, and I found the HZ advertised in Brisbane.
"The first owners were a couple from Maryborough who ordered the car new when they retired.
"They had it until 2016 and sold it to another elderly couple who apparently only drove it once a fortnight to the bottle-o, and then we bought it last year," said Kylie.
As you can see, the HZ presents well in its original brown metallic with a vinyl roof - which was popular in the era on the Premiers.
"Aside from a few repairs over the years, it's original and unmodified," Darren said.
"It's a 253 V8 with a T-bar auto, and we jus tlove driving it. It usually gets a run somewhere about once a week - even if it's just up to town for take away," said Kylie.
Kylie and Darren have recently rejoined the Central West Car Club, which is based in Parkes but has members throughout the Central West.
The club meets once a month and organises some regular car runs around the local area, plus a monthly social street meet in Parkes.
For those interested in finding out more about the club you can follow us onFacebook or head to www.centralwestcarclub.com.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
Bookmark www.parkeschampionpost.com.au
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
