Owned by his aunty since new but damaged by a a fallen tree in 2013, Ron Keats has given this Holden HQ a new lease on life

This article on Ron’s HQ was originally published in the October 2017 issue of Street Machine

“MY HQ was bought new by my aunty from Hunt Holden, Lakemba in Sydney. I originally said I was interested in it about 20 years ago when she upgraded. She stopped using it about 10 years ago and it was just sitting on a farm in Coonabarabran.

After the devastating bushfires in 2013, my cousin was clearing trees and a 60-foot tree went the wrong way, landing on the HQ. All was lost, I assumed, but about three years ago I phoned to ask how bad the damage was.

I received some pics showing only the front was squashed. So I reorganised work for the next two days, hired a trailer, and was on my way to Coonabarabran.

Once back home, the resto began. I purchased all new guards, radiator support and nosecone, and next thing I knew I was doing a rebuild: new motor, diff, trans, suspension, etc.

I did most of it myself, including the wiring and trim. The paint colour was chosen to resemble the original Russet, but a bit brighter with some metallic in it.

Two-and-a-half years later, I got it back on the road. My aunty got to see the HQ live again when I called in to show her on the way to Summernats in January.”