Holden Kingswood: the mainstay Holden of the 1970s

The Holden Kingswood was a full-size car built in Australia by Holden from the start of the HK series in 1968 to the end of the WB series in 1985. It replaced the Holden Special in the middle of the range, with the basic Belmont below it and the luxury Premier above.

Holden Kingswood at a glance

History of the Holden Kingswood

HK: a new body and the first V8

The Kingswood sedan and wagon were released as part of the new HK series in January 1968, with commercials following in March. The body was all-new, larger and heavier than the HR it replaced. The local six-cylinder engines carried over, but the HK introduced the first V8 into the Holden range: the fully imported 307-cubic-inch Chevrolet small-block. The Monaro coupé and the extended-length Brougham joined in mid-1968.

HT and HG

The HT series launched in May 1969 and with it came the first locally built Holden V8s, the 253-cubic-inch and the 308-cubic-inch. The 253 was available on all HT models except the Brougham, the 308 only in the Brougham, and the imported 307 stayed an option until stocks ran out. Holden advertised the HT with the line “Never Late, in a Three-Oh-Eight”. The HG series of July 1970 was a minor refinement and the marketing platform for the new local three-speed automatic, the Tri-Matic, which was later criticised for unreliability.

The range around the Kingswood

Before 1968 the full-size Holden family cars were the Standard, Special and Premier. From the HK on there were three: the Belmont replacing the Standard, the Kingswood replacing the Special, and the Premier at the top, all sold as sedans and station wagons. Commercial variants came in three types: coupé utility, panel van and, from 1971, the One Tonner cab chassis. The utility was originally sold in both Belmont and Kingswood form, but after the Belmont name was dropped from commercials at the end of the HQ in late 1974 the base commercials simply carried the Holden badge. A Kingswood panel van was added at the start of the HX series in mid-1976.

The end of the line

Kingswood passenger cars and the Kingswood panel van ceased production with the end of the HZ series in 1980, the passenger range succeeded by the smaller Commodore that had been released two years earlier. The name survived for a few more years on the utility that formed part of the WB series built between 1980 and 1985, sold alongside the WB Statesman, utility, panel van and One Tonner.

Outside Australia the Holden range, Kingswoods included, was sold in New Zealand, parts of Asia and Africa and the South Pacific under Holden or Chevrolet badges. In South Africa the Kingswood and Premier were badge-engineered as the Chevrolet Kommando and Constantia, utilities became the Chevrolet El Camino, and the one-tonne cab chassis was sold as the Chevrolet El Toro between 1974 and 1978.

Design and features

• Middle of the range: above the Belmont and below the Premier in every series.
• First Holden V8: the imported Chevrolet 307 of 1968.
• Local V8s: the 253 and 308 Holden engines from 1969.
• Body styles: sedan, wagon, utility and panel van at various times.
• Long life: HK, HT, HG, HQ, HJ, HX, HZ and WB series over 17 years.

Holden Kingswood versions

• HK (1968–1969): first series, with the Chevrolet 307 V8 option.
• HT (1969–1970): the Holden 253 and 308 V8s arrive.
• HG (1970–1971): the Tri-Matic automatic.
• HQ (1971–1974): new body and chassis, Belmont commercials dropped at the end.
• HX and HZ (1976–1980): Kingswood panel van added, passenger production ends in 1980.
• WB (1980–1985): the Kingswood name continues on utilities only.

The Kingswood was replaced by the Holden Commodore and sat below the Holden Premier; the HQ series has its own page. More cars are in the Holden collection.

Sources

• Holden Kingswood, English Wikipedia: series, engines, models, exports