By DAVID PIKE

The Holden FB was introduced in January 1960 and was ultimately replaced by its facelifted model EK in May 1961. Following on the success of the FE/FC, GMH took some bold steps with this new model. Although it was built on the same floorpan as the superseded model the FB was a larger car. Holden was well aware that Ford was about to begin Australian production of the US designed Falcon, so they were keen to make a number of changes to increase the appeal of the car without rushing into heavy re-tooling costs.

Styling was more elaborate than ever before, with some cues from the mid-to-late 1950s Chevs. Though GMH didn't go to the extremes of the American designer's huge fins and incredibly ornate radiator grilles, the FB had the biggest fins seen on a Holden before or since and these were carried over to the EK. It also had a windscreen that wrapped around to the sides of the car and sculptured bumper bars below a full-width, chrome grille.

The back ends of the FB commercial vehicles continued to use panels from the FE/FC Holdens. This was to cut design and manufacturing costs; commercial buyers were more interested in saving dollars than having the latest in big tail fins. The roof of the van was higher than the station sedan's to provide additional load space. The FB's wheelbase was the same as the FC's, but an increase in body length allowed for increased boot space and improved seating gave slightly increased cabin space. To make the car as attractive as possible before the Falcon release Holden commenced using, from June 1960, a new acrylic paint finish which was promoted as a `Magic Mirror' finish and many cars featured a bold two-tone paint job.

By increasing the bore of the original grey motor, capacity was increased to 2.26-litres, up from the 2.17-litres of all previous Holdens. This, coupled with raising the compression ratio to 7.25:1, enabled an increase in power output to 56kW at 4200rpm. Maximum torque was 163Nm at an amazingly low 1400rpm. The three-speed column-change manual gearbox was also uprated, mainly for durability and ease of gear changing. The shift lever action was made more positive and clutch pedal effort was reduced. There was still no automatic option.

Suspension modifications included increased-width elliptical rear springs. The ride was softer and handling was slightly improved on both rough and smooth surfaces. But experts still criticised the Holden for having too much body roll and understeer in hard cornering. Brake master cylinder modifications made the FB more stable under heavy braking. The FB was the first Holden to be produced in a left-hand-drive version for export to Asia and the Pacific Islands.