Grandfather's HQ Kingswood keeps family memories alive

The Bay to Birdwood historical car rally has become a yearly ritual for Trent Truran and his family.

This will be the fifth time he and his daughters, Eloise and Maya, have pulled his grandfather's red 1973 Holden HQ Kingswood out of his shed in regional South Australia to join the parade of historical vehicles that wind their way from Glenelg to Birdwood.

The car has a special place in the family, with Mr Truran's grandfather buying it in 1975 after it had spent two years as a company car for Phillips Electrical.

It went across the Nullarbor and across the state often to visit his son in the Riverland, who was the publican at Morgan for many years.

"Grandpa used to always say it used to get hot about Mount Mary and he'd have to pull over and have a beer while the car cooled down at the Mount Mary Hotel," Mr Truran said.

The car has a 186 engine with a HP head. It is the only non-original part after his grandfather swapped out the 202 Trimatic to try and solve the overheating problem, although the traditional stop at the hotel may have still been necessary.

While the column shift automatic transmission might baffle a few younger drivers today, Mr Truran described the car as beautiful to drive.

It was nicknamed the Red Devil by his grandmother, who was driven to her 80th and 90th birthday celebrations in the lovingly preserved car.

The striking HQ is a head-turner and Mr Truran said people often waved and came to chat about their memories of Kingswoods when he and the family took it out, on dry days only.

He admits to getting a bit nervous about where he parks it and does not stray too far from where he leaves it.

"I'd be devastated if I lost it or anything happened to it," he said.

Nostalgic appeal

Almost 500,000 of the HQ Kingswoods were made across Holden's Australian factories from 1971 to 1974.

Bay to Birdwood director Dane Wilden said while it was not known how many remained registered across Australia, finding one in original condition was becoming more difficult.

The Bay to Birdwood has been running since 1980 and Mr Wilden said there had been a shift in the era of cars being entered.

In the 1980s many of the cars entered had been built in the 1940s and 50s.

Now, in the 2020s, many of the cars being entered are from the late 1970s and 80s as people look nostalgically to the vehicles they remember from their youth or childhood.

That now includes the Adelaide-made Mitsubishi Magna, which marked its 40th anniversary of production last year.

Mr Wilden understands the nostalgia, having one of the early 1985 Magna models himself.

"It is like a big wedge, square wedge of cheese, but it's fantastic," he said.

The Truran family is hoping to add to the sense of nostalgia at this weekend's Bay to Birdwood events, having recently purchased a 1975 FJ55 LandCruiser, the same model driven proudly by Mr Truran's father.

Mr Truran and his sister Sarah tried to unsuccessfully track down their father's original vehicle and when one popped up for sale in Loxton in the Riverland, they went and purchased it without even checking that it started.

If the LandCruiser does get the mechanical all clear, it will be making its way to Birdwood on Sunday, behind the HQ.