Why is it that the more base-model cars are the ones that managed to survive decades relatively unscathed? Case in point: Go hunting for a Dodge Aspen R/T and you’re going to see more rust than what’s on the S.S. United States at this moment. But take a few minutes and I bet I can find you an absolute sweetheart of a two-door Aspen packing the lowly Slant Six and automatic, complete with shiny paint, nearly spotless white seats, and almost zero rust for a decent price. Same thing with a Chevrolet Nova or it’s corporate cousins, same thing with a Ford Maverick, or a Falcon, or whatever. Cars that gearheads would normally go bonkers for managed to escape the scalpel because they were base models…everywhere.

I don’t speak enough Australian to know of the Holden Kingswood that Al and Woody swiped from a friend’s garage is considered a base model, but the “Red” inline-six isn’t exactly was the starting point for what went on in the engine bay. We aren’t talking heavy power, we’re talking day-to-day levels of motion. This wagon itself is in great condition, but Al has decided that the Kingswood needs a bit of passion underneath that hood, passion that no inline-six from the early 1960s will ever provide. Bring on the Holden 304 V8…one of the four displacements of GM-H V8 design, the 304ci unit was a later design, in use between 1985 and 2000. Don’t think that the engine was meant to be a low-power unit…Holden downsized the engine from 308ci so that they could get a weight break and tire size upgrade in Group A Touring racing.

For a clean, mostly stock surfer wagon, that sounds about perfect, don’t you think?