The 1979 Repco Trial, 1956 Holden Fj Sedan. Registration No. Unregistered Chassis No. 410 82. Engine No. 242. This particular car is one of thousands of Holden FJs produced and had no great claim to fame until purchased from a Yugoslav owner in 1979 by Webster Holden. At that time it had only 24,000 miles on the odometer and was in remarkably good (and original) condition. For some time Webster Holden had been planning to enter a vehicle in the forthcoming Repco Around Australia Trial, and had ordered one of the 20 specially prepared 'stitch-welded' Commodores being produced for the event by General Motors-Holden. As time progressed however, it became apparent that the Commodore would not arrive in time to ensure its thorough preparation, and a decision was made to enter the Fj, not as an outright win prospect but as an advertising medium. Nevertheless, the Holden was professionally prepared to full rally specification. Despite the event's horrific conditions, the Fj not only completed the course but finished about halfway through the field, even though it was 23 years old at the time. One of the car's novel features was a huge loud-hailer and sound system installed under the bonnet. Whenever the Fj came near any center of population, popular 1950s music was blasted out and the car's entrant, Peter Webster, claimed it could be heard 11/2 miles away in the bush. With a vehicle of such relatively advanced age, it was recognized that parts replacement would present problems, and when the distributor rotor button broke outside the tiny settlement of Yunta in South Australia, the crew's technical expert feared the worst. With no expectation of a response, the mechanic at the Yunta Roadhouse was asked if he had a replacement rotor. The deadpan answer was 'about four or five - how many do you want?' Priced at £1 4s 6d ($2.45) the rotor quickly changed hands - and is still in the vehicle!. The winner of the event, Peter Brock, claimed the roads used for the trial were the roughest he had ever driven on in his life. 3rd placed Shekhar Mehta of Kenya, agreed while 8th placed Edgar Herrman of Germany claimed the event was four times as long as any European course. Despite this, the mighty Fj finished and finished well, and in 1980 was purchased for display at the York Motor Museum.