Welcome to Vegemite Wednesday, a lose series of Australian cars. And this model seems to be a logical place to start. This car is an “FJ” Holden Panel Van, in a Vegemite livery.
The “FJ” wasn’t the first Holden, but a later development of the “48-215", which came earlier. It was introduced in 1953, and was mainly a cosmetic make-over, particularly around the front. The somewhat austere grill was turned into a chrome extravaganza a la Buick.
Under the hood was still the old “grey motor”, a 2.2l straight six pumping 60hp. That had to be enough. At the time, Holden sold more cars than they could build, and there were waiting lists. There had already been a “Ute” version of the 48-215, but the FJ was the first Holden Panel Van.
The model is one of the first “Trax” castings from the early 1990s. These were the first modern castings to be made of classic Australian cars, and the company is still going, though they are slowly running out of cars to make.
But what about Vegemite then? In case you haven’t heard of it, it is a bread spread made from brewery yeast. And very much an acquired taste. It looks a bit like Nutella, but is quite salty and very strong. And if you try it for the first time, spread it veeeery thin on buttered toast. Do not eat it with a spoon, as these guys found out.