The Holden HQ Statesman – History, Specifications and Ownership Stories

My 1st car was a 1974 HQ Statesman DeVille, in Covert Green metallic. It had a 308ci motor coupled to a Trimatic Automatic Transmission, with Brocade material upholstery, but unfortunately no factory Air-conditioning (Aircon came later in the form of an after market under dash unit). I made many modifications to that car, including the aforementioned Aircon, but also fitted lowered front coil springs, Edelbrock Intake Manifold, Extractors/Twin System exhaust, mild Cam and new Lifters, Pioneer Component Stereo System, and eventually refreshed the engine with 40 thou oversized Pistons/Rings. In 1987, I took it to Willowbank Raceway where they had 1/4 mile drag races. I managed to get to the semi-finals which was a hoot. I owned this car for 18 years. It was my pride and joy.  But then life changed (as it always does), priorities changed, and I ended up selling it for a paltry $500 to a guy who parted it out. And as everyone who has sold a car like this, I regretted it every day since. Amazingly, for a car that I loved so much, I have precious few photos of it. Back in the day we were more interested in living life than documenting it I guess.

You can read more about my original car on the My 1st Car page.

Fast forward to October of 2022, and I see a 1974 HQ Statesman DeVille come up for Auction at Lloyds in Western Australia. It was almost completely original, with matching numbers Engine/Transmission, original upholstery (not Brocade unfortunately), unmolested Dash (not like in my original to accommodate the stereo), with factory integrated Aircon (bonus!!), a very rare Stereo Cassette Player/Mono AM Radio, Power Antenna, and the colour was a very 70’s Sunburst Gold metallic. Well I thought to myself, when am I ever going to find another original matching numbers 1974 HQ Statesman in such an original condition? This was my chance to recapture those glory days and relive my late teens and own another one. So I had to bid on it. Long story short, we are now the proud owners (again), of a car that makes me smile every time I drive it, and brings me back to the days when I was a young man.

So why have I created this website? Well it’s not just to tell the story about our current HQ Statesman, I also thought I could use it as a repository for information that might be useful to others who own one of these cars. But this website will be primarily focused on the 1974 308 Trimatic Statesman that I have owned and now own. To that end, I’ll create pages with links to resources and useful information (well what I find useful anyway), as well as photos and videos from Car Meets that we’ve attended.

I’ve also written a short article about our new HQ Statesman which can be read here “The Story So Far“.

To learn about the history and development around the Holden HQ Statesman, take a look at my “History” page.

To see the specifications for the Holden HQ Statesman, read the “Specifications” page.

For Tuning advice for the HQ Statesman (with a standard unmodified 308 V8), see my “Tuning” page.

If you wish to contact me, use the Contact Form in the Footer area below.