Andrew Arnott's 1972 Holden HQ SS

By: James Secher - Words & Photos

Date: 10.04.2023

Decades after the HQ SS release, Andrew Arnott, finally got the SS he always wanted and in the right colour too

"When I was a young fellow, I had an HQ, a friend of mine brought an HQ SS and I always wanted one since". In 2014 the opportunity came up to purchase the car from one of Andrew’s good mates and he jumped on it. The HQ SS was in a similar condition to it is now and Andrew recalls his mate Chris was quite protective of it. "Chris pulled it out of the garage, started it up. I went to sit in it, and he turned to me and, said, "I hope your clothes are clean because you’re not going to sit in it if they’re dirty." He didn’t let me drive the car until I bought it. So I didn’t even get to test drive it."

Andrew has kept up the fastidious care of the matching numbers beauty and said he’s never had it out in the rain or let anyone with dirty clothes in it either. Kids with sticky fingers be on notice!

Prior to Andrew picking up the SS, the car had had a full engine rebuild with a TQ30 cam, was lowered and had a 2.5-inch exhaust fitted. "It’s got plenty of power with the cam and gets up and goes.

The SS has also had a full respray in the original Holden Infra Red by the previous owner. Even with red in the colour code people sometimes disagree with him on the colour. This typical of all three HQ SS colours, which can change appearance dramatically, depending on the circumstances. "A lot of people reckon it’s orange, but it depends on the light I guess." Funnily enough, the colour isn’t the only thing that pops up as a point of contention with the SS.

| Read next: The original Holden SS - HQ

Andrew said he often gets told there isn’t such a thing as an HQ SS. "Quite often when I tell people I’ve got a Holden HQ SS, they go, "What, a GTS? A lot of people don’t realise the SS came out before the GTS.

Andrew knows every inch of the car even down to where and when it was manufactured. "My car was made at the Acacia Ridge factory on the 11th of the 11th, 1972 in the second batch from November to December, which also included 71 SS HQs coming from WA to make up the 2800 in total."

| Read next: 50 years of the Holden HQ (2021)

The interior of the SS had minor restorations to the carpet and seats but retains most of the original fittings. "It’s got the original steering wheel, dash pad and even the radio. The carpet and seats have been redone", and Andrew reckons it’s in better condition than it would have come out of the factory.

With all original windscreen wipers mirrors and even chrome around the windows Andrew’s SS has all the hallmarks a purist dreams of, however, it’s the not quite original looking 17-inch deep dish GTS replica wheels that give Andrew’s SS a little more street presence making for a subtle yet striking stance.

| Reader Ride: 1972 Holden HQ SS

Andrew’s not the only one smitten with his cars’ looks, with his SS picking up a trophy for Best Aussie at the Just 8s show in 2016. "I’ve never won a trophy for anything in my life," Andrew said. "I was just over the moon. I came home with the biggest smile on my face and couldn’t wait to tell Chris."

Andrew says he’s not that keen on car shows though, "I’ve done a few, but you usually have to stay there all day, I’d much rather go for a drive to my favourite burger joint up in the hills, and show it off that way." You couldn’t blame him either, it’s not a bad way to spend a Sunday, stretching the legs of the old girl and giving the 253 and the four-speed box a good run the way it was intended. Just as long as there isn’t a grey cloud in the sky or a sticky-fingered kid nearby!

From Unique Cars #476, March 2023

Unique Cars magazine Value Guides

Sell your car for free right here