It was an emotional reunion for a local Holden lover and his beloved Kingswood, which was brought back to life after tragedy two years ago.
The Classic Holden Car Show at Shannon’s Club showroom in Heatherton saw barely a dry eye when it hosted the reveal of a restored 1979 HZ Kingswood.
This is not just a classic Holden, but the pride and joy of local resident Ross Costa. He waited six months in 1979 for the car he ordered in custom Atlantis Blue paint and with a 308 V8 engine.
The reveal comes two years after the car that the 86-year-old had cherished for over 40 years was stolen from his property in Pakenham.
Despite wide media coverage in late 2023 to find the classic Kingswood, including Ross promising to look the other way if it were returned safely, five days after the theft the car was found in Menzies Creek, ruined and burnt out.
In that time, the Melbourne automotive community saw the incident and was determined to see the old Holden brought back to life.
Ross and his wife Assunta could not hold back tears as the Kingswood was revealed in all its glory.
“It’s unreal, you have to see it to believe it,” Ross said.
“It’s like a dream come true.”
Led by son Alf and multiple businesses, people spent hundreds of hours meticulously restoring the Kingswood.
In many ways, they were continuing the care that Ross had put into the Kingswood for over 40 years.
“It meant a lot to him as an immigrant to Australia. Saving up to buy a brand new car was a big deal back in the 70s,” Alf recalled.
“He treasured it. He did all the servicing, he polished it weekly, he washed it. It was immaculate.”
Michael John from M&G Motors was also critical in initiating the project. He saw the vehicle shortly after it was found and said it wasn’t certain the car could be salvaged at first.
“I’m an optimist, so when I saw it, I said, ‘yeah nah, we’ll fix it,’” he said.
“But when you start looking at the panels, everything was warped and burnt.
“We still thought we could fix it, but it was going to be a massive job.”
Miraculously, they were able to procure a donor car of the same model, meaning the restored Kingswood is effectively two cars joined together at the firewall.
Everything below the bonnet is original. The iconic 308 engine was taken apart and put back together by Lou Iudica from Dandy Engines.
He spent many of his own hours on the engine he knows like the back of his hand, but the pleasure was all his, as it is rare to work on a 308 that is so close to the same condition it was when it left the factory.
M&G Motors took care of the gearbox and reinstalled the engine. The tinkering didn’t stop until the early hours of Saturday morning, a week before the reveal.
The overall project included many contributors and sponsors, including American Graffiti Auto Restorations, Harkrome, Tru-Fit Carpets & Vinyls, Autoglass Warehouse, Splatt Engineering, Dandy Engines, M&G Motors, PPG Paints, Rare Spares, La Cabra, Jax Tyres & Auto, BF Goodrich, Shannons Insurance, Burson Auto Parts, Pakenham Radiators and Jarritos.
