The 1935 Model year By Rohan Russell

The Great Depression of 1930 and the commencement of World War 2 in 1939 were the two most significant events in world history for the decade of the '30s . There were however many other positive highlights here in Australia in that same period which include the opening of the Sydney Harbor Bridge in 1932 and the Centenary of Melbourne in 1934.

1935 was a significant year for General Motors Holden here in Australia, after getting back financially into "the black" in 1933 following the end of the Great Depression various capital improvement plans were set in place. The first of these was a £100,000 toward new equipment including 2 new 500 ton hydraulic presses that were delivered to the body plant in Woodville S.A to allow manufacture of larger panels to reduce manufacturing costs substantially. The next big announcement in '35 was the commencement of exports of motor bodies from Woodville to Bombay for assembly on chassis's destined for Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and the Dutch East Indies. A decision was also made to build a new administration centre and manufacturing plant at Fisherman's Bend in Victoria, and the last big announcement was radically new body styling for coupe models when GM-H released the "All Enclosed Coupe" with sleek fastback styling.

The Oldsmobile offering this year from GM-H came with more model & body style combinations than any other period throughout their history in Australia. The L series in-line 8 cylinder (L.35) was available here in Sedan, All Enclosed Coupe & Roadster whilst the F.35 (6 cylinder) came in the same bodies as the 8 cylinder models but also included a Tourer (convertible sedan) body.

The sleek fastback styled "All Enclosed Coupe" was introduced by GM-H on the majority of their 1935 range from Vauxhall to Buick. Sister GM division Cadillac built a show-car in 1933 on a V16 chassis with extremely similar styling to the fastback "All Enclosed Coupe", however it seems that this was just coincidental and the two GM teams on different sides of the Pacific were working independently and unaware of each other. Whilst Cadillac clearly released their show-car to the public first, GM-H certainly was the first GM division to produce this body style in mass production.

A full steel turret roof on enclosed body models for the General Motors range in the U.S. was introduced in 1935 by the Fisher Body division, but here in Australia GM-H held off that change till 1937 when they simultaneously changed to a full steel body & frame . 1935 Oldsmobile's with Holden bodies continued to share their basic bodies with Buick & Pontiac as the press shop simply changed insert dies for the pressing of body mouldings to differentiate the makes - something they commenced in 1934 across the 3 makes.

Accessories offered through the GM-H Nasco Parts & Accessories group continued to include a selection of dealer & factory installed accessory options including the Air Chief radio (with in dash controls), Trumpet horns, Rear fender skirts, Bumper guards, Suit case set and with a factory order Dual side mount fenders & wheel covers