Vauxhall Viva HC 1300 GLS Estate
Discussion
Agreed, but perhaps not when it only has 13k miles from new, is a one owner car and has been in a garage undiscovered for the last 13 years 
edited to add a reply as I missed this comment.
edited to add a reply as I missed this comment.
droopsnoot said:
Ooh, you don't happen to have a spare set of drip rail trims with it do you? I'm restoring a Sportshatch and they're unusable on it. I've got a few feelers out with the VVOC and DSG, but ask everyone I run into.
Sorry Droopsnoot, no I'm only just beginning to find parts I need. It seems there are plenty of service parts but little trim parts. I'm after the ignition cowling as it was broken during the theft attempt. If you are talking about the chrome rails in the boot area, I've got all mine and they're intact. I can see trim parts being relatively scarce!Edited by LordFlathead on Wednesday 13th February 20:33
Ahh the 1256cc Vauxhall engine. I remember gently coaxing a Bedford 1256 Chevanne into life on cold mornings by beating the bonnet with a branch off a tree and then trying to restart it yet again. Result eventually. It did 55mph flat out downhill.
Edited by quiraing on Tuesday 12th February 19:45
MarkwG said:
Was it Zeibarted or similar before it went away? All our family Vivas were quite keen on dissolving away - any photos?
It is actually in remarkable condition. The garage saved most of the rot but the front wings where they meet the sills require attention. The underside is perfect, the exhaust looks brand new but due to the condensation it has rusted right through. All the arches are mint but it needs a respray as sadly while in the garage it was broken into and an attempt to steal it was made. I will be putting up a thread for this when it all comes together, it's a fascinating story and there are a lot of pictures that help build the story. I'm unsure whether to post it on Readers Cars of CC&YDH! Decisions decisions
LordFlathead said:
Vauxhall Viva HC 1300 GLS Estate
Does anyone know what these cost when they were new in 1979?
I've bought one and are collecting facts and figures. Any info would be greatly appreciated
As luck would have it I have just acquired a Vauxhall price list for 1979, dated 11th October 1978. Price for the 1300 GLS Estate is £2848 basic + £237.33 car tax + £246.83 VAT = £3332.16Does anyone know what these cost when they were new in 1979?
I've bought one and are collecting facts and figures. Any info would be greatly appreciated
The only option you could order was metallic paint at £40.95 inclusive of car tax and VAT.
The car was more expensive than a Cavalier 1600L (£3257.28) or a Viva 1800 GLS saloon (£3293.55).
As the adverts used to say , 'The Vauxhall breed's got style'.
The Viva was (I think) the last pure Vauxhall with no Opel input. The Chevette was the first Opel based Vauxhall followed by the Cavalier (both very good cars and better that the equivalent Fords) and the original Carlton.
The HC Viva was a strange thing and the saloon was bloody ugly compared to the HB. The Coupe though was a great looker. A customer of my Dad's had a bronze 2300 Magnum Coupe on an M plate, a very rare car by all accounts - it was basically the Firenza Droopsnoot but without the sporty trim and the snazzy nosecone. Sadly, Vauxhall stuff has become rather overshadowed by Ford stuff - a pity.
The Viva was (I think) the last pure Vauxhall with no Opel input. The Chevette was the first Opel based Vauxhall followed by the Cavalier (both very good cars and better that the equivalent Fords) and the original Carlton.
The HC Viva was a strange thing and the saloon was bloody ugly compared to the HB. The Coupe though was a great looker. A customer of my Dad's had a bronze 2300 Magnum Coupe on an M plate, a very rare car by all accounts - it was basically the Firenza Droopsnoot but without the sporty trim and the snazzy nosecone. Sadly, Vauxhall stuff has become rather overshadowed by Ford stuff - a pity.
LordFlathead said:
It is actually in remarkable condition. The garage saved most of the rot but the front wings where they meet the sills require attention. The underside is perfect, the exhaust looks brand new but due to the condensation it has rusted right through. All the arches are mint but it needs a respray.
That's pretty good, then, considering - looking forward to the photos & write up.I grew up in Vauxhall-ton so we had loads of them; the Vivas were slightly better than the Chevettes at the time, the two Chevettes rotted earlier, but then cars did back then. My dad's first new car was a '71. My first one was full of porridge, tbf it was 12 years old by then, the second was better. My mums was a "Gold Riband" apparently, in a metallic red with Rostyle wheels; sadly I re-sculpted it a couple of times, using the scenery as a chisel. Slightly agree with the HB vs the HC comment - don't believe the C was ugly, compared to some of the horrors of the day, the Kadette was just a block of metal in comparison, but the B was much prettier - it beat a Mk1 Escort for looks, & they both road & handled well for the time - but the 1256 engine wasn't up to the challenge. As for Vauxhalls marketing & pricing strategy...
Weird because I used to hate the Viva HB. My girlfriend had one and it was so repulsive, I insuisted she trade it for a Chevette saloon.
The Viva HC was a good-looking car but the double headlamps made it. The estate was quite advanced in that it was what they would call a "lifestyle estate" now (apart from VW who would call it a Scirocco...).
I used to have a Viva 1800 with most of one of the inner wings rusted away. It wasn't a great engine, being half of an aborted V8. It eventually died through a propensity to foul No.1 plug and misfire - possibly after the cambelt snapped.
My father had a Firenza 2000SL in Flamenco Red which I loved but he didn't and he reverted to his favourite Cortina Mk II 1500GT.
The Firenza owed much to the Chevelle for it's styling but it was only with the addition of that gorgeous droop snoot that the design achieved balance. God I lusted after them.
I think I've probably got several original brochures for the 70s Vauxhall/Viva in the attic (and a DS Firenza). One day I'll get them down.
The Viva HC was a good-looking car but the double headlamps made it. The estate was quite advanced in that it was what they would call a "lifestyle estate" now (apart from VW who would call it a Scirocco...).
I used to have a Viva 1800 with most of one of the inner wings rusted away. It wasn't a great engine, being half of an aborted V8. It eventually died through a propensity to foul No.1 plug and misfire - possibly after the cambelt snapped.
My father had a Firenza 2000SL in Flamenco Red which I loved but he didn't and he reverted to his favourite Cortina Mk II 1500GT.
The Firenza owed much to the Chevelle for it's styling but it was only with the addition of that gorgeous droop snoot that the design achieved balance. God I lusted after them.
I think I've probably got several original brochures for the 70s Vauxhall/Viva in the attic (and a DS Firenza). One day I'll get them down.
Edited by LuS1fer on Thursday 14th February 12:11
LuS1fer said:
The Firenza owed much to the Chevelle for it's styling but it was only with the addition of that gorgeous droop snoot that the design achieved balance. God I lusted after them.
It's amazing how much difference that little block of fibreglass made to the overall appearance of the car. There's quite a lot of good-looking flat-front Firenzas out there, but that simple change made a big difference.(And yes, I was about to question your first bit above until I read it properly. I once met someone at a car show who insisted that the only reason my Firenza has a nosecone was to make it look like a Chevette, even though the chronology doesn't work. But he knew better than me, because he used to work at Ellesmere Port).
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