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I thought we had probably dealt with the worst of the rusting oldies, though classic is more preferable, however some cars grow old and then disappear though this one arrived in either a saloon version or a small van.
The saloons in the main fell to pieces however the vans kept going and going, guessed yet, made in the UK, Bedfordshire, Luton, the HA Viva,
If you know the viva you will understand, who ever at Vauxhalls in house design centre was responsible for the back end should have been banished from the car industry for good. In fact given some of the previous models coming out of Luton which were brilliant lookers what went wrong with the Viva.
The rear wing was folded very much like a cake tin and consequently water didn’t have to struggle to get in, this ran down to the boot floor and whole of the rear of the car rotted, this is not to say that there could be a few who had a sheltered life, but the van was a completely different kettle of fish, the van body was well made considering and as such could be seen all over the UK in the yellow livery of British Telecom, don’t rush to get one they are nor fault free, the front wings were prone to rusting, but this is where bolt on wings came into their own.
Back to the saloon, advertising was directed at the lady of the house, the controls were light it was a woman’s car.
Vauxhall killed the HA within three years, it was named the most unspecial car ever made, in addition it suffered from handling problems.
Technical bit, 1057cc motor gave it 44bhp with a top speed somewhere in the region of 77mph, and it’s 0-60 time ran out at 22seconds, Vauxhall launched a Viva SL with boosted bhp of 66, and that was about the end of the HA.
The 1966 Motor Show Vauxhall unveiled the all new HB Viva, an 1159cc engine, the advertising was quite interesting, “From today 1-litre motoring will never be the same, The all new Viva looks big, it has long hug the ground, eager to be off air about it, It is quiet, you drive at peace in a smooth silent world of your own, A Jet smooth world with matched all coil suspension to keep it that way, sickly might describe the advert, the car was expected to do 85mph and reach somewhere in the region of 35-40mpg, you still got drum brakes back and front, 4 speed all syncro gearbox and 5.50×12. tyres.
In fairness it looked so much better than the original, by 1968/9 our Viva had become a four door saloon and a model range of 26 variants, you could specify such things as auto transmission, alternator, heated rear window, heavy duty suspension, it says and tyres, on top of that there 6 or more trim ranges, including the mystic Brabham 90 versions, apparently these last two are difficult if not impossible to source.
Top speed has gone down to 78 and mpg 29-34, though you can specify front discs, one wonders how much extra all these add ons cost, the 2 door ran out at 706 pounds sterling.
One must not forget the viva Estate, either with a 1600 motor or the original 1100 at quite a saving, but for the money it arrived with front discs, did 88mph and guzzled juice at 20-24 mpg.
Despite and against all odds the HB was far from perfect, various reports indicate that it suffered from brake problems, so much so it almost hit the top spot for faults in Sweden.
So once again if you are tempted to either the HA or the HB versions be aware of the problems that existed when they were new let alone 40 odd years on.
During the closing stages of the HB, which in the main was made at the Ellesmere Port plant on the Wirral, Management declared we have just made the one millionth Viva, this was then, you will not believe this could happen, management at the Luton factory put out a statement that in fact the millionth Viva had just been built in Luton, which left Ellesmere Port with a slight problem, so they then stated they had just made the first car of the second million, pity in total the viva sold about 1.6 million cars.
The HC, the third incarnation of what should have been one of the best selling cars in the UK.
Named the Vauxhall viva de luxe a cleaned up body and 30 variants, two door, four door station wagon with engine sizes from 1100cc pushrod right up to an overhead cam 2-litre, I can’t find any performance figures for that one but you can imagine sticking a big motor in a light body, the basic car could only manage 78mph and petrol consumption at 29-33 mpg, front discs were optional.
An even more luxurious Viva appeared, the Magnum, you got either a 1759 or 2279cc motor, you could have the saloon, coupe or station wagon and so it showed you had more than a standard Viva four headlamps. Presume thatis the ultimate in one gunmanship.
Happy Halloween regards and thanks ted
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FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT MATSY ON 087 2344928
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As part of our Field Development Fund raising activities over the coming months, including the proposed development of a Hurling Alley to help develop and nurture the hurling stars of the future, on behalf of Clonea-Power GAA Club we would like to inform you of our upcoming Tractor and Vintage Run on Sunday 24th October 2010.
Registration will commence at 11.00am with the participants leaving the village by 12.30pm sharp with a fee €20.00. We would like to extend our run to Vintage Cars and Classic Bikes enthusiasts. Refreshments will be available afterwards in Clancy’s Bar, Clonea-Power. The 21mile/34km scenic route gives extensive views of the Comeragh Mountains.
A Tractor and Vintage Run is always a great fun, family event and is an opportunity to show our children and our grandchildren some of the vehicles of the past, which are an important part of our heritage. Many people take great pride and dedicate huge amounts of time in restoring their vehicles to their original glory and it is a great opportunity for them to show their great work on the day. Mixing these vintage machines with the great machines of the modern era gives people a sense of how far the technology has come over the past decades.
We would invite all interested parties to come and support us on the day by either entering a vehicle, sponsoring some of the drivers or indeed just making a donation to one of our collectors.
If you know of anyone within your Club or parish who may be interested, please circulate this information to them. Full details of the day are on the attached sheet.
If anyone has any queries please contact any of the individuals listed below for more details.
Your support, in whether format, will be appreciated.
Peter Mackey – 086-0338272
Kevin Barry – 086-2215401
Simon Kenny – 087-7660111
Tina O’Brien – 086-8570600
Roisin Foley–Power – 087-2472007
Tina O’Brien
Clonea Gaa Committee Member.
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OCT 23rd (SATURDAY)
SUNDAY OCTOBER 24th I.V.V.C.C. AUTOJUMBLE AT TOUGHERS RESTAURANT NEWBRIDGE CO. KILDARE
OCT 23/25th ALL IRELAND DIECAST MODEL SHOW MITCHELSTOWN CO. CORK 086 8359790
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GREAT WEATHER HELPED ALL TO HAVE A GREAT DAY ON OUR RUN WITH OVER 30 CARS ATTENDING.
MORE PHOTOS IN GALLERY PAGE SOON
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I got your details from Irish Vintage Scene and wanted to let you know about our company’s new website and upholstery services which I hope will be of interest to you and the members of the Kilkenny Motor Club. Please find link attached:
The site went live earlier this month but we’re over fifty years in the car upholstery business and specialise in vintage restoration.
I’d greatly appreciate if you could pass on this information to your members. I see on your site that you have links to various affiliated clubs and companies so I would be very grateful if you would attach a link to our new site.
Please keep me updated on your upcoming events as I would welcome the opportunity to attend a show sometime in the future and if you have anything special lined up for the autumn/winter season let me know and I will highlight it on our Twitter page.
Best regards,
David O’Flanagan.
CUC UPHOLSTERY
12/13 Usher’s Island Quay,
Dublin 8.
Tel. 01 6778247
Mobile. 0877450666
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It was time for a new model, the Mk11 Consul had done it’s job as had the Zephyr and Zodiac models, Ford was no longer the poor man’s car, the new owner’s were part of the affluent society, you were no longer ashamed to arrive at the Savoy or Claridges in one of the large Fords.
One cannot describe the first viewing of the new Consul Classic, there was nothing like it on British roads, it was definitely a Sunset Strip cruiser pure Hollywood, of course there were what one would call the prestige manufacturers whose clientele would never be seen in such a brash looking car.
Once again I was lucky, I had a friend who just had to have the new Classic, it arrived in that Ford blue, not dark but a mid blue, the interior was also blue, the front as you can see said it all.
The Anglia type rear window actually suited the car then there was the massive boot.
The seats were comfortable and the view through the screen was completely unhindered, the doors felt large making getting in and out easy, there were both two and four door models.
All that remained was to find out if this Classic lived up to it’s name and could deliver, in the first place you wouldn’t expect it to leave scorch marks on the tarmac, then if you wanted that this is not the car you would buy.
Despite being called a mid-size car you had at first a 1.3 4 cylinder engine
Which by all accounts gave a top speed of 75 mph and the obligatory 0-60 in 22 seconds, at least it gives an indication of the ability to get away from traffic lights, petrol consumption round about 35mpg, though I would have some doubt about the figures given, the Classic does not look a light car, the only way we can verify these is to ask the club member who has one, yep if you look up the gallery for the 2009 picnic we have our very own grey classic, would appreciate feed back on this one.
In the two year run Ford made 111225 Classics and nearly 19000 Capri’s, after the first year the engine was changed to a 1498cc unit, I can remember going back to the dealer with engine problems, though they were sorted eventually.
Gear’s you could have floor or column change, the smaller engine only had 3 speed box with the syncro on top and second, however the later
model got a four speed with syncro on the top three gears, variable speed wipers had arrived as had the headlamp flasher, I believe this was a first, I really love headlamp flasher’s most of my friends were of the opinion if anything was going to wear out on my car it would be the headlamp flasher, terrible.
The 9.5 in discs at the front and of course drum rears, said this really meant business, in fact very few cars had discs before 63, our old friend Earle Steele Macpherson struts were at the front giving independent suspension, got to tell you this that Earle Macpherson is an actual person, he previously worked for General Motors where he would come up with good or maybe wacky idea’s which General Motors ignored, so he packed his bags and headed for ford, given that Macpherson struts are widely used one can imagine his former employer isn’t the happiest of people.
The back end of the Classic was traditional a rear live axle using semi elliptic springs.
I have ignored the Capri as it did not really differ from the saloon except it was a two seater and a low swept roof and came in a variety of two tone colours, it just looked the business.
There appears to be a selection of classic’s around and once again the word rust is not being used however our own member might update us on body control etc.
So once again have a nice weekend and many thanks, regards
Ted Lay
tedlay@gmail.com
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OUR FRIENDS IN DANESFORT GAA ARE IN THE “KELLOGGS FIELD OF DREAMS COMPETITION”. AT THE MOMENT THEY ARE IN SECOND PLACE AND WITH ONLY 10 DAYS TO GO THE PUSH IS ON TO GET AS MANY VOTES IN AS POSSIBLE
IF WANT A GOOD LAUGH KILLINASKULLY STYLE LOG ON TO U TUBE AND TYPE IN DANESFORT’S DREAM OR CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SHHLuZydmI
To vote
log on to www.kelloggs.ie/fieldofdreams and vote for Leinster
log back into your personal email address and open the “NO-REPLY@KELLOGGS.IE” (this reply could be in your inbox,junk or spam Click on the Kellogs link in order to verify your vote. This will bring you back into the Kelloggs website where you will receive a thank you for voting.
You can forward your no-replay@kelloggs to Danesfort4@gmail.com and be in with a chance to share in great prizes. You can vote daily.
YOU CAN ALSO VOTE BY TEXT
TEXT. KELLOGGS LEINSTER TO 53799
OR BY POST
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SOUTH EASTERN VINTAGE MACHINERY CLUB WILL HOLD THEIR ANNUAL AUTO JUMBLE AT ARDATTIN CO. CARLOW THIS SUNDAY 17TH
MORE DETAILS ON 087 6556370
NEXT WEEKEND
IVVCC Autojumble, Toughers, Naas, Co. Kildare, Junction 10 off the M7. Sunday 24th October 2010 from 10am to 5pm. Contact Mick Jones 087 278 7044
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