1973 HC Viva - Vauxhalls most popular car goes for a drive
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2024
- The Viva was Vauxhall's best everselling car at the time, hitting 1,000,000 cars during Viva HC production, but what was their small family car like?
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Fun fact, Vauxhall were the first company to introduce the use of acrylic paint ( water based) in the 1970s, and the advertising brochures climed the Viva as " the car you will never have to polish" . Unfortunately, the underseal they used ( also used as a selling point) , was a very thick black bituminous goo, which simply hardened and cracked inside 3 years , thus making the corrosion problem many times worse ! ( I still had two of them though).😊😊
I remember the ad on TV, "Vauxhall Viva, the great big little car!" That goes back a few hair cuts ago! How times have changed...
To Bob Gorman.
Someone else reckoned they did the undersea TOO THIN.
Either way, it seems undersea has to be done just right!
Viva soft main crank chain meant the hard metal chain damaged the crank built under GM management.
Metal fan meNt over cooling causing oil hydrated blocked breather pipe
Nylon retaing nuts holding suspension arms would come very loose. Seat belts not fitted. Paintwork very good much better than Ford escort.
@@alan4yt at least they TRIED!
Yes it was acrylic & many parts were lead loaded to make up for the short comings of production. I worked on these during my apprentiship. I sacked the motor trade & got a far better paid job & then retired @ 58. I owe most of it to Vauxhall.
That's a nice example. Our family fell on hard times in the early 80s due to a court case (which we eventually won after some years in court and much money in legal costs), and my father would buy and sell cars to put food on the table. The Viva, Chevette and Horizon are cars forever imprinted in my DNA: We had so many of them they were like part of the furniture. But I had basically forgotten all about the Viva till now. After a few years Dad got back on his feet and the cars improved and were bought for fun rather than necessity. Suddenly we had Alfettas, Citroen CXs, Saab 900s, Mercs, BMWs, Audis, and they stayed rather than disappearing within days. However it was a major turning point for him taking delivery of his brand new Volvo 740 GLE. Before things had gone wrong, he had rented a 240 in Sweden and had decided that would be his next car. It took him over 10 years to get back to being in a position to do so. As a little lad, getting into that 740 is something I shall forever remember. Probably why I like your channel so much - nostalgia! Cheers!
Great post
@@garylove5475 Thanks mate
Love to hear real stories like these. 70 s were tough but somehow we look back and are able to see some good things to remember. ...
I remember the Viva from my childhood. Didn’t like it at all at the time. I appreciate it much more now. Thanks for the memories. 🇮🇪
I felt the same as a kid. My opinion hasn't really changed though except for the warm nostalgic feeling cars of this era bring.
My first car I drove on the roads, learnt to drive & past my driving test was a 1979 Viva E (HC). It was one of the last made & registered with an 8 valve 1256cc OHV engine in Pastel Blue. One of the first thing I did was replace the traditional headlamps with halogen bulbs as the originals were useless. You could always spot a Viva owner as their 8thou feeler gauge was beaten to a pulp as you adjusted the tappets with the engine running. Ok the rpm's were turned down to almost stalling but what a way to learn motor mechanics.
Because of this I never adjusted the tappets on mine..I just couldn't believe you had to do this even though the manual said so!
Yep cut my teeth on the ole 1256 cc my friends dad had about 5 of them in his driving school, i helped him maintain them when garage charges went too high and yes his feeler gauge 8 thou were bent to hell
Thank you for giving some exposure to this unfairly ignored little trooper! In my working class childhood these were everywhere in all conditions, including in our driveway (in 2300SL guise) and in the yard of the nick where my dad worked.
Absolute rust buckets in the North East, but dead easy to drive and maintain.
Ideal starter classic as @idriveaclassic would say.
Very underrated cars with a very slick short throw gearbox. The 1256cc engine had a three bearing crank and was not as robust as similar offerings from Opel. You rarely see a Viva HC these days, the HA remained in production into the 80’s as a van. Quite remarkable as earliest Viva models are now 60 as I am.
I have worked at the plant since 1985 , when I first started there the engine plant was still there but only had a skeleton crew as they had to make spare parts / engines and we were told that they were running the block line until it gave up. Yes the 3 bearing crank was the main reason that the Viva's ended up in the scrap yards. But I was told from an old engineer who originally came from Rolls Royce In Crewe, that the honing pattern was that good on the Viva block that engineers from Rolls Royce came to the plant to see how they managed to achieve it. I later worked in V6 Engine plant, which took up about a third of the footprint. Then again they made all the parts back then even the valves, plus the gears for gearboxes and rear axles plus parts had to be heat treated. They employed 12000 People, now we have 1000!
My Dad was a service engineer for PYE (later taken over by Philips) he had a company car every year HB & HC Viva's usualy estate cars. My earliest memories of the Viva's was the gearbox whine, the local 🚓 police in Ellesmere Port used Viva's as panda cars, so you knew when the police were coming by the sound of the gearbox. At 17 I started taking driving lessons with my brother in his 2 year old Chevette which used Viva running gear. And when I passed my test in 1983 he gave me a 1970 HB Viva which he had bought for £40 a couple of years before and I was helping him do it up for his wife. The HB was only running on two cylinders, and as I was at college at the time I could get it re-bored for free. On stripdown it turned out to be well passed a re-bore, so we found a replacement engine advertised as a reconditioned 1256 , turned out to be a HI compression 90 engine (they were all painted red with a Stromberg carb so the seller thought it was a reconditioned 1256. We fitted the hi performance 69 BHP engine and fitted all the new parts the previous owner had left in the boot (mostly Chevette parts on permanent loan from the production line) and the car passed its MOT. A few months later I wrote it off (pulled out at a junction and was hit by a Granada) I then bought a knackered HC Viva and replaced the engine with my 90 red engine.😊
Last year I visited Drive your Dad's car and drove the HC Viva , it's in amazing condition but unfortunately unlike my SL version its a Standard (poverty spec) rubber mats and even only has one sun visor! It did have two Wing mirror 's Though for the long sited. I was expecting this car to be very sluggish so was very surprised at how it accelerated (HC Viva's were built from heavier gauge steel than HB's) think this was due to the low gearing , I was in 4th gear at 25 mph😊 😅😅😅
I had a 1978 Mk1 Cavalier L 1256 ohv engine
@@BigDave1965I had a HB viva back in the day. It was a great cornering car. Mine was a red one. Certainly wished I still had it. It’s nice to this car being reviewed.
My brother had two of these... and both were dire. Despite regular services, the 1975 model he bought needed a short motor by the time it was three years old. In 1978 several family members all ditched their unreliable Vauxhalls, bought Datsuns and never looked back. There is an issue of 'Motor' magazine from late 1970 that describes the HC design and it seems as though it was much more than a restyled HB.
I brought my son home from hospital after he was born 40y ago in my gold SL with a black vinyl roof. My friends dad used to work a Ac delco he bought a brand new white one on staff discount he paid extra for front disc brakes both cars eventually rusted away. My current car is a 2015 1.6 diesel Astra j which is worlds apart from my Viva more power better ride lots of stopping power with disc on all wheels and best of all a lot more mpg
I think this is the funniest car review you have ever done 😂 Well done in your perseverance, I love the bit of having to turn the wipers off as a bit had fallen off ! Genuine 70's motoring experience had by all. Keep up the great work ❤👍
I remember my aunt having one of these in the mid 80s. It was pretty much an old banger by then but I liked the strip Speedo. Then in 1990 or so my friends family inherited a bronze 1973 2 door which only had about 12,000 miles on the clock having been garaged for many years . They were super excited as it seemed very modern compared to the Morris traveller which was their everyday car back then. I can’t say I shared their enthusiasm, I remember being surprised by the driveline and axle noise from the Viva not to mention the horror of roasting vinyl seats on sunny days!
I loved the HC Viva - and this was a good thing, because in the town I lived in as a child, it seemed nearly every third family had one. Not us though - we were strictly Austin A30 / A35 or Ford Cortina. Dad did own a CF Jumbo van he used for work, but if we went anywhere, it was in one of the others. The first time I saw a Magnum with its dual headlight setup, metallic paint (on the one I first saw at least) and vinyl roof, even as a youngster I knew that it was the posher version and the one to get - especially as it had an 1800 instead of the paltry 1256cc in the Viva. The first time I saw a Firenza, I think I stood there with mouth open as it went by. We never saw a Droop Snoot (or HPF if you prefer) Firenza down here in NZ, but there were plenty of people driving the snot out of the 1800s or finding wrecked CF Bedfords and nicking the 2.3 litre engines to drop in them - even in the late 70s when the Firenza was only few years old!
A mate of mine's Mum used to drive a 4-door HC, so it followed that he learned to drive in the thing and him and I went on a number of trips in it. The car handled very well on the twisty backroads that were around the area we lived in, although when it came to straight line grunt, even my A35 gave the Viva a run for its money. I remember seeing the words "Energy Absorbing" on the steering wheel and suggesting to my mate that he swap the steering wheel for an after market one. He asked why and I told him that I reckoned the steering wheel was absorbing too much energy out of the performance and sucking the life out the engine. It took him a few seconds to click......
Great wee cars and rather safe for their time aa it was hard to get them to lean over or slide - they were so well balanced. I've always wanted a Magnum or Firenza, but I still love the plain Jane Viva because of what it represented. My mate eventually dropped a Magnum's 1800 in the Viva and it changed her handling a bit, but she was still essentially the same car....but better! Great memories. Thanks Matt!
My first car when i was 17 yrs old back in 1987 and I hated it, I wish I'd gone for the beetle I always wanted and still never owned one, but I go to a lot of car shows and i quite like them now especially the firenza's, great review and has brought back many memories 😎
I remember a lot of these on the roads when I was a kid. I really liked them. The sporty Firenza model was my favourite though with a more futuristic swoopy rear quarter and a droop snoot front end. Back in those days the small van version was still based on the HA if I recall correctly. Personally I preferred the MKII Cortina but that may have been influenced by the fact my dad had one. An old work mate from 25+ years ago had an immaculate 2 door that I had a ride in without seat belts and it was a brilliant step back in time. I'd almost forgotten about them till this video. Cheers Matt for sharing, it brings back my memories from a long time ago.
I remember these cars. They were very popular in New Zealand in the 70s. An elderly relative had one that I used to drive quite a lot. I must say that everyone I know said they were terrible cars, however when I finally got to drive it I actually quite liked it, the engine was sweet and the steering was light (for the non-power steering days). Looking back, was any of the competition really any better in that class of car ? Yes..the MK1 Honda Civic was way better.
To Andrew Thompson.
Pray explain what was better about the Civic! Totally different style, and I believe they did 2 different sizes. The 4 door was a bit longer, and had a bit more legroom I think. How does the legroom compare?
@@nygelmiller5293 Its just that the Viva belonged to a bunch of old school cars and when the new Civic Civic came out in 73 it was more like an 80s car than a 70s one in terms of how it drives.
Yep I learnt to drive in the old man's 1300 cc Viva in Wanganui,NZ. Hated it as clutch was just like an on/off switch. Plus it was a 2 door and there were 4 kids so it was just not fit for purpose.The XC Falcon that replaced it was heaven after the Viva but that is not really the Vivas fault.Mate had a Chevette and that was a nightmare to own that started all of us onto the Japanese path.Never looked back and now crave a MK 1 Accord manual!
I agree, I had a Viva HC 1256 in late 70's and it is the worst car I ever owned, In the 1980's I had Honda and Ford, much better than the underpowered unreliable VIVA
Well, that was terrifying Matt. More so to think I learned to drive in one in 1973, so thanks for the all-too-vivid reminder. They were essential driving-school fodder of the 70s. That Viva is in incredible condition though but.
It seems impossible to imagine that the first Ford Fiesta was only three years away. It might as well have been a lifetime.
I bought an HC Viva new in 1972 (MGJ685L) in Honey Starmist. Between order and delivery a heated rear window became a standard fitment, and very welcome it was. I don't understand how your 1973 model didn't have one. It wasn't a bad little car, though it did loose its gearbox oil because one of the gaskets had been folded over during assembly. Vauxhall build quality wasn't the best, I could say the same about a 2000 Corsa though that's a whole different story.
It was reasonably comfortabe for a long journey, I did Newcastle to Plymouth in 6 and a half hours (about 420 miles) when we had a 50mph blanket speed limit in force and there were people coming past me like I was going backwards even though I wasn't exactly hanging around! Fuel consumption was about 30mpg overall, which was par for the course in those days.
I remember that it cost me £1007 on the road. I sold it because I had moved and no longer needed a car. That was the start of 14 years without a car, it was better to hire something for the odd times I needed one.
Viva HC was my first car in 1982 it was on a L plate (1973) like this one. Less than ten years old and just under 60,000 miles on the clock but OMG its was at the end of its life. Rot everywhere and the distributor drive had broken in the engine a common fault I believe and the drivers door had to be lifted in to the hole to close the door lol. But I loved it, the first car always has a soft spot in everyone's heart. I remember arriving at college one morning and the Jack was hanging out of the boot floor. I always thought it was a handsome car and even today it still looks good. Oh and I forgot to say the gear lever always came off in your hand when reverse was selected another common fault lol
I had one as a company car for 18 months after driving an Avenger for two years, couldn't wait to get rid of it. Most of the electrical bits under the bonnet were replaced. Even the starter motor fell apart when the bearings disintegrated. Its only car where I have experienced fuel starvation caused by the hot summer of 1976. Those horrible plastic seats made you sweat buckets in warm weather.
My first car was an HB Viva and I followed that up with an HC. Loved them both.
The Viva I consider it a true classic.
It ended up in Australia and evolved big time. Renamed the Torana.
Dad had an LJ 1973 with 2850 six cylinder auto. It was also available with 2600 and a 3300 ( 202 inch)
Later it was offered with 4.2 ltr V8 and 5 ltr V8 . The 4 cylinder versions were also sold but considered garbage.
Some people even put the Chevrolet 350 in them.
Overall a great little car.
Have a look at Peter Brock and Bathurst. That really put Torana at the top of the tree.
Takes me back, when I was young I had a cheap one that was hand painted two tone sick green and just about ran, permanent headaches as fumes would always get into the car, oil top ups constantly.... it was a 2 door as well. I did a 'big trip' to Northampton and it rattled there and back (over a hundred miles) without breaking down ! It felt like an achievement. Later my parents had a nice one, low mileage and quite nice to drive. Used to break clutch cables, think it was a known fault ? The Magnum version was regarded as sought after back then 😄
In Australia, the HA was sold as a Vauxhall. The HB became a Holden Torana. Then things got weird. Lengthened bonnets and 6-cylinder motors were grafted on HB shells. By 74 the LH Torana was completely its own thing
First car I ever drove - on an industrial estate, away from other road users, about 5 minutes after I got my provisional. My son, aged 17 at the time, wanted, but couldn't afford a Mini and I mentioned my first driving experience. Cue a successful search for a four door Viva as his first car! Cheers
I had a few friends who did the same. I remember you could have an almost mint Viva for the same money as a clapped out Mini or Escort back in the mid 80s in New Zealand.
Hello from north wales!
I worked at Vauxhall’s ELLESMERE PORT plant where
they were made from 1977 to 2012.
Paint dept, making the seats front and back from scratch.
V6 engine plant, including Cadillac engines for export.
And the last 9 yrs body shop.
Thirty five years in all, retired 11 yrs ago.
All good looked after me.
The viva was superseded by the chevette, why they
Cut off production so soon we never knew.
Because it was a really good seller.
The bonnet weighed a ton!
Coming off the line, that car was solid!
The cars with the 7 dial dash had the warning lights were where the ashtray is on that car, I had a HC Viva and it was one of, if not, my favourite car.
Fascinating. The HC was a bit of a disappointment after the stylish HB, and it was never seen as a real rival to the mk1 Escort, but it attracted a steady, loyal customer base. The 1256 engine was a nail, though - one of these cars gave me my only experience of a broken timing chain during regular driving 😮
My parents had one of these exactly like this. They down sized from a PC Cresta when I bought my first car to an HC Viva. Had no trouble with it at all. Then they decided 18 months later to upgrade to a 4 door 1.8 1976 model. Engine and gearbox looked a lot like the FD Victor, and sounded similar. The only trouble they had with the later car, the automatic choke used to play up occasionally, otherwise it was a good car. More grunt than the earlier 1256 cc earlier car. No rust issues in either Viva. But the cars were garaged. They were popular in New Zealand, and don't recall seeing a very rusty one. But no doubt they would if you drove one on 90 mile Beach.
We had an 1800 Magnum that had auto choke issues as well.
@@peterfinucane8122Ah, the Magnum, the twin headlight model. They looked cool, better looking than the plain jane single headlight model lol! 👍
Done all my driving lessons and the test in a Viva HC ...... lovely smooth wee car👍Had an HA and HB in later years too!
I just loved the Viva ranges!
My first car was a Tropical green metallic 1973 Vauxhall viva 2300sl YES840M followed by a 1975 droop snoot Firenze HP HWA 99N. The Firenza was a fabulous car. Only 205 produced and still 50 left on the road. Brings back great memories ,when you actually had to drive cars.
I had a '78 1800 Magnum as my first car back in 1983 and despite its foibles (many; one of the best was all the lights randomly turning off while driving in the dark), I loved it. It also had the seven dial instrument panel (you mentioned it was on the 2300). I remember it being comfortable but badly needing a fifth gear (not that many cars had such a thing back then). It was solidly built and put up with my rough treatment/neglect, which was all I could hope for.
The Magnum 1800 received the seven dial dash from 1976 onwards.
This was my grandparents last car, and it soldiered on as a family runabout after they gave up driving. It was an automatic and really slow. The neutral switch (?) on the gear box often needed a smart tap with a broom handle before it would start. It kept a longish distance relationship with a girlfriend going way longer than its natural course! That floaty, right foot only, 40 mph ride home in the early hours was about all the car was good for! My Morris Minor first car, now that was a real chick magnet!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane (though I'm surprised they allow their cars out in those conditions). Back when they were just cheap bangers I had an HC estate passed down to me by my Dad. It was surprisingly fun and nippy, if rather rust prone. The gear change was a delight. A problem my Dad had and rectified was a blown inlet manifold, which I believe was a common failing on the 1256.
Great video Matt, I enjoyed taking a trip back to 70’s motoring with you❤.
Great video. These were everywhere when I was a kid and I had quite a few lifts in Viva HCs from the parents of school friends. Was always struck by the futuristic dash and how roomy and comfortable they were in comparison to my dad's austere (but very dependable) Beetle. Jamaica Yellow and that distinctive orangey-beige colour they did (like a Fox's Party Ring biscuit but not as bright) towards the end of production suited the car and the era perfectly.
My uncle had one of these for many years. He kept it in immaculate condition, though it eventually suffered a cooling issue which required serious surgery on the head. To be honest, that 1256cc engine was at best agricultural, and the bland 1970s styling of the car was a marked step back from the good looking HB.
I grew up with Vauxhall car as a neighbour had the HA,HB, and my uncle had the HC so I liked it when he visited as he would park it outside my neighbours house (I wished I'd photographed them) I then grew up and one of the first two cars I owned were HC's. Thanks for the lovely trip down memory lane Matt.
Truly outstanding vehicles. Character. I had the HB.
That brings back memories, my first car was a 69 1.1SL HB in met brown with dark green plastic interior with plastic wood and a centre console.. I remember the car misting up like that whenever it was cold or wet, I fitted a stick on HRW, it had an old valve radio which took about 10 mins to warm up before it worked .. My brother's first car was 79 HC in lime green met ..
My Dad bought one new in 1972 (K reg) in exactly the same colour as the one you tested. The colour was called Conifer green. Rot boxes they were, I remember the front wings bubbling after no time at all. His was fairly reliable as I remember. I had one myself as well, a gold coloured 2 door SL which was very unreliable and always refused to start.
I had a few of these in the 1970’s and they were very reliable. So simple to repair when things went wrong and loads of them in scrap yards! Cars are far too complicated today, they don’t want customers doing their own repairs, lots of money made in servicing and replacing parts!
Now that brought back memories! For a grand total of 10 months I owned an HC, bought from somebody in Dagenham who proudly reported that he had brush-painted the poor thing himself! Still, it didn't look too bad at first.
That was until a couple of valves blew parts off themselves and I had to replace them. Out came the cylinder head only for me to realise that my engine had slant mounted valves and the only compressor I had saw its last use on a Ford Escort 1100cc engine so I had to perform an edge balancing act to get the springs to depress. Not to mention that by that time they had redesigned the valves, collets and springs which drove the cost up a little and I had that particular job that I always hated in any project like this; valve grinding!
Of course I had to get the damn thing to my garage in the first place, something that wasn't made any easier by the fact that the throttle cable busted while I was at work so I had to drive home using a makeshift throttle manufactured from a bit of string tied onto the remains of the cable! In the end, however, I was beaten by the biggest Achilles heel of any Vauxhall of that period, rust. Looking under the car one day I noticed that one spring had jumped its mountings and the rest of it was so rusty that I remain surprised to this day that it stayed in one piece! 10 months in total from purchase to eventual scrapping in favour of a Ford Escort 1300cc Estate. So long, Polly, we hardly knew ya!
I owned a VIVA HC but the only drawback was the lack of a rocker shaft. Independent rocker arms were very noisy. I preferred the HA Viva (which I passed my test in) which was a smooth and quiet engine and transmission 😇
My dad taught me to drive in one of these, back in 1983 when I was 9 years old (on private land) happy memories of this car.
Thanks for the trip dowm memory lane, I passed my driving test in Jan 1976 in one of these. I remember that the indicator stalk used to keep falling out, I prayed that it wouldn't happen during my test, fortunately it didn't and I passed!
My dad bought a new HA in 1963, I bought a new HB SL in '66 (GKV697D) and he was so impressed by that car - said it was as if the car had come from a different manufacturer - that, in '70, he swapped the HA for an HC. He really liked that car.
My first car was a K reg one these, red with black vinyl roof. Loved it at the time, but had to learn mechanics as i had to replace the clutch, gear box, prop shaft, brakes etc and wired a radio cassette in. Great learning. I had a head on low speed tussle with a Fiat in weather similar to that this was filmed in - we just slid into each other at low speed. That resulted in my Viva having a 50p sized dent in the front, and the Fiat sadly collapsed and was written off!
That brings back memories. My dad bought on in the '70s. Just like that, but in pale blue, black full vinyl interior, rubber floor covering. TTE 514L was the reg. It was the first car I ever drove aged 17. He later traded it in for a Mk1 Cavalier 1600L.
In Australia, we went from the HB Viva to the LC Torana, which was not any wider and had different sloping rear styling. We got most of the 4 cylinder engines but more importantly there was the 6 cylinder range. They had an extended front and much stronger chassis suspension drive train and brakes and six cylinder motors from 2250cc to 3310cc. The highest performance version, the GTRXU1, could reach over 140 mph. The next version had an all Australian design which was larger and also V8 motors.
The HB in Australia was badged as a Torana and not as a Viva. Minor detail clarification for the old country lads.
Brings back memories of my first car, a 1976 HC. It was a mild facelift version an had round gauges rather than the strip speedo. Sadly it got turned into a banana when someone ran into the side of it.
Hi Matt, pity about the weather during your test. Here in South Africa not only is our weather better as everybody knows, but we also had the Vica HC badged as a Firenza. The most popular engine was a 2.5 litre Chevrolet 4 cylinder and I think the 1.3 was also available. There was also a limited production version fitted with a 5 litre Chevrolet V8. They were limited production for homologation to allow it to be raced as a production saloon car. It was called the Fienza Can Am. I was a senior in high school at the time. Very exciting vehicle to me as was our slightly earlier Ford Capri Perana, also a V8. Thank you for your regular tests of whatever you find that is interesting. I look forward to every one.
Love this! Brings back memories of when my Grandfather had his Viva SL (1256cc I think). His had a rear de-mist and a slightly better trim level.
My late father had one of these from the same year in the same colour, but with 4 doors and it was an SL. This brings back memories....
These are the cars that were on the roads when i was a child, no doubt why i love these classic designs.
My second car was a Viva HC, and it was one of the best cars I have owned. I wonder if the little knob referred to was the windscreen wipers speed control? I am sure my car had one - and it was brilliant for adjusting the wiper speed to the need to clear the rain; better than even today's sensor driven ones. and far better than a simple twin speed. The Magnum variant (my dream car) also had upgraded suspension and travel with bigger wheels and brake discs. Oh, and my first car was a Viva HA.
The car I learnt to drive and pass my test in (albeit a white 4 door one) in St Andrews, Scotland in 74/75 - memories.
Had a few from that company, loved them. That gear change is like no other. I had a HA van for years, up there with the best cars I ever owned. Peace and goodwill.
When i was a kid in the 70's my dad had a red Vauxhall Firenza. A 1972 on a K plate. I always thought they looked sporty but obviously they couldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding! But it never let him down. Happy memories of me and my brother squabbling in the back.
I had a posh one , the gls , velour seats , 7 dial instrument pack (didn’t know what half of them did , but never mind ! ) and best of all twin headlamps, a bit like a cortina gxl. Had it for a couple of years before the back axle packed up and of course the rust .
Anyone growing up in the 70's/early 80's, you either knew someone who had one or someone in your extended family had one. Just solid and capable cars, but when something eventually went wrong with them it was cheaper to buy a new (old) car than repair them.
Nice video - my first car was a 73 M reg Viva - learned basic maintenance with it - resprayed it and even colour coded the chrome to match! It served me well driving from home in Cumbria to Manchester Uni and then to my first job in Cornwall! I spent some hours by the roadside fixing everything from a blown exhaust to faulty distributor.. but it got me from A to B. It eventually ended its life on its side after T boning an idiot Cornish yokel who did not indicate he was turning right... lesson learned, I have managed, god willing, not to crash again in the following 40 yrs of driving.
My parents had a couple of these as my dad worked in Vauxhall in Ellesmere Port. One winters morning my mum was driving us to school in the snow down a tight country lanes when another parent in a Mini Clubman came round the corner and hit us head on. The Viva had a broken headlight, cracked grill and the pointy bits of the bumper and bonnet got flattened out. The Mini was a total write off, with the engine coming through the bulkhead into the passenger compartment. Never thought of Vivas as being well built cars up until that point lol
Had a hc viva as my first car in 1974. Bought it brand new 1974 in champagne starfire colour. Lovely car. Only kept it for 18 months. It was immaculate when l sold it and saw it about 3 years later in a car park. Surprised how much rust was on it especially on the bottom corners of the windscreen.
My first car was much like the one in the video. Same colour, same interior, but a year older with the 1256cc engine. My Grandad had owned it from new for 16 years, and gave it to me in 1988. It was in incredible condition, having only done 34k miles, and always being kept in the garage. I had the original bill of sale, which showed that the passenger sun visor was an optional extra!
My firm had these for the area managers on the sales team. I remember going to the dealer in Portsmouth and driving 4 of them back to Poole, i bought a low mileage 1256 auto was very low powered only kept it 4 weeks, a friends wife had it as she could only drive autos. We had Bedford vans and Bedford trucks as well.
First driving lesson in a light blue, 1972, HC on my 17th birthday. The instructor had won it by entering a competition on the back of a Kelloggs Cornflakes packet - he accurately guessed how much money was in a pile of threepenny bits (the gold, 12 sided ones). Still like the HC but the HB, I believe, was prettier. Mini-Mopar.
1972 I gave it a few emergency stops while practicing for my driving test and one successful one in my first test. The first time I drove it I surprised my instructor as I hadn’t told him that I’d been driving a farm tractor since I was 11 but at my first major junction I thought that I had slammed it into 1st but being use to a tractor (David Brown) I had put it into reverse 😂 luckily I reacted quickly. Great little car lovely video.
A nice little slice of nostalgia.
The HC Viva was pretty much in line with its competition at the time (little note - it was an Escort rival, not Mark III Cortina. Cortina/Victor/Rootes Arrow were a slice above).
Drums all round was a pretty standard set-up at the time.
Likewise, the absence of PAS on anything this small. Tyres were still narrow, so drivers didn't really notice its absence.... It wasn't even expected on anything below the executive market.
A nice little video...
Chapeau!
My Grandfather had 3 of these Vauxhall Viva HC (all brand new) a 1972, 1974 and a 1976.. I always remember the 1976 viva dash compared to the 1972 and 1974 dash.. the 1976 dash looked so sporty at the time with its 3 dial dashboard
6:50 - Somethings change, somethings don't. Still have mess around like that with my modern car.
Between 1972-76 I was an apprentice at GM so it was inevitable that I would have Vauxhalls. I had an HA Viva (FMD 820B) as a hand me down from my dad when I first passed my test. That was followed by a 1968 an HB Via GT 2.0litre (VLT 481G) which I modified quite a bit. Loved that car. In 1976 I got my first company car a Mk1 Escort Estate which was followed by Mk1, Mk2 & Mk3 Cavaliers. My dad also worked for GM (AC-Delco div) & had HB, HC Viva's, a Magnum, a Chevette & Astra's as part of the GM employee car scheme.
Both Vauxhall & Opel were GM divisions since the 1920s,then Holden of Australia was a GM division since the 1930s. So what was really meant was that Opel took more control of Vauxhall,as the 70s progressed,then by the 80s,Vauxhalls & Opels were identical,apart from badging.
My first car after passing my test in 1986. A T reg, 1256cc in white for £400. Went all over in it and believe it or not, I gave Paul Heaton from The Housemartins a lift back to Hull in it after they did a free concert for Miners sacked during the 84 85 strike. I had to push it to top of a hill early in the mornings when it failed to start. The rubber diaphragms in the carb used to split regularly. Swapped it for a Rover 2000 SD1. I had another Viva in the late 90s for a while.
I love cars like these. This wasn’t my childhood car, it was a four door Marina 1.8 tc in fact. Who’d crave that one? I would.
It had the backseat armrest that I was allowed to sit upon. Crazy but different times. It had some very racy pressed steel rims I could still draw if I could draw at all. To a six year old, that’s the ultimate proof of concept. Pressed steel rims, widened, no hubcaps, meant rallycross! My mum said later it didn’t accelerate all that well, but once it got speed it went alright. More of a cruiser, then. Ok. Mind you, she was the neighbourhood terror in her 998 Mini. Put BMW’s to shame.
Dad’d get me home safely, come rain or high tide. I could get off the armrest and fall asleep beside it. To wake up, imprinted in the face with the little tiles from the beige vynil upholstery. I remember those. And it was Bordeaux rouge, fading a bit. That kind of car.
My Uncle had a brand new one as a Repmobile back in the 70s. Fresh from the showroom, my gran suffered travel sickness and inadvertently vomited down the unfortunately sized and sited passenger airvent!
My father had two of these cars in the late seventies and early eighties. Really does bring back some memories here!
One of these, but in polar white, was my first car, back in 1987. SOF 873M. Had lots of fun in it, until the front near side chassis mount collapsed due to rust.
My dad had one of these when I was little. It started out white but for some unfathomable reason, he sprayed it in red oxide primer using the kind of electric spray gun you'd probably use for painting a fence. It got scrapped in 1986. I still remember the registration number - LUB 691L.
Can't think of the Viva without remembering Jasper Carrot's joke about how Vauxhall had announced the Viva would be the next Bond car. "It's got a fiendish gadget for spreading oil all over the road - it's called the clutch!"
oh, how my dad used to laugh when he was head buried in the engine bay or underneath one of these rustbuckets, still trying to get it to run when he should have been in work two hours previously. The starter motor used to love locking up, too. Absolute dog of a car, the HC. The first vehicle i 'drove' after i passed my test. Handled like a cruise liner, that is, when me and my mates weren't pushing it somewhere cos it had died. Dads was a sunburst '74 model which still had the drums all round, and my mates christened it the vomit comet.
One of my uncles had one of these when I was a child. He bought it from what I understand in the early 1970s and kept it until 1984. A cousin also had the estate version as one of his first cars, and I last saw that in a scrapyard in 2001.
This was my grand-dad's car through the 1970s - that very same colour too - happy memories !
I remember the Vauxhall Viva. At the time I didn’t really appreciate its styling until now. I also like the style of the font chosen for the name Viva. It’s calligraphy looks nice when it’s embossed in metal. Unfortunately for you, you picked the worst day to drive it, on a rainy, cloudy day. Looking at the car from the interior, I fondly remember cars from this era, remembering when it was wintertime and my dad would get the ice scraper out of the boot and scrape off the ice on the windows, while the car was idling and warming up using the choke. Starting them up when they were cold on a winters morning was like sitting in an icebox, compared to the luxury of modern cars. But modern cars mostly look dull and all alike…. Also, I do like the way you capture camera angles when driving the car. I have no idea what type of cameras you use to achieve that. I’m assuming magnets that hold the outside cameras on the metal of the car.
Our family car in the late 70’s ..lots of memories...it’s a looker
Had one of these as my first car in 1979 , MPO 444J was a 1600 OHC was pretty fast but with no power steering and a cable clutch that used to snap on a regular basis [ kept a spare in the boot ] it soon got replaced with a mk 3 Cortina.
My dad had one of these as our second family car (first was a moggie thou with air conditioning, aka a hole in the floor). The viva did sterling service for many years. It did not have good door locks, though. One day, we all returned to our car and were just about to drive off when we realised we were sitting in a beige interior. Ours was black inside and was parked in front of the one we were quickly exiting.😂😂
I can still rebuild those engines an transmissions in my sleep, we had 350 of them at the Post office (Vans obviously) and using crap oil. SAE30, they did not live long so constant major repairs. Also the gear shift tunnel kept breaking and we had to develop a fix, a bracket on the back of gearbox casing to the tunnel, worked well. BUT good little engine if oiled properly.
My first car was exactly that car! Colour,age,doors,interior etc. Don’t know why,but I’d love it now!
Of all the cars I've owned, my 1973 Viva HC is the one I'd most want to drive again.
Owned one in mid 80's,loved the car but managed to terrify my soon to be Father in Lawby handing hime the gearstick & asking him to hold it halfway through a junction. Securing piece,basically tin had vibrated loose & stick came out as I changed gear. He laughed about it every time he told the story but the look of panic on his face at the time was priceless🤣🤣
LOL this brought back memories, my first 2 cars were 1300 HC Vivas, the heaters in both of them were crap, steaming up with the window partly open made me laugh (been there done that), driving in snow and ice in one is interesting :) my 1st one was a 1300 L (EVF 906T) and my 2nd one was a 1300 GLS (YMX 568T), both blue and sadly both scrapped. I wouldn't mind another one for a bit of fun
I’ve had 8 or so of these when they were cheaper than economy onions to buy in the late 90s! My favourite was a slightly battered but rust-free N reg 1256 SL 4 door in a lovely deep metallic blue - the SL had a much nicer interior with much bigger seats, full door cards, centre console and better sound proofing that meant 70mph was quieter than the basic models.
My mate had a Viva E coupe with the Firenze body shell. Overall - Nice cars to look at and drive if you were handy with DIY maintenance and carried tools wherever you went!
Reliability is vastly improved through the fitting of electronic ignition and an oil cooler in-line thermostat - the latter due to the engine not really being designed to stand up to high speed cruising as the tiny amount of engine oil overheats and breaks down - leading to premature wear - this is why some drivers got less than 80k miles from theirs before a reconditioned engine was needed.. Alternatively modern synthetic 20/50 would now probably be sufficient to prevent this.
I have travelled in a 1974 four door Viva HC in bright yellow with a tidy white coachline. The interior was brown, all brown but I really liked the style of the dashboard. This car unfortunately came to a very sad end one evening outside the local shop when a poorly fitted radio caused a fire that destroyed the car in what seemed like seconds.
The 1970s eh ?
It was replaced by a brand new Mk 2 Ford Escort 1.3L in orange.
I had a Gold 2 door M reg HC back in the mid 80's my second car. I loved it, that snicky little gear lever was a joy.
Thank you mr Furious had an HA and HB 69 and 73 great cars easy to work on didnt rust badly Sharper looking than the Fords The estate is a great looking car actually nicer than the Firenza. Are there any magnums left no one talks about them. Influenced as you say by GMs mid 60s styles which are the best of that era.
At 3:05. I drove one of these and it had disc brakes. Also three types of screw thread British, Metric and American. Very difficult to work on, as it was always going wrong. It was the SL, and it had extra plastic trim around the gear stick. Thanks.
Correction about disc brakes.. Even some levels of trim on the HA got disc brakes as standard. That went on to HB and HC. They were an option on some other trim levels too
Yep, my Dad had a J reg SL which had the discs. It started out as an 1159cc, but he had it rebored to 1256 spec. I vaguely recall that he told my mum this expense was necessary to decoke it or some such nonsense, as opposed to the desperate search for a bit more poke that it really was! Later on I had another HC as my first car. This one had drums all round. I was driving through a village in it when golden retriever bumbled out into the road and just stood facing me as I desperately bled speed off with these abysmal brakes. I came to halt about 2 yards from said dog (still just standing there) thinking to myself "Holy s**t, if you knew what these brakes were like...".
Had the estate 3 door in the 70s very practical i was gigging drummer so it made the transport easy, cheap to run workhorse bit gutless but nice gearbox change, quite modern to look at even now.
loved seeing the HC report. I swapped a Ford Escort for a new HC 1800 in 1972. I was going to get an Escort Sport 1600 but the insurance was high, the Vauxhall was only a bit more than my 1100 Escort even though it was faster the the Escort Sport.
Absolutely stunning car, and certainly a very entertaining horn 🤣🤣I do have memories of my mother having a 1976 Vauxhall Chevett in metallic light blue. Not the most powerful of cars but it certainly had character as I remember.
I remember seeing HC Vivas when I was a kid growing up
In the 80’s and early 90’s, I used to think they were replaced by the Chevette but apparently this isn’t the case as they were made alongside each other to the end of the 70’s and the Chevette carried on until 1983 when they were both replaced by the mk1 Astra.
That looks a nice example of a HC Viva, nice colour as well.
Good review as always Matt, thanks.👍
The HCs were produced alongside the Chevettes as they were roomier inside. It was also to pacify certain sectors of the market that Vauxhall were still a British manufacturer as the Chevette was Opel based. The HC was phased out in summer 1979 when the Astra Mk1 replaced it. The Chevette hung around till 1984, albeit offering fewer versions after 1981 when the Nova was launched.
@@ck270 Yes that’s right, but I did think the Chevette and mk1 Astra were a similar size.
The Nova was a Supermini.
My first car was a 1972 HC Viva - YNU558L. It was never very reliable and you could never set the timing properly as half the distributor drive dog had snapped off. It also ate it’s own timing chain tensioner, which locked the engine solid, though the worst mishap was self inflicted when I decided to find out what’d happen if you put it into first gear at 60 mph - the poor old synchromesh did its best to spin up the gearbox input shaft to match the revs, but the clutch plate didn’t like being seriously over-revved and exploded in spectacular style! I still have a bit of a soft spot for them, though, and would love an HP Firenza or the South African V8 Can-Am Firenza.