Real Road Test: 1959 Vauxhall Velox PA (poverty Cresta). Baby Chevrolet!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- I drive one of my favourite ever cars - a 1959 Vauxhall Velox (cheaper Cresta) with three on the tree, bench seats and wonderful Americana styling.
This video is sponsored by Lancaster Insurance: www.lancasteri... or call 01480 587035 for a quote. Use promo code DISC15 for £15 off!
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Launched in 1957, for decades, the styling was seen as horribly American. With 1950s American cars becoming fashionable, interest in the PA Cresta/Velox has been rising as a result. Vauxhall was part of General Motors, hence the American influence.
The engine is a 2262cc six-cylinder OHV unit, mated to a three-speed gearbox.
Apologies for the camera fail mid-way through this video...
The car is part of Vauxhall's wonderful Heritage Collection in Luton. There is an open day on Sunday 9th June 2019 as part of the Luton Festival of Transport. You should go! More festival details here: www.cvpg.net/lu...
More on the open day here: gb-media.vauxh... - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Poverty Cresta? It may be the motoring equivalent of a boiled potato but there is definitely melted butter and chopped parsley sprinkled there in that gloriously flamboyant styling. Thanks for sharing.
steering wheel-- A+
I like butter on my potato
I know what you mean. The first car I owned was one of these,second hand of course. I was 17.
The whine in mine was the diff which finally gave up the ghost as I was passing another car on my way home for xmas. Shame,as other than that, it never gave me any problems.Had a lot of good times
What a beauty. I love the 'Detroit-lite' styling, much more interesting than the grey and beige boxes that immediately followed the war. Looks like she can keep up in modern traffic too, though knowing how valuable well-preserved Fifties cars are becoming, I'd be bricking it driving that on rush-hour roads full of boy racers, phone zombies and white van men.
Hi that, in my opinion was the best road test you have done. It’s a shame I didn’t know that you would be just half a mile from my house. I would have offered you a bacon sandwich and a run in a 1992 Nissan Micra. Which I have owned for 15 trouble free years. But if you contact me on my Facebook page, perhaps we can sort that test,and a bacon butty of course, the next time you come to Luton! It was strange watching you drive around roads I know really well and was praying that sharp left on the top of the hill didn’t catch you out, as so many crashes happen there! Regards Bill
Thanks. I never have time to linger on these trips sadly. Shot three cars, then got stuck on the M1 for several hours...
What a beautiful machine and a very quiet ride too. Nice to see a car from an era when driving was all the entertainment you needed.
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Thank you for sharing this with us - I've got very fond memories of my Uncle's Vauxhall PA - the later 2.6 Straight 6 version and spent many hours travelling in it - we even went touring Scotland in the sixties towing a 6 berth caravan. Always been a bit of a Vauxhall factory with Mum, Dad and 2 Aunts and Uncles working for them at both Luton and Elsemere Port.
The Front and Rear armrests also doubled up as great kiddie booster seats :) The most outstanding feature I remember was the Speedo - on his it was on a ribbon which changed colour from green (0 - 30) to amber (30 to 60/70) and then red (above 60/70).
The straight 6 was a very powerful engine with lots torque :)
My first car was a green 1961 PA Cresta with the 2652 engine and I fitted the wood parts from an Auto to make it even nicer. Fond memories of my courting days.
I like big Vauxhalls and cannot lie! She's a gorgeous girl.
That is wonderful! 😀 you visit the best cars! 💖
Big lol still tiny compared to American monsters, but I've never seen this car before, I love the body lines
Your easily pleased then
Reminds me of a story dad told me. He and mum were in Scotland camping in the late 50's and drove his Velox down a steep hill, hit a puddle at the bottom, where upon the Velox snapped in half, wrecking the prop shaft together with everything else. I think it must have been a cut n' shut job.
Fancy you having to explain "3 on the tree". Makes me feel old!
Your not alone. Lol my first car was 3 on the tree and a flathead. I still own it.
@@realityhurts8697 In English the words YOUR and YOU'RE are spelled differently because they mean different things.
@@MrCuddlyable3 . Think you should give him detention, or hundred lines at least...
@@MrCuddlyable3 if makes sense the spelling is near enough
@@glynscothern4073 I disagree. Writing a word that has a meaning that is different from what one is trying to say makes no sense at all.
I have had a few Vauxhall's and my favourite was the 1972 VX 4/90 FE with it's lovely 2.3 litre twin carb engine and a 4-speed overdrive gearbox, I wish I still had it, lol
Ian i was homeless for a while in the 70,s and lived in one. So nice to sleep in. Fantastic bench seats. Sleeps 2 no problem. God I miss that car i was only 18years old.
I too had one of these, a Friary conversion to an esate car... Big space in the back filled with a double matress !!! Written on the tailgate was the words "Dont laugh your daugter may be in here" We had so much fun with these old big cars...Never paid more than 100 UKP for one, always too thirsty for sensible buyers.
This brought back some memories. Thanks. My father had one of these as a company car (repping for Goodyear) as a replacement for a turquoise Ford Consul which he'd crashed. I remember the Velox showing rust after just a couple of years.
I'm 70 now and remember my Dad having one of the last Cresta versions.The colour was,I thought ,awful it was Pink and Cream.It was Dad's pride and joy,he cleaned and polished it every Sunday and once a month,he used to spray old engine oil under the car,he said it was to keep the rust at bay.The oil treatment made no difference,it did what Vauxhall were famous for at the time,it rusted so badly,you could almost hear it rusting.Shame,it was a lovely car to ride in.smooth and fast with a unique design.
In the good old days! you could tell what make a car was from a mile away.Not so these days,to me ,they all look pretty much the same.Pity.
Old engine oil is highly corrosive, so yes it made a difference all right.
Brian Smith Very rusty was Vauxhall a uncle had one, I knew every rust point
I remember that pink colour it was awful. I was lucky enough to own a 1961 PA cresta in 1970, my first car I paid for on a provident cheque £100, and kept it for 3 years, I wish longer now. It was my all time favourite car, and I have had a few since then! It was brown and cream and very reliable, the only real problem was core plugs occasionally blowing out. I used to carry spare ones at all times and water!
Simply wonderful. My favourite looking car when I was a young schoolboy. Sadly way out of my fathers reach - we had a Standard 8 !
my father had one of those when i was about six second hand of course took us from Scotland to Berkshire to visit relations then up to Sunderland for more stays with family I loved sitting in the middle of the front seat and to have a radio wow I once asked my dad how fast it was he said it can pass anything but a Petrol station his was salmon pink or Royal Glow as Vuaxhall called it the tin worm ate the floor away lol fond memories mate
Ian I have a "strange" confession - a quirk , something I have always been afflicted with , regarding cars and vehicles, and this vid seems a good place to confess to it.
It is kind of like your love of windscreen and headlamp wipers. So , I think you will empathise with me.
While I am not especially into vintage vehicles as old as this Vauxhall, I have always had a kind of fascination and obsession with column-change . Any column gear shift in fact , manual or automatic.
This is such a big thing with me that I have ONLY ever had vehicles with column gear shift . I just LOVE column-shifters that much.
(Actually there was one exception . A Montego estate which I had for some years . But that was the "family" car and I had a pickup too at the time , and a company van , both of which were column-change).
My love of column gear shifts came about very early when I first experienced driving a few different vehicles as a kid. That's a long story ,but a column change (a 5 speed) , on a Toyota just seemed so natural and so elegant to me and I fell in love with it and vowed I'd never have anything else.
It could be argued it has limited me and maybe I have missed out on some good vehicles because I will only have vehicles with column change!
BUT THERE IT IS! lol Human beings are funny things and we like the things we like . These little quirks and delights add to life's richness I think.
Ad acolum change fiat ducato 5speedchange gear with my hands still on the steering wheel mint!!!.
@@kev291283 Yes , nice thing with column-change , you can shift with one or two fingers without taking your hand off the wheel.
Incidentally , the original left hand drive Fiat Ducato / Peugeot J5 / Citroen C25 vans were column change. They had a beautifully simple gear shift , a single rod from the column change lever going down the side of the steering column straight into the gear box , which was in just the right place on the left .
When we got those vans in the UK , badged as Talbot Expresses , they were converted to right hand drive and had an awful floor mounted gear shift with a complex and troublesome linkage . Kind of spoiled those vans doing that to them.
@@jerrybarbender9987 nice one mate somebody who knows what's what your bang on it was fiat d icato or c25 or Talbot. But fiat yoused their own donkey Citroën an Talbot same donkeys but gearbox same an single shaft linkage thanx s some body knows yaaa!. Tar Jerry.
I used to walk past one of these on my way to school in the 70's , always thought it was the most cool looking car. Enjoyable video, great to see these old cars being driven. 👍
Yes, those late fifties and sixties English GMs had some style. Another particularly 'pretty' one was the '67 -'71 FB Victor range of 1.6 to 2.0 OHC slant four range of engines (and even the magnificent 3.3ltr straight six) sitting under a lowish front bonnet line. And the 'coke bottle' rear hipline was just gorgeous viewed from any angle..!! Very pretty cars.
I took one of these in the mid-eighties and replaced the 2 litre slant four with the 2.3 slant four bigger brother from out of a 1984 Bedford CF Van, changing the manifolding to retain the 2 litre's bigger CD175 Stromberg carb over the smallish 28mm downdraft Zenith fitted to the van engine for greater low speed torque.
This raised the car's top speed to the magic ton! And it could break traction on a standing start! It couldn't do either of things as a 2 litre Victor!
Very nice car, I think like a lot of cars from that period they suffered from rust problems very few lasting more than 10 years in good condition, so if you find one today in rust free condition very expensive.
What a splendid way of passing the time during my lunch break. Brilliant video, what a wonderful car that is! Those indicators are fabulous.
It looks like styling cross between a '58 Chevy and Oldsmobile - the interior looks upscale like the Olds...and those rear mini-glass areas looks like the rear of a 56 Olds - good old inline OHV 6 cyl - Chevrolet sold them for a million years for goodness sake - lol - stylish enough to be sold in America i would think - thanks for the drive - bravo!
Del Boy's luxury car of choice in the first series.
Vexhall Vollox!
His was a later PB I seem to recall
What a beautiful car! Love the 2 tone colours and style.
Thanks for posting.
Back in days of yore when Vauxhalls we're desirable! What a lovely car, love bench seats and the column changer, engine sounds sweet as well.
I loved the old bench seats as long as they had a big arm rest to stop you sliding about it was ok and with the column gear change you could park tight next to a car or wall and just slide over to get out of the other door.
you pair got no idea...……. column change; dashboard handbrake; bench seat equals leeuurve machine. Peugeot 404 was even better: all the above plus recliners!!
The car is cool and clean - unlike your hair.
They're more desirable now.... in the daze of now.
stray dog7
My first car was an EK station wagon in perfect nick.
I traded it in on a VW station wagon....
What a dickhead!
I always get lost when the name "Vauxhall" comes into the conversation. They never sold cars here in the United States so my exposure is limited. But I love to learn so you can never have too much "triangle of doom!" 😃
I think the only Vauxhall stuff you got stateside was based on the mk1 cavalier and Chevette/Opel Ascona B and Kadett C platforms and also closely related to the Opel Manta here in the UK which was always badged as an Opel and not a Vauxhall.... talk about confusing! I'd Love a Kadett C Coupe, utterly gorgeous. A popular choice for the utterly bonkers Berg Cup style to be applied to.
Pontiac dealers sold the Vauxhall Victor between 1958 and 1962. Around 21000 were sold in the US before imports ceased. Vauxhall cars were still sold in Canada until 1972.
Thank you so very much for this test. I owned a PA Velox 2600 about 45 years ago, when it was already past its best years. At the time it felt big, powerful and comfy. The Velox and Cresta were sold in small numbers by our Holden dealers, as well as some Chev and Pontiac V8 sedans at the top of the range for politicians and high fliers. Mainly they sold the Holden 6 in standard and special versions. The FE Holden was a touch smaller than the Velox, definitely slower with its 2100 six, and looked old hat and humpy in comparison to the wide and low PA.
In the 60s, I did actually see a number of Vauxhalls with rust holes through the wheel arches within 2 years from new. I am not sure if the following is true or not, but I was told that there was a shortage of steel in Britain at the time and Vauxhall started using Belgian steel sheet. I know that there were a lot of problems with short life of components at the time like brake linings and silencers across several makes.
Odd to think that in 1959, this would have been an 1899 vehicle...
As I’ve always said about this car and the Cresta: “Luton’s finest hour!” Dear Ian, Chief Hubnut of the “Hubnutters” or “Hub-Heads” if you prefer, I’ve lived in Luton all my life and spend a lot of time within a stone’s throw of the Vauxhall Heritage Centre. Next time you’re this way, I’d be glad to buy our fearless leader a drink and to talk about cars.
Thanks to you (and Vauxhall) for letting us see this lovely car being used, rather than just in a museum. My mother told me that she didn't like riding in the neighbour's big Vauxhall in the early 60s because she kept banging her leg on the front door, but that may have been a Cresta.
The F-type Victor has the same 'problem'.
Your comment about a car being 8 years old, reminds me of my first car, a 1966 Anglia. I got it in 1972 by which time at the princely sum of £125 was deemed to be a bit past it at six years old. Me second a 1964 Anglia was a ridiculous £25. Classed as even more well passed it. Yet a car on an 02 plate, is looked at as being positively brand new ( I exaggerate slightly lol ) ... Yet another great video ... Looking forward to the next two about the Vauxhall's.
I totally love the Vauxhalls from this era, as I do Fords and Rootes group. Miniature Americana, as you say, but fantastic. Front bench seats.. aaaaah, I''m losing it!
MGBetts1 My first car was a 1960 Hillman Minx. Bench seat, rear wing fins, curved rear window. Why did I let it go?
This type of car was easily affordable for a skint young man like me in the very early 1970s, no one seemed to want them and you could pick them up for peanuts, it's a shame they used to rust before your eyes, I had both a PB Cresta and an early FA victor, that was a real rust bucket, but both were great cars from a styling point of view. Great video by the way.
It must be a characteristic of 6 cylinder engines (straight six) but she sounds very much like my old Triumph Vitesse. Beautiful looking car. I'd like to go on a long journey in her. I also haven't driven a column change car since I passed my driving test back in 1979 in dads 1969 Renault 16TS. Ace video as always.
I really enjoyed this post, beautiful car, I can see the American influence , very Chevrolet like, as far as 1959 goes, straight six and three on the tree, thank you as always
Fabulous car! My Uncle owned this model Velox in the early 70s. Somehow it had survived the rust. I loved it! I tend to prefer the Velox versions of the PA and PB series - I rather like their stripped back look compared to the Crestas. A bit off topic, but still Vauxhall related; back in the early 60s some friends of my parents had a brand new Victor FB in a wonderful salmon pink. It was fantastic!
Oh well done Ian, I’ve now realised I have a triangle of doom on my car. That’s that ruined forever!
Gorgeous cars indeed,and you're right about how the styling seriously went downhill from that point. The PB Velox/Crestas are sooo bland by comparison. Even the later PA's had the styling toned down. They sort of got away with it on the outside, but the strip speedo which replaced the round dials verged on criminal.
Prefer the pb myself , but my favourite has to be the pc .
What a lovely car. I was surprised just how quiet it was. I’m really looking forward to the Viva HC review and test drive. They were really not bad cars. My dad had a 1972 conifer green saloon and I had, years later, a gold metallic SL 1971 model 2 door which was a bit of a dog as the engine was way past best it’s sell by date. There was oil fumes smoke blowing out of the dipstick hole, which is not good.
You are so right about everything rusting back then, even in the 70's Ford, Vauxhall, BMW, Audi and Mercedes rotted. My dad's 3000E Capri had a sill and wing at 7 years old due to MOT failing rust and the e12 BMW we had rotted from the bottom up. Now it's little black boxes or something as simple as a head gasket that ends an otherwise good vehicles life.
Lovely, that. I had An Opel Manta in the very early 90's, really loved it. Unlike the artic driver who drove all over the rear of it whilst I was waiting at lights and wrote it off, sadly.
Aw...
Gear whine is from straight cut gears, synchromesh is for crunch free selection.
A lovely motor! I remember them well for their ability to house loads of passengers. A relative of mine had the later 3.3 litre version (reg no ENA 74D) which had four on the floor and as a result no bench seat. The motorway numbering system, I'm led to believe is down to whichever is the nearest' A 'road to the motorway. Hence the M6 is adjacent to the A6 and the M1 to the A1 etc
Major roads number clockwise from 1-6 in England, with 7-9 reserved for Scotland.
This brings back a lot of memories for me; I was 18 when my dad bought one of these back in 1958; they had just been released and he really wanted the Cresta but wasn't easy to come by being a new model. The Velox as I remember originally came without the 2 tone colours option and the one we had was grey. I remember Dad had the Cresta badge put on the bonnet which distinguished the Cresta from the Velox and of course the 2 tone paint finish on the Cresta made it easy to recognise. It cost around 800 pounds or thereabouts and the Cresta was about a hundred pounds dearer and was just about a thousand pounds' The split rear window was changed to a single wrap around window in the later models; I loved this car as it was so Americanised and a complete change from the Austins, Rovers and wolseleys etc in their day which to an 18 year old were old fashioned compared to the Vauxhall and the new Ford Zodiacs which were also a nice car but the Ford had a bit of a stigma about them with their reputation of hard to start on a cold morning being from the older model Ford vehicles. Thanks for sharing lovely to see such a great car in such great shape.
Yes, we had a green velox with a one piece rear window. That's why I am shouting That's a cresta with velox badges. We used to have cushions at the back and an Esso tigers tail hanging from the centre of the window.
Definitely want to own one of these at some point. Beautiful cars vauxhall definitely made some nice looking cars over the years as did ford
way back in the 1960s and 70s when I was young I loved the old Vauxhall Crestas I has a 1955 one with the 2262cc engine a 1960 with the same engine then a 1961 with the 2651cc and finally the 1965 with the 3300cc loved every one of them but god did they rust out quick.
Also strange how they copied the American style of GM the owners but American cars still had chassis up untill the 1980s but our cars did not have sepperate chassis so when they rotted away .
Had a 59 Victor back in the day, followed by a 101, both very rare now probably due to the rust bug!
I remember my father wanting the Cresta but never quite got there, I think he ended up with the Humber sceptre 1.8 twin carbs as he would always point out. He did love the Humber but never did get his hands on the Cresta unfortunately.
I would also pick that one. Always liked Opel/Vauxhall. Solid non sense cars, and some of them quite stylish and fast/fun. Never understood the hate.
I learned to drive in one of these cars in Australia in 1960. It was lovely to drive........one incredible thing I remember is that it would idle along in top gear at 10mph ..foot off the accelerator...and would do so perfectly smoothly with no jerkiness at all, and pull away smoothly when you added some throttle....wonderfully flexible engine.
I have a 1973 Leyland Austin 1300 and it's solid, remarkably.
Fins, chrome and a 'courting seat'. Absolutely marvellous. Rock n Roll on wheels.
Yup - all you need for the full 'Hrartbeat' experience is an AM radio station broadcasting 50s / 60s hits and you'd be all set. Someone should start one up - I can't imagine there's much demand for AM frequencies nowadays. As far as I know, only Absolute still broadcasts music on AM.
The radio in the vauxhall velox is a phillips made valve radio you only had to allow the radio 2 minutes to warm up before trying to get a station I have one of these radios I found it in a skip its positive ground and consummes 6 amps at 12volts.
The three piece back glass was a Oldsmobile feature . I loved the early style tail lights but the one piece rear glass was the favorite. In NZ there were quite a few PA's and the ultimate was a 3.3 cresta with the early tail lights. In the Early 70's a school mate borrowed his Dads New Holden Kingswood and we were flat out at just under 100MPH when another school mate came past in his parents 3.3 cresta and left us behind! .Another time after a trip to the Drags south of Auckland in another mates PA ,I was with a GF riding in the back seat. I could hear this strange sound and looked up to see a gap opening and closing between the rear glass and the roof. We got dropped off at my home and few minutes later my mate was back ,He had driven down the street,Drove over a railway crossing and the car broke in half,on the railway tracks..😁🚓😀
We didn't get the 3.3L engine in the UK until the last model, the PC Cresta, even though it was used here in Bedford trucks. I believe the 2262cc and 2651cc engines were actually scaled down version of the 3.3L which was the original American engine, scaled down by reducing the bore and/or stroke. The 2651 engine improved the performance of the PA, and surprisingly the fuel consumption, because the smaller engine had to work harder to haul such a big car.
Yes, the 1957 Oldsmobile had the 3 window rear. I wouldn't think the compound curves were all that difficult to bend. The look was a stylistic choice.
The 2.6 also had different shapes combustion chambers and a short stroke design.
@@Replevideo i was apprentice mechanic in 1967 im sure the pc viscount had the big engine
@@Replevideo I chased a PA towing a trailer with a motorbike onboard from Taupo to Napier.That thing was grunty .Kudos to the make and the driver.
I love these tests of older cars - the cars of my childhood. Our primary school teacher had one of these and I loved the "space-age" styling. On another note Switzerland, strangely, favoured Vauxhall over Opel until quite recently and their dealer network was quite well established.
In 1981 in the episode -“Cash and Curry” they had the Van plus a Vauxhall Velox!
but only had that for 1 episode as they sold it to raise the money to buy the statue.
Thankyou so much for sharing.
A beautiful example indeed.
The interior and sound brings me back to my childhood and teens.
My Grandfather bought a brand new 59 PA Cresta which we still have in the family.
A car I really much loved to drive.
Fantastic looking car! The horn on old Vauxhalls only works with the ignition on.
Good idea. You could leave your kids in the car while having a few pints in the pub without them annoying everyone.
@@MajorKlanga quite common back in the day😀
I know about this because my dad used to run a body shop. A mate of his brought his FB Victor in one day with the bonnet peeled back like a sardine tin. Apparently he was sat parked behind a lorry with the keys in his pocket. The lorry started reversing. He didn't get the key in the ignition in time...
I remember these. My father had a 1957 Velox , the roundy one. The 2.6’s were regarded as fast in the day. The later Crestas had the 200ci six which was pretty damn quick but they had a nasty habit of dropping the front suspension wishbones, often with catastrophic results.
It’s a lovely thing.
The Ford Zephyr Mk2 and Mk3 were sexy too and we’d buy them now if they came out in a modern incarnation.
Subscribed!👍🏻
A PA Cresta (probably) won the first Armstrong 500, the race that would become the Bathurst 1000!
True... it was on the back of a tow ruck when it crossed the line wasn't it lol
That was at phillip island not bathurst
true by few laps. Mick W have a look at shannons club review of the vauxhall. There is strange narrow mindness in Australia. 1/4 the price of the Holden or Ford of same period
Vastly superior to Detroit styling. It has just enough restraint.
I'm thinking the first gear whine may be straight cut or a bearing issue rather than the lack or presence of synchrocrunch.
or just a lack of sound deadening?
@@SPTSuperSprinter156 Maybe but it is very quiet overall.
Wow!
Believe or not I have actually driven one of these beauties!
A bit of a story, but true nonetheless. We were living in Rhodesia at the time and the woman across the road from where were living went on holiday for a month and she asked my Mum if whilst she was away, and knowing I was a proficient driver, if I could every couple of days take it out of the garage and run the old girl for 20 or so minutes to keep the Battery up to scratch so when she got back it would start ok.... (She was a widower).
Of course, you'll be saying "well, so what"? It's just that it was 1973 and I had only become a teenager a couple of years previously! But her thinking was if my Sister's husband let me drive his Austin Healey, (Frogeye) Sprite & Ford Consul Classic, her old Vauxhall was in safe hands! That and knowing that I could drive pretty much any car from the age of 8...... And cars back then were not the easiest, knowing how to double-declutch was an absolute necessity!
Yes, they were the days!
Lovely looking car which seems remarkably competent. However I'm especially looking forward to the Cavvie, which was my last car before buying my present Celica in 1998. I don't like changing car too often!
Nice review! Shame I've just sold my Mk2 Cavalier as your forthcoming review is bound to push the prices up ;-)
@ I had a red SRi saloon. It was a great car, apart from the leaky sump gasket that I never could cure. I swapped a Montego turbo-diesel for it after spending so much on getting the cylinder head sorted out that I couldn't afford to put it through its MoT...
@ Yes, you could buy them for pennies back then. The Monty was a great car and I would have loved to keep it but I literally couldn't afford to. Apparently that one is still around, somewhere, according to DVLA records...
Had one of the first cavalier mk 2 1800s hatchback in China Blue.
Bit of a sleeper back in the day. Took it from 25tho to over 160tho.
Lucas autocentre striped a sparkplug thread, every year a new helicoil insert till head gasket went. C187 HJN.
Just saw a red mk 2 cavalier cabriolet yesterday,that was a surprise!
A delight and all rather American Graffiti.
I just showed dad a screenshot of this car, in order to impress him. It didn't go well.
strange man
Watching this in California and it looks awkward having the 3 on the tree on the left side of the steering wheel and shifting with the left hand. A dream for left-handed people I would think, however here in the states I'd anticipate the sound of grinding gears, LOL 😉. I'd love to drive it.
We're quite used to left-hand shifts here. ;-) Mind you, some British cars had right-hand shifters! Rolls-Royce amongst them.
Great vid , absolutely loved those old Velox and Crestas , to a kid they were a truly amazing site to behold.
You realise how far safety has come on in the last fifty years ! That handbrake lever would nicely take off Ian’s kneecap in a frontal accident .I remember sitting on the passenger seat of my dads mk2 Jag and being pinned to the seat, by his left arm ,in heavy braking . Happy times !
Back when cars did have style.Our 68 Ventora looked really cool,most cars just seem to look like bulbous blobs now.🙂
Because of aerodynamics to aid fuel economy and safety regs
peter barker I had an early Ventora from ‘68. Sadly a non overdrive model...bloody quick through the gears but a bit of a screamer flat out along a good road. Also had a ‘71 facelift model which I didn’t like so much... the reworked dash didn’t work for me.... I loved the 6 clock grouping of the original. I’d love another venny... was great in the snow too.
Thank Ian. Reminds me of Australia’s 1960 GM Holden FB, similar knee injuring wrap-around windscreen shape and colour scheme, no dash pad. Otherwise the Holden was far less sophisticated and refined than the Vauxhall. Holden’s FB grey motor changed little from the first 132 CI (2.15 litre) donk in the FX 48/215 inherited from GM Chevrolet.
Bought one for £10 in 1975. It had been in S A all its life. Changed the petrol it started first time. Sold it to a work mate who turned it into a stock car. What a barbarian.
Noice! I'd rather drive one of those on the road than a ridiculous hypercar. Looking forward to the test of that Viva which will bring back memories as my first ever car was a 74 HC in the same colour with that awful vinyl roof. It was a special edition with an odd selection of extras. Apart from the vinyl roof it had cloth seats, reclining in the front and....that's it. No radial tyres, no disc brakes, no servo, no internal bonnet release, no heated rear window, no radio; no wonder the Japanese made such huge inroads at that time. It also spent most of its time broken down.
The horn is wired through the ignition so will not work with the ignition off.
What a gorgeous car. Just out of interest, who gives a video with such a beautiful car and Ians great commentary a thumbs down?
My barber had a sort of deluxe one from new, until the early 1990. He was going to sell me it for £2.000😭
I remember those in Canada here as a kid. I always thought they were a rather unusual but interesting design. The Vauxhalls, Fords and Austins etc were a common sight here in the sixties and early seventies-more so than in the U.S. per say
Expected you to turn round and find Johnny Kidd and The Pirates squeezed into the back seat.
Squeezed in the back seat was definitely correct, big fail. but at least the wheel arches did not intrude.
My Dad's Cresta passenger door saved me from a side impact when I was 4 or 5 years old! I was in the front of course and I can still see that car coming! Thanks Vauxhall.
back in the olden days, haven't heard that for while
I bought a 1958 Cresta PA in 1962. Two tone blue (including the upholstery). Super engine and surprisingly economical on a long drive. Loved the column gear change and bench seat. If your girlfriend was slim enough you could change gear with the left arm still around her! And yes, it had synchromesh on 1, 2 and 3. Only problem was rust that got her in the end.
That "toothy" front bumper - I love it!
Fun to watch these "common classic" car reviews! I grew up in Washington, D.C., and my Grandfather had an auto repair shop in Georgetown, specializing in the repair of most any "foreign" car (my Dad kept that legacy going for 40 years, specializing in British cars, bikes, and he sold Italian bikes as well).
I recall we always had some "unusual" (for the era) cars, including some of the first Datsuns sold on the East Coast, and my Mom had (for about a year) a P4-series Rover "90"--quite the luxury car, but required much upkeep! Took the required Drivers' Education program, offered in our schools, driving a '73 Pontiac Catalina (handled like a boat), but really only learned to drive in a '62 Beetle. Only 40 BHP, but nimble enough, and easy to get around D.C. traffic in!
One of the best youtubes I've seen, thank you! I'd very much question your assertion that 8 years was considered a good innings for a car in those days, though.
Uh the vauxhall velox. My uncle Albert had one of those and I loved that car. To me it was like a space ship the shape and size of the car amazed me and as for them fins and indicators well wow. I still have the handbook for that car.
My stomping ground! I live in Sunny Dunstable and work at the Airport in Luton, so you traced the two routes I often take to and from work, backroads or motorway, chock full of speed humps and limits.
At least you got out of luton for a little bit! :D
Back when I lived in London's East End early sixties I had an Essex based mate who had a black Velox like this with the nice smooth noises six cylinder engine. He'd turn up around 8 or 9 in the evenings and see if we fancied getting some fish and chips ... in Brighton.
Brighton it was and I wont tell you how quickly we got down there, no namby-pamby 70 mph overall speed limit then remember, you would not believe me anyway. My mate could drive a bit. He had that for a few years and traded it in for another attractive Vauxhall. A white with matt black bonnet VIVA GT. That another impressive little car. No Vauxhalls since then even things like Carltons and 220s have that appeal. Particularly anything now available with a Vauxhall badge.
Great days gone forever but, not forgotten.
As my old Dad and now me sometimes used to say. Youngsters today don't know theyze born.
Vauxhalls are one of my favorite British cars. 😊👍
Nice review , glad you drove it nicely and didn’t thrash the shit out of it, or drift it round any islands, handbrake turns etc ,respecter Shane uk 🇬🇧
That thing is gorgeous. I'm going to go out on a limb and say; PA - coolest Vauxhall ever?
You'd not be alone with that view.
I've always admired the Cresta/ Velox styling. Even among US-inspired car styles of the day, it was truly distinctive.
Incidentally, James Hunt shared your fondness for the Chevette. He was given one by Vauxhall and a mate of mine, who used to drive with him to play squash on occasion, said he ear-holed it at all times and praised its handling highly.
Amazing car, love the engine and gearbox noise
In direct competition with the Zephyr Zodiac MK 2 with 2553 CC strait 6 Vauxhall where smother to dive yes but on acceleration the Fords would leave them standing you also had convertible Fords too so for me they where second best to the Fords great video just the same
Lovely drive, from back when plenty of thought was put into body styling & the view out was alot better than many of today's cars.
I'd really like to have a shot in that - surprisingly well equipped - screen washers and two speed wipers - wow. Back in the day my ol' man (who was a Britishy, monarchy, empire loving tory type) wouldn't entertain Vauxhall or Ford - "American owned - pah!". It had to be Rootes or BMC.
I was a kid who preferred the miniaturised Americana styling on Crestas, Zephyrs and Zodiacs.
This is one of the most beautiful cars in the world! Makes you wonder why anyone would buy a modern luxury car when the Velox is cheaper and more reliable. The rust problem though.
Maybe a shade of poetic license there? As lovely as the velox is I highly doubt it would last a week in the average high speed motorway world of a modern luxury car, plus no cruise control, air con, Bluetooth, abs airbags, high emissions and poor fuel economy...it's a pointless comparison, things don't get worse and modern vehicles are truly remarkable machines. Classic cars are of course a wonderful relief from our 1000 mile per week worlds though.
Like the car and your comment is spot on when you say you picked this over the Carlton and Astra.So much more fun to drive an old classic on our congested,speed camera laden roads.I had a VX 220 and sold it to buy a Lancia Fuvia and the driving experience in the Fuvia is so much more pleasurable on our roads in Britain.Fact is you can buy an endless list of fast accelarating, 150 mph cars nowadays but unless you take them out for a track day how can you open the taps and let rip without losing your license in a day.?
Sorry but the medium wave radio is definitely NOT stereo.
I knew someone would pick me up on that!
It's actually two wavebands: if it's the same as the one I repaired for a PA Cresta (it looks it), you turned the tuning knob all the way to 550m where it operated a switch that gave you a preset 1500m for the Light Programme!
The 80hp equates to 152lbs ft of torque at 2250rpm.plenty of power nice and sedate driving.
These little Vauxhall cars were imported to the U.S. for a short time, and sold by Pontiac.
📻🙂
They made it up to Canada as well.
I don't think Veloxes were imported to the US. Vauxhall Victors were, however.
It's a shame the British Motor Museum doesn't maintain its cars quite so well. But then I suppose they have less resources.