1975 Vauxhall Viva HC Daily
Discussion
Hi,
I've been a lurker for a while, signed up a couple of weeks ago and thought it about time to get my car on here.
I got this 2 and a half years ago to replace my written off Mini, which is still the car I love more than any, so I'll sneak a pic in
Questionable styling I know, I was young. As said, this met an untimely injury, I won't say end as I still have it and plan to reshell it.
I was scouring Ebay and Autotrader for anything very very cheap and 90's hatch just to get me about. I didn't have much luck, problem being my dad and I have enough mechanical knowledge to know when a car is on its last legs, which most of them were. I then stumbled across the Viva on Ebay, it looked brilliant and had half a years MOT. I hardly knew what it was back then, so I stuck it on the watch list. Come the end of the auction I put in a last minute bid for £575, but was outbid in the dying seconds and my heart sank. I took my chances and emailed the seller to say if anything falls through to contact me as I was very interested. A week later I'd heard nothing and won a slightly rough but supposedly sound Mini blind on Ebay. Literally half an hour later I received a call giving me a second chance on the Viva. I decided to stick with the Mini and traveled up to collect it at the weekend - what a dog! At some point Stevie Wonder had welded and painted a new front end, apart from the fact we found several MOT fail items on it despite its fresh ticket. I backed out on the grounds it wasn't as described and gave the guy with the Viva a call. A couple of hours later I had the keys in my hand and was £570 lighter, and I've never looked back since.
It started off completely standard and was told by my girlfriend at the time it had to stay that way. To be honest I quite enjoyed it standard, it felt like a Rolls Royce compared to the Mini and after months of searching I was just happy to have wheels again.
Two weeks down the line, I was single again, and it started. First was trial fitting the Superlights from my Mini for a laugh...somehow I ended up leaving them on.
It had the effect of lowering the car by about 1.5" but looked odd from different angles due to the wheel arch gap, and it still wobbled about horrendously. Soon the exhaust rusted itself in two so I got a 'custom' pipe made by Powerflow to go with the uprated engine I was planning. They did a s
t job though, it's far too loud and is hanging off the body by a couple of inches.
I never got round to sorting it all out properly until over a year later when my distraction while driving together with the Continental tyres crap performance in the went sent me rather forcibly into a curb. This cracked the wheel, bent the crossmember and rippled the chassis.
This happened in Easter 2010 and the rebuild didn't get underway until late September, when it was sent off to the bodyshop. Despite lying to me and giving me back a 'better than new' car that still had bent suspension and clicked loudly every time it went around a corner, the repair work was actually fairly good. I took the opportunity to pile some money into the car and rebuild the suspension and brakes on a fresh canvas.
I got a set of 2" lowering springs, KYB shocks, 2nd hand crossmember and arms stripped and painted, rebuilt calipers and green stuff pads and polybushed the lot. Early December it was rushed onto the road and got an MOT
Unfortunately the time spent standing had taken it's toll on some of the serviceable items, which one by one in quick succession failed on me, causing me to get stuck 60 miles from home over Christmas, although the snow didn't help. Slowly I tackled the problems and got the cars appearance and tune back up to standard, and it hasn't let me down.
This was as it stayed for a few months while I was in the queue to get another set of steels banded, due in March. Unfortunately the guy didn't get back to me or answer my emails until last month, which gave me little time to sort some wheels out for shows, and the tyres on the steels were old and cracking. I was aiming for 6" wide, which was about the max I could fit in the front with full steering lock. However clearances in the arch were so tight I needed a specific offset that wasn't widely available. I was about to throw £500 at Minilite for some to be made with the correct ET when I came to the conclusion it was stupid to spend that much money on wheels I didn't really want, so I still needed a good looking but cheap solution. Bingo, someone on TMF said the sportpack wheels were of the offset I needed and were 6" wide, perfect as my current girlfriend has a late Cooper in various bits of rust. Free wheels! Wrapped in 175/70R13 chunky Yoko A-drive rubber I'm very happy with them. I think they suit the Viva much better than they do Minis.
This was taken just before leaving for Billing last weekend.
Last job done was an update to the soundsytem. Nothing serious, but better than a lone pair on the rear shelf. Rear channels of a 4 channel amp run Alpine 5x7s on the rear shelf with a low pass filter and bass eq, and front channels go through cross-over units to Phonocar 6.25" woofers and tweeters in the front.
Up under the dash, completely out of sight
So, to summise
Work done:
2" Lowered Springs
KYB shocks
13x6 Sportspack Minilites on 175/75 Yokos
Lucas front foglights
Rear foglight
Tacho and oil pressure gauge installed
Hazard light system
Modern H4 bulbs modified to fit with relays installed
Electronic flashers
Electronic ignition
SL grille
Nothing exciting but makes the car much nicer to use everyday
Work to do soon:
Some welding
Attention to paint
DTV steering wheel to reupholster
A bit more work to do on the suspension
Modified 1256 engine with Blydenstine inspiration. Gas flowed head, high compression, 285 cam, Weber 40dcoe, lightened and balanced bottom end
5 speed conversion
A 'proper' custom exhasut and tubular manifold to hug the body.
13x6 Banded steels in satin black with chrome hubcaps
Magnum clear front indicators with sidelights
Maybe a DTV style front splitter like this
Long term plans:
X16XE/VVC K-series/maybe Z16LET (objective being small and lightweight for minimum modification and maximum handling potential)
Vented front discs
Rear discs on much beefier axle.
I'm sure there's bits I've missed but this post is more than long enough. See here for full build thread.
All comments and input welcome
I've been a lurker for a while, signed up a couple of weeks ago and thought it about time to get my car on here.
I got this 2 and a half years ago to replace my written off Mini, which is still the car I love more than any, so I'll sneak a pic in
Questionable styling I know, I was young. As said, this met an untimely injury, I won't say end as I still have it and plan to reshell it.
I was scouring Ebay and Autotrader for anything very very cheap and 90's hatch just to get me about. I didn't have much luck, problem being my dad and I have enough mechanical knowledge to know when a car is on its last legs, which most of them were. I then stumbled across the Viva on Ebay, it looked brilliant and had half a years MOT. I hardly knew what it was back then, so I stuck it on the watch list. Come the end of the auction I put in a last minute bid for £575, but was outbid in the dying seconds and my heart sank. I took my chances and emailed the seller to say if anything falls through to contact me as I was very interested. A week later I'd heard nothing and won a slightly rough but supposedly sound Mini blind on Ebay. Literally half an hour later I received a call giving me a second chance on the Viva. I decided to stick with the Mini and traveled up to collect it at the weekend - what a dog! At some point Stevie Wonder had welded and painted a new front end, apart from the fact we found several MOT fail items on it despite its fresh ticket. I backed out on the grounds it wasn't as described and gave the guy with the Viva a call. A couple of hours later I had the keys in my hand and was £570 lighter, and I've never looked back since.
It started off completely standard and was told by my girlfriend at the time it had to stay that way. To be honest I quite enjoyed it standard, it felt like a Rolls Royce compared to the Mini and after months of searching I was just happy to have wheels again.
Two weeks down the line, I was single again, and it started. First was trial fitting the Superlights from my Mini for a laugh...somehow I ended up leaving them on.
It had the effect of lowering the car by about 1.5" but looked odd from different angles due to the wheel arch gap, and it still wobbled about horrendously. Soon the exhaust rusted itself in two so I got a 'custom' pipe made by Powerflow to go with the uprated engine I was planning. They did a s
t job though, it's far too loud and is hanging off the body by a couple of inches.I never got round to sorting it all out properly until over a year later when my distraction while driving together with the Continental tyres crap performance in the went sent me rather forcibly into a curb. This cracked the wheel, bent the crossmember and rippled the chassis.
This happened in Easter 2010 and the rebuild didn't get underway until late September, when it was sent off to the bodyshop. Despite lying to me and giving me back a 'better than new' car that still had bent suspension and clicked loudly every time it went around a corner, the repair work was actually fairly good. I took the opportunity to pile some money into the car and rebuild the suspension and brakes on a fresh canvas.
I got a set of 2" lowering springs, KYB shocks, 2nd hand crossmember and arms stripped and painted, rebuilt calipers and green stuff pads and polybushed the lot. Early December it was rushed onto the road and got an MOT
Unfortunately the time spent standing had taken it's toll on some of the serviceable items, which one by one in quick succession failed on me, causing me to get stuck 60 miles from home over Christmas, although the snow didn't help. Slowly I tackled the problems and got the cars appearance and tune back up to standard, and it hasn't let me down.
This was as it stayed for a few months while I was in the queue to get another set of steels banded, due in March. Unfortunately the guy didn't get back to me or answer my emails until last month, which gave me little time to sort some wheels out for shows, and the tyres on the steels were old and cracking. I was aiming for 6" wide, which was about the max I could fit in the front with full steering lock. However clearances in the arch were so tight I needed a specific offset that wasn't widely available. I was about to throw £500 at Minilite for some to be made with the correct ET when I came to the conclusion it was stupid to spend that much money on wheels I didn't really want, so I still needed a good looking but cheap solution. Bingo, someone on TMF said the sportpack wheels were of the offset I needed and were 6" wide, perfect as my current girlfriend has a late Cooper in various bits of rust. Free wheels! Wrapped in 175/70R13 chunky Yoko A-drive rubber I'm very happy with them. I think they suit the Viva much better than they do Minis.
This was taken just before leaving for Billing last weekend.
Last job done was an update to the soundsytem. Nothing serious, but better than a lone pair on the rear shelf. Rear channels of a 4 channel amp run Alpine 5x7s on the rear shelf with a low pass filter and bass eq, and front channels go through cross-over units to Phonocar 6.25" woofers and tweeters in the front.
Up under the dash, completely out of sight
So, to summise
Work done:
2" Lowered Springs
KYB shocks
13x6 Sportspack Minilites on 175/75 Yokos
Lucas front foglights
Rear foglight
Tacho and oil pressure gauge installed
Hazard light system
Modern H4 bulbs modified to fit with relays installed
Electronic flashers
Electronic ignition
SL grille
Nothing exciting but makes the car much nicer to use everyday
Work to do soon:
Some welding
Attention to paint
DTV steering wheel to reupholster
A bit more work to do on the suspension
Modified 1256 engine with Blydenstine inspiration. Gas flowed head, high compression, 285 cam, Weber 40dcoe, lightened and balanced bottom end
5 speed conversion
A 'proper' custom exhasut and tubular manifold to hug the body.
13x6 Banded steels in satin black with chrome hubcaps
Magnum clear front indicators with sidelights
Maybe a DTV style front splitter like this
Long term plans:
X16XE/VVC K-series/maybe Z16LET (objective being small and lightweight for minimum modification and maximum handling potential)
Vented front discs
Rear discs on much beefier axle.
I'm sure there's bits I've missed but this post is more than long enough. See here for full build thread.
All comments and input welcome
Thanks
I suppose I was always a huge fan of Mk1 Escorts and Mk2 Cortinas and was amazed I could get something that looked similar within my budget. Everyone always has a story to say about them, usually the worst car they've ever owned
but it's been great to me. I love the look of it, I like to drive it, you can fit a small country in the boot, it's not modern and it was the best condition car around I could afford to buy and insure. If I hadn't bothered with modifications I would have spent just a couple hundred to keep it going for the last two years, so dirt cheap and gets me around 35mpg which I think is fairly good for a modern small petrol let alone a smokey 36y/o one.
It's turned me into a bit of a Viva fanboi I guess
I suppose I was always a huge fan of Mk1 Escorts and Mk2 Cortinas and was amazed I could get something that looked similar within my budget. Everyone always has a story to say about them, usually the worst car they've ever owned
but it's been great to me. I love the look of it, I like to drive it, you can fit a small country in the boot, it's not modern and it was the best condition car around I could afford to buy and insure. If I hadn't bothered with modifications I would have spent just a couple hundred to keep it going for the last two years, so dirt cheap and gets me around 35mpg which I think is fairly good for a modern small petrol let alone a smokey 36y/o one.It's turned me into a bit of a Viva fanboi I guess
PlayersNo6 said:
Smart looking Viva. I think the minilites look good on this car - much better than they look on MGBs.
I would have kept the original plates on though. Even though they were legal until 73, not many cars after about 71 had black and white plates.
And as his was registered in 74 or maybe even 75 the plates are illegal anyway.I would have kept the original plates on though. Even though they were legal until 73, not many cars after about 71 had black and white plates.
Pothole said:
... as this was registered in 74 or maybe even 75 the plates are illegal anyway.
Absolutely, I can remember seeing reflective plates from 1968 (they weren't actually legal before then) but all new cars had to have them from January 1st 1973 - therefore L-registered cars were both the last to carry the old (white or silver on black) plates and the first to carry the new ones.Cars that carried reflective plates from new can therefore be retrofitted with the old ones only if they were first registered pre-1973.
ETA - Wikipedia says: "Older British plates had white, grey or silver characters on a black background. This style of plate was phased out in 1972, and is now legal to be carried only on vehicles first constructed before 1 January 1973."
Note use of the word 'constructed,' not 'registered.'
I like the sportspacks on this (which surprised me), they have been compared to HPF Avon wheels, just a bit more curvy. I know what some people mean though, while I think Minilites look good on most things, they are everywhere! Would have been nice to have something different but I don't have the money for split rims or genuine Revos to be made with the correct offset. The plan is still to get the banded steels made at some point.
Yes the plates aren't correct and are illegal by a few years, naughty naughty. I have never been stopped though and because the car is nearly there I should think most police don't know exactly what year 'N' is, it's not like using the plate on an 'N at the beginning (95/96)' car, and there are quite a few 80's and 90's Minis about with black and silver plates. I know the risks of using them and will hold my hands up if I get caught.
It originally had reflective plates with pressed looking plastic characters riveted on. I still have them but they're a bit battered and dented so need to get some new ones.
Yes the plates aren't correct and are illegal by a few years, naughty naughty. I have never been stopped though and because the car is nearly there I should think most police don't know exactly what year 'N' is, it's not like using the plate on an 'N at the beginning (95/96)' car, and there are quite a few 80's and 90's Minis about with black and silver plates. I know the risks of using them and will hold my hands up if I get caught.
It originally had reflective plates with pressed looking plastic characters riveted on. I still have them but they're a bit battered and dented so need to get some new ones.
Evangelion said:
Pothole said:
... as this was registered in 74 or maybe even 75 the plates are illegal anyway.
Absolutely, I can remember seeing reflective plates from 1968 (they weren't actually legal before then) but all new cars had to have them from January 1st 1973 - therefore L-registered cars were both the last to carry the old (white or silver on black) plates and the first to carry the new ones.Cars that carried reflective plates from new can therefore be retrofitted with the old ones only if they were first registered pre-1973.
ETA - Wikipedia says: "Older British plates had white, grey or silver characters on a black background. This style of plate was phased out in 1972, and is now legal to be carried only on vehicles first constructed before 1 January 1973."
Note use of the word 'constructed,' not 'registered.'
OP it's a wonderful car
I had a red K-plate (HUL794K I think) SL auto back in 1990. It had 29k on it from new and was fabulous. A mate bought it from me, someone drove into the front of it and it was then stolen, still damaged from outside his house. He was honestly very upset. We both loved that car!
I had a red K-plate (HUL794K I think) SL auto back in 1990. It had 29k on it from new and was fabulous. A mate bought it from me, someone drove into the front of it and it was then stolen, still damaged from outside his house. He was honestly very upset. We both loved that car!
It looks cool.
Wouldn't bother spending money on the 1256, simply they weren't a good engine. Since your going the 5sp route fit both modern engine (with EFI) & box together, cheaper in the long run too. A 1256 with a big dirty Webber ain't go to give you reasonable MPG either I'd guess. Anyway, regardless good luck with your project.
P.s. If you haven't done so spend some money on sound insulation too, it will make a massive difference.
Wouldn't bother spending money on the 1256, simply they weren't a good engine. Since your going the 5sp route fit both modern engine (with EFI) & box together, cheaper in the long run too. A 1256 with a big dirty Webber ain't go to give you reasonable MPG either I'd guess. Anyway, regardless good luck with your project.
P.s. If you haven't done so spend some money on sound insulation too, it will make a massive difference.
Edited by Johnboy Mac on Sunday 10th July 11:40
Thanks for all the kind words
I've still got the old plates and will be keeping them. Everything I've done to this car has been carried out so that it can easily be put back to original, just with a few more holes in places you don't notice.
Re 1256 or not, it's something I've thought about a lot. It will be a bit of a waste of money seeing as I want to upgrade to a slightly more 'proper' engine anyway, but 1256 will still be signifcantly cheaper for me at the moment due to 1, already having half the parts. 2, not needing to upgrade the rest of the car. 3, insurance. As well as the fact that it's my daily so don't want it off the road for too long (to swap axles, props etc over) and the original engine is has a bearing grumble from somewhere so will need to be replaced soon.
At the moment, to keep me from boredom, I'm sorting out Magnum/Chevette front indicators/sidelights, and something a little bit different for my spare grille.
I've still got the old plates and will be keeping them. Everything I've done to this car has been carried out so that it can easily be put back to original, just with a few more holes in places you don't notice.
Re 1256 or not, it's something I've thought about a lot. It will be a bit of a waste of money seeing as I want to upgrade to a slightly more 'proper' engine anyway, but 1256 will still be signifcantly cheaper for me at the moment due to 1, already having half the parts. 2, not needing to upgrade the rest of the car. 3, insurance. As well as the fact that it's my daily so don't want it off the road for too long (to swap axles, props etc over) and the original engine is has a bearing grumble from somewhere so will need to be replaced soon.
At the moment, to keep me from boredom, I'm sorting out Magnum/Chevette front indicators/sidelights, and something a little bit different for my spare grille.
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