Lot Ended
Description
1965 Vauxhall Viva HA Deluxe
Just two owners
and 43,500 miles from new; exceptionally sound and original
Launched in 1963, the Vauxhall Viva entered the highly competitive
small-to-medium sector of the motor industry, set against the likes of the Mini
and the BMC 1100 series as well as the well-established Ford Anglia and Morris
Minor.
The first variant, the HA, was Vauxhall's first serious step into
the compact car market after the Second World War. The simple clean lines of the
Viva were in stark contrast to the rather bulbous shapes of the previous decade
and the design was considered quite modern compared to its
contemporaries.
A simple self-contained unitary front steering and
suspension system was used featuring a double wishbone arrangement with vertical
telescopic dampers, in combination with a transverse leaf spring. At the rear
things were more conventional, with longitudinal semi-elliptic leaf springs and
telescopic dampers.
The Viva HA was powered by a 44bhp 1,057cc ohv
four-cylinder engine driving via a 4-speed manual all-synchromesh gearbox to the
rear wheels. Just two body styles were available initially, Standard and Deluxe
versions, although Bedford also used the basic structure of the Viva HA to
create a light commercial van. By 1965 a more luxurious SL (Super Luxury)
variant appeared, together with an enhanced-performance version, the 54bhp Viva
90.
Over 100,000 Vivas were built during its first ten months of
production and by 1966 the HA had achieved a total of over 306,000 sales. As
with many British cars of the period, the Viva did have some corrosion issues,
particularly in the boot and rear floor areas, and many didn’t stand the test of
time so Viva HAs are relatively rare today.
This Viva HA was bought new
in June 1965 from City Motor Co. of Oxford by local man Ernest Belcher of
Headington who kept it right up until 1993 when the current keeper acquired it,
also an Oxford gent. It has covered only 43,500 miles to date, as warranted by
no fewer than 33 old MOTs back to 1968, the majority of them carried out by the
same testing station, Slade Garage of Headington.
There is no real
service history with the car, but a few invoices show that it had a repair to
the o/s/f wing in 2007 and repairs to the o/s and n/s quarter panels in 2009.
Other than that, the car appears to be in remarkably sound and original
condition throughout. It also comes with an original owner's handbook and a
period Vauxhall/Bedford dealership directory.
Starting easily and running
sweetly as we have moved it around on site, it must surely be one of the most
original survivors remaining. It now only needs a proud third owner to continue
to cosset it in the manner to which it has become accustomed.
For
more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email [email protected]
* All charges are subject to VAT