Lot Ended
Description
1965 Vauxhall Viva HA
Deluxe
Just two owners and 43,500 miles from new; rare
survivor in commendably sound and original condition
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 james.dennison@brightwells.com
* All charges are subject to VAT