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Where have all the Vauxhalls gone?
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PAUL BEAUMONT



Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 1281
Location: Barnsley S. Yorks

PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 1:20 pm    Post subject: Where have all the Vauxhalls gone? Reply with quote

As a youngster in the days before imported cars devoured the domestic marketplace motor choice was BLMC (or whatever they were called that week!) Ford, Rootes Group or Vauxhall.
Vauxhalls seem to have almost disappeared off the face of the earth. I have not seen a Velox or a Cresta at a show for ages. Same goes for Vivas, Magnums, early Cavaliers and the ubiquitous Nova. Were these so awful cars?(Never owned one personally) that no one continued to love them?? I was at an event this past weekend where Jowetts outnumbered Vauxhalls by 6 to 1 and the 1 was an "A" registered Cavalier. Of course it may just be that Vauxhall owners are shy! Wink
I could extend this to GM offerings generally. I have not seen a Manta A or B in living memory and they both seems very desirable motors to me.
Paul
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7211
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 3:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

They've all turned into spare parts! Whenever I look at boxes of engine parts (bearings, pistons etc) at autojumbles there is always plenty of Vauxhall parts. (Never what I want!)

Peter Sad
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22778
Location: UK

PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 4:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

They certainly don't have the following of Ford, which surprises me a bit. I closed the Vauxhall category on the forum due to lack of interest, maybe there are lots of Vauxhall forums out there so need for a cat on here.

RJ
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4229
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe many of them ended up at Corrodo by Oxide.

Dave
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Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 1386
Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 6:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree, you see less old and classic Vauxhalls than any other British marque.

There are however several in regular use around my area. One is a particularly rare Vauxhall Velox PB with hydramatic transmission. It's in a mid grey colour and a leather interior and every time I see it I don't have a camera with me.
I keep a camera now in my everyday car to photograph it and when I do I will post a photo on here.

There are two HA Vivas in regular use locally and several FB Victors.
The model I have not seen for years is a FD Victor or Ventora. Thousands were built but they must now be very rare. North Wales Police used FD Ventoras with the 3.3 litre engines as their patrol cars in the early 1970s.

When did you last see a Bedford Beagle - a HA van with side windows ?

The last Victor 101 (FC) I saw was is in 1994 and that was an estate version with a red bench front seat.

As for FE Victors, are there any left?
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2700
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 7:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sadly we don't have such a good following, so it follows that the parts people don't cater for Vauxhalls so much, so it puts people off buying them because it's hard to get parts, and back round and round.

Peter, I'd love to see these autojumbles, because other than the VBOA (Vauxhall-Bedford-Opel Association) autojumble in spring I don't see much in the way of Vauxhall bits.

The rise in prices of Escorts and Capris is having a positive effect on the popularity of Vivas and Chevettes, as people who can't afford the Fords move on to something else. The show at Billing is very popular, and we do get quite a turnout at some of the shows we do here in the north west. But for now we have to remain a bit more 'exclusive'.

Rick, I hadn't noticed the Vauxhall forum had gone in all honesty, that said I can't remember when I last looked in there, I think it was when matey was talking about line-up on his Astra Mk1 panels. I'm posting stuff about my rebuild in the Droopsnoot Group forum, I even stopped posting new photos on my own web site because it gets to be too much work posting in more than one place.
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welder



Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Posts: 265
Location: North Warwickshire

PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A little off topic, but my brother used to own a 1970 Ventora 3.3 and it was fast! Needed a higher diff or 5 gears but it would accelerate very well indeed! It was a bit erm..back endy in the wet but we were young and frivolous......... Rolling Eyes

Ian
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BigJohn



Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 954
Location: Wem, Shropshire

PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A guy in our car club has an FE Ventora. I saw him on Thursday night and he said he had needed a front wheel bearing and had taken a couple of months to locate one and it had cost him £50! I had told him previously to take it to a bearing factors in Preston to get one, but he snapped one up off Ebay. If parts are that difficult to get not suprising Vauxhalls are getting rare. Or he maybe incompetent, possibly the later to be fair to Vauxhalls.
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Mog



Joined: 30 Dec 2007
Posts: 663
Location: Sydney

PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 3:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have got the two chrome strips off the bonnet of a 1950's Vauxhall . The car sits on a tip in NW Q'land. Many parts are there , sadly the shire council worker decided to drop the blade onto the top of the car. Of course the rad . has gone, but the carby is still there and engine. I hope to be up there next year.
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4229
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd be interested to know where this particular VX490 has gone:



It was owned from new by my father in law, around 1992 he gave it to someone in a Vauxhall club (not sure which one) we then saw it at a show at Tatton Park around 1995, but never since....

Dave
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D4B



Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 2083
Location: Hampshire UK

PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 8:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vehicle enquiry
The enquiry is complete.The vehicle details for JKX 748N are:
Date of Liability 01 09 1995
Date of First Registration 21 05 1975
Year of Manufacture 1975
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 2279cc
CO₂ Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type PETROL
Export Marker N
Vehicle Status Unlicensed
Vehicle Colour BLUE
Vehicle Type Approval Not Available
Vehicle Excise Duty rate for vehicle
6 Months Rate £123.75
12 Months Rate £225.00
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2700
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 10:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Parts vary really. For example lower front ball joints and outer (I think) front wheel bearings on my Firenza are unique to that car (204 made) and the FD 3.3 Ventora (no idea how many made, certainly not many left) so not easy to find. For the FEs I'm surprised there was a problem as more bits are metric, but then I don't know directly as almost nothing is the same as my car. Prices seem to be rising all the time, eBay often isn't the cheapest place to get stuff like this.

I've always been a bit wary of trying to get parts when I needed them, so as far as I can I've tried to buy then when I saw them (at the right price) rather than leave it. Takes a bit of space, but when my water pump packed in on a Friday night before a show it was nice to just have the problem of fitting it in a hurry, not the problem of finding one first. That only works if, like me, you're planning on keeping the car for a decent length of time.
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JohnDale



Joined: 19 Mar 2008
Posts: 790
Location: Kelvin Valley,Scotland

PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

For Vauxhall lovers everywhere - belongs to a member of SWTVC.









Cheers,JD.
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Greg



Joined: 03 Dec 2007
Posts: 445
Location: Dreamland Margate

PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Beautiful. .....what a lovely car.
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