62 replies to this topic

[Marroon]

want to swap for a mini?

i SERIOUSLY would, im guna get hated but i want one of those so much more than a mini, ive been looking for one for a while now. How much is insurance and how old are you?

[landy andy]

That is one sweet car!! Dont even think of messing with it's originality man!! Congrats!

***goes off and tries not to choke on the jelousy***

[oli8925]

no i suppose theres probs not much british on it, but its vauxhall so that'll do (they were here before opel!)

wheels are the same PCD as mini so 4". i could well be interested if your looking to get rid. post some pics up. no redtops in this though, especially with my insurance

thanks sweetser, ill take a look on retrorides

this is a viva HC by the way only the de luxe so its hasnt got the tacho or quad light grille. did almost get a GLS with the other bits but it was sold the day i enquired about it. actually i think im the 5th owner! it has had a respray at some point but in original colour and i think sometime ago. as far as i can make out of its history, it covered most of its 38000 miles in the first few years, then i would guess was sold to someone who didnt use it much for 10 years, then on to an enthusiast who kept it in his garage for 20 years. 4 months ago the guy i bought it off bought it and drove it home from luton and kept it on his driveway in ashford. his plan was to stick a great big chevy V8 in there but his friend told him it would cost a lot on tax as it wasnt pre 1972, so he got a shed of a 100e and put this up for sale. and now i have it

to all those concerned, don't worry! anything i do to it will be a bolt on modification, so it can be put back to standard with no issues. the last thing i want to do is start cutting her up. if i put the cherry bomb on ill get a standard exhaust off ebay and stick it in my garage. everything original will be kept!

sorry marroon, i wont be selling her yet. in 4 months or so ill probably start looking for a mini for the 50th anniversary shows. but i really want to keep the viva and im getting shouted at by my girlfriend because she now likes the 'old man car' im 19 but i changed my insurance over from my mini after an accident so not sure what its really costing me. i 'think' with 1 years no claims etc its costing me about £1200 for the year. but im sure i could shop around for a better deal, its just that they were the cheapest for my mini.

thanks for all your kind words

[Dan]

no i suppose theres probs not much british on it, but its vauxhall so that'll do

AFAIK it's actually a Holden with a Vauxhall badge on the front. Imported from down under in CKD kits, the opposite of what BL were doing at the time with Minis. But you say it's an HC and the Ausie imports may have been limited to 4 door HBs so maybe it is a bit more British than I thought.

Good luck with it and I hope you really enjoy it.

[Marroon]

Ahhh, whats it like to drive,

Im thinking of getting one pretty cheap and spraying it yellow for the summer adding lots of chrome and a retro orange stripe, but on the other hand theres the mini, which i could do the same with, but the added benefit of mini shows :/

hard choice!

[oli8925]

no i suppose theres probs not much british on it, but its vauxhall so that'll do

AFAIK it's actually a Holden with a Vauxhall badge on the front. Imported from down under in CKD kits, the opposite of what BL were doing at the time with Minis. But you say it's an HC and the Ausie imports may have been limited to 4 door HBs so maybe it is a bit more British than I thought.

Good luck with it and I hope you really enjoy it.

to be honest i wouldnt know. but yes it is an HC. dont know about kits but it was built at ellesnere port and first owner was vauxhall, so i deny any aussie links it may have!

Ahhh, whats it like to drive,

Im thinking of getting one pretty cheap and spraying it yellow for the summer adding lots of chrome and a retro orange stripe, but on the other hand theres the mini, which i could do the same with, but the added benefit of mini shows :/

hard choice!

you have to brake to go round corners, you cant feel every bump in the road, it hasnt broken down yet...so not too similar to a mini really. its fun but in a very different way. in the mini i was pushing it round corners and using it like a go kart. the viva, as standard anyway, is exactly like an old 4 door saloon. i find im really gentle with it, never rush anywhere. treat it like im a chauffer in a rolls. still fun but in a different way, although id say the mini is deffinitely more fun to drive and if i could swap the viva for my mini completely repaired, i would in a split second.

how cheap are you thinking. because theyre very underpriced, not like mini's where some can go for £5k+. an HC in excellent condition has a guide price of £1.5k, good condition £1k and £300 poor condition
http://www.vboa.org....plevel.php?p=p1

[mk3 Cooper S]

no i suppose theres probs not much british on it, but its vauxhall so that'll do (they were here before opel!)

wheels are the same PCD as mini so 4". i could well be interested if your looking to get rid. post some pics up. no redtops in this though, especially with my insurance

thanks sweetser, ill take a look on retrorides

this is a viva HC by the way only the de luxe so its hasnt got the tacho or quad light grille. did almost get a GLS with the other bits but it was sold the day i enquired about it. actually i think im the 5th owner! it has had a respray at some point but in original colour and i think sometime ago. as far as i can make out of its history, it covered most of its 38000 miles in the first few years, then i would guess was sold to someone who didnt use it much for 10 years, then on to an enthusiast who kept it in his garage for 20 years. 4 months ago the guy i bought it off bought it and drove it home from luton and kept it on his driveway in ashford. his plan was to stick a great big chevy V8 in there but his friend told him it would cost a lot on tax as it wasnt pre 1972, so he got a shed of a 100e and put this up for sale. and now i have it

to all those concerned, don't worry! anything i do to it will be a bolt on modification, so it can be put back to standard with no issues. the last thing i want to do is start cutting her up. if i put the cherry bomb on ill get a standard exhaust off ebay and stick it in my garage. everything original will be kept!

sorry marroon, i wont be selling her yet. in 4 months or so ill probably start looking for a mini for the 50th anniversary shows. but i really want to keep the viva and im getting shouted at by my girlfriend because she now likes the 'old man car' im 19 but i changed my insurance over from my mini after an accident so not sure what its really costing me. i 'think' with 1 years no claims etc its costing me about £1200 for the year. but im sure i could shop around for a better deal, its just that they were the cheapest for my mini.

thanks for all your kind words

The banded wheels were off a Morris Minor so they will be 4" PCD.
I will try and sort some pictures but it may be after Christmas now.

Edited by mk3 Cooper S, 23 December 2008 - 10:20 PM.

[Down&Out]

thats niiiiiice. keep an eye out on retro rides theres a lot you can do to them...good luck

Edited by 86-Mini-Chelsea, 23 December 2008 - 10:41 PM.

[oli8925]

The banded wheels were off a Morris Minor so they will be 4" PCD.
I will try and sort some pictures but it may be after Christmas now.

cheers no worries im not in any rush!

thats niiiiiice. keep an eye out on retro rides theres a lot you can do to them...good luck

thanks will do. but i wont be doing to much to her and nothing irreversible.

she is supposed to be 'just my daily' and thus im not 'allowed' to do anything at all! pfffft...women! thats advice to ignore if ever there was any!

Edited by oli8925, 23 December 2008 - 11:20 PM.

[nurseholliday]

Yes yes! Nice one.

[oli8925]

some more pics - http://s252.photobuc...li8925/Viva HC/

see the boot space! and even the space in the engine bay is bigger than a minis boot



also if anyone has any info on a weber 32 ICT carb, please do share (cant remember if i mentioned that earlier in the thread)
http://s252.photobuc...l...ber 32 ICT/

Edited by oli8925, 29 December 2008 - 06:12 PM.

[*Raz*]

woooah yummm

[oli8925]

merci


does anyone know if the company raydyot still exist? ive done a search but it doesnt come up with much, just one in leicester and another in cradley heath.

ive taken my grandads old square 8's he had on his victor some 30+ years ago. the driving lights perfect, but the fog has lost its bracket, the rubber seal has completely perished and the light bowl/holder has had a bit snap off so it wont hold the bulb in securely. its extremely unlikely ill be able to get a replacement holder but id like a chin way with them all the same.

[Jordie]

i was told truck-lite had bought raydyot.

I contacted them last yr or before, asking if they had a replacement lens for a spotlamp i had with a cracked lens. They sent me a pair of spotlights similar size etc for the cost of postage. They were brilliant. Dont know if they still make raydyot lamps etc though, i think they just merged together or something and now all products are truck-lite

loads of raydyot lamps on ebay though

[oli8925]

thanks jordie.

ill find a number for truck-lite too then. sounds like good customer service that although i would love to use these lamps for the period effect. ive been regularly checking ebay too but all the ones on there now are round ones. im looking for ones like these, dont come up too much: