1972 Vauxhall Viva

[HCviva]

As mentioned in my other Viva thread, here's the 2 door I've been working on. I wanted to do a bit of build on one but couldn't bring myself to carve up a complete car, this came along and seemed perfect for what I planned on doing so got it snapped up for a few hundred ££. Bought as a rolling shell needing a bit of body repair and welding but nothing major.

I believe the guy I bought it off owned it for a while as a complete car. His friends son was round one day and saw it, took a notion for it and bought it to restore as a first car ( sounds familiar) stripped it all down, cut some rot out of it, lost interest and bought a chevette. This is the condition he bought it back off the friends son and then how I bought it.

All in all, very good for 52 years old

The plans for this are more modern running gear, the ally cat wheels in the last thread, polybushed, Gaz coilovers and shocks, twin round headlight conversion and Firenza 2300 rear axle and brakes.

 

[carmad.]

As mentioned in my other Viva thread, here's the 2 door I've been working on. I wanted to do a bit of build on one but couldn't bring myself to carve up a complete car, this came along and seemed perfect for what I planned on doing so got it snapped up for a few hundred ££. Bought as a rolling shell needing a bit of body repair and welding but nothing major.

I believe the guy I bought it off owned it for a while as a complete car. His friends son was round one day and saw it, took a notion for it and bought it to restore as a first car ( sounds familiar) stripped it all down, cut some rot out of it, lost interest and bought a chevette. This is the condition he bought it back off the friends son and then how I bought it.

All in all, very good for 52 years old

The plans for this are more modern running gear, the ally cat wheels in the last thread, polybushed, Gaz coilovers and shocks, twin round headlight conversion and Firenza 2300 rear axle and brakes.

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when ever i did the coil overs on my old green one there was a fair bit off fab involved

what running gear are you thinking off ?

 

[FM155]

MX5 I believe..

 

[HCviva]

MX5 I believe..

Now how did you know that

 

[carmad.]

Now how did you know that

for the front axel i understand

but the rear

 

[HCviva]

for the front axel i understand

but the rear

GAZ do a front coilover designed for the viva subframe now so using them. The rear I am just using Gaz shocks and Group 4 springs because the rear turrets aren't strong enough to support a coilover

 

[FM155]

I pay attention....

Santa was good this year. Set of Allycats for the other viva project I have. A 2 door rolling shell getting mx5 running gear
View attachment 420535

 

[HCviva]

I pay attention....

Aha ! Undone by my own posts

 

[carmad.]

i thought ya where gonna a mx5 front subframe

 

[HCviva]

No stuck with the vauxhall subframe easier to modify it when it already fits

i thought ya where gonna a mx5 front subframe

 

[HCviva]

Got the Viva home and ordered up lots of goodies.

Drivers floor pan, chassis rail and washer bottle bracket all made by a guy in the Vauxhall Viva Owners Club.

New rear arches from Expressed steel panels

Bespoke GAZ Coilovers and rear shocks

New rear springs from TJ Motorsport

Full Polybush kit from Superpro

The full kit was purchased so I can polybush the entire car. Some of the existing rubber bushes look reasonable but others are totally knackered. The rear springs are Group 4 spec at 250lb rate. There are no rear springs so I had the perfect reason to spend more money and buy these. Also both front springs appear to have broken (or badly cut)

 

[carmad.]

it’s good that the club members are starting to replicate parts there was nothing accept sills available for them for a long time

 

[HCviva]

it’s good that the club members are starting to replicate parts there was nothing accept sills available for them for a long time

Bits and pieces becoming available now. If they don't make them no one will I guess.

Was your Green HC with coilovers the one with the manta stuff in it ?

 

[carmad.]

Bits and pieces becoming available now. If they don't make them no one will I guess.

Was your Green HC with coilovers the one with the manta stuff in it ?

James from ballyclare bought it off some older gental man once at the shed i test drove it and begged him to sell it to me rather than him modifying it

he tried to and gave up on it there it sat for 2 years

i bought it with no running gear as he had sold it all just a really good shell with interior

my brother had a rotten 2.0 cavalier sport hatch and we took the running gear out off it cost me a fortune at the time i had attempted to put a gsi astra turbo engine in it but couldn’t get the clearances for the balance shafts in the two peice sump so i ended up going down the red top route

drove it once and sold it

i know it has passed through several hands and i bought it back at the start off 2020 a few bits including the immaculate interior missing

i passed it on to my brother who sold it

recently it has gone under a full restoration as i am aware i have been sent some photos

 

[HCviva]

James from ballyclare bought it off some older gental man once at the shed i test drove it and begged him to sell it to me rather than him modifying it

he tried to and gave up on it there it sat for 2 years

i bought it with no running gear as he had sold it all just a really good shell with interior

my brother had a rotten 2.0 cavalier sport hatch and we took the running gear out off it cost me a fortune at the time i had attempted to put a gsi astra turbo engine in it but couldn’t get the clearances for the balance shafts in the two peice sump so i ended up going down the red top route

drove it once and sold it

i know it has passed through several hands and i bought it back at the start off 2020 a few bits including the immaculate interior missing

i passed it on to my brother who sold it

recently it has gone under a full restoration as i am aware i have been sent some photos

Good to hear it's being restored. Last i saw it there were mx5 bucket seats in it

 

[HCviva]

I got an OHC rear axle out of an 1800 magnum. Yes I know it is yellow but it was given to me so can't complain. This opened up the door to a few more powerplant options as I now have a stronger back end and can set the current 1256 rear axle to the side. I am informed it is good for 140 to 160bhp

"Old Nail" raced by Gerry Marshall used the standard Magnum/Firenza back axle and survived over 100 races without failure. The big weakness in these back axles are the 2 planet gears. A gripper LSD is an option and would remove the weakness but it's very expensive. Given that "Old Nail" raced and made 200bhp I'm going to chance it for a bit and see how this lasts.

Also dropped the front subframe and started to strip it down for repaint

 

[FM155]

Nice axle, JCB?

 

[carmad.]

I got an OHC rear axle out of an 1800 magnum. Yes I know it is yellow but it was given to me so can't complain. This opened up the door to a few more powerplant options as I now have a stronger back end and can set the current 1256 rear axle to the side. I am informed it is good for 140 to 160bhp

"Old Nail" raced by Gerry Marshall used the standard Magnum/Firenza back axle and survived over 100 races without failure. The big weakness in these back axles are the 2 planet gears. A gripper LSD is an option and would remove the weakness but it's very expensive. Given that "Old Nail" raced and made 200bhp I'm going to chance it for a bit and see how this lasts.

Also dropped the front subframe and started to strip it down for repaint

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very lucky the last one i got i had to go to england to pick up guy refused to courier it

that was in my sr20det viva hb

 

[HCviva]

very lucky the last one i got i had to go to england to pick up guy refused to courier it

that was in my sr20det viva hb

Any photos of that?

 

[carmad.]

Any photos of that?

yes and the green one

 

[HCviva]

Some cam on this !!




Why does the Standard 10 interest me most out of them all LOL

 

[HCviva]

I got word that there was a 19,000 mile 2.0 pinto for sale local to me so I bought that for this project and got it home. I had been looking for weeks for a mazda mx5 to break so I could get all the running gear with ancillaries, loom, ecu and key but nothing was coming up and all the local mazda men had nothing at a reasonable price that suited me, all their complete cars were roadworthy and upwards of £1500, no thanks.

Sods law, the pinto was in my shed half an hour and an ideal mx5 came up in Ballymoney at £250, so you guessed it, I bought that too. Here it is at home, 1.8litre twin cam VVT engine mk2.5 with 5 speed box and 79,000 miles, drove it onto the trailer and its even got MOT lol. Supposed to be putting out 145bhp but the beauty of it is everything is there and it runs. The guy selling it stripped the interior and panels off it as he races them himself but apart from that it is pretty complete.

 

[carmad.]

Some cam on this !!




Why does the Standard 10 interest me most out of them all LOL

cause the standard ten had a cavalier 2.0 8 valve in it

 

[HCviva]

Decided against the pinto once I had my hands on the Mazda.

Behold the entire mx5 wiring harness removed from the car and "meticulously" labelled. Most of the labels fell off so had to do them again while it was all fresh.

Got the engine and gearbox out along with full loom, ecu and key, driveshaft, servo and cylinder, pedal box, airbox and radiator

Engine and gearbox then got a quick test fit, it is slightly tilted because the hole in the tunnel for the gearstick to pass through hadn't been lengthened yet. Mx5 radiator sits in really nicely.

 

[FM155]

Did you know that the little 4 bolted cover just forward of the shifter on the MX5 gearbox is an alternative shifter position? Not used it myself yet but saw retropower use it on their Morris minor project. Needs a pin drilled into the selector shaft at the forward position and the shift tower moved to the new position.

Might save you elongating the tunnel hole.