Oldest Car I've Driven! (So Far): Classic Vauxhall Viva GT

The whole point of driving an old car is to experience how technology has advanced. There is no point in comparing a Sopwith Camel with a Spitfire. For 1970, that was a pretty nice car. Most (affordable) cars then struggled to hit 80 mph.

Nice memory for me, i had a 1967 envoy epic with a 327 chevy around 400 hp that i drove on the street and drag raced , it was fast and a real hoot to drive . Ontario canada :)

Dad had a diamond white one, it had four working exhaust tail pipes (an option), he got it changed to a standard one, when it rusted through, it was too expensive, it wasn't aftermarket, and they were sold with a matt black bonnet (as an option), i remember it being reliable, but not economical

I had one in the seventies, it was not a difficult car to drive. Sounds like you are lacking in the driving ability.

I own a 1972 Vauxhall Victor 2300SL

I nearly bought one of these in 1976, problem was the insurance. Fast cars in there day and this was the top of the Viva range. Originally they had mat black bonnets. Can’t be many left now so it is rare.

Just drive the car you pussy, stop moaning, it’s not hard to drive

The seats are adjustable.

he really cant drive can he?

As i cannot and prob never will not be able to afford the Ford Escort then this is nect on my List, bloody gorgeous :)

Much more effort with the design and styling than with its predecessor the mk1. Though the mk1 stayed in van version until 1983.

this is easily the prettiest of the 3 viva models by miles

Nice looking car.

Great car.... how could you say it’s not the easiest car to drive.... it is the easiest car to drive... just like a Mk1/2 escort you are in touch with the mechanical components... unfair assessment of a great old classic car...

Their were many of them in Jamaica back in the days.

Luckily enough Morris marinas all came with a complimentary bus timetable,

looks like somewhere i used to go in Southampton as a driving instructor ?

great vid, thanks for that.

A Ford man at heart I am, but these Vivas are the exception I imagine these open up quite well on the motorways. This is the difference with old cars V new you actually feel like you are driving them they (old cars) demand that element of interaction

I'm sure you've heard it already, but if anyone isn't sure, this isn't the original one. The HA is. Think 80s yellow BT van.

Sweet car made out of metal! cant stand the review did my head in comparing it to new cars blah blah

The Vauxhall Viva HB with the most interesting North Wales registration was FFF666E in blue that lasted 21 years from 1967 to 1988.

Had one of these when I was a lad.Painted it in B.L flame red with thick and thin white stripes over the bonnet and down the waist line. Stage 3 motor on 45 mm Weber's lovely,quick car wish I still had it

I had the viva hc in 70s in rust away my preset car is a Astra diesel which is poles apart my Friend use to rally the 2.3 Firenze which had a 60 gallon fuel tank in the boot mpg when rallying was about 12 mpg

A Viva SL90 was my second car but I always wanted a GT. There were never many around and so I ended up wit an Escort. Monza red was my favourite colour too. These Vauxhalls are so rare now.

my dad has a 1.3 viva and i can remember going 100mph like it was yesterday the 2.0 would surely do more

Please review some more classic cars. Thanks

What a cracking car, haven’t seen one on the road for a long long time.

Wrong exhaust and shouldnt the bonnet be satin black on a mk11. Also in its day that was a very quick car.

I had one of these. The seats are adjustable and the lights aren't at all dim! He just couldn't drive it..without going on about power.steering.

Get back to your robot cars sonny - this was a great car to drive, and was more fun than all your Teslas.....you needed skill and bravery to drive at 100mph+ on ordinary roads - and it impressed the fairer sex no end! Loved it!

I had one! The starter motor used to go, so I'd hop out, go to the boot, get out a hammer and broom shaft, find the starter motor and give it a tap. Then do that difficult hill start going up Colchester High St...Great presentation, thank you for the memories...

You have no idea what you are talking about You don't understand anything about classic cars. Can't understand why the owner let an ignorand perrson like you drive this car,

Should have a mat black bonnet and crowns of the wings

OMG ! - I had one ! - bought it in 1978 , was made 1969 .
I don't know how much was original ~ amazing rally seats , twin Stromgurgs , much wider tyres , 4 exhaust outlets . . . . could only get parts from scrap VX490 's
8 mpg , got it up to an amazing 20 !
once, in Reading , another drew up beside me ! ~ only 200 ever made, I was told....

Great review ! 10/10 , beautiful ( & very scarce) viva (monza red is amazing /had a deluxe way back,same colour & 1159cc 🙂)

My first car starting from1976 was a 1969 four doors '1600 OHC' Viva.
There were not many of these in Norway - nor the 2000 GT's.
Obviously, the 1600cc slanted Victor engine was external simular to the 2000cc (and the 2300cc), so I got the engine and gearbox from a Victor 2000SL and upgraded ! Next, I got the original carbs and manifold for a 2000 GT and moved on.
A couple of standard 1200cc rear axels later, I also got one of the few (8-9) 2000 GT rear axels around as well - and that one I only broke once !
As the age of digital watches came, I timed 0 to 62.1mph at about 8,6 sec. - with a fairly new clutch, making a "tire squeak" on every gear shift,,,,
Imagine getting to know the possibility, and limits, for this setup over years compared to a novice driver.
btw. It has to be mentioned the superb "rotational speed friendly" cam shaft direct lifter setup of these slanted four engines - one could take out a bit more with delayed shiftin from 2nd to 3rd.
From 'speed tests' in the high mountain crossings - it was said the top speed, from speedometer, showed close to 120mph for the 2000GT.
I would not know, since my 1600cc had original 1200cc spedo, which ended on 160km/h , then passing 40°C (water temp) before disappearing down, and out of scale.

Had a hb

Beautiful car.

Great car not so much the reviewer

Stick to your "Modern" pop pop machines mate down in your local Asda carpark after closing time, crap video, no idea basically.. 😡

I had a Vauxhall Viva in 1974 basic model and was very reliable and much better than Ford & Morris models at the time

We had 4 vivas back in the day. Two ha ,s and 1 hb , 1 hc . Still got the Haynes manual for them.

More than half these cars had the smaller ohv engine, if you think that is slow.
Incidentally I have a Deluxe 90 ( stromberg 4 door disc brake model ) in my native NZ finished in NZ Fireball Red ( NZ take on the Monza Red ) thanks for the test drive, love the extra chrome of the GT mk2.❤

Ты че по встречке гонишь осел

good looking purposeful lines. well designed with good usability...easy to drive too.

Never had a Vauxhall let me down I can't say the same for Ford and BMW

Not a bad car the HB Viva GT along with the Fast Fords of its day a performance alternative

Very clear review!

OK, well it's 2024 and the Viva GT is even older now - well over 50 years!! It's half-a-century old!!
I am a lot older even than that, and I drove the HB Viva when it was new! Yes, I was driving those things in the 1960s!
In fact you can adjust the driver's seat fore and aft by a few inches - and if memory serves you reach down between your knees and there's a side-to-side rod under the front edge of the seat. You lift the rod and move the seat while still pulling up on the rod.
The gearbox on the basic HB's with the 1200 engine was a nicer shift - a joy. And they stayed that way. But the bigger slant engines had less direct linkages and felt OK to use when the car was newish; but wear and tear of the linkages eventually made the gearshift quirky for anyone but the owner who was familiar with it.
Not only was the Viva GT brisk for its day - it was pretty much a rocket ship! Even by the standards of the 1980s and 1990s, a 10 second pull to 60mph would win most traffic light grands prix against a range of much later 4-cylinder models. Let's even go forward to 2008... I currently drive a Suzuki Swift Sport with about 90kW and a 7000rpm redline, and it's only 1 second quicker than that Viva to 60mph. Admittedly, the Swift does it with a 1600 and not a 2000. And it also has to be said later Swift Sports went to 100kW and even 120kW; but it's still pretty amazing that my 2008 Sport would not leave the Viva in the dust - the little Vauxhall would stay well and truly in the rear-view mirror at least up to 70 or 75 mph I'd guess.
The other comment I would make (and please don't take this personally) is that quite a lot of drivers back in 1970 knew how to "double shuffle" back shifts to 3rd and 2nd, and even flare the revs mightily for a shift back to 1st on the go. In my experience of watching videos of Gen Z and millennials - even at a track days - it's a lost art and younger drivers just force the lever back to the gear they want. In fact, if you know the technique - and can match the revs even approximately with a double dip of the clutch - the lever just glides into any gear at almost any speed. Old school drivers knew this stuff because synchromesh was weak and wore out quickly in the 1960s and 1970s. Indeed, even up to 1968 there were cars with no synchromesh at all on 1st gear.
Thank you for putting me back in an HB with your excellent video! And huge appreciation to the Vauxhall Society mechanics for restoring the Viva so it can be shared with thousands of viewers around the world! They must be very trusting people to let their treasures go on these road tests unaccompanied by a staffer or chaperone, so to speak!
PS: I see some viewers have also referred to the OTHER sporty HB Viva... the SL90. From memory, this had quite a lot of tuning kit bolted onto the little 1200 engine - twin carbs, raised compression, factory sports exhaust, a warm cam and a low restriction air filter. It was a brave and quite elaborate attempt to provide a sports option in the earlier 1968/69 models. It borrowed heavily on the philosophy of hotting-up Victors to create the VX-4/90 factory sporties. Road tests at the time certainly describe a racier feel - but the 1159 was always too small for the SL90 to completely succeed... if you "mod" such a tiny engine you scoop out low rpm torque - of which there was very little to spare in the first place. And so it was that many drivers were frustrated that the 90's didn't seem all that much quicker than the improved 1159 that was released about the same time. The secret, of course, was that the SL90 had to be thrashed like you were at Oulton Park raceway to release the full benefits of the factory mods. In normal driving it was unimpressive and puzzling to some buyers and even some motoring columnists.
By the way, although the HB was sold in large numbers in Australia there was never a 2000 GT. There was, however, the downunder version of the SL90; and it was called the Holden "Brabham" Torana. Aussie Formula 1 legend Jack Brabham had agreed to have his name badged onto the car; so this perky (but hardly fast) 85 mph variant on the humble 75 mph Torana rejoiced in actually having "Brabham" badges!
CORRECTION: I did some more research to back up my memory, and the Brabham model was also available in the UK as well as Australia. They were in fact a bit different depending on where and how you bought your "Brabham" HB.
In Britain the Brabham pack was available in 1968 (before it was sold in Australia), and was a bit of a lucky dip with some kits getting aftermarket "Stage 2" mods above even the basic Brabham options. These ones cost much more and the engine was pulled down at the dealership with the head sent out for almost racing-grade mods including valve springs and hot cam that allowed revving to 7000rpm and a very high compression ratio. These "full" Brabhams were capable of about 95+ mph. If that doesn't impress you, just bear in mind this engine is significantly smaller than a Mini Cooper S engine, and the body is significantly bigger. Getting anywhere near 100 mph (if that was actually true) was amazing at the time for a bulbous small family sedan with under 1200cc.
Lesser Brabhams were achieved with just factory options and were certainly not remanufactured in the dealership and didn't get those outsourced racing heads. This version was simply a bit better than the "90" option (which was called "Series 70" in Australia) and was good for 85 - 90 mph with its twin carbs, extractors, and other superficial adornments to the "90" engine option. And again if that top speed of just under 90 mph for the Aussie spec Brabhams seems underwhelming, remember that the full size Holden Belmont and Kingswood 6-cylinder sedans at the time had a standard 2.6 litre engine (the 161 cubic inch) that could not hit 90 mph. If you wanted to go past 90 mph in a big Holden in 1969 you needed to option the 3 litre (186 cubic inch)!
By the time the Brabham concept reached Australia in 1969 it had crystallised into a clear-cut factory option more like the lesser Brabhams in the UK.