1973 HC Viva - Vauxhalls most popular car goes for a drive

Fun fact, Vauxhall were the first company to introduce the use of acrylic paint ( water based) in the 1970s, and the advertising brochures climed the Viva as " the car you will never have to polish" . Unfortunately, the underseal they used ( also used as a selling point) , was a very thick black bituminous goo, which simply hardened and cracked inside 3 years , thus making the corrosion problem many times worse ! ( I still had two of them though).😊😊

That's a nice example. Our family fell on hard times in the early 80s due to a court case (which we eventually won after some years in court and much money in legal costs), and my father would buy and sell cars to put food on the table. The Viva, Chevette and Horizon are cars forever imprinted in my DNA: We had so many of them they were like part of the furniture. But I had basically forgotten all about the Viva till now. After a few years Dad got back on his feet and the cars improved and were bought for fun rather than necessity. Suddenly we had Alfettas, Citroen CXs, Saab 900s, Mercs, BMWs, Audis, and they stayed rather than disappearing within days. However it was a major turning point for him taking delivery of his brand new Volvo 740 GLE. Before things had gone wrong, he had rented a 240 in Sweden and had decided that would be his next car. It took him over 10 years to get back to being in a position to do so. As a little lad, getting into that 740 is something I shall forever remember. Probably why I like your channel so much - nostalgia! Cheers!

I remember the Viva from my childhood. Didn’t like it at all at the time. I appreciate it much more now. Thanks for the memories. 🇮🇪

My first car I drove on the roads, learnt to drive & past my driving test was a 1979 Viva E (HC). It was one of the last made & registered with an 8 valve 1256cc OHV engine in Pastel Blue. One of the first thing I did was replace the traditional headlamps with halogen bulbs as the originals were useless. You could always spot a Viva owner as their 8thou feeler gauge was beaten to a pulp as you adjusted the tappets with the engine running. Ok the rpm's were turned down to almost stalling but what a way to learn motor mechanics.

Thank you for giving some exposure to this unfairly ignored little trooper! In my working class childhood these were everywhere in all conditions, including in our driveway (in 2300SL guise) and in the yard of the nick where my dad worked. Absolute rust buckets in the North East, but dead easy to drive and maintain. Ideal starter classic as @idriveaclassic would say.

I remember my aunt having one of these in the mid 80s. It was pretty much an old banger by then but I liked the strip Speedo. Then in 1990 or so my friends family inherited a bronze 1973 2 door which only had about 12,000 miles on the clock having been garaged for many years . They were super excited as it seemed very modern compared to the Morris traveller which was their everyday car back then. I can’t say I shared their enthusiasm, I remember being surprised by the driveline and axle noise from the Viva not to mention the horror of roasting vinyl seats on sunny days!

I loved the HC Viva - and this was a good thing, because in the town I lived in as a child, it seemed nearly every third family had one. Not us though - we were strictly Austin A30 / A35 or Ford Cortina. Dad did own a CF Jumbo van he used for work, but if we went anywhere, it was in one of the others. The first time I saw a Magnum with its dual headlight setup, metallic paint (on the one I first saw at least) and vinyl roof, even as a youngster I knew that it was the posher version and the one to get - especially as it had an 1800 instead of the paltry 1256cc in the Viva. The first time I saw a Firenza, I think I stood there with mouth open as it went by. We never saw a Droop Snoot (or HPF if you prefer) Firenza down here in NZ, but there were plenty of people driving the snot out of the 1800s or finding wrecked CF Bedfords and nicking the 2.3 litre engines to drop in them - even in the late 70s when the Firenza was only few years old! A mate of mine's Mum used to drive a 4-door HC, so it followed that he learned to drive in the thing and him and I went on a number of trips in it. The car handled very well on the twisty backroads that were around the area we lived in, although when it came to straight line grunt, even my A35 gave the Viva a run for its money. I remember seeing the words "Energy Absorbing" on the steering wheel and suggesting to my mate that he swap the steering wheel for an after market one. He asked why and I told him that I reckoned the steering wheel was absorbing too much energy out of the performance and sucking the life out the engine. It took him a few seconds to click...... Great wee cars and rather safe for their time aa it was hard to get them to lean over or slide - they were so well balanced. I've always wanted a Magnum or Firenza, but I still love the plain Jane Viva because of what it represented. My mate eventually dropped a Magnum's 1800 in the Viva and it changed her handling a bit, but she was still essentially the same car....but better! Great memories. Thanks Matt!

I remember a lot of these on the roads when I was a kid. I really liked them. The sporty Firenza model was my favourite though with a more futuristic swoopy rear quarter and a droop snoot front end. Back in those days the small van version was still based on the HA if I recall correctly. Personally I preferred the MKII Cortina but that may have been influenced by the fact my dad had one. An old work mate from 25+ years ago had an immaculate 2 door that I had a ride in without seat belts and it was a brilliant step back in time. I'd almost forgotten about them till this video. Cheers Matt for sharing, it brings back my memories from a long time ago.

My brother had two of these... and both were dire. Despite regular services, the 1975 model he bought needed a short motor by the time it was three years old. In 1978 several family members all ditched their unreliable Vauxhalls, bought Datsuns and never looked back. There is an issue of 'Motor' magazine from late 1970 that describes the HC design and it seems as though it was much more than a restyled HB.

Very underrated cars with a very slick short throw gearbox. The 1256cc engine had a three bearing crank and was not as robust as similar offerings from Opel. You rarely see a Viva HC these days, the HA remained in production into the 80’s as a van. Quite remarkable as earliest Viva models are now 60 as I am.

I used to work on these in the 70s, if you service them every 6 months they were extremely reliable. I owned one myself then part exchanged it for a mk3 Capri which was beautiful and drove ok but for a family of four totally impractical, should have kept the viva. So bought a victor fe 2.3 estate a huge car which felt like it could drive up any hill even fully loaded. One thing i remember on servicing the old 1256 viva, you had to set tappets ( valve clearances) with engine running. Warm engine turn tick over down to as slow as possible then use disposable feeler guage strip supplied by main dealer luckily to check clearances very carefully. Messy but necessary, oh yes inner wings rotted away pretty readily. Thanks for the memories 😊

I brought my son home from hospital after he was born 40y ago in my gold SL with a black vinyl roof. My friends dad used to work a Ac delco he bought a brand new white one on staff discount he paid extra for front disc brakes both cars eventually rusted away. My current car is a 2015 1.6 diesel Astra j which is worlds apart from my Viva more power better ride lots of stopping power with disc on all wheels and best of all a lot more mpg

I think this is the funniest car review you have ever done 😂 Well done in your perseverance, I love the bit of having to turn the wipers off as a bit had fallen off ! Genuine 70's motoring experience had by all. Keep up the great work ❤👍

My first car when i was 17 yrs old back in 1987 and I hated it, I wish I'd gone for the beetle I always wanted and still never owned one, but I go to a lot of car shows and i quite like them now especially the firenza's, great review and has brought back many memories 😎

Viva HC was my first car in 1982 it was on a L plate (1973) like this one. Less than ten years old and just under 60,000 miles on the clock but OMG its was at the end of its life. Rot everywhere and the distributor drive had broken in the engine a common fault I believe and the drivers door had to be lifted in to the hole to close the door lol. But I loved it, the first car always has a soft spot in everyone's heart. I remember arriving at college one morning and the Jack was hanging out of the boot floor. I always thought it was a handsome car and even today it still looks good. Oh and I forgot to say the gear lever always came off in your hand when reverse was selected another common fault lol

I had one as a company car for 18 months after driving an Avenger for two years, couldn't wait to get rid of it. Most of the electrical bits under the bonnet were replaced. Even the starter motor fell apart when the bearings disintegrated. Its only car where I have experienced fuel starvation caused by the hot summer of 1976. Those horrible plastic seats made you sweat buckets in warm weather.

I bought an HC Viva new in 1972 (MGJ685L) in Honey Starmist. Between order and delivery a heated rear window became a standard fitment, and very welcome it was. I don't understand how your 1973 model didn't have one. It wasn't a bad little car, though it did loose its gearbox oil because one of the gaskets had been folded over during assembly. Vauxhall build quality wasn't the best, I could say the same about a 2000 Corsa though that's a whole different story. It was reasonably comfortabe for a long journey, I did Newcastle to Plymouth in 6 and a half hours (about 420 miles) when we had a 50mph blanket speed limit in force and there were people coming past me like I was going backwards even though I wasn't exactly hanging around! Fuel consumption was about 30mpg overall, which was par for the course in those days. I remember that it cost me £1007 on the road. I sold it because I had moved and no longer needed a car. That was the start of 14 years without a car, it was better to hire something for the odd times I needed one.

Well, that was terrifying Matt. More so to think I learned to drive in one in 1973, so thanks for the all-too-vivid reminder. They were essential driving-school fodder of the 70s. That Viva is in incredible condition though but. It seems impossible to imagine that the first Ford Fiesta was only three years away. It might as well have been a lifetime.

First car I ever drove - on an industrial estate, away from other road users, about 5 minutes after I got my provisional. My son, aged 17 at the time, wanted, but couldn't afford a Mini and I mentioned my first driving experience. Cue a successful search for a four door Viva as his first car! Cheers

Hello from north wales! I worked at Vauxhall’s ELLESMERE PORT plant where they were made from 1977 to 2012. Paint dept, making the seats front and back from scratch. V6 engine plant, including Cadillac engines for export. And the last 9 yrs body shop. Thirty five years in all, retired 11 yrs ago. All good looked after me. The viva was superseded by the chevette, why they Cut off production so soon we never knew. Because it was a really good seller. The bonnet weighed a ton! Coming off the line, that car was solid!