1966 Vauxhall Viva HA 90 Deluxe

Registration: MGW414D

Chassis:

HAD216159160 Odometer: 28,000

Transmission:

Manual MOT: May 2027

Fabulous history and a TV star

Featured on ‘Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars’ and signed by the hosts, Drew Pritchard and Paul Cowland

Fantastic personal and interesting history

Unrivalled specification

Lots of correspondence with it

We are extremely pleased to offer this wonderful example, which is very much a one-off and nothing else even comes close to it. Read on and enjoy, this is very special!

Originally acquired brand new by one Mike Dobson in 1966, who owned it for an incredible 53 years until 2019. He spent most of the 60s and 70s expertly customising and enhancing it to his unique specification, both performance and interior wise. This included converting the standard HA 90 engine to a genuine Blydenstein performance engine, from Vauxhall’s tuning guru Bill Blydenstein whose initials are stamped on the engine’s cylinder head.

This example is arguably the most famous of all HA Vivas, following its appearance on the Discovery TV Show, ‘Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars’ (Season 6 Episode 3), starring motoring enthusiasts Drew Pritchard and Paul Cowland. In addition, it was also featured in the June 1974 edition of Custom Car magazine.

Rescued from a long period of storage, the ‘Salvage Hunters: Classic Car’ team sympathetically restored the Viva. Keeping to the original owner’s vision by maintaining all the original custom features, refreshing, and restoring areas as needed, but all the time trying to preserve as much original patina as possible.

During the restoration process, a thorough examination was conducted, revealing that the bodywork was in exceptionally good condition. As a result, the decision was made to preserve the original bodywork and focus on refurbishing the underside. This decision was deemed to be a wise one. The paintwork boasts a genuine patina that is far superior to a fresh coat of paint. While there are a few minor dings, such as a small dent on the front bumper, some minor scuffs and blemishes and a few areas where the original owner touched up the paint with a brush, these imperfections only add to the charm. Furthermore, the bodywork is solid and free of any corrosion.

All the chromework is still bright, with no significant signs of any pitting. During the restoration, its aftermarket grille was replaced with a period and model correct chrome item and is nicely set off by the additional chin spoiler that was part of the original customisation. During preparation, the original paintwork was given a gentle machine polish, to help restore some of the lost gloss, and it has then been given a couple of coats of high-end Carnauba based wax to add a further layer of protection to the paintwork. This approach has both managed to maintain the original patina, whilst at the same time enhancing the lovely Jade Green colour scheme.

The cabin is a true masterpiece, a testament to the original owner's unwavering dedication to creating the perfect Viva. It’s a far cry from even the top of the range standard HA 90 Super Deluxe set-up. Every inch of the interior’s sporting customisations exudes excellence. The front seats are fully reclining period Contour Microcell units with adjustable headrests, and the rear bench seat has been replaced by a modified Viva HB GT set-up, featuring individual seats. The dash is a one-off design item, faced in walnut veneer and is complemented by a lovely period three spoke leather bound sports steering wheel. The main instruments, speedometer, rev counter, oil pressure, water temperature, and petrol gauges are all Triumph sourced, along with the switch gear. In addition, the original owner also added four extra Smiths gauges to the dashboard, providing amps, volts, vacuum, and oil temperature readings. All of the instrumentation and switchgear are in excellent original condition and working, with no damage to report. If we are being picky, we did note that the rev counter does over read slightly, but we understand re-calibration solutions are available to remedy this. In car entertainment is provided in true period style by way of an eight-track stereo! Finally, this must be the only HA Viva fitted with electric windows! They operate from buttons located in the custom-built central arm rest console, which houses a storage compartment, handy for those 8 track cassettes.

For the main performance upgrade, the original owner went to Vauxhall’s then tuning guru Bill Blydenstein, a former BTCC driver and class champion. To the sweet little 1057cc engine Bill fitted one of his HB heads, which carries his still visible stamped initials (‘WBB’). The 9:1 compression ratio found in the standard HA 90 engine was increased to an amazing 11.5:1, for more power. In addition, it received balancing and valve / cam work, enabling it to rev to 7000 rpm. An alloy Blydenstein rocker cover was fitted along with a twin branch manifold and Vauxhall Victor 2000 silencer box. It is also fitted with a custom-built single exit end box, which provides for a lovely sporty, but not intrusive exhaust note. The ‘Custom Car’ magazine article from June 1974, mentions that Bill Blydenstein had driven the Viva himself, followed the original owner’s modifications and declared it to be the best handling HA ever built!

Along with the V5C showing two former keepers, it also comes with a Certificate of Manufacture from the Vauxhall Heritage Centre, confirming it as a matching numbers example built in January 1966. It was first registered on 3rd May later that year. Also included in the documented history file are a number of laminated photos, taken in period, some of which contain the original owner himself and other family members, as well as the family with the team from ‘Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars’ following the restoration. There are two copies of the June 1974 ‘Custom Car’ magazine, which features an article on the Viva, as well as a wider article on Vauxhall Vivas and their tuning potential, including much content on Blydenstein tuning upgrades. In addition, there is an article from another motoring magazine on how Blydenstein converted HA Vivas, compared with standard HA Vivas, as well as some correspondence between the original owner and ‘The Vauxhall Motorist’ magazine, from 1975.

The result is a genuine ‘one of a kind’ HA Viva 90, with an incredible history and equipped with a rare and genuine performance engine from Vauxhall’s most renowned performance engine builder. As such, this Viva represents a fantastic opportunity for any collector or enthusiast, in search of an absolute gem of a classic, that’s also a TV star with a fabulous history and a captivating back story.