Victor F Type - any good?

[Squire_Dawson]

The Consul I was interested in passed me by; another car on my bucket list is the Vauxhall Victor F Type, the 'baby Yank' model. Apart from rust, what are they like? From what I can gather the engines seem pretty tough but a 3 speed 'box will be new to me. But it wouldn't often be taken on motorways. I like the Series II cars better.

[STUNO]

Rust aside, not a bad car. If you are a larger man you may have a problem with getting in due to the "dog leg" front door aperture meeting with your knees. You will need to try first and see if you can live with it.

Mechanically they are bullet proof and quite a good (note here.....not sporting!) ride with more than adequate room and a good boot. The 3 speed column change is easy to get used to, but as you say probably not suited for motorway trips at 70+.

You actually might like it !

[Uncle Jimmy]

Very narrow, under powered and even at the time rather old fashioned. Personally I'd get fed up with greasing suspension components. Having said that I can see their charm.

[vulgalour]

For bonus points, get yourself the Canadian version.

 

[tooSavvy]

Boyfriend/hubby had one in "A taste of Honey"

 

 

http://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=55506

 

 

TS

[DSdriver]

I'd be going around it with a magnet to see how much of it is real. What about its bigger brother/sister, erm Cresta was it? They used to be huge when I was a kid but I've grown a bit since then and so have modern cars.

[JeeExEll]

 

Plenty of room for a slightly un-natural family of 5.

Wait a minute, how big were these people?

 

The pic above was taken in 1959 only seconds before this brand new Victor veered off the road and Daddy, Mummy, Daddy, Timmy, and Doris were all completely killed to death. The dusty damaged barn-find Victor is currently on ebay still with the original sales invoice on the front seat and the bodies of the family still inside. They don't come more original than that.

A must-have for Vauxhall enthusiasts.

 

From ebay,

"On the twelfth of July 1959 at just before 9 o clock the Small family left their prefab one-bedroom cottage by bus. The purpose of their journey was to visit their local Vauxhall shop, Rustyfuck and Titwank Ltd. (est 1928).

Daddy Number One had some cash in his pocket having recently embezzled the furniture-department of his employers blah blah blah . . . . . ".

[somewhatfoolish]

 

Plenty of room for a slightly un-natural family of 5.

Wait a minute, how big are these people?

 

The're the same size as the folk in contemporary Morris Oxford ads; concentration camp inmates, dwarves, victims of the wicked Rick Moranis and quadruple amputees lost in an interior that makes the inside of a Leyland Tiger look pokey.

 

Fake News!

 

 

Teh truthiness

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

They have lots of charm but it has to the be the proper Series 1 with the Jet Engine bumper ends. The Series II was toned down and a bit shit.

 

A Consul Mark 2 (especially a Highline) is much nicer though. They are just so well built and nice to drive around in.

[anonymous user]

I think your question "apart from rust, what are they like?" pretty much answers the whole thing. It will be no worse than any other run of the mill car of that period. Your biggest problem will be finding one for sale, that isn't too bad, for sensible money.

[Squire_Dawson]

Cheers, the Consul got away, that was a nice car. I don't think the lack of power will bother me as the Victor actually develops ~15 bhp more than the Oxford MO I have, which itself is perfectly adequate for my uses. 41 bhp in quite a large car, believe it or not, makes light work of Welsh roads 3 up plus dog and luggage.

[somewhatfoolish]

Many torques, much relax.

[solid61]

Had a few of these many moons ago 1979-81 rare then!!.drove ok,smooth , quiet and good torque delivery.love to have a drive of one now but with a maximum cruising speed of 65-70 and small drum brakes you would need to be very aware of your limitations in modern traffic.Had 3 of em,tnm572 series 1,4569el series2 deluxe,177cbm series2super.

[Squire_Dawson]

Thanks, that's alright as I rarely exceed 65 anyway! Stick to 50 and it saves the engine and my ears/nerves!

[Bren]

Crying out for a V8.

[lisbon_road]

I'd organise that waxoyl sheep dip or keep it dry..........

[Justin Case]

So, if people were so small in those days, why did Chevrolet bother with the Bel Air when they could have just imported the F type Victor, which would have had room to spare for the Americans of the fifties

 

[somewhatfoolish]

I think an F type would fit in the Bel Air's boot.

[JeeExEll]

^^ The 55 Chevy Nomad "wagon" is such a good looking car, I used to draw these on my school books along with various 30s and 40s hot rod designs. I later progressed to drawing things like hot rod Renault 5s with drop tube front axles and perverted stuff like that.

 

The Victor FA is a real looker too in estate form. When my dad was serving his apprenticeship as a sparky round about 1960 the small business he worked for was doing well from distillery work and the 2 bosses bought a brand new FA estate each!!

 

 

Linky for anyone not aware of this fantastic Vauxhall site -

 

http://vauxpedianet.uk2sitebuilder.com/

 

(Don't blame me if you turn into an insomniac hermit for 6 months).

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 they could have just imported the F type Victor

 

 

 

They did.

[406V6]

My father bought one of these new in 57 and it served as reliable family transport until 1969 when it was rusted through despite being garage stored. It was slow but cruised as well as other family cars of the period. The mechanicals are as reliable as any old car. Your problem is rust, rust and more rust, though any car that's survived until now must have been treated against it.

[eddyramrod]

Any good?  I suppose that depends what you want it for.  Jousting with modern traffic?   I would expect it to be rubbish.  Slow, low-geared, ill-handling; not to mention the bench seats with little-to-no lateral support.  Ah but.... a thousand percent more style than any modern car!  You won't want to drive fast, you'll be too busy revelling in the admiring looks it gets.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Consul is a seriously handsome car, but a Victor might turn more heads...?

[59Impala]

I had a Series 2 Deluxe back in 1977, one lady owner, 40k on the clock and all of 40 quids. Ran like a top, nice to drive with a sweet engine and box. Only problem was of course the rust, one day I was driving along near my home and there was a crunch, bump as I drove over something. Stopped and had a look and the right hand indicator unit had fallen off and I'd run over it. It served me well though through snow and ice, good heater. Sold it to a fellow who hoarded them for yep 40 quids and I then bought a RHD 1958 Chevy Belair. But that's another story.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Victors had a well known issue where, if you ran into the back of another car, the front screen would shoot out.

[PhilA]

Safety design. Instead of you having to break the windshield with your body, it pops out so you can be safely ejected through the windscreen aperture in case of aforementioned crash.

 

Very forward thinking for the day

 

 

Phil

[mercrocker]

My friend used to go to all the same rocking events that I took my 190E to in his F type, we always overtook him on the way there and the way back but to be fair the old girl got him there and back as many times as ours did.   Only took one engine re-build!    Its now earning its keep pulling a small vintage caravan around.... 

 

For the few I have tried, the Consul seemed a better all-round drive - feels slower than an F type but more solid.   Neither of them, unfortunately, seem a patch on Morris handling, though!

[PiperCub]

I know little of these cars, just not my personal thing/style (not keen on the US influenced style of many of the era's cars TBH).

The only experience I have of them was as a nipper, my dad had one for a short while and to this day describes it as 'The worst heap of shit I have ever owned'. So I assume he wasn't overly fond of it then! 

[AnthonyG]

I think the hardest problem you have will be finding one. Consuls, Cambridges, Oxfords and Minxes are all quite a bit more numerous. Since you have a Oxford MO, you'll know about 1950s cars already. I always felt Victors were rather flimsy compared to the other cars of it's time, I've never owned any of them though. I would rather have a Consul - or better still a Zephyr!