Cresta, an update.

[busmansholiday]

Lidl do a decent metal paint (cheaper and better than Hamerite) in a choice of colours. That and use a small foam roller and nobody* will be able to spot it's not a 15 grand spray job.

 

* well not from the otherside of the Lidl car park anyway. 

[davocano]

This BARN FIND single-headlamper went through Historics auction in July last year; final price for its new owner was £2128.

1970 Vauxhall Cresta by davocano, on Flickr

1970 Vauxhall Cresta by davocano, on Flickr

[Asimo]

Matt black and flames?

This car is local, but I haven't seen it move for a few years. Shares a garden with some FB Vauxhalls. 

[danthecapriman]

Great to see this getting some attention.

I think the PC Cresta has to be one of my all time favourite cars, they are exactly what a big saloon car should look like. The styling is absolutely perfect imho! It’s a great mix of a British car and US style, without being over done.

I will own one, one day.

[brownnova]

Great thread!! Will read more twelvety thousand/10 

 

[puddlethumper]

Popped down the garage this morning and the gearbox is out. The parts needed are bought

and I shall pick them up on Monday from Aylesbury. He's got a lot of bits for all the Crestas

including a one owner PA that's been sat in a garage for forty years. £4500 or best offer.

Looks pretty solid. Nearly had one as my first wheels in 72 but I was £20 short on the £60

he wanted so got a Mk 2 Consul instead. ?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

3 hours ago, davocano said:

This BARN FIND single-headlamper went through Historics auction in July last year; final price for its new owner was £2128.

For such a big car, just look at the width of the tyres.....

[tooSavvy]

12 hours ago, Amishtat said:

That had a home brewed conversion using a single SU from a Rover 3-litre and absolutely went like fuck, there's no other way to describe it. 

My IMP (875cc overbored to 930cc.. 'a la' Put a Sunbeam in you Life) got a MiNi SU cobbled on, with a scaffy 90° Elbow, and that was.. Err.. Quicker too

[vulgalour]

6 hours ago, puddlethumper said:

That looks bloody good so I looked it up. I did like the fact it was ideal for waste skips. Ha ha. Sounds about right. 

Not sure if I want it looking as good as yours. I'm after the "not giving too much of a shit" look.

Dacrylate say its  fast drying but you reckon it's slow. I iz a bit confuzzed, which is not unusual.

It's fast for a brush-on type paint, slow compared to rattle cans.  The working time on the Dacrylate is just about right in my experience, except the pillar box red I was using which seemed to dry just a little faster than I'd like.  The black was a joy to work with, drying time, working time, final finish, was all really nice.  Don't want as nice a finish as the Polo?  Use less coats, don't do any wet sanding between coats.

[quicksilver]

I'd forgotten all about this so it's great to see it getting some love. Fear not, the Viscount is not extinct as Vauxhall Heritage have one and here's another I spotted last year:

ROJ 522G - 1969 Vauxhall Viscount by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

[puddlethumper]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

I'd forgotten all about this so it's great to see it getting some love. Fear not, the Viscount is not extinct as Vauxhall Heritage have one and here's another I spotted last year:

ROJ 522G - 1969 Vauxhall Viscount by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

They do look good in black with all the chrome I must admit but I can't afford a finish like that. Woe is me.

[puddlethumper]

5 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

For such a big car, just look at the width of the tyres.....

Agreed. They don't fill the arches up enough. Wider allys came with mine and I'm going to put them on.

Anything with chrome bumpers and nice wheels looks good to me even with a bad paint job.

[puddlethumper]

I'm undecided what grill to put on. I have a Cresta and a Viscount one. The Viscount one has 

the logo on it. Choices, choices. 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

14 minutes ago, puddlethumper said:

Agreed. They don't fill the arches up enough. Wider allys came with mine and I'm going to put them on.

Nowadays, even shopping shite seems to have wider wheels than those. 

[Amishtat]

Rover P5 Rostyles fit and fill the arches nicely 

[bunglebus]

7 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

For such a big car, just look at the width of the tyres.....

 

All the better for squealing around corners pretending you're being pursued by Bodie and Doyle or Regan and  Carter.

[puddlethumper]

18 hours ago, quicksilver said:

I'd forgotten all about this so it's great to see it getting some love. Fear not, the Viscount is not extinct as Vauxhall Heritage have one and here's another I spotted last year:

ROJ 522G - 1969 Vauxhall Viscount by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

I know the owner of this from Faceache and forgot it was a Viscount. Looks stunning. Mine is never going to look as nice.

There's a cresta group on FB at ROJ522G and friends.

[eddyramrod]

I was just about to say the same!  That Viscount is getting looked after, it's highly  cherished.

[puddlethumper]

Owner says it's good from a distance but really needs a respray as it's cracked a fair bit.

[chaseracer]

Aren't we all... ?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

23 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

For such a big car, just look at the width of the tyres.....

One of the features of the Viscount at launch was wide (5” !) wheels with high speed 7.00 x14 tubeless tyres, I think Crestas got 5.90 x14.  I remember my dad fitting radials to his Viscount and raved about how much better it handled, no idea what size though. Probably 185 x14s, I do remember they were more difficult to paint with tyre black because the sidewalks had too much writing on them,I can smell that tyre paint now, 45 years later!

[Ghosty]

Yeeeah, paint it black. Maybe add red wheels or a scallop or something.

[quicksilver]

A few more PC pics for inspiration.

Vauxhall Heritage's Viscount. Currently untaxed but that's hopefully just an administrative issue,

AAH 120J - 1970 Vauxhall Viscount by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

Cresta or Viscount?

YCH 803H - 1969 Vauxhall Cresta by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

Similar choice of wheels on this one. What are they from?

FGF 463J - 1970 Vauxhall Cresta by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

And this one is brilliant, preserved in proper 1980s banger condition

BOU 230K - 1971 Vauxhall Cresta Deluxe by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

[NorfolkNWeigh]

4 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

A few more PC pics for inspiration.

Vauxhall Heritage's Viscount. Currently untaxed but that's hopefully just an administrative issue,

AAH 120J - 1970 Vauxhall Viscount by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

Cresta or Viscount?

YCH 803H - 1969 Vauxhall Cresta by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

Similar choice of wheels on this one. What are they from?

FGF 463J - 1970 Vauxhall Cresta by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

And this one is brilliant, preserved in proper 1980s banger condition

BOU 230K - 1971 Vauxhall Cresta Deluxe by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

Jensen Interceptor, you see them on Rovers as well. Jeep Grand Cherokee wheels also fit. So presumably Rovers, Westminsters etc and also weirdly Ford P100s.

[puddlethumper]

11 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

A few more PC pics for inspiration.

Vauxhall Heritage's Viscount. Currently untaxed but that's hopefully just an administrative issue,

AAH 120J - 1970 Vauxhall Viscount by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

Cresta or Viscount?

YCH 803H - 1969 Vauxhall Cresta by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

Similar choice of wheels on this one. What are they from?

FGF 463J - 1970 Vauxhall Cresta by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

And this one is brilliant, preserved in proper 1980s banger condition

BOU 230K - 1971 Vauxhall Cresta Deluxe by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

I think it was only the Viscount that had the Vinyl roof although I could be wrong. Anyone know what these are off ?

[AnthonyG]

Those look like Minilites to me, or copies thereof.  

Despite the name the company made them in lots of sizes during the aftermarket alloy wheel boom of the 1970s - I have seen pics of Mk1 Capris wearing them.

[somewhatfoolish]

If you have an agricultural engineers or farm supplies local to you they will keep decent enamel for Farmer Giles to daub onto tractors, etc, which will go on well with a roller and give a decent gloss from 10 paces.

[puddlethumper]

This should really go in the grumpy thread. I went off down to Aylesbury this morning to 

pick up a manual conversion. At this point I would like to stress that I am a carpenter not a mechanic.

Had a chat with  the seller who seemed to know about Crestas, Viscounts and Ventoras and who owned

two PA's and two PC's and had a garage with loads of parts. Didn't see the garage as he had the box etc

at his house. Got back to my mates garage who, after checking things, said none of it fits. WHAT ?????

For fucks sake. Lost a days earnings + diesel + £250 for the box etc. And got nowhere. Bollox !

The flywheel didn't fit my engine nor did the bell housing because where the starter fits was on the opposite side,

The clutch plate had a different spline size and so on.  Disaster. 

At this point I feel I need to tell you a bit about my mechanic mate. What he doesn't know about welding, fabricating,

engine swaps etc you could probably write on a stamp. This is why I've waited two years for him to work on mine ,

without hassling him every week because that just pushes you down the waiting list. For example, he's stuck a 2.5

something in a milk float, pic later, a 1970 HB Viva that's going to have a, get this, a Camaro v8 chucked in it. 

Well, after finding nothing fitted on mine he said he knew of a diesel, yeah I know a bit, erm, sacrilegious?  complete 

engine and gearbox that he could easily work with for £500.  The diesel will do better mpg than 18 mpg, taking it

easy, with the 3.3, and mine is a right mash up anyway. I've got to ring the wrong bits guy and tell him it's no good

and hopefully get the right bits or go with a diesel. I don't know what to do really. I love the sound of the straight six,

but.

Anyway a few pics of his stuff. I think he has been a shiter for his whole life and he's only 36.

 

[Asimo]

Stick with the 3.3 & two speed Powerglide for the true Cresta / Viscount experience. Win, win, win!

[Bren]

A derv would not suit the car. Stick with the lazy fireball six.