Cresta, an update.

[puddlethumper]

53 minutes ago, Asimo said:

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

If I go the route of an auto I'd prefer the three speed  because it's a better gearbox. If I keep the Powerglide I'll

have to get it rebuilt at around £800 perhaps a bit more. 

Anyway have a couple of gratuitous photos,

[AnthonyG]

There’s an excellent selection of tat in and about that workshop. Is that an Aston Martin DBS V8 in a couple of shots?

[Amishtat]

This is knocking about locally, the eccentric but talented owner is building a bored, stroked and injected lump for it. I just hope he fits it while there's still something to bolt the springs to,the rear quarters are getting pretty ripe. 

[puddlethumper]

1 hour ago, AnthonyG said:

There’s an excellent selection of tat in and about that workshop. Is that an Aston Martin DBS V8 in a couple of shots?

Sure is.

[jonathan_dyane]

This is a lovely project but I have to say, please, no diesel.

[strangeangel]

On 5/16/2020 at 12:08 AM, puddlethumper said:

Part ?

I'm not sure what to do paint/colour wise with it. I can't afford a full body job and respray

 

 

I was in the same boat with my old T35D Master camper back in the day. I sprayed it with coach paint using one of those cheap Apollo HVLP sprayers. The overspray was horrific (I was green from the waist down) but the end result was better than I could have hoped for. Total cost was about £250 (including buying the sprayer).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wuvvum]

On 5/16/2020 at 4:45 PM, 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

There was a gold Viscount at Anglia Car Auctions last year.  It was a bit rough but went fairly cheap I think.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Keep the six! 

[puddlethumper]

Having slept on this I've decided to keep the six. I'll send some pics of my auto box and see 

if he has an an auto that will fit.  Seems the easiest solution.  A diesel is just a diesel but a six

is, well, a six and I'll never have another. Would be less work too. Was that a sigh of relief I heard ?

[Amishtat]

It is from here.. I'd understand a diesel swap for a daily driver but the six in these just sounds soooo sweet through those twin pipes. 

[danthecapriman]

Glad your keeping the six, it’s the right choice. Although, as a close second I’d have tracked down a Chevy small block and autobox! Anything else, especially diesel, would have just been a half arsed embarrassment! ?

[puddlethumper]

Small update. No pics. I've found out a bit about the estate part. It was in a scrapyard near Santa pod in the late 90's.

I've seen a photo of it on ROJ522G and friends on his FB page. Seems it was on Ebay about then. It looked sad, mouldy

and probably rotten. On a lighter note I'm off to pick up a 3 speed box tomorrow. 

[puddlethumper]

I picked up the 3 speed, not physically because they are heavee. and I'm not, and compared it with the one

I took to check. All good apart  from where the linkage goes into the box. It was on the other side. After a 

quick call, to get some knowledge about this,  it means one is a column shift and the other is a floor one.

I had the floor one so I asked my man if it was an arse to change it round ? Only a small arse was the reply. 

Not being a big arse sort, a small one was very acceptable. Chucked in the back and off. 

Next day mate gave me a scrap of paper, old skool, yo, with a company name and a phone number and said,

give him a ring. Didn't get a reply but left a message on blah mail. Decided to check the company out , as you do,

and the first thing I saw on their web site was Red Victor. Fuck me ! That's Andy Frost of Red Victor 1/2 and three.

I saw him  at Santa Pod in the late 80's when he was running a Rover v8 in it and doing 15 second runs. I only remember

his because it was a Vauxhall that looked similar to a Ventora I had had and I must have had a sub conscience desire

for another.

Upshot was a chat about gear boxes and some other shit and got a, to me, nice deal for him to do, well,

whatever he thought was needed.  Not a total rebuild, more of a recondition. Do I trust his judgement ? Damn right ! 

He builds racing boxes and his Victor 3 is down to a 5.7 sec quarter. Adrenaline rush, or what !! Clarkson's face

in the Atom, if I remember. 

When I saw Al again he had a grin and said,  so ?  He knew who it was but thought I would like the surprise. 

I certainly did. 

 Anyway, got to wait a couple of weeks. I'll leave you with a gratuitous, too much sunnage, photo of a Cresta speedo.

Note the warning lights. Three ? I think there are five in a 305. Progress !!

Just noticed. I knew about this but didn't realise it was in the pic. The easy access horn for all your motoring needs.

                                                                                       END                                                    For now.

[puddlethumper]

Well, it's been a while and things have not gone according to plan. Got the gearbox back from Andy but my mate got really busy and couldn't fit it. Eventually got a Saturday afternoon when we could get it in. Bloody hell it's a heavy lump ! After a bit of a struggle we got it on and all the bell housing bolts done up finger tight. 

Then came the problem. The Torque convertor seemed to be jammed and wouldn't turn to line the fixing up to where it bolts to the end of the crank/starter ring. Bollox ! Couldn't get it to fit no matter what we did. More bollox !! So that was as far as it got which was about 2 weeks ago.

Contacted the Cresta club and various other bods but no luck on finding out any useful info. Then I got in touch with Andy, which I'm sure some of you are thinking why didn't you. Maybe I was over thinking it but asking why a box that he built might infer that I was saying it was his fault that it didn't fit which I didn't want to do. So I rang and had a chat with one of the two mechanics that work there, and emphasised that I wasn't criticising their work, and he said he knew how to sort it. He did start to explain but I had to stop him as I have never had an auto in my life so it was right over my head.

Upshot is they can have a look at it in a couple of weeks and sort it out. 

I'll be honest I was on the verge of going my mechanics way and sticking a dizzel in it. He said he had a good Mazda 2.5, can't remember if Turbo, with box I could have if I could get a pedal box coz it was a manual and I did actually have a look to see if I could get one. Luckily not. His next suggestion was to get a cheap TS 2 taxi for the engine and automatic box and I even went on Ebay to have a look and there was one in Cradley Heath which is about 3 miles away and it was at £302 and running out in a few hours. Phew, that was a bit close.

Anybody near Doodlay (Dudley) could transport a Cresta to Wolverhampton in a week or so ? No ? Fairy nuff.

Gratuitous pic.

[eddyramrod]

Have you asked @worldofceri?

[puddlethumper]

1 minute ago, eddyramrod said:

Have you asked @worldofceri?

Thought of it but thought it's a bit short distance for him.

[Amishtat]

Just pleased to see an update on the thing. 

[Asimo]

Frustrating for you.

This page is a good read on the things you have to get right when fitting a GM auto. I don’t know if any of it is exactly specific to your car, but in general terms it may be helpful. Note that the torque converter is trial fitted to the engine in step 15 and then seperately trial fitted to the gearbox in step 16 before finally fitting the converter / gearbox assembly to the engine.

https://static.speedwaymotors.com/pdf/20020483.pdf

[worldofceri]

20 hours ago, puddlethumper said:

Thought of it but thought it's a bit short distance for him.

No job too small!  I’m a bit manic this week but can move it for you next time I’m in the area… Probably a week or two. Send me a  message if any good.

[horriblemercedes]

21 hours ago, puddlethumper said:

Well, it's been a while and things have not gone according to plan. Got the gearbox back from Andy but my mate got really busy and couldn't fit it. Eventually got a Saturday afternoon when we could get it in. Bloody hell it's a heavy lump ! After a bit of a struggle we got it on and all the bell housing bolts done up finger tight. 

Then came the problem. The Torque convertor seemed to be jammed and wouldn't turn to line the fixing up to where it bolts to the end of the crank/starter ring. Bollox ! Couldn't get it to fit no matter what we did. More bollox !! So that was as far as it got which was about 2 weeks ago.

Contacted the Cresta club and various other bods but no luck on finding out any useful info. Then I got in touch with Andy, which I'm sure some of you are thinking why didn't you. Maybe I was over thinking it but asking why a box that he built might infer that I was saying it was his fault that it didn't fit which I didn't want to do. So I rang and had a chat with one of the two mechanics that work there, and emphasised that I wasn't criticising their work, and he said he knew how to sort it. He did start to explain but I had to stop him as I have never had an auto in my life so it was right over my head.

Upshot is they can have a look at it in a couple of weeks and sort it out. 

I'll be honest I was on the verge of going my mechanics way and sticking a dizzel in it. He said he had a good Mazda 2.5, can't remember if Turbo, with box I could have if I could get a pedal box coz it was a manual and I did actually have a look to see if I could get one. Luckily not. His next suggestion was to get a cheap TS 2 taxi for the engine and automatic box and I even went on Ebay to have a look and there was one in Cradley Heath which is about 3 miles away and it was at £302 and running out in a few hours. Phew, that was a bit close.

Anybody near Doodlay (Dudley) could transport a Cresta to Wolverhampton in a week or so ? No ? Fairy nuff.

Gratuitous pic.

I can do this, if you can borrow/rent a trailer. I've got a couple of trailer rental places I use - normally £30-50 for the day

[puddlethumper]

23 hours ago, horriblemercedes said:

I can do this, if you can borrow/rent a trailer. I've got a couple of trailer rental places I use - normally £30-50 for the day

Cheers @horriblemercedes I may be in touch.  I'm going to ask my mechanic if he still has his Beaver tail.  He might be up for it, coz he likes chod, or I might be able to borrow it. Out of about 50 vehicles he has, he's not sure exactly, 90% were built before he was born.

[Asimo]

Video about torque converter to flex plate and 'box clearances. It's a bit rambling and disjointed but might clarify things a bit.

 

[junkyarddog]

https://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/220439/vauxhall-cresta-van

Sold this on then?

[puddlethumper]

Yep. It had to go unfortunately. Lacking funds, somewhere to keep it and a complete change in life.

[puddlethumper]

Footnote. Within a few days of selling the Cresta the ally wheels were up for sale on FB for 250, and the Cresta  owners club FB group suddenly had a PC engine and gearbox for sale. Turns out the new owner is going to put a MANUAL DIESEL in it. Something my mechanic strongly suggested, coz he's a dizzle nut, and I did consider it for short while. Seems a shame but there again it's his to paint a cock and balls on it if he wants.

The new owner turned up in a, oldish, Tranny beavertail, smiley maybe, that was done in a nice* shade of bright lime green and he was going to paint the Cresta the same colour to deliver parts from his yard.

[mk2_craig]

On 12/10/2021 at 3:10 PM, puddlethumper said:

Turns out the new owner is going to put a MANUAL DIESEL in it.

Or maybe not? 

Whatever, it lives on for now - which is nice to see

[tooSavvy]

^ ^ ^ ..... caught that, on RR... All GuddGudd 👍