MEET THE OWNER – DARREN CANTRILL AND HIS VAUXHALL VIVA HA SL90
20th August, 2020
Three months ago, Darren decided to buy a classic car from the year of his birth, and he came across a 1966 Viva SL90 on eBay. He had previously owned a Bedford HA Van but with “Meteor Blue”/”Pacific Blue” Vauxhall, ‘‘My wife and I went into it blindly, and we never looked back. This is the oldest car I have ever owned - and it certainly attracts the most attention’.
The Viva HA made its bow in 1963, and unlike other Vauxhalls, it lacked a “mid-Atlantic” appearance. Luton’s first post-war small car was derived from the Opel Kadett A, down to the same 91 ½ inch wheelbase. The Viva’s styling had no pretensions towards glamour, and the early sales copy highlighted the ‘Big, square, deep boot for man’s shopping’ and the ‘big windscreen wipers’. Just in case you thought the HA’s machismo was overwhelming, Vauxhall reassured female motorists that it was ‘Very much a car to be seen in’.
However, dealers looked in askance at the Anglia, especially the top-of-the-range 123E Super with its duo-tine paint finish and mildly flamboyant exterior. The Viva SL (‘Super Luxury’), launched in June 1965, was to serve as a Ford rival and would also refresh the HA range before the debut of the Viva HB in July 1966. Vauxhall liked to claim the SL was ‘as sure-footed as a mountain goat’ and ‘designed with the driver in mind’.
And not only did the new Viva model boast ‘a graceful side-flash’, a new radiator grille (sourced from the Canadian-market Epic) and ‘polished aluminium’ wheel trims, there was also a heater, “Screenclean” washers, Ambla upholstery, a glove locker, door pockets, and individual tail lamps. Best of all, the owner could boast of his/her Viva’s carpeting of ‘a superior cut pile’ while queuing at the Victor Value supermarket.
In October 1965 Vauxhall offered a “90” engine option, with a Zenith-Stromberg CD150 carburettor plus servo-assisted front disc brakes as standard plus a red-painted 1,057cc motor for additional distinction. ‘The most exciting 1-litre performance of the year’ boasted one advertisement. Another claimed that ‘Viva is designed for people like you. Light hearted, lively people – full of joi de vivre’. Yes, the HA was not for squares, daddio.
When Autocar tested the SL90, they measured the top speed at 81 mph and found the flagship Viva to be ‘a most practical and likeable small car’. It was priced at £648 0s 5d and a set of front seat belts cost another £8 8s. Rear harness, a very unusual factory accessory for the period, was a further £6 15s. Darren's Viva sports reversing lamps (£2.0.0) and wing mirrors - £1 7s 6d each. You could even specify a ‘Pull-out portable radio’ – expensive at £25 15s 11d but allowing the HA owner to listen to the BBC Light Programme during a roadside picnic.
Luton’s publicity heavily empathized the ‘Magic Mirror’ acrylic paint lacquer finish, but the survival rate of the HA’s survival rate is very limited, mostly due to the ravages of tin-worm. JLB 771 D is rare even by the standards of early Vivas as Vauxhall made only 11,794 SL and SL90s. Today Darren finds that ‘everybody loves it’ and he naturally hears the cry ‘my dad had one of those!’ on a regular basis. The Viva has recently had its timing chain replaced and in terms of performance: ‘we’ve had it up to 60 – but don’t want to take it beyond that!’.
Today, any HA SL90 is a fascinating machine. IJLB is a car that embodies suburban hopes and aspirations of the mid-1960s as much as any Scales of Justice B-film. Or as Vauxhall put it - ‘The Viva with the Extra GO!’.
With Thanks To – Darren Cantrill
Why choose Lancaster Insurance?
Here at Lancaster, we love classic cars as much as you do and we understand what it takes to protect them for future generations.
We have links with some of the top classic car clubs around the country and some of our policies even offer discounts of up to 25% for club members.
Other benefits of classic car insurance through Lancaster can include:
- Historic rally cover
- Static show cover
- Limit mileage discounts
- Choice of repairer
- 24-hour claims helpline
Give your classic the protection it deserves and get a quote for your Vauxhall today.
Share this story, choose your platform
