Another GT appears

[Fred Dukes]

I appreciate your restriction with funds and it is brave of you to attempt this restoration but If you go modified route please try to make the changes reversible so that at sometime in the future when someone has time and funds to restore back to original - as Colin say a VERY RARE car
280bhp in an HB shell? If you intend making use of all that power some strengthening may required

[Colin]

Sorry! but i am. To restore it to original would cost way more than im willing to spend and the hasell of locating orginal parts. it will be tastfully done. Im fussy that way im not a chop and hack type. I know there are very few cars like this here. But i think there are even fewer enthusiasts here in Canada. And a 260hp turbo 2.0 Will be way more fun. The cobalt i got for 1800.00 and i made 1200.00 back parting it out. Heres one Vauxhall-Viva-GT-by-Retropower on facebook

The Retro Power Viva GT is Paul Bottomley's car. Paul has been working on his period correct Lotus 900 series powered car for well over a decade and has spent a fortune on doing it properly. In the 1960s Lotus used the Viva GT to develop their 900 engine from the Vauxhall engine. More here -

https://www.annteak.com/tag/kjt455g/

https://www.facebook.com/Vauxhall-Viva- ... 107144012/

JDC1, I'm sorry to read that you don't want to spend the money to restore your ultra-rare Viva GT, and that you don't want the hassle of finding rare parts. In effect you're telling us that instead you're going to turn it into just another modern car in an HB Viva body. I hate to have to say this but I think that due to the extreme rarity of your Canadian Viva GT this would be a very wrong thing to do.

The usual arguments of 'I can't get the parts' and 'It's my car to with as I like' may apply. But remember that we're only custodians of our rare historic cars. The fact that you can do something doesn't always mean that you should.

Very soon there will be none of these ultra-rare Canadian Viva / Epic GTs left, because for years they were thought to be throwaway and worthless. Now there are literally only a handful of surviving Canadian GTs.

If you don't want to properly restore this rare car then please don't devalue it by 'modernising' it. Leave it alone and preserve it.

[jdc1]

So Pauls car doesn't seem that much is original anymore either other than lotus tested engines in it i guess.

[redfirenza]

Its your car and I for one would be happy to see the progress in any form, you could always try the retrorides forum for a warmer welcome

[Colin]

Its your car and I for one would be happy to see the progress in any form, you could always try the retrorides forum for a warmer welcome

I don't mean to seem unfriendly, but where do you draw the line? What does 'happy to see progress in any form' actually mean? How about in a few years having to stand by and watch while someone takes the last surviving Firenza and turns it into a skip full of saucepans? That would be progress - in saucepan manufacture.

Or would you agree that turning the last Firenza into saucepans would actually be destructive vandalism of a rare historic car? The principle is the same. The car is being irreversibly changed into something else.

In defence of their actions customisers of rare cars often accuse 'purists' of unfriendliness or hostility. I'm not being unfriendly. I'm just pointing out that when something is incredibly rare, like this Canadian Viva GT, it should be preserved.

I'm sorry but I can't personally encourage changing this rare car into something else.

[jpsmit]

In other news mine will still be as original as possible.

I have seen jdc1's car and it is a BIG project, especially since all the parts will either need to come from across the pond or literally out of my shed.

OTOH I have also seen the quality of the work he does so, I suspect it will be done to a high standard.

[jdc1]

Thanks jp and redfirenza

[pbottomley]

Hi just been alerted to this...

They say opinions are like ar5eholes we all have one..

Your assumption on my car is ill informed, you could contact me and asked me all about it, I would be happy to go over the details of the work done and why it was done the way it was.

Retropower will 'big up' all their work (the bodywork and some of the assembly) for they want to gain customers, but if you had spent the time reading my blog on the project www.annteak.com you might have realised all is not what facebook implies, it is however what Retropower would like to imply as it good advertising for them.

Now down to your car and not mine. Do as you wish, but don't expect everyone to like that plan (some will love it some will not) just respect people opinions, even if they are a bit keen to promote saving this car.

[lord13]

Sorry! but i am. To restore it to original would cost way more than im willing to spend and the hasell of locating orginal parts. it will be tastfully done. Im fussy that way im not a chop and hack type.

Much as I hate offending anyone, even though apparently I am quite 'adept' at it, there are plenty of the 'chop and hack' type cars within the club and have been for some time...including a couple of my own from time to time, (anyone still got DRY 148K by any chance? last time i had it it had a 2.3 shoehorned in on standard running gear and capri twin headlights fitted by just hammering back the tin snipped original mounting plates on the viva and a couple of self tappers holding them in loved that car.... nasty brown piece of junk ) my point is you cant have a go at this guy for doing what he can on whatever budget he's got, he's still rescuing a rare Canadian GT, and from what I can tell from what he's said, he's not going to chop the tunnel out or rip the bulkhead to shreds, which some of our members have done...(yes yes including me in the past) which renders the car useless with out an IVA ( yes ok that old chestnut again) .... but you know what...EVEN if he does do that to it, it's still his car , He still paid for it, and fetched it... he could crush it if he so desires.... it's his. Hopefully he wont but it's his choice...and at the end of the day it's just a piece of metal after all, it means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

I for one will be happy to see the progress made on this car, what ever the guy decides to do....

I joined this club back in '96/'97 because I had a viva... one which I still own in one way or another, and I was happy to see it didn't have all the snobbery of the MG/Triumph type clubs and other such 'proper classic' car clubs.... I'm sad to say that over the past few years it's been heading that way, which is why I'm no longer a paid up member, no offence to anyone specific, it's just the general feel of it all...also after so many years of viva ownership it all gets a bit repetitive i suppose, same old problems etc...

oh well..... feeling a bit down i guess ....must be these same old four walls.....

[jdc1]

Very well said sir. I am a licensed mechanic of automotive & truck/coach and im older and tend to think things through for a bit. sometimes to long before i take drastic measures. I shouldnt have to cut the tunnel or the bulk head. I might have to mod the k member and drop the rack though. Or do a dry sump or custom oil pan.