"new" VIVA in Austria

[Julian]

Hi guys,

my name is Julian and I live in Austria. I'm interested in old Opels - I own a fully restored Opel Kadett B, owned a Rekord C Coupe and by accident I got a VIVA HC last week. Here in Austria this is a really rare care since there aren't any official Vauxhall dealers any more. It is a 1975 model with the 1,259 engine.
I am not sure if I should (could) restore it, so I got a few questions:

1) First and most important: is the Viva a unique Vauxhall-model or has there been an identical/similar Opel model (like Chevette and Kadett C)? Maybe Ascona A?

2) and of course parts for this car...are there any official parts dealers in the UK or Europe specialized on classic Vauxhalls? Price range? The Vauxhall classic heritage has obviously closed... Maybe there are some professional dealers on ebay?

3) does anyone have some kind of buying-guidance, to know which parts are rare and should be in good condition, especially concerning interior and the body?

Here you can find some photos of my last restauration of my Kadett
http://img220.imageshack.us/slideshow/p ... 57j87.smil

[/url]

[Sid]

1. No, there was no Opel equivalent of the Viva. Despite the visual similarities the Ascona A is a completely different car.
There was a Holden model based on the Viva in Australia but that probably won't help you much
The engine and gearbox on the 1256 models is virtually the same as the 80's vauxhall Astra and the earlier Chevette which were based
on Opel Kadett models, but the rest of the car is different.

2. The only "official" Viva spares supplier that I know of is Adrian Miller, the president of the Vauxhall Viva Owners Club, however
there are many motor factors and smaller suppliers in the UK that still have Viva spares. Ebay is also a good source, though bid
prices can sometimes get silly.
It's worth just scouring the internet using google and see what links you find. Also worth asking on the "parts wanted" section of
the forum.

Sid.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Julian" <general@vauxhallviva.com>

my name is Julian and I live in Austria. I'm interested in old Opels - I own a fully restored Opel Kadett B, owned a Rekord C
Coupe and by accident I got a VIVA HC last week. Here in Austria this is a really rare care since there aren't any official
Vauxhall dealers any more. It is a 1975 model with the 1,259 engine.
I am not sure if I should (could) restore it, so I got a few questions:

1) First and most important: is the Viva a unique Vauxhall-model or has there been an identical/similar Opel model (like Chevette
and Kadett C)? Maybe Ascona A?

2) and of course parts for this car...are there any official parts dealers in the UK or Europe specialized on classic Vauxhalls?
Price range? The Vauxhall classic heritage has obviously closed... Maybe there are some professional dealers on ebay?

3) does anyone have some kind of buying-guidance, to know which parts are rare and should be in good condition, especially
concerning interior and the body?