vauxhallviva.com

I just joined the forum so as to say a big Thank You to the owner of the 1974(?) Viva HC VYK 563M who I got chatting to at the British Motor Show. I'm so sorry Sir, I forgot your name. Please forgive me.

In the mid eighties I was an airframes apprentice at RAE Farnborough and would drive as fast as my cross ply tyres would let me, in my light blue two door 1973 HC, SLM 180L (oh Slim, where are you now?) every day to Farnborough. Forty years later I was walking around the Motor Show and a lovely red Corvette caught my eye. Walking up to it, first I saw the colour of the car behind it and thought "that seems familiar" and then as I got closer, I saw the unmistakable outline of a two door HC.

The owner very kindly let me sit in the car and reminisce. Parked as it was at the airfield I drove to every day for years, I was transported back in time and was once again racing my mates around the perimeter track in their Mk1 Escorts, Minis and on their Yamaha FS1 Es and Honda Wet Dream 250s. Damn they were good times.

It was lovely exchanging stories with you Sir, and I just wanted to Thank You again for the best 1256cc trip down memory lane you could possibly have let me enjoy. The grin on my face says it all.

Glad you had a memorable experience - this gives those involved in the Viva so much pleasure that the showing of their cars is so appreciated .
If your experience was at the British Motor Show the car you saw was probably owned by a member of the Viva Driver Club as our Club did not have a Stand.
Hope your experience may have encouraged you toget a Viva and join the classic car scene. You are welcome to join as a paid member of our club which will help you look for a car and provide maintenance of such via out spares scheme plus you will get a quarterly magazine with news and views

Thank You Fred.

You may be onto something. I'm reaching the age when I need to come back to the UK and start restoring a car! Now if I can just find SLM 180L......