The Vauxhall Viva is a small family car that was produced by Vauxhall in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were designated the HA, HB and HC series.

The Viva was introduced a year after Vauxhall's fellow General Motors company Opel launched the Opel Kadett A. Both cars were a result of the same General Motors project sharing the same floorpan and engine construction. A major difference was the use of metric measurements for the Opel and Imperial units for the Vauxhall. The cars are visually similar, however few components are interchangeable. A van version was also produced, as the Bedford HA. In the UK the Viva's principal competitors at the time of its launch included the well-established Ford Anglia and Morris Minor.

The third generation HC series was the last solely Vauxhall designed passenger car when ceasing production in 1979. Although it was not the last Vauxhall designed vehicle to go out of production overall – that distinction belongs to the Bedford CF van. After the Viva range, General Motors Europe unified the Opel and Vauxhall brands around a single range of Opel-developed models.

Vauxhall revived the Viva nameplate from 2015 to 2019 on a rebadged variant of the fourth generation Opel Karl/Chevrolet Spark.

HA Viva (1963–1966)

The HA Viva, announced in September 1963, and replaced in September 1966, was Vauxhall's first serious step into the compact car market after World War II. It was also the first new small car produced by Vauxhall since 1936. The HA Viva was powered by a , overhead valve, four cylinder, front-mounted engine driving the rear wheels. It was comparable in size and mechanical specifications with the new Opel Kadett released a year earlier in continental Europe, being a result of the same project — with the two cars sharing much of their inner structure and similar overall dimensions. The Viva and Kadett were sold alongside each other in many markets. The HA Viva was just an inch longer than the Ford Anglia which dated back to 1959. It was offered only as a two-door saloon, and competed with the Anglia as well as BMC's hugely successful and highly regarded new 1100 range.

The HA set new standards in its day for lightweight, easy to operate controls, a slick short gearchange, lightweight steering and clutch pedal, good all-round visibility and relatively nippy performance. It was one of the first cars to be actively marketed towards women, perhaps as a result of these perceived benefits for them.

The front crossmember (steering, suspension and engine mounting) assembly from the HA became a very popular item for DIY hot rod builders in the UK, due to its simple self-contained mechanics, similar to older designs such as those from the 1930s, and ability to accommodate much larger engines within its span. The assembly featured a double wishbone/vertical telescopic dampers suspension design in combination with a transverse leaf spring attached to the front crossmember at its centre position and the entire unit could be removed and adapted to another vehicle. (For similar reasons the Jaguar independent rear suspension assembly was often used at the rear of these custom cars). The Viva's rear suspension made do with conventional longitudinal semi-elliptic leaf springs and telescopic dampers. The progressive suspension including a very clever mounting design for the rear axle and the transverse leaf system of the front suspension led to a soft ride on small bumps but with very acceptable roll characteristics on corners along with its precise steering and small turning circle.

In Canada, the HA was sold as the Vauxhall Viva by Pontiac/Buick dealers and also as the Envoy Epic by Chevrolet/Oldsmobile dealers, and was second in sales to the Volkswagen Beetle amongst imported compact cars. In France (and Algeria and Tunisia), the car was marketed as the Vauxhall Epic.

The Viva was initially launched in Standard and Deluxe versions, identifiable by their simple horizontal slatted metal grilles. Minor changes in September 1964 included improved seats and more highly geared steering.

The HA, however, suffered severely from corrosion problems along with other Vauxhall models of the time and very few of this model remain – one of the main problem areas being the cappings along the top side edges of the luggage compartment badly corroding and allowing water to enter, consequently leading to severe structural corrosion in the luggage-compartment floor area. As with a lot of other British cars of that period, many Vivas failed to survive long term.

The HA Viva was assembled in Australia by Holden commencing in 1964, It differed from the saloon in being taller, and thousands were bought by the GPO (later British Telecom), their bright yellow HA vans becoming a common sight. The HA Van was eventually supplanted by the Chevanne, but because of fleet orders, particularly from British Telecom, British Rail and the Post Office, the HA van remained in production, ultimately using the later HC Viva's engine and gearbox, all the way through to 1983.

Bedford Beagle

Although no factory built estate versions of the HA Viva were offered, a limited-production estate conversion by Martin Walter Ltd. of Folkestone, based on the closely related Bedford HA van, was marketed as the Bedford Beagle.

HB Viva (1966–1970)

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| designer = David Jones and sold by Vauxhall until 1970, was a larger car than the HA, featuring coke bottle styling, and was modelled after American General Motors (GM) models such as the Chevrolet Impala/Caprice of the period, and was a solely Vauxhall design — likewise Opel had also developed the equivalent Opel Kadett B with no platform sharing, unlike the previous generation. It featured the same basic engine as the HA, but enlarged to 1,159 cc, but with the added weight of the larger body the final drive gearing was reduced from 3.9 to 1 to 4.1 to keep the nippy performance (except the SL90 which retained the 3.9 diff having the power to cope with the higher ratio).

The automatic Viva HB was offered from February 1967, and fitted with the ubiquitous Borg Warner Type 35 system. Cars of this size featuring automatic transmission were still unusual owing to the amount of power the transmission systems absorbed: a major British motoring journal later described Viva HBs with automatic transmission as "among the slowest cars on the road". Problems were concentrated on uneven braking and dragging brakes, generally at the rear, and affected 26% of the cars tested. The GM "energy absorbing" steering column was now fitted to all models and the fuel tank capacity was increased from 8 to 12 British gallons (36 to 55 litres). By the time of the readership poll, the HB Viva was within a year of being replaced even though the 1600 version itself had only been offered since 1968, so the sample will have been relatively small: it appears that the low satisfaction rate may have reflected not so much the car's design but rather a lack of effective quality control in the manufacturing processes.

A van version of the Viva HB was developed, but it never got beyond the prototype/mock-up stage. However, General Motors New Zealand did sell versions of the three-door estate with no rear seat as 'van' models and continued this with the later HC version.

Aftermarket conversion specialists, Crayford, also ran off some convertibles based on the 2-door Viva. Very few of these conversions exist still, only two GT model HBs were converted, but both are known to survive, and will likely be on the show scene in the coming years.

Other markets

thumb|left|1970 [[Envoy Epic 1600 Deluxe estate (Canada)]]

A variant of the HB Viva was also built in Australia, by Holden, from 1967 to 1969 and marketed there as the Holden HB Torana. Oddly enough despite being closer in physical location to Australia, all HB Vivas sold in New Zealand were produced from CKD kits imported from the UK and sold as Vauxhalls. The New Zealand Vivas were two- and four-door Deluxe saloons, the latter with the '90' engine. Automatic was not offered, nor was the SL trim. Some Deluxe Estates were also assembled locally along with a 'van' version minus the estate's rear seat.

The HB Viva entered the Canadian market for the 1967 model year, in standard, Deluxe, or SL models. Canadian Chevrolet/Oldsmobile dealers also continued to sell a rebadged HB as the Envoy Epic through 1970 while Pontiac/Buick dealers kept selling the car under its original name.

In South Africa, it was assembled locally. The GT model arrived there in mid-1969 and was available in a range of colours, unlike their British counterparts. The GT could be told by slim black stripes down the sides and a strip across the bonnet, as well as four exhaust tip and black paint in the area between the taillights. Power claimed was SAE.

566,391 Viva HBs were produced. Body design had improved after Vauxhall's poor reputation with corrosion on previous models. The HB had better underbody protection, but UK cars were still prone to rusting through the front wings in the area behind the headlights where water, mud and salt could accumulate. This ongoing problem with salt on UK roads affected many makes and models, not just the Viva, but Vauxhall's ongoing poor reputation for corrosion undoubtedly contributed to the development of bolt-on wings and wheel-arch liners in subsequent generations of family passenger car.

HC Viva (1970–1979)

thumb|left|Viva HC Estate

The HC Viva (1970–79) was mechanically the same as the HB but had more modern styling and greater interior space due to redesigned seating and positioning of bulkheads. It offered two- and four-door saloons and a fastback estate with the choice of either standard 1159 cc, 90 tuned 1159 cc or 1600 cc overhead cam power. No 2.0 GT version was offered with the new range, although the 2.0 became the sole engine offering for Canada, where the HC became the Firenza, marketed by Pontiac/Buick dealers without the Vauxhall name. The cloned Envoy Epic was dropped as Chevrolet dealers now carried the domestic Chevrolet Vega. The HC was pulled from the Canadian market after two model years amidst consumer anger over corrosion and reliability issues.

The American influence was still obvious on the design, with narrow horizontal rear lamp clusters, flat dashboard with a "letterbox" style speedometer, and a pronounced mid bonnet hump that was echoed in the front bumper.

thumb|left|Firenza Coupé

A coupé version called the Firenza was introduced in early 1971 to compete with the Ford Capri and forthcoming Morris Marina Coupé. It was available in deluxe and SL forms, with the latter sporting four headlights and finally resurrecting the missing 2.0 twin-carburettor engine from the HB Viva GT.

The basic 1159 cc engine was enlarged to 1256 cc in late 1971 and with this the 90 version was removed from the line-up.

The overhead cam engines were upgraded in early 1972, the 1.6 becoming a 1.8 (1759 cc) and the 2.0 (1975 cc) twin carburettor became a 2.3 (2279 cc). At this time, the Viva 2300 SL and Firenza Sport SL did away with the letter-box speedometer and substituted a seven-dial instrument pack. Firenza SLs had a two round-dial pack, though all other Vivas and Firenzas stuck with the original presentation.

left|thumb|1975 Viva 1800 Saloon

In September 1973, the Viva range was divided, the entry 1256 cc models staying as Vivas, with the 1.8-litre engine an option on the Viva SL with an automatic transmission. The 1.8- and 2.3-litre models took on more luxurious trim and were rebadged as the Magnum. The whole range of Viva-based cars received safety equipment upgrades at the same time, with power-assisted dual-circuit brakes (with discs in front) being made standard. Safety belts, reclining front seats, two-speed windscreen wipers, and undercoating were also made standard across the board. In 1977–78, there was also a limited-edition ES model with a slightly improved specification over the E model.

alt=|left|thumb|Vauxhall Viva 2300 SL HC

For 1977, the SL was replaced by the GLS, essentially marrying the plusher Magnum trim and equipment with the base 1,256 cc pushrod ohv engine. These models all had the full seven dial instrument panel, velour seating and Rostyle wheels, among many other upgrades.

Viva production was scaled down after the launch of the Chevette in spring 1975. Originally a three-door hatchback (also sold as the Opel Kadett City), the Chevette later offered two- and four-door saloons and as of 1976 a three-door estate which all but usurped the Viva's position as Vauxhall's small car entry. Nonetheless, the Viva remained on sale until the latter part of 1979.

The Viva was effectively replaced by the new Vauxhall Astra, a variant of the front-wheel-drive Opel Kadett. By that time it was dated in comparison with more modern rivals like the Volkswagen Golf. Production ceased at a time when European manufacturers were making the transition from rear-wheel-drive saloons to front-wheel-drive hatchbacks in the family car market.

The end of production of the HC Viva in 1979 marked a significant moment for Vauxhall, as it would ultimately prove to be the last car to be completely designed by the company with no input from Opel. The company's next car — the 1972 Victor FE range — was based on the Opel Rekord D; albeit substantially modified by Vauxhall and ended up having little interchangeable content with the Opel car. However, subsequent models (such as the Chevette — an Opel Kadett C with a restyled front end and the HC Viva's powertrain) would set the eventual precedent — that all future Vauxhall cars would be badge-engineered and German designed Opels, or in the case of the 2004 Vauxhall Monaro, a rebadged Holden.

thumb|1975 Vauxhall Viva

The domestic market launch of the Viva HC coincided with one of the UK's periodic surges of debt fueled economic growth, and the latest Viva became Vauxhall's fastest selling new model of all time, chalking up its first 100,000 units in just months. 640,863 Viva HCs were produced, making combined Viva production top the 1.5 million mark. The millionth Viva, a gold HC, was driven off the production line by politician John Eden amid much celebration on 20 July 1971. Although most Vivas were produced at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant in northern England, the company's production lines were by the standards of the time flexible, and the millionth car was a product of the Luton factory. This local derivative offered the small British four or a locally built Chevrolet 2.5-litre engine. After a 1975 facelift and some changes to the lineup, these lost the "Firenza" badges and were sold simply as the Chevrolet 1300 and 1900, as the smaller 1960 cc version had replaced the earlier 2.5. The car was facelifted, with a new front design which mimicked that of the bigger Chevrolet 2500/3800/4100, with the grille protruding somewhat and being set apart from the headlights. The Firenza range originally consisted only of four-door saloons, but South Africa also saw a three-door hatch developed off this rather than taking on the then new Chevette/Kadett City; this was first shown in June 1976 and the first car rolled off the production line in August. This mixture used the T-car's rear hatch and taillights, but was a Viva ahead of the B-pillars. The arch around the rear hatch opening was considerably stronger than the T-car's, to suit local road conditions. Also, the was larger than one would expect from a car this size, to suit local road conditions and petrol sales restrictions. The split rear-seat folded down. With the new Chevrolet Chevair recently introduced, cost prohibitions made such a creation a better proposition than bringing in an all-new car.

Local parts content was high from the get-go, with some Hatch models reaching 71.15% right away.

The 1300 has Vauxhall's 1256 cc engine, carried through from the Firenza, while the 1900 has a locally built 1960 cc Chevrolet cast-iron inline-four; a smaller version of the 2.5 seen earlier in the Firenza. At the time of introduction, the Weber carburetted manual 1900 claimed SAE and a top speed of for the Hatch. Automatics received a Rochester carburettor and more torque-oriented tuning; max power for this version is . The 1300 and 1900 were both available in De Luxe or LS trim, with a four-speed manual transmission and an available three-speed automatic for the 1900s. The Firenza was plagued with significant quality problems which were made worse with the lack of availability of spare parts due to the frequent labour strikes in the UK at the time. The Viva was discontinued in 2019.

References

  • The Vauxhall Viva Owners Club (The original club for all types of Vauxhall Viva)
  • Viva Outlaws Club (Owners Club catering for modified and racing Vivas, owners of the Viva GT Register)
  • Viva Drivers Club (Owners Club catering for all Viva models, for owners who wish to drive their Vivas)
  • VBOA (Vauxhall, Bedford and Opel Association)