In reply to Curtis :
Ours was a Vauxhall Viva. My uncle had a Vauxhall Cresta. Both were from the local Chevy dealership. Buick dealers sold the Viva rebadged as an Epic. In the 50s and 60s there were all kinds of British car dealers around. We even had a Standard Vanguard Estate at one point.
Edit: I may have the Chev and Buick dealerships reversed.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:In reply to Curtis :
Ours was a Vauxhall Viva. My uncle had a Vauxhall Cresta. Both were from the local Chevy dealership. Buick dealers sold the Viva rebadged as an Epic. In the 50s and 60s there were all kinds of British car dealers around. We even had a Standard Vanguard Estate at one point.
Edit: I may have the Chev and Buick dealerships reversed.
My great grandfather was involved with a standard dealer here in Edmonton in the mid to late 50s and early 60s. He ran a standard vanguard in rallies,ice races,and the first ever road race the northern Alberta sports car club held in 1959 at the then under construction Edmonton International airport.
We had a Vauxhaul when I was a little kid, maybe around 1970. I recall that it was terribly rusty then and a headlight fell off of it once. It also left us standing on the side of road once or twice. Same colour, but not sure if same model. That's all I've got.
Yes, we did get them here in Canada but I can't remember which GM dealers got Epics and which got Vivas either. I was probably busily driving a Hillman Imp back in those days! (looked it up - Pontiac Buick got Vivas and Chev /Olds got Epics.
Not many HAs left, I'm sure. If you are looking for engine swap ideas, either the rotary you suggest or a higher output 4 cylinder would probably work well. I could se a hotted up Toyota 4 AGE under that bonnet - provided that you swapped out the rear end for something a bit beefier - maybe an MGB? Have to check track width - if you need wider, an Austin Cambridge rear would possibly work.
I worked my way through university selling British car parts and recall one very unusual variant that showed up one day - a Bedford Beagle (a privateer built shooting brake version). It was RHD of course and I seem to recall some of the panel vans, also RHD, used by Canada Post (they wanted the workers to be able to get at the post boxes without having to walk around the cars.
wspohn said:Yes, we did get them here in Canada but I can't remember which GM dealers got Epics and which got Vivas either. I was probably busily driving a Hillman Imp back in those days! (looked it up - Pontiac Buick got Vivas and Chev /Olds got Epics.
Not many HAs left, I'm sure. If you are looking for engine swap ideas, either the rotary you suggest or a higher output 4 cylinder would probably work well. I could se a hotted up Toyota 4 AGE under that bonnet - provided that you swapped out the rear end for something a bit beefier - maybe an MGB? Have to check track width - if you need wider, an Austin Cambridge rear would possibly work.
I worked my way through university selling British car parts and recall one very unusual variant that showed up one day - a Bedford Beagle (a privateer built shooting brake version). It was RHD of course and I seem to recall some of the panel vans, also RHD, used by Canada Post (they wanted the workers to be able to get at the post boxes without having to walk around the cars.
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