Vauxhall/Bedford HA Viva saloon/van double test! 

We drove from London to Barry Island in January with no heater in a HA van. This was 1974 and I've just stopped shivering.

Back in 1982, around Easter, my dad, who was a depot manager for Unigate here in Plymouth, was charged with winding up the little depot at Perranporth. We had very little money as a family so my dad and mum used it as an opportunity to have a long family holiday by the Cornish seaside throughout the Easter school break. We travelled from Plymouth to Perranporth in a Viva van in all it's gorgeous Unigate livery. It felt like it took a week but was such an adventure as mum and dad took the front seats obviously and me and my sister in our newly acquired sleeping bags were sliding around the back in fits of laughter. Only stopping to play 'conkers' with the many lollipops we were given to keep us entertained along the way. An aroma of sour milk and cigarettes filled our nostrils but we were going on an actual holiday in a big caravan by the sea so nothing else mattered. :)

The saloon is exactly how you would draw a car when you was a kid. Love it.

Ian's one of the best reviewers of old cars on RU-vid.

Drove a 1975 (P reg.) HA van while working for a printer's engineering company. The cab was very spartan and didn't even have a headlining. I drove from London to Norwich on a winter's morning with a layer of snow on the roof. When I arrived at my destination, a small circle of the snow had melted immediately above the driving seat from my body heat! Switches for the wipers and driving lights were side by side on the dashboard (made more difficult to reach due to the fixed strap seat belts!). One rainy night, I remember the panic that ensued when I wanted to give the screen a quick wipe and accidentally switched off the head/side lights while joining the M3 from a slip road! Another time, the gearstick came out of the transmission tunnel. I rolled to a halt in a convenient roadside parking space. I rang our office from a pee - ridden phone box and was advised to push a certain size screwdriver (from my company issued tool kit) into the "hole", and "avoid using reverse gear to get back to the yard". I did this and limped back to base for a repair. I drove the van from London to Cardiff and the body "throbbed" so much I was temporarily deaf when I arrived! The Bedford HA van was really a 9 - 5 town vehicle. Low cost, nippy but not really for journey - work. So glad when I got my Ford Escort Mk. II "45" van in 1979.

I worked in a Vauxhall dealership in the 90’s and the older mechanics told me of the HA van used as a service van. The dealership was near an hill with a bus stop at the bottom.The mechanics when driving down would turn the engine off, pump the accelerator and start it again. This would result in an engine backfire at the bus stop!!

The flexible screen wash bag was a good idea because you could fill them in the small sinks of public toilets. Remember when a lot of laybys had public toilets?

I remember in the wonderful 1985 'Beiderbecke Affair' comedy drama series, Leeds woodwork teacher Trevor Chaplin (James Bolam) had a rusting old 1978 yellow Bedford HA van, BUA 594S, (ex Post Office Telecommunications or British Rail?) in which he and Jill Swinburne (Barbara Flynn) have their adventures. It seemed very apt for a woodwork teacher, somehow

I had a bright yellow Ha van ( guess who owned it before), £80 from an auction and I had a choice of about a dozen. Absolutely loved it, went all over the country in it and it never let me down.

Imagine trading it in for the Bedford Astravan only a year later. It must have literally felt like time travel 'Back to the future' style.

You have to imagine the step up these were at the time. Dad's first new car was an HA after two Morris eights and Ford squire, going from 3 speed side valves (and the yearly de coke) to one of these must have been revelation

This really takes me back. When I was doing my apprenticeship, I often had to take the boss's wife's Bedford Viva van (M-reg, so 1973/4) to do deliveries, collections and service visits. It was a proper little buzz-box, rather low-geared so nippy but not so good on dual-carriageways. My most memorable delivery run was from Bristol down into south Somerset in a blizzard, driving across the top of the Blackdown Hills and down the 1:5 hill into Wellington in the snow. After a year or so, the boss's wife got an Escort estate, so I inherited the Viva as my personal run-about. My son was about two years old at the time, so I roped a big old hefty push-chair into the back, in which he could ride. One peculiarity was the exhaust pipe fixing at the manifold end: a simple flange welded around the top of the down-pipe, which was fitted with an asbestos collar and simply clamped to the manifold by a three-bolt ring. When the flimsy flange rusted through, the pipe would simply drop out of the manifold, with a huge increase in noise levels. Mine did this at around 5:30 am one morning as I was setting out from home, and the racket woke up all the pigs on the farm opposite, who made even more noise and disturbed all the neighbours: I wasn't very popular.

Worked at Vauxhall in the 70s and 80s. I remember during the economic woes of the early 80s they moved the production of the HA van from the van line up to the main building so they were built alongside VX 1800 and 2300. Much better quality result therefore on the last couple of years. Only kept going for the last few years because the Post Office had a long term order so they kept making them.

We (BT engineers) hated them as they were even slower than the Morris Minors they replaced. One of our guys was allocated a Marina van as a trial and we all envied him.

We were still driving the HA vans in the late 1980s on British Rail in their yellow livery. Upgraded to the Ital vans before moving to the Bedford Astras (which in fact were much smaller inside). The choke clothes peg was also a requirement in the Leyland Princess too! The twist lock didn’t work for long.

What an interesting comparison. It never ceases to amaze me how far car technology has come on since I passed my test in 1984. And, if I'm honest, I don't think it's all been for the best. The restricted visibility one gets in new cars, due to all the safety tech, is not necessarily an improvement. Loved this review, thank you Ian.

1976 and our next door neighbours were having an extension built. The builders had a brand new HA van in an attractive mid blue, complete with proper sign writing. Hard to imagine a builder’s van like that now.

Viva Las Vegas! The 2023 Mullet Championship is on in the USA, Ian. 😋👍

My first car was an HA Viva 1964. I passed my test in it and had it from 1967 to 1972. It took my all over the country including sleeping in it at the 1972 Glastonbury Festival. It did over 100,000 miles with very few problems and I learnt so much about how cars work with this vehicle.

A Viva and a van. What a treat. Love these old Vauxhall Vivas. Thst Bedford would make a decent camper van. So cool. 😊❤

The document holder in the footwell of the saloon was for the service book. It had a cut out, as did the service book so the mileage of the next service could be seen. It matched the window of the service book. When they were serviced the dealer tore out the voucher and stamped the stub and revealed the next voucher with the mileage when due. Usually 3000 6000 9000 etc

My dad bought a HA van from his painter & decorator mate with a terminally ill engine. It was a mid blue '82 Y plate. My dad was a mechanic so it was bought as an earner. I would have been about 9 or 10 & was tasked with pulling the engine out, swapping the parts over to a used engine he had already got then putting it all back together. I did it over the course of a week during the school summer holidays. It seemed like a massive task at the time but I managed to get it done with some minor assistance hoisting it out & dropping it back in. In retrospect I don't remember getting a bung when he sold it!

My Dad's first van when he started his greengrocer business was a dark green HA Viva. By the time I was born he'd upgraded to a Mk1 transit with the V4 engine which was a massive upgrade in carrying capacity but no less susceptible to rust.

These two vehicles are a familiar sight on our Pembrokeshire roads and local shows, a real credit to their owner. Great video

Lovely colour. We had a grey Deluxe. A Welsh link for you. Whilst South East British Telecom were getting Maestro Vans in the late eighties. Mid Wales BT were still running their 1982 HA vans. They had "Dial a Smile" & "Get together with a ring" on the side in English and Welsh.

I had a brand new HA van in 1974, my first new vehicle. £746 on the road. Bought of GreatWestern Motors in Reading. Kept it for 2 years.

One of my first jobs was as a local postman and our post office used those vans. I had the last of the "new" ones (after a few years the Ital vans started to appear) I do remember that they had the restrictor on them that we had to remove as the van just couldn't get up the steep country hills parts of my post run was on, but they kept them on all the town vans. Perfectly useable little thing apart from the fact no radio, no nothing and no passenger seat either. Basic as you could get and we chucked them about the country roads giving life to the term "express delivery" 🤣 Got it stuck in snow a few times and had to be towed out by the local farmers each time. Reliable, fairly comfortable and noisy (no sound deadening whatsoever) Ah the memories....

You have made me do a 180 on the HA Viva, I always thought they were a dreadful looking thing but now that I've seen this roadtest I think they're awesome. I would be fitting disc brakes and better seats in the van if I had one though.

Great to see the HA Viva! That really brought back some memories. My Dad bought one in Jan 66, FEH 669D, when I was ten, his only brand new car. He kept it a good while, fighting rust all the way. I learned to drive in it and passed my test in it. Main issue, apart from rust was a tendency for the carburettor jets to block, leading to the engine cutting out. Easynenough to sort out, and Dad had the kit and know how to sort it in a few minutes wherever it happened 😄. As to seat belts, the 1966 model had mounting points but no front belts. I remember him having to have them fitted a year or two later.

Great review, Ian! Given that Mum bought one new in 1965, the salesman had the courage to ask her out when she collected it (marriage and my arrival subsequently followed), and I drove it from L plates (1987) to 2006 (replaced by a certain copper-coloured Territory), this is the review I've been waiting for! It was also a Deluxe, built by Holden at their Dandenong plant I believe and was almost the same colour (Balmain Beige) but with a red interior. 1:57: engine bay is definitely familiar, but ours was matte black but with no brake servo for the drum-only system and no fan boost for the heater. The washer bottle is unfamiliar but ours never had a working washer in my memory - a different twist-knob device was under the dash near the wiper switch but no connected. I think the generator was a Lucas C40(?) - I still have a modern replacement that is almost used in my garage. The mechanic decided an alternator was a better choice. The car was originally positive-earthed. Single-stage bonnet latch with no security! 4:05: rear badging and boot all familiar. Fuel tank was black in mine and the wheels were body-coloured. The boot easily fitted a mower and all sorts of other loads over the years! 4:46: interior is so familiar! Door cards had a different pattern in Australia but same handles (push down to lock door from inside), arm rests and window winders. The swivel windows were fabulous in a non-airconditioned car in an Australian summer and I could reach both of them and both the rear window latches from the driver's seat. Owners manual looks the same except ours were deep green rather than red! No cigarette lighter in ours (chrome-look blanking plug present), front seatbelts were a dealer-fit accessory in 1965, no temperature gauge either - just the gear diagram. Light switches were mechanically interlocked. No carpet, just a shaped bitumenised vinyl floor. My choke knob always stayed exactly where I moved it - no peg required! No document holder in the footwell. 6:36: I remember having the same problem with the interior light and was able to fix it my bending the contacts a little. Pulling it out should turn it on while the back position should have it working off the door switches. 6:46: exterior mirrors? Luxoory! To be fair, the visibility was as good as you could wish for a sedan. 8:36: no seat latch? Ours had one on each side near the floor and it was easy to activate from outside the car to get in or with your foot from the back seat. The rest of the seat base looks familiar. There was also the tiniest lever (driver's seat only) on the side to allow fore and aft adjustment. 8:45: I remember that with three bods in the rear the suspension could occasionally bottom out. 14:20: the light steering (aided by the large wheel) was nice along with the rack-and-pinion setup. The handling was improved markedly when the cross-ply tyres were replaced with radials - suddenly the car could corner rather than wash-out when an attempt was made to change direction. Much better! 14:40: servo-assistance from the time when they wanted to make sure you knew you had servo-assistance! Drum brakes certainly encouraged cautious driving in comparison. 14:50: gear lever was indeed nice. It alledgely had synchromesh on all forward gears, but 2nd was a little weak and 1st seemed non-existent. I used to double de-clutch going down to second which was fine for anything other than a complete stop. 16:30 it certainly seems more peppy than mine. I had it up to over 70 mph and it would move along a 65 mph easily (with 100 km/h often the maximum posted limit in Australia). Wheels magazine in Australia apparently had a series of articles about improving its performance when the model was new and got something like 50% more power without touching the internals of the engine. 16:40: susceptibility to side winds: oh yes! 22:55: oh the turning circle. And to think I now spend most of my time in a Magna! Once again, great review. Brought back lots of memories and confirmed I could probably still be happy in one. I should have kept it rather than selling it on to a mate who's 'gunna' project went the way of so many gunna projects.

Hi Ian. Back in the day, as a teenager, I had a nearly new 1965 Viva deluxe. In that year they didn't come with factory fitted seat belts so I ended up fitting accessory belts myself. By the way, re: your comment about Vivas and motorways, I remember doing 2 or 3 trips from the West Sussex coast (home at the time) up to the lake district and back, motorways and all. I well remember keeping the speedo needle around the 75 mark for mile after mile - that engine would take it ! I could squeeze a good 80 mph out of mine (exceptional I think) but due to a bit of 'over enthousiastic servicing' my carb had to be replaced at one point, and after that the performance was just like any other Viva. But before that it had been an Anglia beater, even rivalling the 1200 on performance !! Not after the carb change unfortunately. The brakes were extremely sharp, as you found, but careful braking could be required in wet conditions for obvious reasons. Ah ! - the memories.

I have had 7 HA vans and several HA/HB cars in the 70s. I loved them as they were reliable, easy to maintain, pretty good on fuel and cheap to insure. I wish they still made the Ha van, it was such a handy little van for very little money. Vans and picks up now may look good but are often not practical and the prices a unbelievable.

Really like these little vehicles, both in saloon and van. Was also a very nice camper version available, too. I only had the van version when I was in the UK - a white ex Southern Water unit on a V plate. That van made me enough money odd-jobbing to stay afloat when I was made redundant back in the early 90s. I’ve been looking out for the Envoy Epic version here in Canada but only found a couple that were too far gone to save.

I absolutely love a Beagle van We had various vivas and ha vans when I was a teenager across the family My dad had two ha vans that I learned mechanics on - both were not road worthy at first and between the two we made one that was. It was a rare Danbury conversion with a rear folding seat and glass sides - with the same running gear as in the video It was a awful blue colour ( as a result of my brother walking round to the pain mixer shop and picking a colour while drunk..) It was a really lightweight workhorse that passed around the family for years. In the early 80’s it was the best vehicle to use on a Sunday ‘treasure hunt’ - a competitive drive where you collect items and answer questions to find your route ( you had no map) to a country pub- with points awarded and also a milage penalty for being over or under the actual milage for the course .. the reason it was so good was because if you reversed the odometer would wind down Also interesting was that the subframe was mounted on huge bolts that you could wind down giving you body lift Absolutely loved it P.s. the gearbox on all our vivas had awful 3rd gears - by the time I was old enough to drive it I could drop the gearbox and change the clutch in well under an hour

Yellow PO/BT Bedford HA vans were a regular sight on the streets in the 1970s and early 1980s. Spent much of their time parked in lines just around the corner from popular cafes, up to three times a day, with the British Gas HAs for company! (I was only a passenger apprentice...). Thrashed all the time, governed to 50mph, most were full of phones, parts, internal cable and overhead wire (the HAs weren't used by underground cabling crews - their Inspector often had one though). Funnily, many preferred them to the Morris Itals that replaced them - partly because they were smaller to get down narrow streets, and that the Itals sagged badly on their springs when fully laden.

I had a 1976 HA van in the mid 80's, great fun. Still had the same floor pans as the saloon, if you tip the seats forward you can access a couple of spaces to store the tools and spares required to keep the thing going. Mine was mint, ex-fire brigade hydrant maintenance van.

I drove one of these vans occasionally for work in 1985. Great little thing. Much better than the Marina van I drove a few years later.

This has just bought back memories of my mates grandad who collected us from cubs from time to time in his Bedford van.. Great fun travelling around in the back.... Different times 😅

Great video, the comparison between the two is brilliant. I remember both being a common sight on the road.

Great video, I passed my test in November 1979. The next day my boss gave me the keys to a Red HA van just like the one in the video. It was loaded up with a days work of Blinds, ladders on the roof to be fitted in a school in North Lincolnshire. I thought I was king of the road traveling from our base in Nottingham. I travelled for miles in that van over the next few years, Carried tower box scaffolding inside and sometimes on the roof. They bought me a brand new powder blue one in 1982. The miles I did in them vans in all weathers and they never let me down. Happy days.

Hello. I was a technician with PO/BT in the early 70’s. I had an Anglia van first, then it was replaced by a Morris Minor. When my Moggie went in for service and repair I had a reserve van, a bright yellow HA van. The turning circle was incredible compared to my Moggie. Very useful when your working area was a South Wales mining valley, lots of narrow & hilly roads. A year or so later I was on planning covering Newport, Chepstow, Pontypool, Abergavenny & Brecon area. Our pool van was a Viva HA van. If we had to visit an exchange as long as the van was free we had to take it. Great memories of travelling along the A470 to Brecon and all the little exchanges such as Talgarth, Merthyr Cynog, Llanfrynach, Llangorse and across the mountains to Longtown Castle and Crickhowell & Abergavenny, Nantyderry, Shirenewton, Wolvesnewton & Chepstow. Great handling and we never found any difficulties with the brakes.

You learn something new every day. I had no idea these vans were based on the Viva or that they lasted so long! I do remember when they were everywhere though. Back in the 70's my parents had two Viva saloons, first an HB and then an HC, very fond childhood memories and I definitely recognise the soundtrack!

I used to work for South Wales Electricity Board . Most of our vans were British Leyland and a few Fords. Minis , Marinas , Itals and Sherpas with Escorts and Transits . All de tuned or low compression engines. Once the had had a service we used to advance the distributor a few degrees ad tweek the carburettor a bit to get a bit more pep out of the then turn them back just before they went in for the next service. 🤔😉😂😂😂😂😂Happy days.

I passed my driving test in February 1966 in my dad's 1965 HA viva. I told the tester that it had power-assisted disc brakes but he still bumped his head on the windscreen when I did the emergency stop. I passed first time then subsequently I bought a 68 HB "Coke bottle" viva estate. They were both great cars. Thanks for your great review.

I used to drive around Didcot Power station in an Electrified HA, lead acid batteries fired in false floor in back. Used it to drive down to river to check instruments at the water inlet/outlet on the Thames.

Thanks Ian, another great video. Well done, Haydn

Another splendid video. It is very interesting to see both extremes of the HA vehicles.

Most vans would have had a bulkhead between the driver and the load space. This steel panel would stop your head from flipping back in a rear end shunt. Bedford thought of everything !

Always enjoyable to see these reviews. The company I worked for had HA vans as ancilliary vehicles and my one comment is that with the small wheels and lack of servo brakes in the far off days when ice and snow abounded meant they were "interesting" in bad road conditions and you could lose all traction quite easily and then you were off to the races. The 1256 Viva engine was very frugal though.

THE BEIDERBECKE NUT ! 🤣 I always loved that series just for Jimmy Bolam and Barbara Flynn riding round in that lovely old ex British Telecom HA

It's funny that the HA saloon sounded a bit "busy" by the time it reached 50 mph, because an advert for the HA Viva emphasised that the car could reach 70 in 3rd and had a maximum speed in top of 80 mph! I think the acceleration was also described as "swift". It was advertising of course, the way it was written at the time. I notice the car and van in this video sound in healthy condition.

Great video review and a blast from the past! A friend of mine had a dark blue Viva HA in the mid-80’s/early 90’s, which was her mums car from new back in the 70’s. It wasn’t the deluxe version, way more HubNut than this one 😊. Great little car, drove well and had lots of internal space. but cold starting was a pain if I remember.

I'd love to see a direct comparison between the HA Viva saloon and the Nova saloon which is now a very rare beast but virtually identical dimensions to its great great grandad the Viva.

Lovely review! Dad had a red HA van (HEA 619D) which was both his part-time builders wagon and family transport. If not hauling bricks, soil, slummy, radiators etc then an old sofa was tossed in the back thus making it a minivan. Said sofa totally unrestrained to the delighted of the up to 5 kids riding in the rear. Learned to drive in it. Now have an Audi Q4. Miss the van. Miss Dad.

I did my mechanics apprenticeship at a vauxhall dealer in the mid 70's and remember those front transverse leaf springs, they were a nightmare to replace when they broke. We had a special spreader bar tool and clamps to do the job but if the spring broke free under tension you had to get out the way quick!!

My uncle had a HA van back in the 1970s. My cousins and I would sit in the back and off we would go, what a different place the world was. Fun times.

Fantastic. My Dad had an HA van, a grey one. Many fond memories.

More road tests please Ian IMO that's Hubnut at its best👍

Love these Smarts and the roadsters, like you, always wanted one... Congratulations on the new car,and all the very best in getting back on the road. Enjoy your new car!

Excellent video comparing the 2, happy memories…worked on derivatives of this engine type for a bit. Loved the very last bit in “reverse”!!!!

Hi Hubnut. My grandfather owned an early E series Velox, which I remember, and he traded it in on an HA Viva, and I came of driving age during his ownership and got to drive it. I remember it being quite a jolly little car to drive. It had a persistent gearstick rattle, which no amount of warranty complaints seemed to fix. Funny thing, but the Australian assembled Vauxhalls of the late 50's to mid 60's were painted to a quite noticeably better standard than the Holdens, and my grandfather did take pains over keeping his Viva well polished. That brake booster I think I have seen before, in a very late Wolseley 6/90 (1959) which I owned. In this case it was under the floor, nestled amongst the chassis rails. Cheers.

My dad was a plumber and owned a couple of blue HA vans ❤

Great video. Thanks Ian. I adore the sight and sound of a Viva no matter what generation. The Bedford takes me back to my dads ex GPO van and as a kid being allowed to play with the wipers and indicators. The low gearing is a thing in my mk1 Escort (I think you mentioned that when you drove it) 55mph is quite enough! 😁

Very enjoyable video, cheers! I remember Bedford HA vans (usually in British Telecom livery) being a ubiquitous sight as a kid in the ‘80s.

My brother bought a HA van to learn to drive back in the 80's. It had holes so big in the floor you had to watch where you put your feet, narrowly avoided a flinstone moment a few time 🤣 Used to get very wet feet when it rained :)

The pocket on the side of the footwell was for the service book, I bought a c reg viva deluxe ELA798C. who was going to scrap it because of a small bit of welding and a steering rack. I restored it in the 90s. And last I looked is still on the road.

I was looking at a Vauxhall HA at a show some time ago. I love the astonishing amount of space these have, great visibility, traditional front engine RWD layout, and charming utility styling. A proper family car! Amazing that the vans lasted well into the 80s, but I'd have the car today if they still made them👍🏻

We had a V reg HA when I was a kid. It only lasted until 1985, so what 5 years? Replaced with a Midi which was bigger and far more futuristic. Even as a small child the HA seemed old fashioned and slow. My grandfather constantly having to change down when we came to hills. No radio or anything. The heater was about as advanced as it got. Wasn't sad when it went. We had one of the first Midi's in the country and it seemed amazing in comparison. It even had an AM radio! And thank you for letting us hear the engine at around 19 minutes without talking. That's a noise I haven't heard since 1985!

Two lovely vehicles, excellent review. Enjoyed.

I am pleased to see you mentioning the turning circle. I think you should refer to this in every test, like you do with wiper patterns.

I had 3 HA`s in the mid to late 70`s loved them :)

Great video Ian. I remember my boss had an Opel Kadett Estate in the same beige colour. I owned a White 1978 Chevette Estate which I loved. The steering wheel was the same as the steering wheel in the van. The Mk 3 Viva was a load of rubbish. My uncle owned one and it broke his heart.

I love the yellow BT vans when Buzzby was BT's commercial symbol 👍

For a couple of years in the early ‘80s Bedford were selling three similarly sized vans that basically came from three different decades; the HA van that was a ‘60s design, the Chevanne that was a ‘70s design, and the Mk1 Astravan that was of the ‘80s design trends (I can’t technically claim that was an ‘80s design as it was based on the Opel Kadett launched in ‘79). What a weird line-up.

My father had a C reg HA Deluxe version. I first drove it around a caravan site in the lake district age 11. Pure joy until the bee flew in the open window. I have a 69 Triumph Herald now and it is ww2 (no fuse box) compared to the Viva. I fondly remember the Viva, but love my Herald. Thanks for the memory.

My first car was a base HA and as a 17 year old it was a wonderful, nippy and economical little car. I could fit sometimes four mates in it and it took us everywhere. As a first car you accepted the refinement, noise and lack of brakes. When my children were learning to drive, I would never have let them buy one 😹😹😹 I would probably buy another one now for nostalgic reasons. Fab car!

That Steering wheel in the Bedford looks like the Chevette … Folk weren’t texting from the knees back then so tended not to plough into the back of stood traffic at full speed back then…😊

Dad had one, it could never make it up a hill near where we lived....turned out to be a broken inlet manifold bolt.....the middle one....only when it was warm though...anyway, bolt replaced by local garage and it went like a bomb, with that noteable exhaust note when you changed gears....loved it.

Nice subtle exhaust rasp too. A time when most cars had a signature sound. Two lovely examples here 😊👍

It’s amazing that the saloon has survived this long. They were built unbelievably cheaply. The rear wings, for instance, had seams spot welded on the outside of the body, nice the narrow and capped sort of wing. There was a time that cars had similar external seams capped by a chrome strip at the front wings also. There were no wheel arch liners back in the 1960’s and 70’s so all the road water/salt would get into the most extreme of crevices which started to rust the day after they left the factory.

Just been reading all those happy comments about HA Viva's. Lots of folks talking about possible SL90s. Well let me say they were very quick in their day. That little engine could really rev its heart out. I learnt to drive in a HA & passed my test in one. But I was barred from driving Dads SL90 & had a Reliant Van Pre Regal with a side valve engine & crash box. Unfortunately Dad had a lathe, so the carb got modified as did the exhaust system. Surprising how quick you can make them go. Happy memories. A great shame that HA Viva's rotted so much, I feel sure you would love to drive an SL90.

My late father bought one in 1966 £635 on the road !!! We use to go to Bournemouth on holiday most years, I sat on my late mother’s knee in the front seats as there were no seatbelts and three in the rear seat, so we were quite full to the gunnels as they would say !!! Ours was purchased from Lane End Garage in Pudsey West Yorkshire and the proprietor was Mr. Johnson, happy days.

Fantastic back and forth review, im lucky enough to have experienced owning a basic low maintenance car growing up, everything accesible and fixable.😊

I had one of these in Scotland and loved it!

This was one of the cars I used when I was learning to drive in the early seventies, my dad had a van and he would take out every now and again. I bought a viva HA saloon which was the second car i ever owned. It was one of the best cars I ever had I used it for work traveling between Weston Super Mare and Bristol via Brockley combe woods never let me down once, wish I still had it today.

Thanks Ian my first car on the road was a Viva HA deluxe 1964 CPO 521B dark blue always wanted the van version been in a few with my dad. 😀👍

Your trainers fit well to the colours of the van. But the brakes of the saloon are way better… Lovely road test. Thanks Ian! 🤗

Thanks Ian. Very entertaining 🙂

My first car was a 1964 Vauxhall Viva which I bought in 1969. I believe it was sold by General Motors of Canada. It had the steering wheel on the left side. Loved the little car and have many great memories of driving it.

Hi Ian, love this comparison! So I sent a link to the video to my Dad who used to drive the Bedford van for BT in the early eighties. This is what he said: “They were useless to drive and very small. The only good thing is they had great gear box and a short stubby gear stick which was kind of sporty for the time. But with all the tools you needed loaded on board, it wouldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding!” Slightly harsh!! 😅 His best van was the Morris Ital BT van… for whatever reason that went like stink and was quicker than the Maestro Van of around the same time or overlap. 👍

Watching this has reminded me of 1983. In the summer i left school and went to vauxhall (Luton) on the government's YTS. If my memory serves me right in December i was put in the area were the HA van was built. Production of the van stopped over 6 months earlier but the production line was still in place but was used for storage. It was at the section called "end of line"

The SSEB still had them in 1987 when i started with them. They had rear seats and a safe for the ten bob coins from the meters. They were restricted to 55

It's about time we had another Vauxhall on the channel,and it is about time we had a Vauxhall in your fleet,a vastly underrated British brand.

I drove an HA van for a local authority, definitely unfrilly but very dependable. It started first time when I was being chased by a colleague with a spade who was intent on injuring me, so thank you little HA.

My dad had one of these saloons and that engine sound really takes me back. I always liked it, jolly and light inside. The owner should swap the disc brakes on to the van.

Glad you discovered the impressive turning circle. That means a massive drift angle to be had on wet roundabouts. Way more than capris or escorts as I demonstrated to my terrified cousin back in the days of teenage immortality. They also do perfect black circles in the dry, one wheel peeling flat out in 2nd on full lock. As many exactly overlaying laps as you want. Amazing. I had a £20 gas board blue ha van that I matt blacked before it was a thing. Unsurprisingly it didn't survive my ownership more than a couple of months. And yes the seats were horrible.

Yes we did get the Viva HA in New Zealand 🇳🇿. I had more to do with the HB, HC & Magnum. I didn't realize that the fuel tank was positioned more like the Herald & Vitesse of the period. The HA Bedford engine had moved from 1057cc, to 1159cc and up again to 1256cc and again to that oil filler pipe hose model. Strange how they retained the single Zenith on top. We only got the 150 Stromberg on top of late HC, Chevette & Chevanne. Later Bedford Beagles never made it to New Zealand 🇳🇿 😮 The only variation as mentioned was the Chevette / Chevanne estate's and the entirely larger CF & CF2 ( rear wheel drive only )😮 Thanks Hubnut for the comparison.❤

Those Bedford van’s where everywhere in the seventies. Both my uncle’s had one ( Butcher and Plumber) so glad there’s one left, as I’m sure that’s probably the best.

The first car my father had when I was a 5-year old child was a 1965 baby blue HA deluxe saloon. It served us well for family outings, but its weak point was starting from cold in winter or damp weather. My father got used to taking the plugs out and putting them in the oven while he had breakfast before going to work! He moved on to an HB SL90 in 1967, which was a much more modern-looking car.

Fond memories of dad driving his BT HA van….