Vauxhall is certainly not a disappeared brand, but it has not been on the streets in the Netherlands for a long time. The models showed too much similarity with the other models of the General Motors subsidiary: Opel. Nevertheless, the different types were popular in the Netherlands, with thousands of them sold every year. This Vauxhall Velox is a survivor that we sometimes encounter at classic events; he has been given a place in the memory of a time that is forever past.
The rescue operation
The model and the design have an irresistible appeal to Jelle, the veteran of the museum of the same name in Metslawier. He simply has the gift of tracking down special classics and found this Vauxhall after a standstill of more than 12 years. Jelle's motto: “In the classic world there are always new people to meet and new adventures to enjoy,” and this is one of those. In fact, when he makes such a discovery, he is as happy as a prospector who stumbles upon a rich vein.
The history
The previous owner had stored the car dry and after a major overhaul. Then suddenly there was no time to give the car a makeover, and later interest disappeared. Now the new parts are in the car waiting for a new future. The engine is in order and runs like a charm, but the bodywork is in need of a beauty treatment again. Things will become more fun if we put in the effort and time to give the Vauxhall Velox a second life. If you succeed, it will give you an extremely satisfied feeling.
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My first car experience. We had a Vauxhall Cresta 55 or 56. Six-cylinder, white tires and a white strip on the flanks. Lots of chrome. Ornament on the hood.
As a 15-year-old, I was allowed to ride with my father on Sundays in the polders of Zeeland Flanders.
I am also the proud owner of a Vauxhall Velox, mine is from 1956!
My 'Uncle Felix' was a sexton in the village and lived under the shadow of the church tower. But he still had a car, just to drive to church on Sundays. Afterwards the car was cleaned and disappeared under the sheets again for a week. It was a Vauxhall Ranger, a dark brown with black vinyl roof. It was a kind of upgraded Opel Record Coupé with much nicer interior trim and equipment, a picture-perfect, kind of German Jaguar. When my uncle became too old to drive, the car went to one of my sisters who had just gotten her driver's license, the old car had 16.000 km on the odometer. My sister reduced it to demolition in no time. My stomach still turns when I think about it. I suspect if you were to show up at an event with such a similar car, many heads would turn your way. I never saw the same one again after that...
An acquaintance of mine has had the same Ranger, a red one, for years, I think for over 30 years.
I find the round headlights striking, where the record simply has rectangular ones.
He later bought another record, the same one, also red.
For parts, but I think it is now running.
Very beautiful, I have always thought it was the most beautiful Rekord/Commodore. And at least as beautiful as a Vauxhall. Worth a family fight.
that was my first car
My father had one. He then switched to an Opel Kapitän
My grandfather had one. Quite a luxurious car in the fifties. And my grandfather (1875) drove it like a snail, complaining about the busy traffic in The Hague. Later my father drove it for a number of years, and it was there, to my pleasure. and move along faster.
For me the original Vauxhall. I saw a lot in my youth...
I have one too