Vauxhall Trio E Types: 50s driving pleasure for Pieter.

The story for Pieter started with the Velox from 1957, which his father bought on the car market in Apeldoorn in 1961. His father had a garage and a taxi, as was often the case in the past.

The old taxi had served its purpose and so the Vauxhall was purchased for this purpose.

Taxi

The car was used as a taxi until 1968 when it was rejected. Pieter's grandfather drove the car for a few more years until he was 84 years old. Then the car ended up in a corner. It even stood somewhere else for a few years, until the owner of the warehouse where it stood had to use that space again. Then he came back to the same corner.

The condition of the car was not so good then, but it was a car that you no longer saw on every corner of the street. Pieter and his father then started to restore the car. That lasted from 1990 to 1993. A lot of welding had to be done, certain parts had to be chromed, the upholstery was taken care of and finally the Vauxhall was given a new coat of paint.

Vauxhall Velox from 1954

The second Vauxhall is a 1954 Velox. It was advertised for sale in the magazine of the Vauxhall club the “Griffin”. He was in South Holland. After some negotiation about the price, this car was also purchased. It was a technically good, drivable car. But it had been sprayed over once and that had not happened very nicely, and something had to be welded here and there.

That was in 1996. Pieter used the car like this for years, but it was not entirely to his liking. So it was also restored a few years ago with the help of a good acquaintance.

The car was repainted, and the bumpers and hubcaps were chromed.

After a while, the upholstery of the front seat, which already had some worn spots, started to show holes. Pieter: “It was quite a challenge to find the right upholstery, but a few years ago I was in Rosmalen at an old-timer fair and I came into contact with a lady who could weave certain fabrics. She was standing there with a booth. I sent her a piece of cloth and she woven new cloth from it. I am very satisfied with the result. My upholsterer then applied the fabric to the sofa.”

Vauxhall Cresta from 1955

Pieter continues: “I ran into the third Vauxhall quite by accident. An acquaintance of mine came to me. He was able to buy a Vauxhall of the later type, the so-called P-type, and asked me for some information. I got a little curious about that car, but the man didn't want to say too much about it. Well that it was on the internet and that it was a green one. When he left again, I immediately went browsing the internet and I soon had the car in the picture.

I had no interest in this car myself. But when I scrolled a little further, a different Vauxhall came into view, namely a 1955 Cresta in a so-called two-tone livery, green with a cream roof. I then contacted and we went to look the following week. I thought it was a beautiful car and bought it right away. This car was in a very nice condition. I just overhauled the brakes, tuned the engine properly, repaired the alternator charging and had the front seat padded, which had sagged.

And then there is a Vauxhall Cresta from 1956, which I once bought with some parts. I hope to restore this one someday, then I have one from the years '54, '55, '56 and '57. Every year there is something different in detail, such as small rear window, large rear window, different grilles, rear lights. The first type still has turn signals, the later types turn signals, etc.

I like driving these cars. They are really cars for touring. What I like so much is the high torque of the engine. Although I also drive 30 km in third (it only has three gears), I give a dot of gas and there it goes again. And then that sound of those 6-cylinders of course.

History

The E-type was introduced in the autumn of 1951 in the Wyvern (4-cylinder) and Velox (6-cylinder) versions.

In the beginning the cars were equipped with the old long-stroke engines.

In 1952, new square engines (bore x stroke 79.4 x 76.2) were introduced for both the Wyvern and the Velox. resp. 1508 cc 48 hp and 2262 cc 68 hp.

In 1955 some changes were made.

The cars got a different grille and hood and a different dashboard, the rear wheels were also fitted with so-called spats (cover panels). This did not apply to the cheaper Wyvern, and they were fitted with flashing lights instead of indicators. There was also a more luxurious version on the market, the "Cresta". The latter was equipped with two-tone paint (two colors), leather upholstery, lockable fuel cap, make-up mirror, etc.

The 1956 model received a different grille, different moldings and a larger rear window. Window winders were now also used to operate the door windows, with the earlier types the windows could simply be slid up and down. 

Finally, the model 1957 was equipped with yet another grille and different taillights. The Cresta in two colors now has a track on the side in a different color. The cars also received an electric windshield wiper. In previous models, the wipers were operated by a cable driven by the camshaft. The Vauxhalls also got a different, slightly larger carburettor.

At the end of 1957, the E-types were succeeded by two new models, namely the four-cylinder Victor F-1 and the six-cylinder Velox and Cresta PA.

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