daveyc123

So the weekend before last I removed the engine to change the very leaky rear main seal. Firstly a huge thank you to Valiant for lending me the crane! Quite literally couldn't have done it with out that! Removing the engine was hassle free, everything went exactly as planed. The old rear main seal was to small, which explained the leak. The new seal was not fun to fit but eventually got it in and dropped the engine back in the hole. Refitted all the necessary bits and pieces to fire it up and it started first turn of the key! Result!!!! When we had the sump off the internals looked immaculate which is great news and a much appreciated bonus! I'm not sure as to the extent of it but the engine has had work done to it! With every plus there has to be some negatives..... the old engine mounts had been cut to allow the engine to sit lower as the Weber carb that's fitted hits the bonnet. Not the best way of dealing with the situation but I shall see what I can do to make things work. It hits on the cross brace so potentially I can modifythe brace slightly and gain some clearance. There is a spacer between the carb and manifold so I'm go8ng to remove this and replace it with a gasket. The radiator now sits to close to the fan, this is an easy fix with just six new holes to drill. The springs have been cut and are not captive. These also need changing. I will do some research on what my best options are here but ideallyI would like to keep the car pretty low.. So the car runs great! Idles nicely and doesn't leak any oil! Next jobs on the list are to replace the clutch and sort the brakes. Will hopefully get to spend a few hours on it this week tidying up the wiring and what Not!

They are 13x7 with a -7 offset. Anything bigger is crazy expensive.... and then finding tyres too! Depending on how it looks when the tyres are on and how much clearance there is i may get spacers. But we shall see. Na live at Taylor's, cars kept in woolston. As i dont have a garage . It's been a lot of work, I wish I had started the build thread earlier, there has been heaps of time and love put into it! Thanks for your kind words!

Discus away! Would love to hear from anybody that knew the car in a previous life!

In its previous life somebody decided to chrome a few things in the engine bay. I'm really interested to know If any internal work has been done to the engine. Due to the oil leak and no breaks I haven't driven the car, but on idle it sounds lumpy! So fingers crossed it's pushing out a little more than the standard 54bhp! I have fitted an oil catch can, a filter onto the Webber carb, new and a new starter motor. Jumping back to the wiring. A new fuse box was fitted which all the new electrics runs to. This includes electric fan, fuel pump, stereo and after market gauges. The metal behind the dash had been cut to fit a double din stereo this meant that with the new dash in place the ashtray rattled around. I made up a panel and have fitted a tacho and oil pressure gauge there..... uncertain if it will stay like that. I may move them to a pod on top of the dash and just glue the ashtray in The floor and doors etc has been covered in dynamat . The only parts left for the interior are carpet and a new steering wheel! The donor car came with a bigger/stronger back axel and bigger front brakes. These have been added as one day I would like to do an engine swap to something with a bit more go! The brakes need looking over, but this is a job for later. Various bits and pieces have happened along the way, a new set of window and door rubbers was ordered and are waiting patiently to go on. I have the wheels! Currently in talks with seedy al about getting tyres! I think that brings it up to date. This weekend the engine is coming out for the rear main seal to be changed. Then sort the brakes and get the two patches of rust sorted. Then take it for a wof and see what it fails on! I have heaps of pictures and will start a discussion thread, and will aim to keep this updated. It's been a long road to get this far. It's very rough around the edges but I'm excited to get it on the road and to get to some meets!

The seats needed a good clean, I was over the moon with the results I made some doorcards, just covered in plain black vinyl. They look okay for now, perhaps in the future I will make some better ones. Installed some speakers too! We fitted the complete wiring loom from the donor car as the original was cut up and it was the easiest option. A few niggles were sorted and everything electrical minus the interior light works! The car came with a Victor grill fitted and the head lamp buckets on the car had been cut to make this work. I spent hours drilling spot welds and fitting the headlight buckets from the magnum. Then the magnum grill was fitted..... it started to look like a car!

There is still some body work to do, but there are two patches of welding to do, so this will be done later. My first purchase for the car Due to my lack of knowledge not much happened with the car. I bought some of the missing parts but really it just sat there. A good friend from work said he would come give me some help with the car. I honestly couldn't have done it without his help! He's taught me heaps and now I feel fairly confident about giving most things a go! We checked the compression, serviced the engine, fitted an electric fuel pump and an alternator . It seems to run nicely. The rear main seal leaks. But is actualy getting changed this weekend! With so many parts missing it was decided a donor car would be the best next step to take. A couple of weeks later a Vauxhall magnum turned up on trade me. It was bought and trailerd home The magnum gave me nearly everything I was missing which was a great result! I still needed seats but managed to pick up a mint set of another viva owner! Suddenly I had an interior!

If anybody happens to recognize the car and has any Info on it I would love to hear from them. With no mechanical knowledge I decided to start by doing repairs to the flared wheel arches as these had all cracked and one had a chunk missing. I'm pleased with the results, the car will eventually get resprayed. But for now just blowing in the repair sections is fine for me

I thought it was about time I shared my viva with you all. Here we go.... I moved over to nz from the UK nearly 5 years ago. I told myself that once I was settled I would get myself an old car. I was on the look out for an escort or cortina, but with prices rising the prospect of owning one was slipping away. I wanted a rolling restoration something useable that I could tinker with. Previous to buying the viva the most work I had carried out on a car was an oil change. I loved the idea of doing more and learning as I went, but didn't want to take to much on....... I took to much on. Two years ago a viva popped up on a Facebook but sell page. I went for a look. Not having a clue what I was looking at I thought it doesn't need to much doing and I bought it. I quickly realized it was a way bigger job than I anticipated. There was virtually no interior and what was There had been 'modified' it was missing the alternator, the fuel pump, bits of wiring had been cut out, it had a Victor grill fitted. It was in quite a sorry state really, but overall the body was pretty solid. These are some of the first pictures I took of the car

Hey guys, does anybody have an engine crane I could borrow for a couple of weeks? You will be rewarded with beer! Cheers David

I have the sender, everything is all wired in! I have picked up an original fan (I didn't have one) so my current thoughts are to fit the original fan and just have the electric fan on a switch in case of over heating. At a later date I can look into getting the radiator drilled to take a sensor!

As easy as that! I will speak to a radiator specialist! Thank you

I'm trying to fit an electric fan sensor on my viva. I bought a hose adaptor but my top radiator hose isn't long enough to house it. I feel it will kink the hose. What other options do I have? Could I tap a hole into the top of the thermostat housing? The obvious thing would be the bottom radiator hose, but I was told the sensor should be in the top hose. Any help appreciated!

Thanks for your help! There is a hole which has been blocked which goes to the air filter, I Can attach the hose from the filler cap to that. Would that be correct? (And unblock it) There doesn' appear to be any free holes in the manifold. Sorry this is all new to me

Sorry for the crap title I didn't know how to word it. I have a non standard carb and air filter fitted to my 1256 viva by a previous owner. This leaves a hole in the rocker cover and a hose coming from the oil filler cap. What do I do with these? Do they require little breather filters? Or should they be going somewhere? A couple of pics to hopefully show what I mean.

Replaced the points in December, didn't do the condenser as they didn't have one, will check and replace. Thank you

Firstly I apologies for the not I was driving today and the revs dropped to zero and with a few pumps of the accelerator it goes back to where it was. it causes the car to lurch. I found a video on youtube that shows what is happening (obviously a different make and model) any ideas as to what would cause this?the car is a 1993 mazda b2200 running a carb Thanks David

Thank you for the quick replys!

Another pic and also the hose from the oil filler.

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Hi all!! Just wondering if anybody can identify this carb? It's currently on a 1300cc viva but Its not standard and was fitted by a previous owner. It's possibly off a Ford? And as a bonus question because the air filter housing has been removed I have a rubber hose coming from the oil filler cap to nothing, what happens with this? Is it the crankcase breather? Do I put one of those little filters on it? As always all help is appreciated! Here's the pics:

/\ /\ /\ Cheers guys!!! I will do that this week and turn the key and see if it starts thanks for your help!

Okay so am I right in thinking I can splice into the oil pressure switch? Which would be this yellow and brown wire? Or am I completely wrong?

I want it safe, but doesn't need to be over the top. A cut off switch would be good to stop fuel going everywhere in an emergency. It's for a humble 1256cc vauxhall viva, not a performance machine just yet!

Doe's anybody have a definitive wiring diagram for fitting an electric fuel pump? Its my first time getting involved with electrics and there are heaps of different wiring diagrams on the internet and I am now confused. If someone has a diagram and easy to follow guide it would be much appreciated! its for vauxhall viva.

Nice, so handy for people without a garage! Im heading there today to poke more holes in the vauxhall! Glad you found it!!