18th Jul 2007, 18:46

Granted not many 73 vintage Fords etc last today, but I doubt they would have suffered from rampant rust in 1979 the way our Victor did. Vauxhalls from this era did not last. I remember a Vauxhall salesman once admitting that brand new Vivas arrived from the factory already rusting!

23rd Aug 2007, 17:06

To the poster who claims that Fords of the same era are not as rust prone as the equivalent Vauxhall models, this is not so from my experience.

I used to work at a Ford dealership and the number of Escorts, Cortinas and such coming back with terminal corrosion around the strut towers just buggers belief.

There are more Fords of this era running around merely due to the fact that they sold in much greater numbers in their heyday, making it a case of proportional representation.

The Escort Mk1 did 1.2 m units as compared to 560,000 or so HB Vivas and every Cortina sold over a million units, as compared to just 200,000 or so FD Victors - a car that the Mk3 Cortina was a virtual carbon copy of.

Vauxhall's image and marketing hit the skids in the early 1970s, affecting their sales rates so much so that GM combined their design and engineering with Opel. Much could be said for Ford, which also integrated their European model ranges, starting with the Escort Mk1.

17th Oct 2008, 14:52

Hiya.

I have just got a 1973 Victor. I love it. The only problem is the rear wheel arch has gone. Can any one tell me if you can get a replacement one to weld in, or do I have to make one? If you can buy one, please let me know where.

fen05@hotmail.co.uk

Regards john.

25th Dec 2008, 14:34

I have just bought a 73 Ventora; the only rust on it is on the very front of both wings. The rest of the body is immaculate.

13th Mar 2009, 16:33

Going back to the comments about rust... Vauxhall were actually one of the pioneers of rustproofing in the UK during the 70's - because they'd earned a pretty poor reputation in the proceeding decade. All their cars were phosphate dipped prior to painting, had wax injection in the sills, and were undersealed at the factory. Yes they did rust, but certainly no more than any other car of the period.

30th Jul 2009, 16:49

My dad had 3 FE/VX estates in the 70s/80s.

The first was an M reg metallic green FE 1800. We loved it. It looked marvellous when new, and my dad much preferred it to his rusty and unreliable Cortina Mk3 estate (It was yellow, with a lot of grey primer around the front lights, and a rope holding the rear tailgate closed!). Can't remember why the first went.

The second was a metallic blue VX2300 estate, P reg. Again we loved it, it seemed so much more stylish and exclusive when compared with all of the Cortinas and Maxis down our street. Unfortunately this one fell foul of the engine, which seized one winter.

The final one was a 'bargain' bought at 1 year old, after the VX series was discontinued in 1978. It was Ember red, and top spec for a VX1800. Lovely car, and the first one we had with cloth seats. I also remember it had an 8-track cartridge player. Lovely, lazy, comfortable cars, with way more style and luxury than the equivalent Ford or BL car. I have many fond memories of them.

4th Sep 2009, 13:15

The FD/FE series Victors were no worse than their BL/Ford rivals of the time. We had two FEs and one FD, which all lasted for many years.

17th Aug 2012, 21:39

If all cars made in the 1950s, 60s, 70s etc had been given proper rust protection like their modern equivalents are, I'd bet that at least 30-40% of them would still survive.

28th Aug 2012, 11:35

I agree with this. Most cars of this era rusted. My dad had an FD, and two FES, all of which lasted to a fair age. In fact the FD was passed through the family and was about 16 years old when a drunk driver hit it, and caused it to be written off.