VAUXHALL FE VICTOR REVIEW

GM’s attempt at a large family saloon to suit fleet and private buyers fell short of expectation. But that’s no reason not to love it

Produced by General Motors from 1957 to 1976, the Vauxhall Victor was introduced to replace the Wyvern model and became Britain's most exported car.
With a body style derived from the '57 Chevrolet Bel Air, the original Victor was dubbed the F series with a production of more than 390,000 units. 
The FB ran from 1961 to 1964 but only achieved sales of 328,000 vehicles after it faced fierce competition from Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick in the US.
The FC (101) took over the Victor reins from the FB in 1964, and sold nearly 240,000 in its three-year life. Curved side windows - a first for Vauxhall - opened up interior space, while prominent chrome sunk into the front bumper hinted at a US influence at Luton.
Released in 1967, the FD was first launched at the British Motor Show but suffered from poor on-road performance and durability. Consequently, only 198,000 units were produced until it was superseded by the FE in March 1972. 
Vauxhall's FE was the last car created under Luton’s autonomy from German, Opel-based designs. It’s large, spacious, has a comfortable ride and a decent turn of pace. It’s transatlantic prow apes the Buick boat-tail Riviera while the rest of the hull could have come from the subtle pennings of a BMW designer – just check out the rear side-glass profile and C-pillar shape. They’re relatively easy to work on, and when they rot it’s honest rot. And they’re still cheap on the classic market, and as a second-classic or tow-bar equipped caravan hauler the 2279cc inclined inline four can’t be beaten for torque. Bill Blydenstein’s caravan-racing VX4/90 won the championship both times it was contested, and no one else would enter.

VITAL STATISTICS

Engine                                    2279cc/4-cyl/OHC

Power (bhp@rpm)                  100bhp@5200rpm

Torque (lb ft@rpm)                 138lb ft@3000rpm

Top speed                                100mph

0-60mph                                  8.9sec

Consumption                            24mpg 

Gearbox                                    4-spd manual + Overdrive/3-spd auto

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

BODYWORK & CHASSIS
 

As with many of the 101’s peers, corrosion is your biggest enemy, despite Vauxhall’s Magic Mirror paint. The problem is that panels are a struggle to find and the curvy nature of the body makes seamless repairs very tricky. Floors, sills and wheelarches are obvious rot spots to check, but also look over the whole of the front wings and the lower section of the rears. Valances also suffer, so make sure you have a peek behind the chrome bumpers.
The orange blight also strikes around the windscreen aperture and the bulkhead – not easy areas to repair. The sills and front doors are shared with the PC Cresta and Viscount, though they’re not exactly blessed with an abundance of panels either. Exterior trim is nigh on impossible to source, so if you’re buying a project, its condition is important.

ENGINE

Fortunately, in best Vauxhall tradition, while the body may fall apart, the mechanicals are hardy and their simple nature makes them a great choice if you like to tinker at home. If the engine has clocked up 100,000 miles or more, you need to keep your eyes open for blue smoke as wear strikes. A full rebuild will cost around £1000, but it might be better to try and track down a good secondhand unit, which will be about £100. The VX4/90 has twin-carburettors and an aluminium, high-compression head, the latter making regular coolant changes important, so check for signs of water and oil mixing or for rust-coloured coolant.
Gearbox-wise, it’ll be obvious when a unit is worn as it’ll be very noisy. Gear selection issues on the three-speed are usually down to worn bushes on the linkage – not an expensive fix. The Powerglide automatics are rare, and you’re most likely to encounter a 4-speed floor shift. Rear axles can leak oil and will get very noisy very quickly if there’s no lubricant. Optionally from 1965 and standard fit from 1966, the VX4/90 had a limited slip differential, to ensure that you could lay down that entire 98lb ft of torque.

BRAKES

Steering is by recirculating ball, which means it isn’t the most accurate out there. Watch out for excessive play in the steering box, which certainly won’t help matters, and also keep an eye out for tight points as you go from lock to lock, in case someone has over-adjusted out any play. A replacement steering box won’t be easy to find.
Suspension is simple coil springs and wishbones up front, with leaf springs at the rear. Telescopic dampers can leak, springs can sag and worn bushes can cause nasty clunks. Front lower balljoints can wear, too. To avoid a nasty failure, jack the car up and use a pry bar to lift the wheel. A small amount of play is okay, but a significant amount means it’s replacement time.
Brakes are drum all-round for the Victor, with servo front discs on the VX4/90.

INTERIOR

Vinyl seats were standard fare, with individual front seats rather than a bench in the VX4/90. Cloth seats were optional and some were even specified with leather. Condition is everything as nothing is easily available, a situation not helped by almost annual tweaks. Electrics are fairly hardy, although you need to watch out for brittle wiring and dodgy earths causing components to fail.

OUR VERDICT

The FE is a marmite car. You love its ’70s style or hate it. Yet if you find a good one it’ll serve you well for years. They’re durable, strong and have ample space for five adults, as long as they’re in long trousers to avoid vinyl burns from those large Ambla seats. If you like cruising then a Victor has all you’ll need, while those looking for a car with hooligan attitude and the allure of 14" Rostyles will head straight to the twin-carbed VX4/90. These had standard-fit overdrive from ’72-’74, four-speed manual from ’74-’76 and a close-ratio Getrag five-speed gearbox in the final VX490 incarnation from 1977-’78. Lovers of straight-six power needn’t leave the room either, as the Ventora (and Victor 3300 estate until 1974) models featured plusher trim and more torque, though no more effective performance and (slightly) more ponderous handling. 

VAUXHALL VICTOR F-SERIES REVIEW

With translatlantic styling and a bullet-proof engine, the original Victor seemed like a recipe for success in the 1950s. It sold well, too... but you’ll have to hunt hard to find one now

Slip behind the wheel, making sure not to catch your knees on the dog’s leg projection that carries the windscreen wrap-around, and settle into a remarkable period piece. 

Even the instrument panel makes you think of
a 1950s juke box; there’s a big plastic-rimmed
wheel and, as you look around the cabin, you can’t miss the two-toned interior. It will probably smell of vinyl, too. 

The engine’s a surprisingly flexible slogger and the gearing is low – but with much higher gearing you wouldn’t be going anywhere very fast. You quickly get used to the three-speed column change and the rather vague recirculating-ball steering, but the all-round drum brakes need a bit of forethought until you’re confident. 

The live rear axle hops around a bit on bumpy roads, and the skinny crossply tyres mean you’ll corner gingerly until you’ve got the full measure of the car.

VITAL STATISTICS

VAUxHALL VICTOR F-SERIES - Series II 

Engine                                    1508cc/4-cyl/OHV

Power (bhp@rpm)                  55bhp@4200rpm

Torque (lb ft@rpm)                 85lb ft@2400rpm

Top speed                                74mph

0-60mph                                  28.1sec

Consumption                            30mpg 

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

BODYWORK & CHASSIS
The F-series Victors are a rare find today, and there’s a reason: rust. The old joke about the cars rusting before they left the factory was made for a reason! Unitary construction was in its early days when Vauxhall drew up the design, and nobody had thought about rust traps. The Victor’s shell is full of them. So rebuilding a rusty Victor will demand a lot of skill and a lot of time; if you don’t have an abundance of both, we’d advise you not to try. Professional restoration will cost far more than the cars are currently worth.

Check the inner sills for rust; you should also examine the whole of the underbody area. The really critical area is that around the rear spring-hangers, which sit right in the middle of a major rust zone. You’ll find rust in the rear floor under the seat, and in bad cases it spreads right across the car and up the inner wheelarch. Patching is feasible in some cases, but unless it’s been done very skilfully it will be immediately obvious when you open the back doors.

Rust on the outside of the body will be only too apparent, especially in the rear wheelarches, rear wings, front wings and front panel. 

There’s a lot of chrome on an F-series Victor, and most of it will do its best to rust. The Super models have extra, around the windows, and there were optional ‘bonnet birds’ – chromed bullets that sit on the front of the bonnet. Particular problems are the bulbous bumper ends on Series I cars, especially the left-hand rear where exhaust fumes always attack the chrome finish. Your best bet will be to salvage damaged chrome and have it re-plated; it costs, but you could wait forever to find decent replacement items. Chrome trim often did not line up very well when the cars were new, and you could spend many fruitless hours trying to achieve perfection – which would not be original!

ENGINE

The engines have a single Zenith carburettor and are both simple to maintain and long-lived. They are derivatives of earlier Vauxhall types and enjoy good spares support. There are no special weaknesses of the three-speed gearboxes, although the column change may need adjustment to work without crunching the gears. During 1958, a Newtondrive two-pedal transmission option was introduced, but it wasn’t very reliable and soon disappeared. There are probably no survivors.

BRAKES

Estates are exceptionally rare, and only about a dozen survive in the UK. Apart from the obvious body differences, they have a lower rear axle ratio and an extra leaf in the rear springs. Tyres are fatter, too.INTERIOR

The standard interior has two-tone upholstery, with bench seats front and rear, trimmed in Elastofab nylon and rayon. It will be difficult to find replacement trim material. The De Luxe models had individual front seats and leather upholstery – again in two-tone – and this is easier to replace. 

OUR VERDICT

When Vauxhall replaced their E-series Wyvern, Velox and Cresta models in early 1957, they replaced a single design with two new ones. In place of the six-cylinder Velox and Cresta came the PA model, while the Victor replaced the four-cylinder Wyvern. Both leaned heavily on US styling trends of the mid-1950s; Vauxhall was owned by GM, after all.

The major styling influence on the Victor was from the 1955 Chevrolet, and the new F series had the same sculpted rear door top, similar front end details, heavily curved front and rear screens, and lashings of chrome. As a much smaller car than the Chevy, it did look a bit overdone, but it seemed to be what the buyers wanted. In fact, the F-series Victor is said to have become Britain’s most exported car at the time.

A better-proportioned estate derivative joined the range in 1958, but from 1959 Series II versions of both models toned down the original styling. The sculpted door tops, exhaust emerging through the overrider, and teardrop flutes all disappeared. 

The links with the 1950s tend to overshadow everything else about these Victors. You don’t actually have to wear drapes and have a DA haircut, but it probably helps you to get into the spirit of ownership! The styling associated with the era was so distinctive that it can also be a deterrent to some people: you either love it or think it’s crass and over-the-top.

Driving the Victor is a bit of a so-so experience. Like most saloons of its era, it’s neither quick nor particularly reassuring in the handling department. These were bread-and-butter family saloons, for all their visual distinctiveness, and they behave like it. 

So... a show car but not an enthusiastic driver’s car; that’s our verdict. 

VAUXHALL FC VICTOR REVIEW

These Victors and their VX4/90 derivatives were once so common as to be not worth a second glance. Not any more, though

The ‘typical’ Vauxhall Victor 101 has a vast and slippery bench front seat, with a three-speed column change. The controls are pleasantly light, and the car is rather comfortable, which matches its reputation as a lazy cruiser.

The low gearing makes best use of the engine’s torque, so flexibility is surprisingly good. However, with a top speed of around 80mph, you’re thrashing the car at motorway speeds – and fuel consumption will suffer. The higher-geared VX4/90 will do 25mpg, but a hard-driven 101 can drop below the 20mpg mark. At higher speeds, there’s also a lot of wind noise, and the gearbox will be adding a musical howl to the proceedings.

Cornering is much as you would expect on skinny cross-plies, and body roll will discourage you from doing anything silly. As for brakes, remember that other drivers won’t expect your greater stopping distances, so allow plenty of space around you. 

Once you’ve got used to it, though, an FC Victor is quite a relaxing car to drive!

VITAL STATISTICS

Engine                                    1595cc/4-cyl/OHV

Power (bhp@rpm)                  66bhp@4800rpm

Torque (lb ft@rpm)                 95lb ft@2600rpm

Top speed                                80mph

0-60mph                                  20.4sec

Consumption                            23mpg 

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

BODYWORK & CHASSIS
 

The main reason for the low survival rate of the FC-series Victors is rust. Vauxhall had a reputation for it in the 1960s (and later, too), and the FCs didn’t disappoint in that respect. Though apparently more sturdily built than rival Fords, they seemed to rust just about everywhere. Look for rust in the sills, the rear wheel arches, the floorpan and around the rear spring hangers – but these are just starters. Almost anywhere below the waistline may show rot, and you’ll struggle to find replacement panels. That means items will most often have to be hand-made, which costs money.

ENGINE

The engines are pushrod OHV types, with an alloy head, higher compression and twin Zenith 34IV carburettors on the VX4/90. They are fairly robust units, if a little thrashy. Watch out for wear in the VX4/90’s twin carbs and also for wear in the throttle linkages. Gearboxes were noisy even when new, and there was a distinctive Vauxhall whine in all gears. This gets worse with age, but in itself doesn’t indicate that the gearbox is on the way out.

RUNNING GEAR

You won’t be spoiled for choice when looking for an FC Victor, but it’s worth knowing that the four-speed floor-change gearbox option makes for a better car than the three-speed column change type that was standard. The optional two-speed Powerglide automatic took away a slice of the car’s already minimal performance, and getting parts for it today is simply a lottery. The VX 4/90 came with a limited-slip differential that was optional at first but standard on 1966 and 1967 models.  

BRAKES

The standard braking system had drums all round, but there was an optional system with front discs and a servo, and this was standard on the VX4/90. It’s obviously preferable to the all-drum system if you can find a car that has it. A weakness on all models of the FC-series is that the self-adjusters on the rear brakes tend to seize up, especially if the car does not get regular use. You’ll know this is the problem if the brake pedal seems to have an excessively long travel before there’s any bite.

Suspension was soft when these cars were new, and they did roll on corners. However, it’s worth checking any car carefully for springs and dampers that are past their best, and for wear in the wishbones and ball joints at the front. Replacements can make a big difference.

INTERIOR

Replacing interior items will be a real problem, so make sure that the car you’re examining has decent upholstery and door trims. These Victors were made when moulded plastic was the fashion, and moulded plastic is notoriously difficult to replicate. Always look underneath any seat covers; they may be hiding something! There were both bench and individual front seat options, the bench giving occupants no support whatsoever when the car rolled in corners even though overall comfort levels were quite high.

OUR VERDICT

A Victor 101 is not everybody’s idea of a classic car, and scarce parts availability makes it one for the determined owner. But it offers a taste of motoring the way it was nearly half a century ago, and to get the full flavour of the experience you need to drive one for a long distance on quiet roads rather than flog it around crowded towns or on busy motorways.

As a 101 owner, you really must join a club for technical support and for assistance in finding spares. You’ll need to develop a taste for autojumbles, too, and for rummaging to find New Old Stock parts to stash away against the day when you’ll need them.

These cars are not glamorous, even though the VX4/90 with its extra side flash does have a dash of excitement about its appearance. They are cars for taking to summer shows and for enjoying on the way.

If you remember the 1960s and 1970s, you’ll remember Vauxhall’s FC-series Victors. The styling was a bit plain-Jane, but the cars gave plenty of family space in a medium-sized package, and with 1.6 litres under the bonnet were right at the heart of the everyday saloon range.

FC Victors arrived in 1964, and in three years of production a total of 219,814 examples were built. There were estate derivatives as well, and for those who wanted a bit more glamour there was the sporty VX4/90. In fact, ‘sporty’ was a relative term, and there were only 13,449 VX 4/90 models because the car couldn’t compete with the Cortina GT that had cornered the market.

Check out www.howmanyleft.com and the figures suggest there may be under 50 survivors in the UK, and not all of those are still on the road!

Naturally we think it’s time somebody did a bit more for awareness of these nostalgic machines. So let’s hear it for the Victor 101 – so called, we hear, because it had 101 improvements over the FB that it replaced.