From the Classifieds: 1962 Vauxhall Cresta

Many people have probably never heard of the British car-maker Vauxhall. And even fewer would know what a 1960 Vauxhall Cresta actually is, or was.

The irony of this is that the Holden-size Vauxhall family car actually figures largely in the beginnings of Australia’s most iconic car race, the annual Bathurst 1000.

Yep, the first winner of the annual endurance race was a Vauxhall Cresta. Though it might have disappeared into Australian oblivion, it features right there, in the record books, as the standout performer at the seminal production car endurance race held at Melbourne’s Phillip Island race circuit in November 1960.

At first, because no outright winner was declared as a mark of respect to other classes which clearly weren’t up for a first-outright position, the Vauxhall Cresta was merely the winner of Class D.

Here it was competing with brands such as Humber, Mercedes-Benz, Standard Vanguard – and two XK Ford Falcons, one of which joined the DNF ranks by the end of the race along with the Mercedes-Benz 220SE and the Humber Super Snipe.

Years later, after a detailed examination of actual lap times, the Cresta was given a conclusive outright win.

In 1963, after the Phillip Island track surface succumbed to deterioration, and to the chagrin of Victorian motorsport supporters, the annual enduro – still named the Armstrong 500 – was transferred to Mount Panorama at Bathurst in NSW, where it remains today as a seemingly permanent fixture.

Vauxhalls were assembled in Australia by Holden through the late 1950s and early 1960s and were positioned further upmarket of any Holden model. Two models were available: the base Velox and the slightly upmarket Cresta.

In 1960, the Cresta sold for around $600 more than an FB Holden Special sedan.

Clearly heavily influenced by US-styled cars from parent company General Motors, the Vauxhall featured a ‘panoramic’ windscreen, tail fins and a showy grille, all put together with more stylistic cohesion and balance than its American counterparts.

The suspension and braking were standard fare at the time, featuring an independent, coil-spring front-end, a live, leaf-sprung axle at the rear and drum brakes on all wheels.

At the time, both Vauxhall Cresta and Velox used the same 2.4-litre (149 cubic inches) six-cylinder ‘grey’ engine as employed in Holdens (where it produced 56kW) before being bumped up to 2.7 litres and 71kW with a new ‘square’ engine in 1961 – a couple of years before Holden moved to its ‘Red’ series engines, in 2.4-litre and 2.9-litre (179 cubic inch) capacities.

In fact, the Vauxhall’s bigger 1961-series engine was a matter of controversy at the time, because it was not officially available in Australia until the 1961 model year, post the Armstrong 500 race.

Although the extra power and torque no doubt gave an edge over the 1960 model, any discussions around those facts have been consigned to history.

Today, any Vauxhall from the 1960s, Velox or Cresta, is a true rarity and this Cresta version, listed for $22,000 and hailing from East Kurrajong in NSW, appeared after a long time scrutinising carsales.

A 1962 model, the blue/white Vauxhall isn’t exactly concourse, and it isn’t exactly to original specs, as it is now fitted with a 3.3-litre ‘Red’ 202 cubic-inch Holden engine coupled to a three-speed Hydramatic auto transmission. (The Velox and Cresta, through to their respective discontinuations in 1966 and 1965 were only available locally in three-speed, column-shift manual form.)

But this example is otherwise true to form.

The 1962 Cresta looks good inside and out – the owner says it was restored around 10 years ago – and would make a good case for the full restoration it deserves.

Take a closer look at this 1962 Vauxhall Cresta for sale on carsales