71 engine to a 75 (From Sweden)

[VivaSwede Backup]

Hi,

I wonder if there is anything in particular that I have to think about before I do a transplant of the Viva 1971 engine/gearbox to a Viva 1975. (Today I have an Opel 1.2s engine with a defect vauxhall gearbox...)

Normally parts for Vivas are VERY rare in Sweden where I come from, but now I have come across a Viva 1971 which i believe has a smaller engine than the 1256, but it´s only covered 50000 kilometers and seems to be in good shape. Also there are a lot of spare parts like a new exhaust system, lights, breaks, grills, engineparts, etc... all greased in and wrapped into plastic. I have been offered everything for 120 pounds. Unfortunatly I have to travel 7 hrs to get to the seller, so I need to know if the smaller engine will give me any problems if I want to put it in place.

/Christer

[northernutter Backup]

If the engine is out of a early HC then it could be an 1159 lump and yes if yours is a later HC it will go straight in.
If the engine is out off a HB then you will need HC engine mounts.

[paulbottomley37]

be careful, it has been known for early opel engines to look almost identical to 1256cc Vauxhall engines but the threads are metric !!! all vauxhall viva engines are imperial.. Cleaver as vauxhall are they took the otigianl 1057cc engine from opel and de- metricified it! (is that a word?) and subsiquent 1159cc and 1256cc engines were all imperial, however the opel line (1.2 ohv) was metric, it shouldnt case a magor issue but threads for manifold may be different and oil filter housing is differnt.

[VivaSwede Backup]

Perfect... So the 1159 goes right in if it's from a HC.. As I understand the HC came in 1970, so it shouldn't be from a HB.

The Opel engine is transplanted in to the car by a previous owner. The problem with that is the way it's done. As the original Vauxhall 1256 engine has been replaced with an Opel 1.2 engine there are some "minor" problems with that. My intention to put in a Vauxhall engine is to get rid of theese problems...Just to give an example.. If I want to replace the clutch and release bearing I have to weld in a new center to the bearing, and also to cut ot the center of an Opel clutch and put in weld in a center of a Vauxhall clutch. THhis is the situation right now, and as the autumn/winter is upcoming with the car i garaged i figured that I rather put everything back as close to what it was when the car left the factory.

I couild also put in a gearbox from an Opel, but to me it makes more sence to get back to the way it was, instead of putting in more work just to take further away from the shape it once had.

Paul... I can tell you that there is a big difference if I compere the shape of on Opel angine with a Vauxhall one. But I guess that Scandinavin people for some reason??? think that the quality of the Opel engine is higher and that's why it's in my car instead of a Vauxhall one... (What is the point of having an engine if you don't get the exclusive advantage of having to go to the garage sometimes;-) But to be honest I guess the real reason is the advantage of getting spare-parts to an Opel one is the real reason. (Almoast all junk yards in Sweden are connected to the same data base in Sweden, and If I searc for Viva parts there is one (1!) car available to buy parts from and most is allready taken off the car.

Rgds
Christer

[paulbottomley37]

I totally agree, after all if i had an early open kadett i would be in the same boat, modyfying it to take Viva engine parts. The clutch sounds like a nightmare to me, i would say get a viva engine and gearbox into it, and as for quality of build it all depneds on how you drive the car i guess? If its serviced and maintained correctly then there is no reason for the engine to outlast the car.