THE MK1 VAUXHALL ASTRAS
Many thanks for featuring my Daimler Double-six adventures in the Letters pages of April’s magazine, it was great to see my story in print! Turning over the page, I was then delighted to find a letter from Maurice Hardy regarding the Mk1 Astra featured in your February issue. I well remember Maurice as the motoring scribe on our local paper, The Gloucester Citizen, and
I too recall Haines & Strange and Skipper of Gloucester as being our local Vauxhall dealerships back then. Like Maurice, I much preferred the crisp, fresh styling of the Mk1 Astra to the anonymous blob which became the Mk2, but 40 years on, I think it’s easy to forget just how revolutionary these cars had seemed when new.
Superseding the dull-as-ditchwater HC Vivas and Mk2 Escorts, 1980’s new crop of front-wheel-drive Astras and Escorts were a revelation! Gone were the asthmatic OHV engines of yesteryear, to be replaced by new, free-revving OHC units offering sparkling performance! On paper, the new Astra 1300S boasted 74bhp vs just 58bhp in the aged 1256cc Viva, yet figures on paper don’t begin to do this comparison justice.
Working in car sales, my weapon of choice in those days was usually an XJ6, a Vauxhall Royale or perhaps a V6 Granada, though in between I got to run a varied mix of contemporary motors. One particular Astra sticks in my memory: VAV 435X, a Mk1 1600S five-door finished in China Blue, one of a range of pastel shades favoured by Vauxhall at the time. With 90bhp on tap, a ‘sixteen hundred’ Astra was a force to be reckoned with, but returning home from Cheltenham one fine summer’s evening and pressing on through the lanes around Staverton, I suddenly became aware of a white Cortina estate riding my back bumper.
Now, a 1600 Astra should have been more than capable of despatching a 2-litre Ford – or so I thought – and so I was surprised at how well this Cortina hung on. Clearing the twisty section, we came onto the straight and I booted the Vauxhall, fully expecting I’d show this audacious Ford a clean pair of wheels. Yet still I couldn’t shake it, and the next thing I knew he was overtaking me! As the white estate hurtled past, I clocked the distinctive livery emblazoned down the sides and across the tailgate: ‘Auto 45,’ then a popular club with DIY mechanics where, upon payment of an annual subscription, you gained anytime access to a fully-equipped garage workshop complete with hydraulic lifts etc, and a qualified mechanic always on hand to provide technical advice and assistance.
As it happened, Auto 45’s workshop was just along the road from the showrooms where I worked, and so in my lunch break one day later that week, I sauntered over to take a closer look at this remarkable Ford. In fact the car was already familiar to me, since it was Auto 45’s works hack and usually parked prominently outside their premises as free advertising. Chatting with the mechanic there, he was happy to show me the 2.8 V6 engine conversion, complete with manual gearbox. No wonder that Cortina had left me for dust!
In his letter, Maurice Hardy remarks upon the early Astras’ fragile sun visors. I can’t say I remember that, but I do remember these OHC ‘S’ engines having very small sumps – presumably as a sop to fleet managers, thus reducing lube servicing costs. At the time, the garage where I worked ran a small selfdrive hire fleet, and a number of our cars were early Astra 1300s. During the summer months, the hatchbacks and estates in particular were popular with families taking holidays in the west country. On Saturdays, the rental cars would return from a week down in Devon or wherever and, after a whistle-stop wash and vac, then be handed on to their next hirer, who would promptly race them back down the M5 again. Whilst each car was receiving its ‘pit stop’ microvalet, it was my job to check the lights and levels. Despite me always topping the oil right up to the mark, I could guarantee the dip stick would be heat-frazzled and bone dry when I next came to check it seven days later. Indeed, I’m surprised we never had a problem with that.
Of all the Mk1 Astras, the five-speed fuel-injected GTE was everybody’s favourite, though I recall the limited-edition EXP being popular too (EXP denoting Experimental if I remember rightly). But what really strikes me today is that the Mk1 Astra is now an esteemed classic. When I last drove one 40-odd years ago, they were still the 'latest thing' and bang up to date!