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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThen there was the \u2018Viva Prince GT\u2019 at \u00a3169. This consisted of the Prince conversion, plus a Blydenstein Weber carburetor conversion with a special exhaust system. Which meant the car was a full 7 seconds quicker than the standard SL90 car in respect of the 0 \u2013 60 mph time. But there was never any mention of the special Cosmic wheels as seen in all the adverts. Unlike Fords of the day, the Viva HB didn\u2019t have any air extraction system. It just relied on leaking rubber seals etc so there was always wind noise and a very ineffective hot air blower. Allowing the rear pillars to act as exit holes, meant the through draught would allow far better suction on the heater system. This exit grill system was standard on MKII Cortina and alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be honest I\u2019ve never seen any of the \u2018Prince\u2019 mods, so I fear it was a complete failure, unless a few HBs may have had a vinyl roof fitted by Crayford\u2026 So I believe the Prince conversion died a death and then Mrs McMullan\u2019s \u201967 HB Viva was enticed into the Crayford workshops for a full blown roof chop. The idea of using an SL90, rather than a standard HB was that its extra power and its low ratio rear axle was more suitable to hauling the extra weight caused by all the strengthening needed to make the saloon into a useable convertible. The other criteria, which isn\u2019t written down, but understood by most, is that all cars that were going to be converted shouldn\u2019t be more than around 6 months to 1 year old. This was to ensure the car was still in good shape before the chop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>First here is the article, dated 22nd Feb 1968.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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Convertible or Cabriolet?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before continuing I must explain the wording of a \u2018Viva HB convertible\u2019 as it is known. Car firms, even today use, the words \u2018Convertible\u2019 and \u2018Cabriolet\u2019, but there are vast differences to the build in each case. \u2018Convertible\u2019 rolls off the tongue far easier than Cabriolet, hence every car is normally tarnished with this expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Viva HB Convertibles are actually Cabriolets. The difference is that the Cabriolet has the hood hidden below the deck level, where as a convertible has its hood all stacked up on top of the rear deck. To me the convertible is likened to a babies pram. Modern car like the Escort MKIII and Golfs were called Cabriolets, but using the above statement, they are in fact convertibles. At this time in Crayfords history, the Cabriolet hood had just been designed and saw life also in the Ford Corsair, BMC 1100\/1300 and later the Capri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cabriolet\u2019s hood itself was made from Mohair, unlike the convertibles, which was of a plastic leatherette type material. The unique feature being that a headlining was employed to hide the hood frame from the driver and passengers giving the hood a more sophisticated edge. The construction of the Cabriolet\u2019s hood mechanism, although agricultural was far more rigid and has lasted the test of time. Its shape lent itself to enhance the cars it was fitted to, rather than just being a rag stretched over a frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most notable impression the Cabriolet gives over the Convertible hood is of its instant operation. Un-clip the two catches inside on the top of the windscreen and then fold the entire hood into its storage compartment. Everything from a Morris Minor, Triumph Stag, Spitfire or MGB, the driver had to get out of the car and undo numerous poppers, just to allow the hood to fold backwards. So basically the Cabriolet hood was a one handed operation to put down or pull up. The latter assuming the tonneau cover has been removed first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The negative side of having a Cabriolet hood is that the rear seats have to be reduced in width and in most cases are made more upright. This is done so to create the stowage space behind the rear seats. So cabriolets were called 2+2. The second \u20182\u2019 being children! A factory made modern car would have these problems designed out in the first place, but Crayford\u2019s were converting existing saloons. The other downside to having a hood that folds away quickly is that the rain runs down inside the car behind the \u2018B\u2019 post. There are drip trays to funnel the water down into the sills, but as you can imagine this in itself is a recipe for disaster, especially on a \u201860s car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Beginning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Only 11 months after the SL90 HB was purchased the Crayford Viva HB was launched \u2013 March 1968. This was done in the magazine Motor and an article in February \u201968 in the Sunday Express. The prices started from \u00a31150 for the basic HB and a massive \u00a31342 for the HB GT. The conversion cost \u00a3500, which on top of a \u00a3800 car, didn\u2019t see the orders rushing in.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThe \u2018Press\u2019 car used for all the articles and promotional pictures was \u2018OPF\u2019 (Mrs McMullan\u2019s car), but normally over written with number plates of \u2018SL90\u2019 for the photo shoots. OPF was the only car seen ever wearing the special Cosmic wheels so looking at any article, so you can confirm its original registration. The odd and rather strange over writing was on the Sunday Express launch article, this had \u2018LWN 860F\u2019 badly covering the number plate of OPF. This wasn\u2019t an actual number plate, but a correction on the photograph. It looked like a Tipp-ex and black marker job. This registration was later to appear on the so called \u2018Brabham\u2019 convertible.
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Next came the adverts with the so called Brabham convertible LNW 860F. With the Brabham kits being sold at this time and just the name inspired the racing driver in everyone, so the publicity was to use the brand name of Brabham to help sales. These adverts were definitely not OPF dressed up, but could well be another one of the white SL90 cars. TVB instantly springs to mind as it was a very early conversion too and came via Wallace Arnold. DLVA do not recognize LNW, but that doesn\u2019t make it a definite 100% ringer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strange thing with the Brabham convertible in all its pictures is that two sections of the Brabham stripe are missing from both sides of the car. This is the small section by the Viva script badge on the front wing and the section continuing along the door. Now my theory would be that the front half of the car could get away with not being re-sprayed after conversion, if nothing was scratched. But the small section of stripe missing on the front wing negates this idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have a very rough picture of the rear of LNW and it certainly does not have the Brabham boot badge. This is in fact the easiest sticker to put on a car so hence I\u2019m 100% sure now this was a dressed up Crayford Viva HB SL90 with a false registration and Brabham stripes. Plus I\u2019m also now 90% sure it was actually TVB dressed up to look like a Brabham for the photo shoot as it was converted shortly after OPF. It would have been a financial black hole for Wallace Arnold to have 2 x Viva HB Cabriolets at the same time due to the massive expense<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know for a fact that both Viva GT convertibles were re-sprayed entirely as one lost its black bonnet and the other changed its black bonnet from matt to gloss. Early pictures of URR show that it also has been totally re-sprayed. It only takes a set of stripes and people instantly think it\u2019s a genuine Brabham, which even today is a reasonably easy task to complete. So my theory still stands that the Brabham Viva convertible was made up with stripes just for the photo shoot. The sections of stripes on the car would have been bad enough to fit so hence I\u2019d imagine they gave up with the smaller bits, assuming no one would even notice. That was back when Viva anoraks didn\u2019t exist! Also pictures do not exist to my knowledge of the car with its bonnet open. This would have proved it one way or another. Also, none show it from the rear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With both these cars on adverts, the now Sole British and Main Concessionaire for the HB convertible were Wallace-Arnold Sales and Service Ltd of Hunslet Road, Leeds. So now you went through Wallace Arnold to get your new Viva SL90 converted into a convertible. One theory I had at one time was that say 6 x SL90s were converted as a batch, but of the ones surviving none relate to one another, chassis wise or registration wise. I now believe it was more likely that your local Vauxhall Dealer got the car done for you either via Wallace Arnold or direct with Crayfords. Neither Crayfords nor Wallace Arnold has any paperwork ascertaining to the numbers or even registrations of cars converted. Hence I feel it was rather a piece-meal affair as to the creation of Viva HB convertibles.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nUntil this year 2016, I thought all Viva HBs were converted by Crayfords, and the convertible hood frames were made by Karl Deutsch in Cologne and then shipped to England. Crayford\u2019s themselves merely did the basic chassis strengthening and the roof chopping. At that time no one in England at that time could match the Germans for their hood mechanism or hood material quality. These were actually made at Happitch of Wuppertal, who incidentally made hoods for Mercedes.
This is now incorrect. It was actually classed as the \u2018Summer Runs\u2019 at Crayfords, two members of the Crayford team would drive 2 x saloon cars from Westerham, (the respectful owners or garages sending them down to Westerham in the first place) on Friday evening to Dover, catch the ferry and drive them to Karl Deutsch in Cologne. Then they would spend the rest of the weekend resting before driving back to the UK on the Sunday night with 2 x Cabriolets converted from the previous week! ALL Cabriolets were done this way, whether Corsair, BMC 1100\/1300, Capri or HB Viva (But to confuse matters the MkII Cortina Cabriolet although done by Karl Deutsch had an extra roof bar in it which made the hood top look more rounded, plus longer and there was no inner head lining. It made the car look like a ‘bubble top’. This I believe was the earliest Cabriolet Aug 1967 and used what you’d call the Mk1 Hood frame, whereas later cars used a Mk2 Hood frame). So, all the work was done in Germany, hence the quality of the conversion is so good. Crayford and Karl Deutsch were obviously in partnership for these British conversions, but Karl Deutsch did not want any acknowledgement, hence the badges applied were sign written as \u2018Crayfords\u2019.
So all in all, this is why the conversions were so expensive and the take up never occurred.
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nLooking at the remaining cars, OPF was obviously the flagship so didn\u2019t go through Wallace Arnold. I have only ever known one owner of this car and he still has it today, lurking in his garage. The only time it was ever on the road to my knowledge was back in \u201986. It was in red oxide, sporting an Essex V6 engine and Jag IRS with a Viva GT bonnet. The car did have the early cast Crayford Boot badge with sloping sides. The car still exists today, but as yet isn\u2019t being restored, but we all hope one day it will.<\/p>\n\n\n