1962 Vauxhall Cresta Sedan

Description

Badged the Cresta, Vauxhall’s six-cylinder family car debuted in 1954.  Initially seen as a more upmarket version of the Velox stablemate, the Cresta E shared the same running gear, but added niceties such as a choice of fabric or leather interior trim and two-tone paint, with standard heater and optional radio.  Styling mimicked what General Motors’ American arm were doing with the Chevrolet earlier in the 1950s.   From 1957 the Cresta was updated to become the ‘PA’ series and the latest model’s styling was heavily influenced by American trends of the time, including prominent tail fins, chrome decoration and wraparound glass.  Only sold as a four-door family saloon, the PA Cresta initially carried over the earlier 2.3-litre engine but a facelifted model introduced in August 1959 ultimately benefited from an enlarged 2651cc motor using a longer cylinder block with bore and stroke of 82.55mm.  Raising the compression ratio to 8.0:1 and larger valves with wedge-shaped combustion chambers helped raise the power output to 95bhp at 4600rpm.  The three-speed manual gained an optional overdrive and a three-speed automatic was introduced in 1961.  With leather/nylon trim for the front bench seats, carpeting, column-shift and an umbrella handbrake, the Cresta was a six-seat family car with enough style and performance to appeal to a wide range of buyers.  In all, 81,841 Crestas were built, with local assembly by General Motors Holden commencing in May 1958 but few survive on the roads today, particularly outside of Britain.