1956 Vauxhall Velox: Reader Ride

By: Steve Moore, Photography by: Steve Moore

Date: 14.03.2016

Steve Moore's Vauxhall Velox is a true blue slice of Luton loveliness a longway from home

Steve Moore's 1956 Vauxhall Velox

I’ve had this since 1978. It was well used! I bought it from my grandfather and it lived outdoors and had a lot of rust in the sills, the bottom of the doors and the back mudguards, as it was used on gravel roads near Port Phillip bay in Leopold.

My grandfather bought it new here in Australia back in 1956. The engine’s all original. The only things that have been replaced are the plugs and the brushes in the starter motor, a new radiator and the ring gear on the flywheel. The interior had to be reupholstered because the vinyl had all cracked because of the sunlight. The vinyl on the floor had also worn through and we couldn’t replace it, so we had to put in some carpet.

The interior parts weren’t that hard to come by; everything was there. It was just a case of finding a good upholsterer with the skill to redo it in a quality way.

The paint is a Vauxhall colour. The original paint was Oyster Grey which was a terrible colour, so we changed that to the blue! A fellow by the name of Russell Pigdon in Portarlington did the work for me back in the 1980s – quite a few years ago now – and it still looks good. The chrome had to be redone – that was all rechromed in Geelong. There was a lot of rust in the chrome from living by the bay all of its life. The roof is a grey – I’m not sure what shade.

She’ll go along happily at 60mph. People still try to overtake you because it’s an old car.

You don’t even find too many of these in the UK because they rusted out due to all the salting on the roads, so there’s been quite a few of these that have been sent back over there.

BUYING TIP:

Veloxes need to be bought on condition. A smart one can run you $30k.

Unique Cars magazine Value Guides

Sell your car for free right here