1960 Vauxhall Cresta

Vauxhall Velox/Cresta PA (Saloon), 1957-1962

The Vauxhall Velox/Cresta PA was in production from 1957 until 1962. Styled in house, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive saloon range seating five adults.

The Velox and Cresta range was already well-established by the time of the PA, as Vauxhall's response to the Ford Zephyr and Zodiac family. By the time of the PA, the former four cylinder Wyvern had been dropped - the Consul rival no longer shared the Velox body, but had become its own line in the form of the Vauxhall Victor. The Velox was the base model intended to rival the Zephyr, the Cresta its better-trimmed Zodiac rivalling counterpart. It had been styled to take cues from the Buck Special range, including its three-piece wrap around window.

There are three families of PA, the initial PA S/D depending upon whether it was a Velox or Cresta, the PA SY/DY of 1959, and the PA SX/DX of 1960. The early cars are denoted by that three window rear end, a shallower front grille, and minor trim differences. The PA SY brought a one piece rear window and a taller, more curved grille, while the PA SX brought new lights, a revised dashboard, and a 2.6 litre engine to replace the original 2.2. By the time the PB range replaced the PA range in 1962, Vauxhall had produced 173,764 PAs.

It's not a car you buy if you want a direct driving experience. A Velox or Cresta PA drives much as you'd imagine to look at it. Both feel big even today, owing to the amount of space inside. There's enough power, but hardly a surfeit in reserve. Both the automatic and manual gearboxes - column mounted - are good by the standards of the day, but the steering is still fairly vague and woolly, guiding wheels with a track which feels almost too narrow for the body on top.. This is a car for pottering around and gentle cruising rather than driving hard. But then, if you want to do that, then there are few cars which will make you feel more special in the process.

As with virtually any car of the era, a PA can rust. It's no worse than its contemporaries, but that's not a high bar by today's standards. They're monocoques, so check anything potentially structural, especially toward the lower extremities where debris can gather. Check behind the front arches and around the rears, as these are expensive areas to repair if need be and repair sections are not available. Sills and door bottoms can rust out too, as can the front wing top joint to the inner wing. Corrosion round the headlamps isn't cheap to sort, nor is floorpan rot. Mechanically Cresta and Velox PA models are fairly hardy and easily repaired, so you can afford to focus on the shell and the trim over the mechanical aspects. However, cylinder blocks on 2.6 models can crack between the core plugs if an antifreeze concentration of at least 50% isn't maintained.

The most desirable PA is the early PA S/D among collectors, given that the car is at its purest there. The rarity of a PA SY/DY might interest collectors, but the bigger engined PA SX/DX is the best for regular use and offers good value, Friary converted estates are worth around 30% more than equivalent saloons if in good condition, and a Cresta will always command a slight premium over a Velox by dint of its desirability unless at the concours end of the scale, where prices even out.

The obvious rivals for the PA Velox and Cresta are Ford's Zephyr and Zodiac Mk2 ranges, which offer similar American influence and were the PA's direct rivals new. Alternatives might also include the subsequent PB or previous E-series models, while as a classic the Cresta in particular can count real Americana among its rivals. Late 1950s Chevrolets, Buicks and Pontiacs can even claim a distant form of kinship. The Australian Holden FB and FC ranges may also appeal for similar reasons.