Found pics

[LynehamHerc]

I saw one in a garage in Leeds a long time go.

The guy who owned it had apparently been seriously injured and it was at a place that specialised in converting cars for disabled drivers......
My then boss used them for work on his P5B and I seem to remember him saying that they'd convinced the owner that a Mustang II was far better for him.

[mercrocker]

I've got an idea in the back of my head about a chain final drive in them too, not sure that's correct though.

Kind of midway between primary and final drive....A gurt big chain ran between torque convertor and diff gearing. Eldorados were the same, GM being a big fan of the system.

[Hooli]

I've got an idea in the back of my head about a chain final drive in them too, not sure that's correct though.

Kind of midway between primary and final drive....A gurt big chain ran between torque convertor and diff gearing. Eldorados were the same, GM being a big fan of the system.

Ta. Thinking about it I believe what I read was there was no tensioner on it so an older car had terrible backlash in the drivetrain.

[Asimo]

I've got an idea in the back of my head about a chain final drive in them too, not sure that's correct though.

The Toronado transmission has an internal tooth drive between the torque-converter and the gearbox input shaft.
So it is a “primary-chain” in motorcycle speak. Like most motorcycles, the gearbox is parallel to the crankshaft. This arangement has been used in countless millions of GM automatic transaxles**since the Toronado, both those with a fore-aft engine and those with a transverse engine.

Final drive is normal hypoid-bevel gears.

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* And thousands of Borg Warner transaxles for Landcrabs, Princesses and SaaB 99/900.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I know most on here will be aware of it, but I just love any chance to show this picture;

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Now I don’t know what they were smoking in Luton when someone suggested a V8 PC Cresta , after all there was acres of room under the bonnet and they already used the 2 speed Powerglide which was attached to plenty of Small Block Chevy engines. Opel used the 283 in the Admiral and I think Holden and Opel in SA plonked them in various cars with very little modification.
Vauxhall, who, remember didn’t make a front wheel drive car of any size until the Astra decided to fit Toronado running gear under a Cresta!
It got crashed at the test track , of course . And the V8 Cresta idea never took off, although a V8 ( 350 RWD) FE got as far as Earls Court before the Raghead engineered oil crisis killed it on the eve of the Motor Show.

[Drum]

Mar Lodge 1967

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[mercrocker]

Early Haflinger in that top pic I think but I can't work out what the Yank is....might be Ford/Lincoln/Mercury but nothing seems to match!

[59Impala]

Early Haflinger in that top pic I think but I can't work out what the Yank is....might be Ford/Lincoln/Mercury but nothing seems to match!

My initial thought is that it could be an AMC Ambassador, especially as they were available in RHD.

[59Impala]

I know most on here will be aware of it, but I just love any chance to show this picture;
1238E408-71A0-48BC-A2C5-30DDDEA49E48.png

Now I don’t know what they were smoking in Luton when someone suggested a V8 PC Cresta , after all there was acres of room under the bonnet and they already used the 2 speed Powerglide which was attached to plenty of Small Block Chevy engines. Opel used the 283 in the Admiral and I think Holden and Opel in SA plonked them in various cars with very little modification.
Vauxhall, who, remember didn’t make a front wheel drive car of any size until the Astra decided to fit Toronado running gear under a Cresta!
It got crashed at the test track , of course . And the V8 Cresta idea never took off, although a V8 ( 350 RWD) FE got as far as Earls Court before the Raghead engineered oil crisis killed it on the eve of the Motor Show.

I don't think I have ever seen that photo or heard about a weird Olds powered FWD Cresta, they were definitely putting something other than Old Shag in their pipes. Opel used both the 283 and later the 327 in the Admiral. Years ago a friend was told about an old big Opel for sale for 25 quid in a side road in Plumstead SE London, it had been there for a while. He turned it down and another friend bought it because it had a 327 in it. Doh!
Another friend worked at Vauxhall in '73, he told me about the V8 Ventora FE's being tested but they were running Holden 253 or 308 V8s, possibly as the equivalent Holden Kingswood was very similar to the FE so it may have been a better fit. My Australian cousin may still have his very sun-baked HQ and I remember thinking how the bonnet looked like that of an FE. As you say though the oil crisis killed it off. A racing FE was built with a Holden V8, it was nicknamed Big Bertha and was very rapid but it had a short career after a high speed crash at Silverstone when its brakes failed. The running gear was then built into a Firenza nicknamed Baby Bertha which was hugely successful, it still races today.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Big Bertha complete with Gerry Marshall and 4 bare chested lovelies is my avatar pic in The OtherPlace. Makes me smile that there’s breasts on every page I post on and the mods have never noticed .

Anyway my Vauxhall knowledge is all stolen from Vauxpedia which is an amazing website and you can lose hours there.