Good morning! It’s time for another Shitbox Showdown, and today, I have a pair of 1950s import oddities for us to check out. But first, let’s see what you made of yesterday’s X-cars:
The Scion wins it, based largely on presentation, from what I gather in the comments. It just goes to show that if you take some time to craft a well-written ad with some decent photos, buyers do notice. Also, that blue is a great color.
Now then: As you know, our man David Tracy is now a resident of Los Angeles. Since arriving, almost daily it seems, he has bombarded the Autopian Slack channel with Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace ads for cars, seemingly awestruck by the bounty and variety of well-preserved, if not pristine, vehicles for sale. I understand how he feels; I had a similar reaction upon moving to the West Coast. These days it takes a lot to turn my head, such as the time I saw a Saab 96 vacate a parking space on the street across from my old office window, only to have the space immediately filled by a Ford Prefect. (Yes, this really happened, just last year.)
These two definitely caught my attention, and I had to share them with you all. One of them I’ve never seen in person, and I’ve seen a lot of uncommon cars. The other isn’t that hard to find, but seeing one running and driving and street-parked instead of slowly sinking into the mud next to a chicken coop in someone’s side yard is a rare treat. Let’s take a look at them.
1957 Vauxhall Super Victor – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.5 liter overhead valve inline 4, three-speed manual, RWD
Location: Orange, CA
Odometer reading: 32,000 miles
Runs/drives? Runs, not sure if it’s drivable
Yes, that’s right: a Vauxhall. More than that, a US-model Vauxhall. GM’s British division sold its Victor model in the United States through Pontiac dealerships in the late ’50s. Canada got Vauxhalls, some rebadged as Envoys, up until 1971. They weren’t popular; Volkswagen pretty much dominated what market there was for small cars in America back then, and even though the Victor looked more like an American car (and quite a lot like a small-scale Checker Marathon cab, now that I look at it), it couldn’t shift many sales away from VW’s rear-engined, air-cooled marvels. And if you did walk into a Pontiac dealership looking for an inexpensive ride, chances are you drove out in a base-model Chieftain instead.
The fact that this car was sold new in America makes it just about the only way to get a left-hand-drive car sporting Vauxhall’s famous griffin emblem. The Victor followed other American trends as well; this car’s 1.5 liter four-cylinder engine sends its power to a three-on-the-tree, just like nearly all other manuals on US roads at the time. According to the seller, this engine “runs good,” but the car “needs total restoration.” My guess is that they got it running well enough to move it out of the garage, and that’s about it.
Generally, it looks pretty good; there’s some rust, but it doesn’t look rusted-out. The body is straight, and nearly all of the trim is there. That’s important on a car like this; whatever is missing is going to be missing for a very long time, until you complete an epic quest to find it. We don’t get any interior shots, but I can see through the windows that the inside is piled high with parts; often project cars become their own storage containers for stuff like that.
This is a neat car, and a rare bit of General Motors history, and I hope it finds its way to a new owner who will fix it up.
1958 Renault Dauphine – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 845cc overhead valve inline 4, three-speed manual, RWD
Location: West Hollywood, CA
Odometer reading: looks like 15,000 miles in the photo? Let’s call it unknown
Runs/drives? Hell yes!
Renault’s little Dauphine was another challenger to Volkswagen for US buyers. In what would become a pattern for French cars, it was well-received, well-loved, and very popular – everywhere except the US. Early tests praised its road manners and handling, but keeping up on the newly-minted Interstate system was too much to ask of the Dauphine’s tiny engine, and its rustproofing left something to be desired, to say the least. The car sold well at first, but its reputation preceded it in later years, and most American Dauphines rusted away and were scrapped a long time ago.
That makes the presence of this black one, in running condition and with current registration, all that much cooler. This little French car has made sixty-five trips around the sun, presumably all in sunny Southern California, and it’s not done yet. The rear-mounted 845cc engine runs great, the seller says, and the rest of the car is a respectable twenty-footer at least. They do note some rust in the floors that will have to be taken care of, but I’d be shocked if it wasn’t rusty somewhere.
Now, do keep in mind that this car has only 32 horsepower on tap, so you should probably keep it off the 405 unless you want to end up as some Suburban’s hood ornament. And like so many rear-engined cars at the time, including Volkswagen’s Beetle, the Dauphine has swing-axle rear suspension, so watch out for oversteer.
It’s really hard to talk about this car without using words like “charming” and “adorable,” so maybe I just shouldn’t try. It’s charming, and it’s adorable, and damn near everyone who sees you driving it will smile. Cars like this just have that effect on people.
Before I leave you to vote on these two cute little rarities, I have to share an interesting connection I found between them: In other markets, both of these cars had a model based on them called the Contessa. Vauxhall’s VX series, a development of the F-series Victor’s platform, was license-built in India as the Hindustan Contessa, and Renault’s rear-engine architecture from the 4CV, Dauphine, and Renault 8 formed the basis of a few generations of the Hino Contessa in Japan. So there’s your useless bit of arcane automotive knowledge for the day.
So what’ll it be – the three-quarter-scale American car from Britain, or the cute little French charmer?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I just like to say “Vauxhall”.
Just like the majority I’m going with the Dauphine because it’s so darn cool, but I wouldn’t kick the Vauxhall out of my garage.
Trying to convince my brother to buy the Victor instead of a Miata… we will see how that goes.
The Renault has so much charisma for such a little engine; it got my vote. I’d like to imagine it’s a leftover from old Hollywood when some fashionable person drove it to cocktail parties with B-list movie stars. Nobody remembers who originally bought it, but the little import endures.
Love them both! That Vauxhall looks like someone left their Tri-5 in the dryer too long… adorable! But the Renault is cuter still and runs and drives, so is the winner for me today.
When I was a kid, our neighbor – and only female spouse on the block with a license- drove a yellow Dauphine and used to ferry everyone on the street all over town. I especially enjoyed the trips to the Dairy Queen. She’s dead now, but I don’t think the Renault did it.
Hmmm… then it must be all the Dairy Queen she had…
There are worse ways to die.
The Dauphine is a tad overpriced, but it’s the winner. If you think finding parts at your nearest Renault dealer is rough, wait’ll you try hitting up the Vauxhall dealer!
But seriously, Dauphines are easier to work on than .049 model airplane motors and are pretty reliable if you keep after the servicing. Much of the bad rap they got in the past came from people who ran them too hard and/or didn’t do basic stuff like checking the oil.
Dauphines are fun to drive, too, except when you’re looking for speed, which they can’t supply. They are good city/small town cars. I think they’re cute, too, and they have a City horn and a Country horn!
I’ve seen a Victor or two, but was never all that interested.
I had a Caravelle and an R5 so my soft spot for the Gallic wins out
My favorite older brother (the other brother being my least favorite sibling) had a Dauphine, so of course I vote for the Renault.
France wins today. A turn key ready to drive little conversation starter that needs next to nothing? Sold.
Voted French today based on the drivability, but I’d take both!
That Dauphine is delightful. I know I complained yesterday about low-powered 4 cylinder engines with single barrel carbs, but this thing has a 1,430 LB curb weight, so I don’t think power to weight ratio (44.68 LB/HP) is a huge problem. Probably. But does it really matter when it’s so…dare I say, cute?
Je choisis la Renault!
I shall drive it whimsically from my pied-a-terre to my neighborhood boulangerie, and make sure that bouquets of hyacinth and large baguettes are sticking out of the rear windows at all times. It will be the perfect accessory for the Wes Anderson-ification of my life.
Well give me a baguette and call me Franc the Frenchman, Je conduis le Dauphine
Easy choice here, one looks good and you can drive it home. The other needs all the things. Vauxhall would have to be $2k cheaper to make it interesting
Renault Dauphine for me! Now if I only knew what the license plate meant
My guess is the owner is a fan of Pétrus wine.
As a Renault 4CV owner I only caution the future Dauphine owner to not expect a “healthy” parts supply in the U.S. because it just isn’t there.
For the people commenting on making the Dauphine electric, Lane’s has exactly that in their collection. A red Henney Kilowatt electric Dauphine.
Wow, I like both of these, but I agree with most that the Renault is the way to go. It runs and drives, and I assume would be easier to find parts for.
Eh, the Vauxhall? I don’t want to propel my car yabba dabba doo style, so crumbling floorboards are a big nope for me. Honestly though neither of these cars are worth $5k.
Give me the one that I can drive, not the one that will take up space in my garage and the back of my thoughts.
That’s where I landed, too. The Victor would be a fantastic restomod candidate, but then the questions begin: modern fuel-injected four, somehow adapting a four- or five-speed transmission to the column shift linkage (’cause, c’mon, you’d have to keep the column shifter), and suspension and brake upgrades to make it safe… or electrification, at that point?
Meanwhile, the Dauphine looks eager and ready to tootle down the (30 MPH) road to the local ice cream stand, so for the same money, Renault it is.
Besides, the Vauxhall’s seller is masochistic enough to drive (and fuel) an H1, but this thing’s a bridge too far? I’ll heed that warning.
Keep it all GM with a Bolt crate powertrain. Use buttons for PRND and the column shifter as a regen control.
Since I have a bad case of GM-itis, give me the Vauxhall.
This is a real punch-me-in-the-face or kick-me-in-the-nuts kind of decision. Gimme the runner. I’m pretty sure something besides fluids can be obtained without selling a kidney.
Gimme the Dauphine, with a resto-mod, it could turn into a looker in Beauberry! I would though replace the motor. Preferably with a Honda motor.
Cram a B16 or something along those lines in the trunk and it would be a lot of fun!
Like the 1L I-6 from a CBX 1000! The sound alone would be worth it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBbskqcgs_o
the Renault with it electromagnetic clutch should be converted to full electric and driven by Torch when he decides to go HollyWeird with David.
That Dauphine is just begging for either an EV conversion or a Hayabusa swap.
The EV conversion option is interesting because you could briefly buy an EV Dauphine NEW back in the late 50s and early 60s! Some American company, Henney, converted around 100 to electric power, with a 60 mph top speed and 60-mile range on the facelifted cars. Apparently only around 5-10 are left.
I’m aware of these. 60 mile range is a bit optimistic with today’s driving conditions, and was probably closer to 40 miles. But still, these were impressive little cars for the time period, and if they were streamlined nicely with a drag coefficient into the low 0.2X range(was possible 3 decades prior to the Dauphine’s release; note the Tatra T77A with a 0.21 Cd value), range could have been doubled to 80-ish miles on the same lead acid battery pack, and top speed potentially increased to 85-90 mph with a gearing change. And from there, possibly tripled with the silver zinc batteries used in the Electrovair II. We could have had competitive niche-market EVs in the mid 20th century, but no one with the vision had the money, and no one with the money cared.
I think it would be interesting to have The Bishop write up some alternate history EVs of the mid 20th century with triple-digit ranges and primitive non-computerized components. The tech was definitely there to allow it. If he wants to do such and needs help with figuring out available components or needs to be pointed to books on the subject of EV tech of the period, I could help.
I didn’t realize I was replying to you, haha, if anyone here would know about the Henney it’d probably be you.
The idea of a somewhat competent mid-20th-century EV is fascinating to me. It’d be interesting to see how such a car would be.