The journey: X marks the spot

When I found Bess in a back garden, she was remarkably intact. All of the important stuff was still there. Clocks. Glass. Chrome work. All present and correct. Yes, there's plenty of perished rubber and rusted metal, but all of that stuff can be dealt with.

The only exception to the completeness of the car, were a couple of badges. Specifically, one of the front wing mounted 'Wyvern' badges had disappeared, and the 'X' from the grill mounted 'Vauxhall' moniker was also absent.

Now that doesn't sound like too big a deal. However...

The trouble is the grill on the Wyvern was totally different to the Velox and Cresta. It has a body coloured surround with individual chromed lettering attached. The Velox and Cresta feature a fully chrome surround with a debossed 'Vauxhall' moniker, painted in red enamel.

To complicate matters further, the 1956 cars feature a unique front grill design, christened a 'thick cut toast rack' (thanks Richard!) This differed from the previous year, where the toast rack was for a thinner slice. Pre-1955 cars featured a big chrome 'crossbow' grill. Finally, the last incarnation of the E series in 1957, had a 5 bar 'easy clean' design. I've put a comparison picture at the bottom of this blog if you want to see what I'm talking about. With the Wyvern being the rarer of the three these days, finding the missing 'X' wasn't going to be easy.

I've been scouring the internet and auto jumbles since July last year, but with no success. However, on the Vauxhall E series Facebook group, Brian Clare updated with picture of his stunning '55 Cresta. It turned out that it he was based in Australia, his car was a full restoration, and that started life as a Wyvern. During the restoration it had been fully upgraded to a Cresta, which included replacing the body colour grill surround of the Wyvern with the full chrome version found on the Velox and Cresta.

A brief exchange of messages later, and we established that he had the lettering and wing badges that I so desperatly needed. On the other hand, to complete the transformation from Wyvern to Cresta, he was looking for the interior coat hooks and a cigar lighter unit - neither of which feature on a Wyvern. Very kindly, he offered to not only send me the parts at no cost, but didn't even charge me for postage. In return, I've added his items to my shopping list of parts and will of course, return the favor.

On Friday morning, the parcel arrived. I was utterly elated when I opened it. As a bonus, there was even an Australian copy of the Vauxhall club magazine included. These little moments of victory are so important. It's yet more mental fuel to get the job done. It was also lovely to experience the camaraderie and generosity of like-minded classic car enthusiasts too. Brian, you're a gem. Thank you very much indeed!

Now, if anyone has a lighter unit or interior hooks for an E-series Cresta, I want to hear from you!