Can I ask first of all whether you are you a Vauxhall man through and through, a Viva specialist, or simply into classics in general?
DAVE WHEATLEY: Pretty much Vauxhall, really. I've always been into them, but it all started by chance because my mum happened to have an HC Viva and I started working on that from a young age with my dad teaching me how to take things apart and put them back together. Then I found out about the bigger-engined models, and of course as a youngster they were the ones that interested me most. The Firenza Coupé is the one that really caught my eye, but I did always have a soft spot for the Viva GT because that is really where the whole big-enginein-a-small-car thing started for Vauxhall.
CW: What was the first Vauxhall you owned?
DW: I actually bought and sold a few cars while I was still at school, before I could even drive. Six or seven of them – a couple of Vivas, a Chevette, even an Austin Maxi if I remember rightlymaking some money to get my own first car. That was a Vauxhall Magnum 2.3. I was still at school and probably only around 16 years old at the time, but it was a four-door saloon and I really wanted a coupé. Then I saw a Firenza shell for sale, bought that and amalgamated the two.
CW: So you got the 2.3
