Vauxhall PA Cresta

Tuesday 15 September 2009
The PA Cresta is probably the most well-known version. It mimicked the American fashion for giant tailfins, wrap-around windows and whitewall tyres but in an understated way compared to the Cadillacs and Buicks of the time. It bears a strong resemblance to a 1955 Packard Caribbean. All factory-built PAs were 4-Door Saloons, the Estate cars were converted by Friary of Basingstoke, Hampshire and are rare cars today. The car had independent front suspension using coil springs and an anti-roll bar with a rigid axle and semi elliptic leaf springs at the rear. The Lockheed brakes used 9 in (230 mm) drums all round. The 2262 cc six cylinder engine had pushrod operated overhead valves and a compression ratio of 7.8:1 (a low compression 6.8:1 version was available) and produced 82.5 bhp (61.5 kW) at 4400 rpm. A single Zenith carburettor was used. The transmission had three forward speeds.

Technical data:
- engine: 6 cylinders
- capacity: 2651 cc
- horsepower: 95 HP
- gearbox: 3+1
- top speed: 156 km/h