77 firenza droopsnoot (sportshatch)

[richie2k12]

1977 vauxhall firenza droopsnoot, made for the queens jubilee. This is a very rare car, does anyone know what this would be worth restored. This is an original, not a clone/copy, its the real deal.

[The Transplanter]

your best asking on the viva or DSG forum for a valuation mate.

They were an unusual beast and quite rare like you say

Are you planning on selling it then??

[richie2k12]

Aug 22, 2012 21:15:26 GMT The Transplanter said:

your best asking on the viva or DSG forum for a valuation mate.

They were an unusual beast and quite rare like you say

Are you planning on selling it then??

We're not sure mate. We have a few things that need restoring, this would take a while as its been in storage for 20 odd year ha, its my dads, he's wavering between selling it or keeping it.

[The Transplanter]

rot will dictate its worth as it is, how are the inner flitch panels?

cool car as its not something you see often, even at Vauxhall shows a lot of them were robbed of their front ends for firenzas

[richie2k12]

Aug 22, 2012 21:43:35 GMT The Transplanter said:

rot will dictate its worth as it is, how are the inner flitch panels?

cool car as its not something you see often, even at Vauxhall shows a lot of them were robbed of their front ends for firenzas

we'll we're gonna try and get it restored and see what interest we get and yh, alot of people try and make copies of them by taking the parts of originals ha, its a pitty like

[delboy55]

These are lovely, my old neighbour had one back in late 80's and it rusted badly!! it was in the scrapyard within 3 years of ownership.

[tontoe]

Sept 1, 2012 16:45:54 GMT delboy55 said:

These are lovely, my old neighbour had one back in late 80's and it rusted badly!! it was in the scrapyard within 3 years of ownership.

Back in the late 80s!!!! they stoppped making them in 1979 as said its a rare car the droop snoot group club would know what its worth

[TopJobHobNob]

worth more to break unfortunately

[delboy55]

Sept 1, 2012 17:38:06 GMT tontoe said:

Sept 1, 2012 16:45:54 GMT delboy55 said:

These are lovely, my old neighbour had one back in late 80's and it rusted badly!! it was in the scrapyard within 3 years of ownership.

Back in the late 80s!!!! they stoppped making them in 1979 as said its a rare car the droop snoot group club would know what its worth

Yes his father bought it new back in 78?? It was a R reg, and he used it everyday and gave it to his son as he bought a new car, at that time mileage was around 100k? will have to ask my neighbour see if he has any pics.

[Deleted]

They're not worth a huge amount restored, given the rarity and so forth. If it were properly concourse... well, then you've got something unusual. But painted and tidied, fundamentally sound, maybe £2500 or so at best. Someone on here has one they bought fairly recently, I believe, with a thread in the usual place.

[vivapower]

It was me who recently bought one and I'm sure I'm friends with you on facebook.
Value depends on condition And parts are scarce now. Top whack is about £4500 if it was a firenza and it was MINT it could be £10,000. Original wings and basicly non existent and if you do find any get ready to remortgage your house. The interior is unique and rare and headlights are expensive. Depends if you want to make money or keep it really.

[droopsnoot]

That said, the parts are out there if you can find them, and a lot can be made by someone with some metalworkig skill or practice, or preferably both. I'm part-way through restoring a very bad Sportshatch and am fortunate to have most of the outer panels, but the inner stuff isn't too bad to make as it's not all that complicated.

[droopsnoot]

Also on the history thing, they weren't made for the jubilee - the prototype Sportshatch was shown at the 1974 Motor Show, painted silver and with grey interior trim, and intended as a "fast wagon", a kind of hot hatch version of the Firenza which was shown the previous year. It was produced across P and R registration - mine is a 1976 R - which I think pre-dates the jubilee by a bit. In fact the "second generation" Sportshatch - known as "Silver Bullet" and easily distinguished by having three lights on each side and a special nosecone, still around and seen at various shows - was registered on an N-plate and was to have fuel injection and other goodies.

The usual story is that it was produced as an eye-catcher, a car to stand out from the crowd and get people into Vauxhall showrooms at a time when most new Vauxhalls were light blue or beige in colour as well as character. Another popular one is that it was made to use up spare nosecones and alloy wheels from the HP Firenza, but the chronology doesn't quite stack up on that either. But it was never price-listed, there was no "Sportshatch" brochure, it was just an option kit (SO 8261) in the parts book, so it's a bit hard to tell really.

[droopsnoot]

Oh, and yours looks pretty good from the photos, at least at the front. Are the wheels original? I can't quite tell from the photo, they look different to the standard Avon wheels. Need to see some photos of the poor areas to give an idea of what's needed. Nosecone looks good, often you get bubbling on the lower section where the rear mounts rust through the fibreglass. Also looks like it has original Triplex light covers, which are unusual now and have a double-curve so not easy to replace. I'd lose the extra lights myself, but I'm a "standard" freak.

[TopJobHobNob]

anything ever happen to this car?

[davevx]

Probably not! Most people seem to hang on to them, telling everyone they've got one but never do anything with them. They slowly deteriorate to a point where the are rotten, then they decide to part with them by which time they are to rotten to do anything with anyway.

Dave B

[retrotoe]

looks like its in dry lock up to me

[davevx]

Shame it's been there for 20 years and not been seen out or enjoyed properly. Might as well sell it on really.

Dave B

[dodgerover]

Jan 30, 2016 21:16:02 GMT davevx said:

Shame it's been there for 20 years and not been seen out or enjoyed properly. Might as well sell it on really.

Dave B

Maybe it has sentimental value? Anyway it's upto the owner whatever they want to do with it