Both engines are overhead-valve. There is no side-valve L-type, whatever an old listing says.
The L-type ran from September 1948 to July 1951 on a platform carried over from the pre-war 12-4. The Wyvern LIX has a 1,442cc overhead-valve four of 35bhp; the Velox LIP a 2,275cc overhead-valve six, 69.5 × 100mm, 54¾bhp. 55,409 Wyverns and 76,919 Veloxes were built. Brakes are Lockheed hydraulic drums — Vauxhall called them Vauxhall-Lockheed — and the front end is the Dubonnet torsion-bar independent set-up, with half-elliptic leaves at the rear.
The windscreen is the first thing to look at. Leaking windscreens are a known L-type fault. This was also the first Vauxhall with self-parking wipers, cable-driven. The 1950 cars changed at the wheels: 5.90 × 15 tyres replaced the 16in, with overriders and separate parking lamps added. The L-type was a saloon in Britain, and both the Wyvern and the Velox were assembled by GM at Petone.
Vauxhall Wyvern LIX & Velox LIP — specification & changes within the model
- Codes
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LIX = Wyvern, four cylinder. LIP = Velox, six cylinder. Australian chassis-only versions are LBX and LBP.
- Engines — both OHV
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Wyvern: 1,442cc four, 35bhp. Velox: 2,275cc six, 69.5 × 100mm, 54¾bhp. No side-valve engine was fitted to either.
- Brakes
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Lockheed hydraulic drums all round. The drum size is not published in anything we could find, so if it matters for your order, ask us and we will check the books.
- Suspension
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Dubonnet torsion-bar independent front; half-elliptic leaf rear. The rear dampers differ: single-acting on the Wyvern, double-acting on the Velox.
- 1950 — 16in wheels become 15in
- 5.90 × 15 tyres replace the 16in, and overriders and separate parking lamps arrive.
- Electrics
- The Velox is 12 volt with a 53Ah Lucas battery. We have no reliable source for the Wyvern’s voltage.
- Earth polarity
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We cannot tell you, and we will not guess. We could not find one source we trust that gives the earth polarity for the Wyvern or Velox L-type, and none gives a changeover date. Check the car before you order a coil, a regulator or a radio.
