The Bedford Beagle was a dormobile-type estate car conversion of the Bedford HA 8cwt van, which itself was based on the Vauxhall Viva HA. The conversions were undertaken by Martin Walter Ltd. Whilst the vans were very common at one time, the Beagle was altogether rarer and there are very few left today. Bedford was the first to use the Griffin logo 1933 Bedford Two-ton Luton van. ... The Viva was a model of car produced by Vauxhall Motors in a variety of models from 1963 to 1979. ...

Introduced in 1964, originally with the 1057cc engine, the Beagle was basic. Drum brakes all round, and minimal interior trim. Later engine upgrades arrived in 1967 (1159 cc) and 1972 (1256 cc), bringing the top speed up from 72 mph to about 80 mph, but the Beagle was finally discontinued in 1973. It was more or less replaced by the superior Viva HC estate cars. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...