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Left & Right: Gary Chiver's modified Super Minx - complete with Continental spare wheel. Note the spats (made by his son, Adam, who is an excellent panel beater). Note also the extended rear bumper area, the different tail lights - the latter reminiscent of Cadillac's. Gary just happens to be a member of the Cadillac - La Salle Club of Australia. You can see the grille is not standard either. Gary's intention was to create a cruiser using a Hillman - something which seems to have worked. |
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Left: Peter and Rhonda Schipp`s Series Five Minx This car has undergone a full restoration including a two-pack enamel re-spray, full re-trim, full engine and gearbox overhaul . A trophy winner at the 2000 (Australian) National Hillman Rally at Cowra N.S.W. This car won - Best Series, and also Best Sedan. The vehicle had traveled a genuine 82,580 miles before restoration. Peter has taken about three years to restore the body and trim and over a couple of years to complete the mechanicals on this car. It is a lovely car and he did most the work himself .Many thanks to those of you who helped enormously. |
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Left: John Seaton's 1935 Minx with Raglin Pressure Body Works bodywork in green over black. John took about 12 months to restore this car. It is a lovely car and he did all the work himself, including the upholstery. |
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Left: Lindsay Marskell's Racing Hunter at the Katoomba Circuit New South Wales, Australia
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Left:
This
type of Hunter is still manufactured in Iran as the Peykan. There is even a
utility version (the Australian name for the vehicle called a pickup by US
readers). |
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Left:
The Autocar, 14th September, 1934. |
Right: Very Gay Hillman The Autocar cover from 23rd September, 1955. Rootes often used the front cover of The Autocar for advertising. Note how, over 20 years, the price of The Autocar only rose from 4 pence to 1 shilling (12 pence). |
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Left: Wayne Baxter's rather nice example of an Australian De Luxe (ADL) Minx. The ADL was based on the Singer Gazelle but with a Hillman grille and badging. This shouldn't be confused with the Hillman Gazelle. This gave Hillman a broader range of cars and one with a little more luxury. Apparently this change was due to Singer having a poor reputation in Australia. The doors had wood cappings to complement the dashboard. |
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Left: Hank Ten Tenje's (Tasmania) Holden-bodied 1933 Hillman Wizard 75. |
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Left: The very rare Hillman Stiletto was a factory-sanctioned Imp convertible which was unique to Australia. The Hillman Stiletto was built for Chrysler Australia by a Melbourne firm called Eiffel Tower Motors. It was available as a soft top convertible or with a removable hardtop. It could be ordered in various states of tune up to 105 bhp. |
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Left: The Hillman Gazelle is an Australian only model. It has an engine of 1725cc capacity, and has an Aluminium cylinder head, with a dual throat Solex Carburettor. This original unrestored example has been owned by its present owner, Arthur Patrick, since 1994. |
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Left: Graham Robinson’s Husky. Original purchased August 1998 as a 1959 shell with a lot of bits, 1500 motor and 13” wheels. Took me nearly eighteen months between family/house moves to finally register it, CPC-664 and it turns out to be a 1962 Husky Saloon. Now has 1725 GT motor, alloy head, warmish GT cam cut with dual Alpine exhaust pipes to muffler, twin Alpine CD150 carbs, new carpet, trim and headlining, 15” wheels with ‘Hancook” radials, a full synchro gearbox/overdrive may be fitted shortly. Is my daily driver and since 1998 have travelled 25000 miles with a few hic-ups that are another 24 four page story. Points and plugs are untouched with no pitting and the plugs burn orange over this period. Still averages around 35 MPG but less on ULP. New window rubbers are ready to fit when the paintwork is touched up ready for 2005 travels.
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Left: Bob and Sue Doran's 1959 Hillman. It all started when Bob came home saying he had seen a Hillman for sale on thas his first car. So about ten years ago Bob and Sue's love affair started as they took possession of their pride and joy. It turned out that the original owner Miss Morris had passed on leaving the the Hillman unregistered needing some love and attention. There were no major repairs to be done, just the usual engine rebuild and re-spray It had been kept away from the coast so had little rust, more parking scars and general wear and tear. Over five years she was restored to her former glory, the engine was rebuilt by Hillman experts Rebel Restorations in Gosford N.S.W. the body was prepared by Bob and Sue and then sent to the panel shop for the top coat. Then came all those annoying problems with getting a blue slip for registration (What pollution gear, it wasn't around in 1959) The only non standard attachment has been seat belts in the back seat. Once asked why you would bother doing up a Hillman, Bob replied "I f everyone did up the popular cars there would be none of these left" AMEN TO THAT.
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Left & Right: The Hunter Royal 660 was unique to Australia and was introduced as the successor to the Hillman Hunter GT. It retained the GT’s alloy head twin carby engine,woodgrain dash and high back seats, but dropped the ‘GT’ designation due among other things to the high cost of insuring ‘high performance’ cars in those days. Unfortunately due to the Chrysler influences at the time, the car also dropped any badge reference to being a Hillman, but its lineage is unmistakeable.This 1971 example is owned by Geoff Prescott, and was purchased from the daughter of the original owner. Except for rust repairs to the sills and guards, and repainted wheels, the car is in original condition. Even the woodgrain dash, so often subject to deterioration of the lacquer coating used to finish the wood, is well preserved.Geoff says “I always wanted a 660 ‘back then’ but could not afford one. I also believe Hillmans have become neglected classics and deserve far more prominence, after all it was a Hillman that stayed with the lead pack of cars and ultimately won the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon.” |
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Left & Right: The Mk8 was introduced in 1956 and was the last of a range of Hillman Minx models which evolved during the early 50’s utilising the new post war body shape. As these cars were designated ‘Minx Mk 1 to Mk8, they logically became collectively referred to as the ‘Mark’ models. These models continued in production until 1959, before giving way to a brand new body shape with the introduction of the ‘Series’ Minx range.The Mark I to VII cars were powered by a side valve engine of pre war origins. However a new overhead valve engine of 1290cc, initially developed for the introduction of the ‘Series’ Minx, was also used in the final Mark model, the Mk8. The release of the Mk8 model also saw the introduction of a two tone paint scheme on the sedan cars (called Gaylook), a feature which until then had only been utilised on the two door coupe ‘Californian’ models. The delineation between the two colours on the sedan was achieved by a continuous chrome body moulding down each side, while single colour cars had a moulding on the front guards only.This example is a 1956 Minx Mk8 Gaylook and except for a paint touch up earlier in its life is still in basically original condition.
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Left: Geordie and Chris Jack's fine example of their 1954 Commer Table Top 2 1/4. This truck was ordered from England as a fruit truck and was purchased from Queensland. |
