1972 Hillman Hunter Deluxe from UK and Ireland - Comments

Where do I start here...

Needed to replace the exhaust because the previous owner had fitted an incorrect one. Dynamo was not working very well which made it hard to start and the battery would drain if you used too many of the accessories at once.

Brakes failed a one point due to fluid leaking from the rear brake hose and the front right disc brake seized due to rust.

Tail-shaft fell off onto the road at one point due to loose bolts. Under-carriage was severely rusted due to salty British roads.

Indicators worked sometimes and sometimes not.

Apparently these cars are pretty reliable if they are looked after and last year I heard this model won the round the world rally.

My car was pretty neglected when I bought it but once I cut and polished about 10 years worth deteriorated paint off the surface the car actually looked quite good, although this didn't improve the mechanicals of it.

I guess this car would have been quite a large car in its day, it is certainly very roomy inside. Because of this you would think that the small 1.5 liter motor would make the car pretty slow, but I never found the car to be sluggish.

One thing about the car is the lack of accessories, i.e. no radio, single speed blower, no rear seat belts, no rear de-mister, just the basics which is all you need really.

Yeh, well I got myself a Hillman Hunter. Might be an earlier model, but I had no problems with it. Bit of body rust, but that's all. Yeh they are a really, really, really slow car, but what can you expect for an old pom car?

Mine drives almost exactly like my old Marina 1800 - The car tilts like crazy when you rev the engine, but it still does 0 - 60 in about 5 minutes! Oh, and don't try taking it out in the ice or you will be asking for trouble. Handles like a shopping trolley. Lack of a heated rear window on my model makes the cold weather a pain in the rear, but getting one fitted would modernise the car and it wouldn't be original any more would it!

The hunter was a very capable car in its day, but it was designed as a workaday car. as far as the performance is concerned, it can be easily improved by having the engine properly tuned (modern garages tend to lean the mixture) and if you are feeling adventurous the 1725 engine from the humber sceptre III (hunter super-duper deluxe) will drop straight in.. giving you another 20 odd horsepower and much more torque. it may even be possible to get the o/d gearbox in without modification.. this giving you a six-speed transmission to go with it. The comment mentioning rocking when the engine is revved. check the suspension bushes etc. they sound as if they are *really* worn. This would also cause the interesting wet handling. I own a 1964 Sceptre I, its no problem in the wet, so I suspect some suspension wear/issues.

I had 2 hillman hunter estates in the 70's. Both of them from new. They were slow with lifeless steering and an alarming tendency to go from understeer to oversteer in the winking of an eye. Why anyone would want to buy one now escapes me. It was a lousy car in an era of lousy cars.

Funnily enough I also had 2 Hillman Hunter Estates in the 70's. Company cars. They were basically reliable, but had only vestigial road holding and liked to lurch from serious understeer to dramatic oversteer in the twinkling of an eye. Why would anybody even want to see one now? Let alone actually buy one!

Many people want to add a Hillman Hunter to their collection. This is 2008, but did you know the Hillman Hunter is being produced in Iran under the name of Peykan by Iran Khodro Ind?! ha ha ha...!