Hillman Hunter GLS

[2xChevrons]

aeropilot said:

Johnspex said:

aeropilot said:

Johnspex said:

What's in a name?
First you have the Ford Escort Mexice following the success in the Mexice rally, then you have the Hillman Hunter Sydney. I wonder why Chtysler didn't go with that?

Chrysler management were not really interested in a 'road version' of it or the win on Sunday, sell on Monday ideas.
I had a few conversations with Des O'Dell about it some 30 years ago, and his long time at Rootes/Chysler/Talbot was one of long frustration with the management in that regard.

I was joking. I was suggesting calling a car Sydney would be a good sales ploy.

From the stories I heard from Des thats just the kind of silly name the management would have chosen (had they even been interested enough in the first place!)
Holbay Hunter would have been good enough........had Holbay been a more of 'known' name outside of geeky motorsport petrolheads at the time.
But the known 'racing' names of the day, Lotus, Brabham and Cooper had already be sucked into Ford, BMC and Vauxhall use......

Chrysler did unsuccessfully flirt with BRM of course in the early 70's with the 16v DOHC head conversion of the 1500 Avenger units, but it was a design disaster (BRM by then, pretty much a spent force in terms of engine development design)

I remember reading somewhere that the success of the Hunter in the Sydney Marathon led to a surge of interest in the car in Australia itself, but the Chrysler agent only had something like ten Hunters in stock in the entire country and was more interested in selling Valiants anyway. None the less, they requested more Hunters to meet the new demand and sent back a load of suggestions to the UK on how to adapt the Hunter for Australia and how to market it (iirc they suggested a special edition called the Marathon)...and then heard nothing. By the time a shipload of Hunters arrived it was months later and all the interest and goodwill had evaporated.

[aeropilot]

eldar said:

eldar said:

I had a blue HLS.

Driven hard petrol managed to escape from the carbs and end upin the brake servo, causing the diaphragm to split and lose assistance. Learned to change the diaphragm quite rapidly.

The drivers door top hinge pulled out of the shell thanks to rust and a windy day. 4 years old.

Finally, a front brake disk shattered under hard braking, got tangled in the wheel an locked it , so slid into a ditch, and the front end pointed in a strange direction.

The design lived on in Iran as the Paykan until 2005. Rust wasn't an issue there...

I found an old picture of it, in its normal mode - broken. Gearbox bearings, this time

Series 1 Sunbeam Ti alloys on it

[Legacywr]

One on Ebay, no Holbay engine though.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184731211299

[anonymous-user]

Bag the Holbay engine from this one, and off you go?


https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1308836

[geeman237]

A YouTuber (Furious Driving) has posted a review on a cracking period Kermit green Hunter GLS today
https://youtu.be/RnsM2Kiv3fc
It got me thinking and a quick Google revealed that the Rootes Group appear to have been selling the Hunter GLS, Sunbeam Rapier H120 and Avenger Tiger (seems that was only in 1500 vs the other two’s 1725 engine) almost simultaneously. That would make a good 3 way comparison. Anyone got any first hand experience of all three?

[aeropilot]

A replica of the '68 London-Sydney Marathon Hunter is coming up for sale on the Collecting Cars auction site soon.

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1967-hillman-h...

[grumpy52]

geeman237 said:

A YouTuber (Furious Driving) has posted a review on a cracking period Kermit green Hunter GLS today
https://youtu.be/RnsM2Kiv3fc
It got me thinking and a quick Google revealed that the Rootes Group appear to have been selling the Hunter GLS, Sunbeam Rapier H120 and Avenger Tiger (seems that was only in 1500 vs the other two’s 1725 engine) almost simultaneously. That would make a good 3 way comparison. Anyone got any first hand experience of all three?

I worked in the radio shop of a Chrysler main dealer in Bedford back then . We were one of dealers given an Avenger Tiger 1 . We also had a Hunter GLS and a Rapier H120 as demonstrators .
In use the H120 was a lively and handy performer but was a bit cumbersome on the steering. More a comfortable A road long distance cruiser .
The GLS was a bit more nimble certainly a bit rorty and sporty but even then was old fashioned and didn't appeal to the younger buyers .
The Avenger tigers were pretty epic ! If you got the chance to drive one . Down the lanes they were superb , they were an absolute hoot ! Until the gearbox broke , which they did ! Often !
Not originally offered for sale , they were a showcase for what was available from the tuning department.
When ours was sold it had about 3k miles on it but was on its 3rd gearbox .
If you crunched a gear on an Avenger you certainly felt it in the palm of your hand for a few days .
Shortly after I was part of the service c rew for a national championship dealer backed Tiger specced car .
Even back then the GLS& H120 were slightly old fashioned with leaf springs , steering boxes and non crossflow or OHC engines
k

[Old Merc]

aeropilot said:

A replica of the '68 London-Sydney Marathon Hunter is coming up for sale on the Collecting Cars auction site soon.

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1967-hillman-h...

That car was built from a bare shell by my dear departed mate Gordon Jarvis. I helped him with a few jobs. He was a Rootes boffin. Gordon was a founder member of the Rootes Archive Centre, he also had a fleet of other Rootes models, all ground up restorations.

Edited by Old Merc on Monday 28th June 22:12

[andyA700]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I wonder how many people know that the Hunter was produced in Iran from 1967 (Paykan Arrow). A Hunter originally belonging to the Shah (who gifted it to Romanian dictator Ceaucescu) went for auction in Bucharest and sold for 95,000 Euros.

https://www.rferl.org/a/ceausescu-plane-car-auctio...

There are still many Hunters driving around in Iran and there are quite a few car clubs devoted to them. I wonder how much it would cost to buy a good example and import it?

[aeropilot]

andyA700 said:

There are still many Hunters driving around in Iran and there are quite a few car clubs devoted to them. I wonder how much it would cost to buy a good example and import it?

Good luck with trying to buy and import anything from Iran in the current political climate...!

In the words of Jezza Clarkson to Hammond....."Do you ever watch a program called, 'The News'...?"

[andyA700]

aeropilot said:

Good luck with trying to buy and import anything from Iran in the current political climate...!

In the words of Jezza Clarkson to Hammond....."Do you ever watch a program called, 'The News'...?"

There are still two flights a week between Heathrow and Tehran. If someone really wanted, they could get a tourist visa, go to Iran, buy a car then drive it back via Turkey. I know someone who did a mini tour of Asia a few years ago in his Land Rover and the Iranian leg was the most enjoyable.
Top Gear is incredibly popular in Iran.
As for the programme called "Teh News", i find it biased, misleading and unreliable. I would rather go somewhere and experience it first hand for myself.

[aeropilot]

andyA700 said:

aeropilot said:

Good luck with trying to buy and import anything from Iran in the current political climate...!

In the words of Jezza Clarkson to Hammond....."Do you ever watch a program called, 'The News'...?"

There are still two flights a week between Heathrow and Tehran. If someone really wanted, they could get a tourist visa, go to Iran, buy a car then drive it back via Turkey.

My point was that you'd need to be pretty sure Iran would allow you to export something like a car from Iran......and making sure that you are very correct in the documentation/licence or whatever else is needed to drive out of Iran with it, and then into Turkey with it.....and then drive into UK with it and dealing with UK customs importation (all needed to be able to get a licence from DVLA, and if you don't have correct paperwork for DVLA you might not ever get a numberplate for it)

Like I said, thinking all it takes is to get a tourist visa and buying something and driving out of the country might not be as easy as you think it is.
And you really wouldn't want to end up in an Iranian prison cell.....over a scabby old Hunter

[andyA700]

aeropilot said:

And you really wouldn't want to end up in an Iranian prison cell.....over a scabby old Hunter

I think you have been reading too many fiction novels mate.

[PHR]

I owned a Hunter GLS from 81 to 83. My first car. Wish I still had it now. My dad was horrified by its performance and what his cocky-soon-to-pass-his-test-son would do with it. He promptly whipped out the Holbay and replaced it with a 1500. Sacrilege! We later restored it to spec and gave it a British Racing Green paint job. I loved the car and it taught me a lot about oversteer too! Like your first girlfriend, you never forget your first car and what you got up to with her 😀

[scs1]

My mate bought a new Hunter GLS in 1972, and here it is on it s first major outing somewhere south of Naples.
I do remember we beat a hasty retreat soon after this photograph was taken as the Italians in the car behind were trying to sell us some distinctly dodgy merchandise.

The second photo was a bit closer to home, The North Devon coast,

LMT808K. Where are you now ?. Not sure why the rear wheel appears to have a bit of negative camber. Must be a trick of the light.

[centralscot]

I'm surprised that it has black and silver plates at that age (in period)

[uk66fastback]

centralscot said:

I'm surprised that it has black and silver plates at that age (in period)

They look like those silver and black inline acrylic ones that you saw on some cars back then. Our neighbour’s Rover had them - FLY 585J.

[Essel]

I had a Singer Gazelle (posher hunter!) Back in the mid/late seventies that I look back fondly on. Metallic red with a white roof. Much more comfortable than the cars I'd had previously, and felt good to drive. Did a lot of miles in it with no faults. Often have a hankering for one, but probably best as a good memory.

[caley64]

This lovely example spotted locally a few times recently.

[caley64]