Master (Hillman) Hunter & other oddities.

[moffspeed]

My old dad was a Rootes man. In the late 60 s the home driveway was graced by a beige Arrow Minx and my mum s Imp. I took the Imp to Uni in London ostensibly to help me move into my flat - I then forgot to return it and it evolved into a Imp semi-sport. Dad then bought mum a Renault 12TS which I crashed whilst spectating on an icy Epynt stage rally. I must have been a challenging son.

Dad then made the massive 229cc leap to a Hillman Hunter. One of our neighbours had a Lotus Cortina - I was keen that we were seen to own a car with similar performance. The answer should have been the Master Hunter - a hot Hunter developed by a company in High Wycombe. The 1725cc engine was modified with the fitment of an Alpine camshaft, twin Strombergs & mesh air filters. Groovy Mexico-style stripes and a wood rimmed wheel finished the job.

Dad splashed out any spare cash on a 2nd Enterprise dinghy so we never got Mastered. Anyone remember it - what about other shirt-lived tuning companies that flickered & then disappeared into obscurity ?

Edited by moffspeed on Sunday 22 June 14:02

[OutInTheShed]

When I had a 60s Rootes car, in the early 80s, Holbay was the only tuner I was aware of.
I simply changed a clapped out 1600 for a 1725 from a breakers yard.
We had an Enterprise too, but I moved on to a Laser and Fireball.

[daqinggregg]

I was the first in my family with a Hillman, although I don’t recall the Roo, probably binned.



For some reason, I recall these as being called the Hillman Hollby (not sure why) Hunter, sounded nice though.



My elder brother’s first car was an Imp, from the start of a journey to the end, it was anyone’s guess how many gears it would have.

[hidetheelephants]

daqinggregg said:

For some reason, I recall these as being called the Hillman Hollby (not sure why) Hunter, sounded nice though.

Holbay breathed on the 1725, you could have it in more or less anything Arrow-flavoured. It had an improved cylinder head, lumpy camshaft and an extra carburettor.

[moffspeed]

Don't forget the Rapier H120. Blink and you could imagine you were driving a Jensen Interceptor.



Proper car, that.

[OutInTheShed]

daqinggregg said:

[....

My elder brother s first car was an Imp, from the start of a journey to the end, it was anyone s guess how many gears it would have.

It wasn't so much the number of gears varying as I recall, more the problem that 2nd was often to be found somewhere near the middle of the passenger seat.

My other memory of the Imp is having to remove the fuel tank (handily in the front crumple zone!) to rebuild the brake master cylinder.
And the fruity handling with dodgy front dampers.

We also had an Avenger, AKA scavenger, when I was learning to drive (I came close to seriously crashing that) and later there was one of those Tablot/Chrysler Sunbeam hatchbacks, that did get properly crashed, but not by me.

[moffspeed]

Never in the field of Internal Combustion Engines has 54 BHP had to work so hard.

Somewhere in Languedoc the beige Minx with the first Enterprise in tow. 3 kids in the back and lthe boot/roof rack laden with camping gear.

The extra ponies that the Hunter would bring were very welcome...

Edited by moffspeed on Sunday 22 June 14:04

Edited by moffspeed on Sunday 22 June 16:16

[Skyedriver]

Puzzling over the inset on the Imp pic. It's an Imp engine but not in an Imp engine bay, unless i's a van/husky.

[reddiesel]

moffspeed said:

Don't forget the Rapier H120. Blink and you could imagine you were driving a Jensen Interceptor.



Proper car, that.

Overshadowed in period I suppose by the Capri but what a wonderful shape that time has been kind to . Can I ask others more knowledgeable if these were built at Ryton and if so were they a relatively common sight around the area as the Vauxhalls were in Luton ? With a childhood spent in Glasgow which wasn't far from Linwood we certainly weren't overburdened with Imps

[restoman]

Rootes also produced their own hot Hunter in the shape of the now very rare GT


Let's also not forget the Avenger Tiger, though again this was in - house.

[Sebring440]

https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/hillman-hustler...

[ferret50]

Arrow series cars were very narrow, compared to a BL landcrab or even a Vauxhall Victor, but it did offer them entertaining handling!

[FarmerJim]

My mother had an Arrow Sunbeam Alpine in the early 70s. Completely standard, though, without any modifications. The pillarless design and frame less front door windows meant that, with front and back windows wound down, the whole side opened up which was good on hot days.

We all really liked that car, but you could practically stand and watch it rust in front of you.

[moffspeed]

FarmerJim said:

My mother had an Arrow Sunbeam Alpine in the early 70s. Completely standard, though, without any modifications. The pillarless design and frame less front door windows meant that, with front and back windows wound down, the whole side opened up which was good on hot days.

We all really liked that car, but you could practically stand and watch it rust in front of you.

You don't come across too many Rapier V8's.

I watched this monster race in period. Martin Kent's Rapier Chevy. It was an early example of a "silhouette" racer really. A Gordon Keeble chassis complete with original 5.7 Litre Chevy with a Rapier body shell bolted on….

[Mr Tidy]

restoman said:

Rootes also produced their own hot Hunter in the shape of the now very rare GT


Let's also not forget the Avenger Tiger, though again this was in - house.

Rootes also made the Hunter GLS that was a step up from the GT as it had the same Holbay engine as the Rapier H120.

[Lester H]

A little puzzling that the Hunter never remotely achieved the interest and acclaim that the Cortina did. In their day Rootes group family cars were a cut above ( if a small one) the Fords, with better finish and attention to detail. Yes they rusted, but so did the majority of cars at the time. Yes, the Hunter looked like it had been designed with a ruler, but the Sunbeam Rapier ( see this thread) was a lovely pillar less coupe based on the Plymouth Barracuda, perhaps. Yes, the Sceptre had a lovely interior with lots of traditional dials, although plastic (Ambla) seats. Although I mostly browse the General Gassing it’s ironic to read all the complaints about bloated and over fussy design in new cars, when these clean shapes were around 50 years ago.

Edited by Lester H on Monday 23 June 10:19

[phazed]

moffspeed said:

You don't come across too many Rapier V8's.

I watched this monster race in period. Martin Kent's Rapier Chevy. It was an early example of a "silhouette" racer really. A Gordon Keeble chassis complete with original 5.7 Litre Chevy with a Rapier body shell bolted on .

That is beautiful!

I just had a white standard Rapier fastback in about 73. Loved it with the pillarless doors.

[Old Merc]

https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/hillman/hunter/pay...

Don’t forget “Hillman Hunters” were built in Iran until 2005, and called Paykans.
Even after then they built a rear wheel drive Peugeot 405 with a Hunter floor pan, engine and rear axle

[Old Merc]

FarmerJim said:

My mother had an Arrow Sunbeam Alpine in the early 70s. Completely standard, though, without any modifications. The pillarless design and frame less front door windows meant that, with front and back windows wound down, the whole side opened up which was good on hot days.

We all really liked that car, but you could practically stand and watch it rust in front of you.

[Old Merc]

hidetheelephants said:

daqinggregg said:

For some reason, I recall these as being called the Hillman Hollby (not sure why) Hunter, sounded nice though.

Holbay breathed on the 1725, you could have it in more or less anything Arrow-flavoured. It had an improved cylinder head, lumpy camshaft and an extra carburettor.