1961 Hillman Minx. Or, proof that I have poor impulse control.

Shawnw

Shawnw

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Messages
552
Location
Richmond, BC
Car(s)
07 Accent Hatch
So its been a while since I've had a new old car to play with and I was growing kind of restless.

When my Accent got hit on the highway and looked as it was going to be totalled I started searching the classifieds with renewed vigor. It turns out that ICBC decided to fix the Accent, so I didn't have as much money to play with.

I looked at a number of Volvo 240s, Lada Nivas and a few other oddballs, but nothing really seemed to strike the right chord. Either too much money for what I'd get in return, or stupid issues that I'd rather not deal with.

I broadened my search into proper project car territory, figuring if I'm going to be putting all sorts of effort into a car, it might as well be a little more unique.

Then, long story short I saw the ad for this car, drove the 250km down to look at it, said "why not?" and signed the papers.

Heres what I ended up with.
1961 Hillman Minx
1.5L engine
Manual transmission
Front disc brake conversion
Rear wheel drive, solid axle with leaf springs
Very poor paint and some rust.

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Its not much to look at, but come March I'm going back to school for Autobody/Paint and plan on making it my school project, and eventually a well documented "rolling resume" when job searching.

It runs, drives, brakes and shifts. Mechanically it needs TLC and some new bushings in the steering.

As of right now it will be staying at the previous owners property until november when I'm moving to the mainland. At that point I'll bring the car over and keep it at a friends until I can give it a quick clean up and spray so that it will be more presentable (read: less likely to be pulled over)

At that point I plan on using it for puttering around town until school starts and I can properly pull it apart and refurbish it.

I didn't take a proof pic but heres a picture from inside the Dakota about to climb the Hillman owners driveway. The driveway was 500' long, just wide enough for the tires of the truck, had a switchback and was about 15% grade.

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That's a nice find. Should be fun to work on, nice and simple.
 
That'll make a cool little car when it's all cleaned up. Seems like it would be a bitch to find parts though. Would you need to fabricate a lot of stuff? I've never heard of Hillman before...
 
You madman, congrats!
 
My grandparents neighbours used to have an old Minx, in showroom condition of course. I have a soft spot for the old Rootes cars :)
 
Nice! I think I know the ad on craigslist for that car... :lol:

May I ask where abouts it was located?

It should be a fun project and once you have it at school you can probably make it out to be pretty nice for not a lot of coin.
 
TomCat said:
That'll make a cool little car when it's all cleaned up. Seems like it would be a bitch to find parts though. Would you need to fabricate a lot of stuff? I've never heard of Hillman before...
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Thay sold more of these in North America then you would think, so it looks like there is some community/parts resources here. And if I can't find anything locally that I need, I'm sure it will be available (for a price) in the UK.

The body is more solid than it looks from the pictures. The floors, trunk and underbody are in great shape and I should be able to make any small patches by hand, rather than get new panels.
 
JipJopJones said:
Nice! I think I know the ad on craigslist for that car... :lol:

May I ask where abouts it was located?

It should be a fun project and once you have it at school you can probably make it out to be pretty nice for not a lot of coin.
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It was located in the Highlands, just outside of Victoria.

And yeah, I'm hoping to get it looking pretty nice for cheap. I figure if I'm paying to go back to school I'd rather learn and work on my own junk than some teachers beat up Sunfire.
 
There's a saying in Finnish; "Mieluummin ilman kuin Hillman", "I'd rather be without than drive a Hillman." Anyways, cool buy and thumbs up :)
 
public said:
There's a saying in Finnish; "Mieluummin ilman kuin Hillman", "I'd rather be without than drive a Hillman." Anyways, cool buy and thumbs up :)
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Ouch. That's actually a legitemate saying? It seems to rhym and all too. :p
 
JipJopJones said:
Ouch. That's actually a legitemate saying? It seems to rhym and all too. :p
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Yeah :p


It's also a line in this film, "Katsastus" (Inspection), in which a guy owns a similar one. In this clip he's driving back from the failed MOT. His friend is saying: "Such nitpickers. Minor faults, easy to fix."
 
I love it!
 
Are those mandarin oranges still good?
 
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Congrats, that's not in bad shape for its age.
 
Sorry but that is a bad purchase. It is as idiotic as owning a rotary powered MG Midget.

:p
 
My brother had a convertible one of those - I loved going places in it! He crashed it - sob. A 1961 model - he bought it in about 65-66 I think.
 
Went and got all the paperwork taken care of today. The car is now officially in my name. Was a little worried about paperwork issues as the guy I bought it off never transferred it to his name, I just had the filled out transfer papers from the owner before him from three years ago.

Still looking for a suitable place to store the car in the Vancouver area while I work on it. It will most likely end up at a family friends house or in a barn outside town.

Dealing with all the logistics of moving it isnt too fun, I'd much rather be cleaning and prepping the car for bodywork; but only two and a half weeks until I can dive in and make some progress.

And, respray in the same green?, or two-tone green lower with off-white top and trunk?
 
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