The Hillman Hunter In IRAN - The Paykan Story And How It MAY RETURN!

Автокөліктер мен көлік құралдары

In this video we explore one of the most incredible success stories in British Automotive and Iranian Automotive history how the Hillman Hunter became the Iran National Paykan a car considered unremarkable in the UK went on to be produced in Iran becoming their national car and an icon of a newly emerging country. Even when presented with challenges from nation changing revolutions and parts supply issues the Hunter soldiered on. The car may even be resurrected again by Sudan.
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Note: I am aware I may have mispronounced one or two things, i have used both the pronunciation taken from an iranian video and the British pronunciation of the car.
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Пікірлер: 243

  • @johnmoncrieff3034
    @johnmoncrieff30344 ай бұрын

    Tom I was in the design department when we were designing the Arrow & Avenger. One of the reasons the deal went ahead with Iran was the WIN it had in the London to Sydney Rally with Andrew Cowan at the helm! The only difference to the standard car was a few more seem welds and the engine out of the Rapier H120, if I remember correctly. The one reason once they were in production for their longevity is the fact there is very little rust bugs in Iran unlike the UK! As for the Avenger it had the strongest body shell of all the cars on the market and should have been a fat greater success than it was. What let it down in the eyes of the public was poor quality build and cheap parts that fell off all due to industrial inaction! I still think that the rear end of the original Avenger is the most integrated design of all cars in that era, where the roof-line swept into a buttress style that continued through the tail lights and along under the boot door! If only they had made that whole back end open as I had suggested during a spell in the design studio under Roy Axe & Peter White. (Roy left to take up a position with Opel in Germany around that time.) The factory was also building a number of Humber Imperials for the Shah of Iran in 1966 that were very specially hand built with no expense spared! Rolls Royce quality Connolly leather throughout with west of England head-linings, Gold Crests on the doors and dash & pin-striping on the swage lines

  • @NickyB62

    @NickyB62

    4 ай бұрын

    Wow. That has to be one of the best & most informative comments. I learned to drive in a Hillman Hunter Estate. Couldn't take my test in it though due to its habit of jumping out of 3rd & 4th gear.

  • @sebastian0107

    @sebastian0107

    4 ай бұрын

    It was a nice and clean design; not worse than a Cortina. It derived from their previous rear-engine project, didn't it?

  • @dungbetel

    @dungbetel

    4 ай бұрын

    Interesting first-hand facts, thanks for the info. I had a 1970 Humber Sceptre rust bucket and loved it. PS: Re the London-Sydney, maybe if it wasn't for an errant motorist on the final stage of the rally, Iranians would all have been driving a Citroen DS (just kidding)

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    @@NickyB62that’s why it’s pinned. Comments like this are what it’s all about.

  • @garyjustice1723

    @garyjustice1723

    3 ай бұрын

    Hello John, The deal with INIM had already agreed way before the L>S Rally....not because of it...

  • @neilsharpe7086
    @neilsharpe70864 ай бұрын

    I sold, in 1974, when I worked at a Chrysler dealre, (yes, I'm that old!) a white LHD Paykan spec Hunter to a visiting Iranian student. (his dad was paying, mind!) It was badged as a Hunter, but with all the Paykan mods. Larger radiator, 6 blade fan, no heater (!) heavy duty suspension, heavy duty battery, oil bath air cleaner.

  • @thatcheapguy525

    @thatcheapguy525

    4 ай бұрын

    oil bath air filter, now thats a real give-away of a car adapted for dry dusty climates

  • @colrhodes377
    @colrhodes3774 ай бұрын

    My dad bought a brand new Hunter GLS just prior to them becoming Chrysler Hunters. He loving kept it for over 35 years, but we had to sell it to pay for his dementia care. The car was garaged every night and serviced on time, every time. We made it known that we were selling and asked for offers. The car had never been welded, and everything was exactly as it should be. Four people came at the same time to view it, and it started a bidding war. We were more than happy with the sale price.

  • @AndrewCDiprose

    @AndrewCDiprose

    3 ай бұрын

    good on you

  • @skellertons113
    @skellertons1134 ай бұрын

    In my Industry London Buses,, Hillman Hunters were London rhyming slang for Bus passengers, Hillman Hunters/ Punters, shortened to Hillmans.

  • @rose-ey6ct
    @rose-ey6ct4 ай бұрын

    1989/1990 I worked in Iran. Paykans everywhere. Took a taxi one 19km into Kerman with a German Workmate one evening. Taxi had the best part of a turn of free play in the steering wheel. At one point taxi hat a pothole and swerved towards an oncoming lorry. Driver took a massive swipe at the steeriing wheel and we were back on our own side of the road. Me to Helmut: "Damn" Missed again!". Taxi driver burst out laughing. He had lived in London for 20 years and his english was perfect.

  • @newtonwhatevs

    @newtonwhatevs

    4 ай бұрын

    Great story! I love it when comments actually add colour to the video. Thanks for the giggle.

  • @stevetabley3984
    @stevetabley39844 ай бұрын

    In Aust we had what was a Hunter Royal with loud colours ,stripes hot motor and twin carbs called the Hustler. Mine was wonderful-loved it !

  • @Nick-Emery
    @Nick-Emery4 ай бұрын

    Hey man, you must never say that you’re boring us again… we appreciate your hard work

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    I could go on for hours Nick… HOURS

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    But thank you I appreciate it, soon things will be much longer… much much longer after the amount of research I’ve been doing.

  • @Nick-Emery

    @Nick-Emery

    4 ай бұрын

    I went down a rabbit hole of Patrick Motor Group this evening as I just liked the Patrick Motorsports livery on the Mini and SD1, that was quite an interesting read. a really old (like 1930’s) but MASSIVE car dealership/parts supplier of British cars. (And coach builder amongst other things) I had no idea it was such a massive company, apparently they had links to get cheap fuel too and only got undercut when supermarkets began doing fuel… slightly off topic 😂

  • @Juancheros
    @Juancheros4 ай бұрын

    The Hillman Hunter and Arrow Left-Hand drive models were also sold for a few years in the Philippines. The Hunter I owned had the Rootes 1725 engine with aluminum head, a single-barrel side-draft carb, and a 4-speed manual gearbox. The car was badged as a Hillman and did not sell well in the Philippines due to strong competition from Corolla, Corona, Lancer, Galant, Datsun, Escort and Cortina. The body was not well protected from rain and rust, mine suffered from leaking windshields and doors - a fatal flaw in a tropical country with lots of rain. Nevertheless I think this was a very good car platform provided you knew how to figure things out. I was familiar with every square inch of that car.

  • @garyjustice1723
    @garyjustice17233 ай бұрын

    Hi Tom, Great video, and good detail. My Father, Ted Justice , was part of the team who set up the deal with the Khayami brothers and, who in fact planned the lay out of the new INIM plant ( I can see him sketching it on the kitchen table). He went on the become Director of Global Export Ops for CUK, but the Iran contact was always his "baby" and was awarded the OBE for services to British Exports in 1980. I met the Khayami's a few times when they came to see my Father in London and Coventry. I joined CUK in 1972, and remember a lot of staff going to work for INIM on contact around '75 - '79 when INIM were sourcing their own components locally.

  • @richardhemingway6084
    @richardhemingway60844 ай бұрын

    I was in Iran in the 1970's. As Merchant navy officer waiting to join a BP tanker. I was fascinated by the hundreds of Hillman Hunters that I saw there. I haven't heard of the Paykan name. They had 'Iran National' written on them followed by a stylised Arabic script. I asked some of the locals about them. It appeared that a common upgrade, was to swap the engine for a Datsun unit.

  • @michaelmalia3292
    @michaelmalia32924 ай бұрын

    In the 1990s I worked for Mr Mahmoud Khayami at one of his Mercedes Benz dealerships . Thanks so much for all your hard work

  • @01greekman
    @01greekman4 ай бұрын

    So enjoy your videos, Greetings from New Zealand. Keep up the great work

  • @andyarmstrong1493
    @andyarmstrong14934 ай бұрын

    Amazing story, thanks for your research and sharing.

  • @Martin_in_Cheltenham
    @Martin_in_Cheltenham4 ай бұрын

    My parents had a F reg Hillman Estate. I learnt to drive in it. Then inherited it as my own car until I bought my own car a MGB GT. The Hillman was a great car- masses of space and could cruise at 70 down the motorway with no issue. We had the 1725 cc engine. Pressed Steel I think made the bodies and was it designed by Roy Axe?? I know he did the Rapier coupe based on the Hunter. The design still looks great. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Another great video- definitely not boring! thanks.

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    Rex Fleming designed the saloon/overall car with Roy Axe designing the estate and coupe.

  • @Martin_in_Cheltenham

    @Martin_in_Cheltenham

    4 ай бұрын

    @@tomdrivesthanks. I always like the Roy Axe designs. He was involved in the Rover 800 as well. Clean and stylish looking car.

  • @paulzon
    @paulzon4 ай бұрын

    The Renault 12 was another old European car that became very popular in Iran.

  • @hunchanchoc8418

    @hunchanchoc8418

    4 ай бұрын

    Bloody good car, the Renault 12.

  • @iana6713

    @iana6713

    3 ай бұрын

    I remember going on holiday to Turkey as a teenager - imagine my surprise to see that the police were driving a locally-made version of the Renault 12. One incident stuck in my head - I watched this outside the hotel we were staying in... Picture the scene: two coppers in one of these pulling over a top of the range Mercedes for some motoring offence. Down goes the driver's window of the Merc, out comes a handful of Turkish Lira notes into the hand of one of the police, and the Benz speeds off.

  • @hunchanchoc8418

    @hunchanchoc8418

    3 ай бұрын

    @@iana6713 Sounds about right for an eastern Mediterranean country!

  • @TommyWylie

    @TommyWylie

    3 ай бұрын

    Was it perhaps built in Romania by Dacia and exported to Turkey and Iran?

  • @paulzon

    @paulzon

    3 ай бұрын

    @@TommyWylieSpot on! I looked it up after my last comment. It was the Dacia 1300 in Iran.

  • @dieseldavetrains8988
    @dieseldavetrains89884 ай бұрын

    Had quite a few rides in the Hillman Hunter as a taxi cab in Tehran back in the early to mid 1980's. The Hillman Hunter was also popular in Australia as the "family second car" for the wife or daughter. Great video, well researched, most enjoyable, thank you.

  • @Curiousdriving
    @Curiousdriving4 ай бұрын

    Tom,, this channel just gets better and better. Great work

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    Thanks Ian, appreciate it!

  • @jono.pom-downunder
    @jono.pom-downunder4 ай бұрын

    There's still a few hunters knocking around here in Aus. 😊 My old man had a Hillman husky, the imp based estate. Appalling little thing, the alloy block had warped an kept blowing head gaskets with the engine under the estate floor, we'd be on the side of the road unloading the boot, the old man fitting a new gasket, we carried a few & jerry can of water "just in case". Ahhh memories of the 70s

  • @Low760

    @Low760

    4 ай бұрын

    My mate bought a single owner car for a song because he grew up in one. Auto of course so it's slow but it's in very good condition.

  • @jono.pom-downunder

    @jono.pom-downunder

    4 ай бұрын

    @@Low760 if you can find a "old man's" Sunday driver especially from the "dry" states they'd make great practical classic

  • @johnnerding8551
    @johnnerding85514 ай бұрын

    I was a Rootes Group apprentice from 1961 - one of my friends working in the stores (Singer factory in Small Heath, Birmingham) was employed to produce 'Knock Down Parts of the Hunter to export to Iran.

  • @nickb5391

    @nickb5391

    4 ай бұрын

    A friend of mine used to work there too & towards the end they would take a window out in the upper floors & throw all the new spares out of the window to the skips down below, he did luckily have very wide trousers to help keep my Hunter & Sunbeam Alpine sports on the road

  • @oldedinburgh6014
    @oldedinburgh60144 ай бұрын

    Great video, I'm especially interested in cars for other markets and their stories.

  • @Herman6507
    @Herman65074 ай бұрын

    The car shown at 8:38 is the Peugeot Pars, a locally produced Peugeot 405 and maybe as popular as the Hilmann.

  • @trevorwakefiel870
    @trevorwakefiel8704 ай бұрын

    My first car in 1983 was a Chrysler Australia made 1972 Chrysler Hunter Royal 4 speed manual . I had the final Australian version for a year it was reliable besides getting parts from then Mitsubishi Australia paper gasket seals etc had to be ordered. The final Australian version had different back lights and different grill to blend in with the larger 6cyl American design Chrysler Dodge Valiant family car . Had standard Australia design rules by 71 72 headrest /full bucket seats. Was comfortable car to drive quite reliable built strong. Was still around a few on roads in Australia especially western Australia until 2010 seen last one in the local shopping centre carpark.

  • @harveysmith100
    @harveysmith1004 ай бұрын

    I owned one as a lad in the eighties. Back then the choice was normally Ford, Vauxhall or Leyland. I bought it cheap and ran it for a year until the next MOT when I found out why it was cheap! Never mind. It was a great car back in it's day, I remembering it driving so well compared with the usual cars available.

  • @christopherchadwick480
    @christopherchadwick4804 ай бұрын

    Had a few Hunter variants back in the day. Great car and the looks haven't dated as much as other 60s cars.

  • @chrisharvey5113
    @chrisharvey51134 ай бұрын

    My first car was a Hunter, I've googled Peykan numerous times. It's nice to see the Hunter with Chrysler lights, great video as always.

  • @leepritchard
    @leepritchard4 ай бұрын

    Great story. I am of an age where I remember seeing them on uk streets. Great work on the video 👌

  • @jonathangriffin1120
    @jonathangriffin11204 ай бұрын

    I was working in Iran 46 years ago, I remember the Paykan and the Hunter based Irannational pickup truck. I particularly liked the Jeep based Symorgh pickups. There was also a company called Iran Kaveh which assembled R-series Mack trucks.

  • @wongl7369
    @wongl73694 ай бұрын

    There is often a Paycan parked outside the Iranian Store, 156 Uxbridge Road, West Ealing. However it’s believed to be a Hillman Hunter trimmed with Paycan parts imported from Iran!

  • @HK-uq9by

    @HK-uq9by

    3 ай бұрын

    Taftoon Bakery?

  • @user-sc8dh4vn4v
    @user-sc8dh4vn4v4 ай бұрын

    Top show mate loved it how about the Sherpa vid that be good 🛠️🤠 JB

  • @NickyB62
    @NickyB624 ай бұрын

    Well Tom, much credit to you. Excellent video again. Always had a soft spot for the Hillman Hunters. Going off on a bit of a side road, have you ever done a video or anything on the Austin Metropolitan? Before my parents came to Uk from Canada my mother had a Nash Metropolitan which was the same car. It looked quite a nice thing

  • @StarCannibal
    @StarCannibal2 ай бұрын

    I remember the Paykan in 1974 when we went there for a year for my dads job. Apart from a few old 1950s american cars nearly all the taxis were Paykans. I had forgotten about these till I saw your video 😁.

  • @terryhall3960
    @terryhall39604 ай бұрын

    Our neighbour out here in NZ in the 1980s had a Singer Vogue, which was another variant on the Hunter.

  • @macdapimp83
    @macdapimp834 ай бұрын

    There's a hillman hunter I see near me in what looks like off white but I have only ever seen it at night.

  • @salvagedb2470
    @salvagedb24704 ай бұрын

    First Car that I had a crash in as a passenger back in the mid 70's an I was only about 13 , My Dad used to service one for an Old boy along with Marinas , Vauxhall vivas , Heralds..Good vid.

  • @allandoyle5733
    @allandoyle57334 ай бұрын

    I was on a business trip to Tehran in 1977/78 and frequently used Paykan taxis to get around. Perfectly good car. The only Rootes Group car which I ever owned was a 1963 Alpine or "Husky GT" as it was sometimes called (the Alpine used the Husky's short wheelbase chassis). Rusty but fun...

  • @HighFell
    @HighFell4 ай бұрын

    On way to a scout camp, my mates dad had a Hunter, posh one with the ribbed rear panel, the back axle fell out, for a brand new car that’s usually considered ‘sub optimal’ asides from these issues Rootes made some half decent cars, another missed opportunity

  • @VauxhallViva1975
    @VauxhallViva19754 ай бұрын

    Lovely video. I almost bought one of these, but I didn't. Kinda always regretted that decision.

  • @tipeneuriti4899
    @tipeneuriti48992 ай бұрын

    Thanks for your research which I was unable to do as I live in new Zealand

  • @patrickbuchanan4444
    @patrickbuchanan444420 күн бұрын

    In the late 1960s, you could rent a Paykan in Tehran for the entire weekend for around 2000 Rials. By far the majority of taxis in Iran were orange painted Paykans. They were easy to drive and very reliable.

  • @gc7820
    @gc78204 ай бұрын

    My great uncle had a Hillman Avenger, he bought it second hand and drove it (albeit less and less frequently) up until his death in the mid nineties by which time only 50% of the body panels were the original British racing-esque green

  • @Ad0akes
    @Ad0akes4 ай бұрын

    My dad had a few of these. The last one i remember was biege JOV 910P .it had trim around the back lights with a flap for the fuel filler.

  • @daveollie6238
    @daveollie62384 ай бұрын

    There used to be a company in South London who had masive stocks of new/old stock Rootes parts. The yard and sheds were vast. After the Iranian revolution the govenment over there put an order in to the south london company for 3 containers full of suspension parts for hunters. These were sent from south london but never reached Iran due to being stopped at customs because the metal was deemed to be of good enough quality that could be melted down to make arms. The parts were sized by the UK authoroties and never seen again.

  • @dj_efk

    @dj_efk

    4 ай бұрын

    R J Grimes of Coulsdon?

  • @daveollie6238

    @daveollie6238

    4 ай бұрын

    That's the one. Couldn't remember the name. I worked for Speedy Spares in Brighton and got told the story while I was there.

  • @fluffybadger9832

    @fluffybadger9832

    4 ай бұрын

    ​@@daveollie6238 Didn't Speedy Spares buy out a lot of Grimes stock when it closed?

  • @mattblack6414

    @mattblack6414

    4 ай бұрын

    I used to get parts for my MK2 Sceptre from Grimes... Used to ring them with a list and then send a cheque with a covering letter. Happy days!

  • @nickb5391

    @nickb5391

    4 ай бұрын

    @@dj_efk yes, that was them

  • @badbusdriver7160
    @badbusdriver71604 ай бұрын

    My Dad had a Hillman Hunter and so did my Grandad, so plenty of Hunter memories!

  • @69waveydavey
    @69waveydavey4 ай бұрын

    Worked on many as they were a current car in the 80's, used to do a HLS for an old boy, metallic purple, first time I lifted the bonnet confronted with twin 40's and Holbay rocker cover. Had a basic estate in the early 2000's, went really well. Not a bad car really for the day.

  • @michaeltreadwell777
    @michaeltreadwell7774 ай бұрын

    Very interesting. My sister had 2 Hunters - a 1967 one and a 1974 one. I had a 1973 Hunter automatic, then a 1972 Humber Sceptre variant. Excellent cars - much nicer than the Cortina, in my opinion. Great video - thanks. Take care 🙂

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    Thanks Michael!

  • @robertmcbride1859
    @robertmcbride18594 ай бұрын

    I owned a Hilman Hunter in the late 70s. It was a lovely car.

  • @andrewthompsonuk1
    @andrewthompsonuk14 ай бұрын

    I visited Todd motor company in New Zealand as a kid. They were building Hunters along with Avengers on the same line from CKD kits. Many of those cars lasted over 20 years however stricter rust rules killed them in the mid 90s.

  • @richardhewitt.easyvanlife.6957
    @richardhewitt.easyvanlife.69574 ай бұрын

    My dad and I had quite a few hunters between us, we were travelling salesman, always buying second hand cars, we found the hunter to be reliable tough cars capable of a lot of miles.

  • @Mitch-Hendren
    @Mitch-Hendren4 ай бұрын

    Fascinating story , id heard they were continued in Iran but no idea just how many and for as long Btw had to re- subscribe today I'd been 'untubed! ' Cheers Tom. Mitch

  • @daveowen9481
    @daveowen94814 ай бұрын

    We learned to drive in our Mum’s automatic Hunter GT. Very fond memories, we live in New Zealand, I think it was locally assembled here.

  • @nickb5391
    @nickb53914 ай бұрын

    Funny we're talking Hillman's, I found a brand new Grille badge for a Hillman Super Minx a couple of days ago

  • @langfordrae2589
    @langfordrae25894 ай бұрын

    Videos on the Ford Cortina, Triumph 2000/2500 and Jaguar XJ series would be great, thanks.

  • @joaosabino2909
    @joaosabino29094 ай бұрын

    In early 70's SA gov implemented local % policy, and to comply Hillman installed the Peugeot engine.

  • @michaelf.h8507
    @michaelf.h850720 күн бұрын

    Tom, A great video thanks; I recall towing an Eccles caravan with my fathers Hilman Hunter 5 up ! Surrey to Perrancombe in Cornwall. Would you consider doing a piece of vehicle production/assembly in Nigeria from the 1960's to 2000. There is a piece on Wikki but it started with the TJ Bedford to Leyland ;Land Rover /Range Rover -Peugeot 404 Pick up to 504 passenger cars and VW Beetle/Kombi bus etc..

  • @localreviewking134
    @localreviewking1344 ай бұрын

    I owned one, by then a rust bucket. Lime Green 1.8l (?) with a twin carb. The gear box was so smooth, just perfect, Loved it, but the MOT killed it!!!

  • @johnmontgomery9149
    @johnmontgomery91494 ай бұрын

    My dad worked in the Linwood plant for 30yrs seeing the transition from railway DMU & EMU units , wagons and the I’ll fated Road Railer trailer through to the end of car production.

  • @sebastian0107

    @sebastian0107

    4 ай бұрын

    Sad ending. There's a great docu on KZread about the last days of Linwood.

  • @johnmontgomery9149

    @johnmontgomery9149

    4 ай бұрын

    @@sebastian0107 I have seen it. Lies from the management regarding them creating strikes.

  • @sebastian0107

    @sebastian0107

    4 ай бұрын

    @@johnmontgomery9149 It's closing must have been awful for the workforce there. Of course, when the Imp was introduced, it took some time to make it an oiled operation, but by the 70's it was. And probably building better cars than BL. Peugeot's rationalization scheme added with Tatcherism.

  • @AndrewVanDay
    @AndrewVanDay4 ай бұрын

    I had a Singer Vogue, and there was a single pic of a vogue front grill on a production line, so that trim was used? I still have a tiny bit of 'Arrow' (never knew it was called that) on the back of my Aston Martin DBS which has the rear lights!

  • @philscarriage73
    @philscarriage734 ай бұрын

    I recently drove and sold a Roots 1970 sunbeam vogue for a friend who passed away. I was well impressed with the car and the quality build comparing it with BL and fords of the time.

  • @MGBetts1
    @MGBetts14 ай бұрын

    The most sought after variant in this country is the Hunter GLS. It may sound a little humble, but it's actually mechanically the same as the Holbay-tuned Rapier H120 coupé!

  • @nickb5391
    @nickb53914 ай бұрын

    A lot of parts from the Minx/Hunter were used to build the Ginetta GRS Tora

  • @chrisblay
    @chrisblay4 ай бұрын

    Hillman Hunters and Avengers were still a common sight on UK roads in the eighties. I had friends that drove them. As it rolled round to the nineties they virtually disappeared and are extremely rare now. Didn’t know about the extended life of the Hunter abroad though. Similar stories to Fiat, who sold their designs to former eastern bloc countries.

  • @davidives7997
    @davidives79974 ай бұрын

    I'm 64. My 1st car was Hillman Hunter 1725. At 17 I was fortunate to be able to afford to run one of these.

  • @davidboult4143
    @davidboult41434 ай бұрын

    Very interesting. It was also referred to as the Peykan. (The name is Persian for Arrow, which makes sense.) Producing the CKD kits, (completely knocked down), kept the Humber Road Factory in Coventry in work for many years.

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    It was a good deal for Rootes as you say.

  • @phillipleeds296
    @phillipleeds2963 ай бұрын

    My first car was a second-hand 1968 Hillman Arrow built by Chrysler Australia. Nice car, but leaked like a sieve when it rained. Traded it after a year or so for a Chrysler built Galant.

  • @HK-uq9by

    @HK-uq9by

    3 ай бұрын

    I believe all of them had the same problem, the water was leaking into the legroom. This was my experience with few of them which we owned then I was checking others cars to see the rust in the same area! I think there had been a problem in the mold of the firewall

  • @leonshackleford9585
    @leonshackleford95854 ай бұрын

    Great Cars Hillman Hunters / Hillman Minx’s / Chrysler Hunters / Singer Gazelles wonderful motors & although Rootes joined up with Peugeot Talbot / I remember Rightly Talbot Solara Replaced All the Rootes Hunter Cars under Hillman / Humber / Chrysler / Singer

  • @stonerwallsend9563
    @stonerwallsend95634 ай бұрын

    Hi Tom how are you, who made your manifold I've recently bought a 65 hillman super minx and would like to convert to a Weber carburettor thanks

  • @lesklower7281
    @lesklower72814 ай бұрын

    I have known about the Iranian Paykan as back in the 1970s l owned a couple of Hillmans and my brother is still into Rootes Group cars and l knew about the Paykan and thanks for the history about the Paykan also the Paykan ute that blew me away l like utes have owned a couple of them myself and still own a 1997 Hilux ute another Rootes Group Hillman you could look at the Isuzu Hillman Minx

  • @buggs9950
    @buggs99504 ай бұрын

    That hoodie's amazing. Is it made out of mid 90's Peugeot seat fabric?

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    I got told once I looked like a bus seat.

  • @BigPaul62
    @BigPaul624 ай бұрын

    The Hunter was a good car. When I was a lad my uncle had one, BDV 473L which was beige(Prarie Wind) in colour.

  • @gmo4250
    @gmo42504 ай бұрын

    I had a UK Hillman Hunter GLS, gorgeous induction sound from the twin Weber 40s.

  • @philtucker1224

    @philtucker1224

    3 ай бұрын

    Probably a modded 1725 iron block, they gave good power.

  • @gmo4250

    @gmo4250

    3 ай бұрын

    @@philtucker1224 Standard block as far as I remember apart from the sump. It had a different head and exhaust manifold. After I rebuilt the engine, I had a fairly respectable 105 HP at the wheels.

  • @philtucker1224

    @philtucker1224

    3 ай бұрын

    @@gmo4250 yes that sounds pretty realistic, I built one back in 1975 with a mild road/rally cam and that gave similar figures at the flywheel on a test bed dyno.

  • @gmo4250

    @gmo4250

    3 ай бұрын

    @@philtucker1224 A little extra information, the block was bored out to 1800 by Oselli Engineering in Oxford and the head was reworked by them. I replaced the air box with a K&N filter. The overall increase in performance was very noticeable.

  • @kennedysingh3916
    @kennedysingh39164 ай бұрын

    Watched from Old Harbour Jamaica and they were a common site in Jamaica 🇯🇲. My family owned a number of them over the years more so the Avenger (I still own a Imp). I knew about the Iran 🇮🇷 production from my Motor magazine back in the 1980's and it good to see it's still going strong. I'm disappointed of the British destroying their own auto industry for we use to swear my them.

  • @nikij124
    @nikij1244 ай бұрын

    i drive these cars all the time i own two and i love driving them, especially now there is a 20 mph speed limit in wales, ideal for crusing in your classic, lol, also more spares avalable for them now whoop whoop.

  • @stuartross282
    @stuartross2824 ай бұрын

    Like Hillman avenger in Argentina ended production in 1990 as VW 1500

  • @brianfearn4246
    @brianfearn42464 ай бұрын

    The car at 3:37 is Hyundi pony in yellow which Shered its door handles with the mk4 ford cortina 😊

  • @nickb5391
    @nickb53914 ай бұрын

    The 'fast' Hunter was the GLS which had the Holbay engine with twin 40DCOE carbs

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    I’ve heard of that one, I’d like to do a video on fast Hillmans

  • @nickb5391

    @nickb5391

    4 ай бұрын

    @@tomdrives The same Holbay engine was also fitted to the fastback (Arrow Range) Sunbeam Rapier designated as Sunbeam Rapier H120

  • @Phuc_Yhou

    @Phuc_Yhou

    4 ай бұрын

    I had a Holbay Hunter, bought cheap with a short mot and too much rust, drove it through the summer scrapped in the autumn, nobody kept cars as an investment

  • @liverush24
    @liverush244 ай бұрын

    One of the first things that I did, when I first got online, was to research why there seemed to be so many Hillman Hunters in Tehran every time that it was on the news.

  • @nickmoore2301
    @nickmoore23014 ай бұрын

    When I was a small child we lived in wales and our neighbour had a couple of these, I remember one was a metallic brown and the other was a beautiful metallic blue/green colour. They both had the chrome rear tail light surrounds and looked very smart and almost American in design, well compared to our beige Mini Pickup anyway 😅

  • @bentullett6068
    @bentullett60684 ай бұрын

    LDV vans is an interesting one as the old shape UK built ones ended up being produced in Turkey under the BMC vans.

  • @TheSimonhammond
    @TheSimonhammond3 ай бұрын

    I want that Meastro poster!

  • @richardmumford2708
    @richardmumford27084 ай бұрын

    My first car was a hillman hunter DL in white ..RYA 448L had the twin doomed instrument cluster ...had it for 5 years

  • @davidpeters6536
    @davidpeters65364 ай бұрын

    I bought a 1725 auto gold coloured Humber Sceptre in late 1980. It was great for lugging my mates around London and not long after my new girlfriend too (who looked a bit like Debbie Harry). It sadly blew the engine after a trip "up north" for Christmas and New Year ('83) in Wetherby. It wasn't worth the repair bill so was written off. A comfortable car that looked stylish without being garish. A few years earlier I had an old "Audax" Minx for a few months which used more oil than petrol.

  • @mossi408
    @mossi4084 ай бұрын

    I used to have an 1978 Chrysler Avenger 1.6 GL. A shame, as I sold it years ago, but the car is stil alive.

  • @allthegearbutnoidea.7138
    @allthegearbutnoidea.71384 ай бұрын

    My dad had a green 1725 powered one with a black vinyl roof OSN 900M. Eventually the driver side doors would not open and the tinworm got hold of it. He always said it was one of the quickest cars he owned and the engine would probably go on forever.

  • @kerrywilton8266
    @kerrywilton82664 ай бұрын

    I spent 9 months in Tehran in ‘ 88/‘89 with the UN at the end of the Iran/Iraq war. Paykans were thick on the ground and practically every taxi was a Paykan. We were told at the time that Paykan is Farsi for Arrow, which makes sense.

  • @abahdaddy3889
    @abahdaddy38893 ай бұрын

    my father used to own ford cortina and morris minor when i was young [70S]....missed old goodies of Brits cars

  • @garycollard1981
    @garycollard19814 ай бұрын

    The image of the Paykan ad at the start of the video quite a historical document. An ad made after the Islamic revolution of '79 would have had the young lady dressed rather differently or not in the advert at all I'm sure.

  • @WintonMc
    @WintonMc4 ай бұрын

    Is that related to the Chrysler Humber Sceptre? My Dad bought one of those in '73.

  • @peterhoulis1184
    @peterhoulis11844 ай бұрын

    My uncle own a hillman hunter in the 70s and it was a great car

  • @Schlipperschlopper
    @Schlipperschlopper4 ай бұрын

    Iran rules the world of cars!!!!!

  • @tipeneuriti4899
    @tipeneuriti48992 ай бұрын

    I used to own a 67 round headlights model hunter 1725 ,I did go to a Chrysler dealer in a local town in new Zealand south island Timaru cost was little over 4k I wanted a manual but the salesman turned up with a automatic 3spd borge Warner nice car 🚨🚗

  • @robertpatrick3350
    @robertpatrick33504 ай бұрын

    The rear lights are highly sought after as both Aston and Lotus raided the Rootes group parts bin……

  • @thatcheapguy525
    @thatcheapguy5254 ай бұрын

    back in the good old bad old days when I were a lad and men were men and sheep were scared, I got to work on a few Hunters. can't remember any issue with them other than the normal bits which are supposed to wear out + rust, though not as bad as most. a real rock solid car, boringly reliable and styled, the Toyota of its day. incredible how it lived on and even got rebodied lol. clearly the car is good for many climates and conditions, maybe it could eventually scrape into the top 10 most produced cars in history one day? dare I suggest doing a video on George Turnbull. he has a fascinating history. if Turnbull had ended up at the top of BLMC it may well have survived.

  • @sebastian0107

    @sebastian0107

    4 ай бұрын

    They didn't feel built as lightweight as a Cortina/Taunus, that I remember: solid doors, quality feel.

  • @Hiace-8888
    @Hiace-88883 ай бұрын

    懐かしい車ですねー😊 昔々ザッガードマンのドラマで活躍してまさかのたよね?

  • @thefloorkiller
    @thefloorkiller4 ай бұрын

    I own a Fastback Rapier, one of the many variants of the Hillman Hunter

  • @sebastian0107

    @sebastian0107

    4 ай бұрын

    UK's own Barracuda! In Holland they were badged as Sunbeam. They were really chique. One guy in our street owned one from new in blue metallic with all the stripes and options: lovely car. Resale value was poor, so he hung onto it for over ten years. Good luck with yours!

  • @davelister7183
    @davelister71834 ай бұрын

    the 405 on hunter floorpan is a weird one

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    I didn’t know that either until this, it was quite a shock.

  • @davelister7183

    @davelister7183

    4 ай бұрын

    @@tomdrives i remeber hearing it on a 405 video, might have been bigcar, i think they got the fwd 405 at the same time

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    @@davelister7183 correct that’s the normal 405 which is produced by Peugeot Persian (Peugeot Pars)

  • @thefloorkiller

    @thefloorkiller

    4 ай бұрын

    I think the Peugeot with the Hunter running gear is known as the Rao

  • @martin-vv9lf

    @martin-vv9lf

    3 ай бұрын

    @@johnburns4017 lighter shell and mpg gains i assume. for an academic exercise look up the wikipedia page of the paykan and the the 405 rwd to compare both.

  • @biastv1234
    @biastv12344 ай бұрын

    It was also built in Australia

  • @ceegee3664
    @ceegee36644 ай бұрын

    Great Car Story, any from South America or Africa?

  • @philpoole5670
    @philpoole56704 ай бұрын

    Hunter was a fantastic car…. And lovely to drive

  • @karnereeves3460
    @karnereeves34604 ай бұрын

    Still driving my Humber super snipe.

  • @tomdrives

    @tomdrives

    4 ай бұрын

    Which model? Good taste, sounds like you’re living the dream in my view

  • @James-ld2jc
    @James-ld2jc4 ай бұрын

    I can't remember the last time I saw a Hunter on the road, can't be many left in the UK

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