A FAMILY AFFAIR
Brother and sister Andrew and Jill Green share a passion for classic cars, but they've chosen two very different examples as their chariots of choice.
Hillman and Riley both started off in the Victorian era building bicycles. The first Hillman car appeared in 1907, but Riley produced its first in 1898, leading to the company motto: 'As old as the industry. As modern as the hour.' Since Riley is therefore the elder statesman of the two, we will start with a quick recap of their story.
After 1898 the company went on to develop some fine cars right through to the second half of the 1930s, many of them highly regarded for their sporting prowess and with engines that included fourcylinder and six- cylinder units, as well as a 2178cc V8. That V8 contributed to the company's loss of independence after the Autovia marque that had been set up in 1937 to produce luxury cars powered by it proved to be a failure. Factor in the complex range of lesser models on offer and not even the good reputation their cars enjoyed could stave off receivership in 1938.
Riley was snapped up by Morris and initially left to plough their own furrow, but their Foleshill factory was badly damaged by bombing during the war. However, in 1945 they introduced their new RMA 1.5-litre, a stylish and well-finished sporting saloon that featured traditional construction of steel panels over an ash frame. This was followed by a bigger 2.5-litre RMB, neither of which shared much with other cars from William Morris's Nuffield empire. The RMA evolved into the RME in 1952, while the RMB became the RMF.
That was of course the year that Austin and Morris merged to form BMC, and this signalled the beginning of the end of Riley's relative independence. In 1953 the Pathfinder replaced the RMF, still with Riley's own engine but sharing much of its sheet metal with the Wolseley 6/ 90. This was not a resounding success, and when it died in 1957, the successor Riley Two-point-Six was powered by the same C-series engine as the Wolseley.
This was followed very quickly by another Wolseley/ Riley duo, the 1500 and the One- Point- Five as pictured
here. These had the floorpan, suspension and steering of the Morris Minor, but a much bigger 1489cc B-series engine. They were not exactly identical twins because the Wolseley was designated as the luxury offering with 50bhp whereas the Riley was the sporting choice and replaced some of the luxuries with a rev counter, twin SU carburettors and an impressive 68bhp – enough to propel it as high as 85mph.
Nearly 40,000 Riley 1.5s were built between 1957 and 1965. In that time it was mildly tweaked and updated, but not changed in any substantial way. The last change was to create the Series III in 1961, with more chrome added either side of the grille as seen on our feature car here. That car belongs to Andrew Green, who was inspired to buy it after being impressed by a similar model that his sister Jill used to own.
'Jill’s Riley was such a lovely little car,' he says. 'They are such sporty little things and
I was really impressed by the model. I had rebuilt a Morris Traveller, but the engine in that was screaming away at 50mph and I thought the Riley would not only be faster, but also much better for cruising as it came with overdrive. It was a great mechanical package overall with the high gearing and twin carbs, but the less sporty Wolseleys were always produced in higher numbers and so are now easier to find. That’s why I couldn’t be too choosey and ended up getting a project after searching high and low for one of my own. Unfortunately most examples were either over-priced or in poor condition.'
Andrew's car had previously spent a long time on a farm up in Scotland before moving to Fleetwood, and although the guy he bought it from had recommissioned the Riley, it still needed a lot of work. The previous owner had fitted a new leather interior for example, but Andrew had to have the seats re-stuffed. He also had all the brake and clutch cylinders re-sleeved at Past Parts, while the engine was stripped and rebuilt – not reconditioned as such, just fitted with oil control rings and new seals, plus a clean-up of the head and things like that.
'I tried this car up at Fleetwood and knew I wanted it, but I also knew that it could and should be a lot better,' Andrew explained. 'I wouldn’t start using it until I’d spent some £3000 at Minor Services in Ely and got a fresh MoT. With most classics you do have to invest in the initial period, but if you do things properly it then means that you can trust the car. You are unlikely to get perfection, but you should be able to get reliability.'
And the work has continued since that initial flourish. Andrew noticed that the car used to pick up any ruts
in the road and could veer off course when you hit an imperfection, so last year he had the steering all renewed and now it is perfect. He fitted new tyres too, and that has helped. ( They are radials, but a tall, thin profile which looks the same as the original crossplies would have done.) He has also recently rebuilt the carburettors and replaced all the fuel lines because the ethanol in modern petrol plays havoc with a classic system and he was forever having leaks.
'It might have been a sporting saloon 60 years ago,' says Andrew, 'but it tends to be more sedate these days. It has a tall diff and will cruise happily, but you just can’t thrash an old car without causing problems. I did try the Wolseley axle with a taller ratio diff when mine gave up the ghost to see if that would give me better economy, but that turned out to be too slow (it is the same ratio as a Rover 3500!). So now I have a Spitfire 1500 ratio in there which means I can get out of people’s way and still have decent economy.'
Let's turn now to the second car in our pictures, Jill's Hillman Minx. The Minx name was a staple of the Hillman marque, lasting as it did from 1932 until 1970. In nearly four decades, it was naturally applied to some very different vehicles, so before we get to Jill's car, let's first take a quick tour through the Minx archives.
Rootes took over the struggling Humber and Hillman concerns around the time of their merger at the end of 1928 or soon afterwards – details have always been a little hazy on exactly how and when they took control! As part of the master plan to revive the concern's fortunes, Rootes conceived three new models, of which the Minx was to be the smallest. It was launched in March 1932 as a simple and cheap 10Hp, and it sold well, effectively reversing the company's fortunes singlehandedly. It went into a
second generation in 1935 as the modestly named Minx Magnificent. This was followed by a monocoque Minx Phase I that was launched just after Britain had declared war on Germany, and thousands of those were built from 19391942 for the war effort.
Civilian production resumed in 1945, with the Phase I becoming the Phase II late in 1947 that featured a revised front end with the headlamps faired into the wings. By this time the Minx had also gained hydraulic brakes instead of cables. The Phase II didn't last long though because the new Loewy-inspired Phase III of 1948 introduced a brand-new postwar style. This received annual updates of varying degrees of complexity through MkIV to MkVII, before the MkVIII of 1954 brought a new OHV engine to the Minx party.
This at last brings us a concrete connection with the car in our pictures beyond the Minx name because Rootes was to use and develop that OHV engine for the next 30 years, but an even stronger link was forged in 1956 when the all-new, bigger, sleeker and smarter Series I Minx was introduced. This too evolved through regular changes, the engine growing from 1390cc to 1494cc for the Series III of 1958 for example, while the IIIA of 1959 got rollover rear fins. The engine grew again for the IIIC of 1961, this time to 1592cc.
There was to be no Minx Series IV because that name had been reserved for the bigger Super Minx, and instead the Minx jumped from IIIC to Series V in 1963. This almost brings us to the car in our pictures because with the Series V Rootes ditched the bulbous roof and wraparound screens front and back, replacing them with a more modern and angular profile. There was one final change to come though, when the Series VI was fitted with the larger 1725cc five-bearing engine. In this form it lasted into 1967 before giving way to the new Arrow family, referred to by many as the Hillman Hunters.
And that brings us to Jill's car, a Series VI Minx which
was first registered on 4th July 1966. It was fitted with the relatively rare automatic gearbox option. As Jill says: 'I drive a lorry for work, and I thought it would be nice and relaxing to have an auto that would just sit happily around 50-55mph. I also spent 20 years in the Territorials in charge of transport, so I’ve always been involved in transport. There is a big difference between those vehicles and the Minx, which is quite a luxurious car in some ways. It is also a practical choice though, small enough to go in the garage, and I just love the shape and the style.'
Clearly Jill does like the styling, because she also considered the Sunbeam Rapier and the Singer Gazelle, both of which were based on the Minx. She even looked at a convertible Gazelle that was for sale, but that one was quite rusty whereas this Minx was a genuine 18,000-mile car with all the old MoTs to back that up. 'The bodyshell is all original,' she says, 'and I was keen to have one that was a good base like this to start with. I have since spent thousands more to make sure it is up to the kind of standard I want – you don’t want to be stranded at the side of the road with the bonnet up as that just gives classics a bad reputation.
'For example, I had new springs made up because the originals were weak and it didn’t sit right, it was low at the back end. Those springs cost £800, but at least it now sits right. I fitted new dampers too, but although the Minx is generally an easy car to maintain, sourcing parts for Rootes cars can sometimes be a little tricky. I am in a couple of clubs, for Hillmans and
Rootes, partly to keep up with news and partly to help with sourcing parts.'
Part of the attraction of the Rootes cars for Jill might be traced back to a lovely Singer Vogue estate that her father had years ago. She remembers that as being a very good car, a great workhorse that used to do regular trips back and forth to London and was always a very reliable car. 'Rootes cars were generally very good,' she adds, 'and I don’t think they always get the kind of recognition today that they really deserve.'
Jill's car came from a dealer, and they had carried out quite a lot of work, including a respray. Her first drive was interesting as she had never driven a classic car with an automatic gearbox before. She had driven modern cars with autoboxes and expected this to be quite similar, but though she found it very smooth once warmed up, it was a bit clunky when cold. Also, with only three speeds the Minx was not especially fast despite what is a reasonably large engine for a car of this age and size.
'It is not a car you buy for speed though,' she adds, 'and I soon realised that I had made the right decision in getting this one. The gear change is even better now that I have had the oil changed. I drive it like a classic should be driven, starting off slowly and building up speed gradually. It has plenty of power though and will sit very happily at 60mph, and it sounds very smooth at those speeds. It is a lovely car to be in as well, with big, comfortable seats and plenty of leg room as well as a most attractive cabin. The brakes are discs on the front and they are surprisingly good, not quite the same as those on a modern car of course, but perfectly good on a classic such as this. The steering is nice and light – all in all it is a very good car.'
Andrew adds: ' We’ve both driven this kind of car since the 1970s and know what should be expected. The Riley has more than lived up to my expectations because it is lovely to drive despite being rather small, narrow and upright
when compared to Jill's Minx. The Hillman is a lovely relaxing car you can drive without a care in the world, whereas the Riley is 1950s technology and it does take more concentration and forward thinking because it does not feel anywhere near as modern. I’d never been in a Hillman before and I was very impressed by this car. And don’t forget that it is lighter than a Super Minx with the same running gear, so it has plenty of power.'
'The Hillman does feel a much more modern car to drive than the Riley,' agrees Jill. ' We tend to alternate which one we take to shows, except when there is a particular reason to take one or the other. Andrew likes driving my Hillman because it is automatic, and I am quite happy to be a passenger as I drive all week for work, but I tend to stick to my own car. We both drive in a similar manner having grown up working in the family business, but people tend not to be as considerate of other road users as they used to be. Some people see a classic car and feel that they have to get ahead of it as soon as they can, so we tend to stick to the smaller roads where we are not going to cause any problems. They are more enjoyable than the main roads in any case.'
Jill and Andrew do travel quite far afield attending shows and events, going out most weekends during the summer. This year, for example, they went on a trip with the Hillman OC to Hereford from their home on the Norfolk/ Suffolk border. ' We just took A-roads so we were no trouble to anyone and enjoyed the drive,' Jill says. ' We do enjoy going to shows as well because people like to see these cars, particularly if you have any accessories like the brochures and maps, because everybody can remember some relation who had one back in the day.'
Oh yes, the accessories! Like many owners who have secured the classic of their dreams, Andrew and Jill have been busy collecting appropriate brochures. Jill tries to get ones that feature cars in the same Willow Green as her own Minx, as well as catalogues of optional extras. Flicking through one of these we spotted such goodies as a fire extinguisher, fog lights, wing mirrors and a locking petrol cap, plus bumper overriders at £4 10s. Manufacturers didn’t throw a lot in as standard in those days, so there was also quite a choice of mirrors starting from as little as £1 7s 6d.
Talking of prices, Jill says: 'I have a price list from 10th October 1967 and the Hillman
Minx saloon was £610 exWorks with £141 10s 3d in Purchase Tax for a total of £751 10s 3d. If you wanted automatic transmission, that was an extra £85 from the factory, so another £104 9s 7d once the tax had been added. So it was quite a big percentage of the purchase price, which perhaps explains why it was a rare fitting.'
Andrew has a Riley 1.5 Accessory catalogue which is if anything more comprehensive than the one for the Minx. It even includes the tartan blanket that everyone had in their car back then! 'Looking for catalogues and ephemera can be a bit obsessive,' he says in conclusion, 'but people do like to see them on the back seat at shows. I think I should probably stop looking for more bits now though, as I need to spend the money on maintenance instead!'
The Hillman is a lovely relaxing car to drive, whereas the Riley is 1950s technology and it does take more concentration