There must have been a fun camaraderie in driving an imported car in the United States back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Cars such as Volkswagens, Renaults, Hillmans, and English Fords offered a compact, efficient alternative to the big American cars that so many of us here at Barn Finds love so much. But I like variety, and I wouldn’t hate spending a week using this 1961 Hillman Minx as a fun driver, which is what the current owner has been doing. Barn Finder JDC found it here on Marketplace in Shrub Oak, New York, where you can pick up this miniature family hauler for a very reasonable $4,500.
This Minx has quite an interesting history. It was featured in Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car (RIP) back in January 2009, and the then-owner’s family bought it new through Hillman’s overseas delivery program. They picked it up in Scotland and drove it around Great Britain before boarding the S.S. Rotterdam for a passage home to America with the Minx in the cargo hold. The owner who related that tale to Hemmings sold it to the current owner, his friend, when he could no longer drive it. Now, the seller is having a hard time operating the clutch, so he’s passing it on to a new home.
For those who don’t know much about Hillmans, they were a part of the Rootes Group, a British combine much like Ford or General Motors in America. The group produced Hillmans, Sunbeams, Humbers, and Singers, and Chrysler bought them up a little at a time throughout the 1960s. Keeping up with Minx running changes is difficult for Americans who got completely restyled cars every model year. This Minx is a Series III, which was introduced in September 1958. Over the course of the next few model years, however, there were four variants, the Series III, Series IIIA, Series IIIB, and Series IIIC. This one is probably a IIIB, which means that it has a 53 (net) horsepower 1500cc four-cylinder (that runs “great” in this Estate). The standard transmission was a four-speed manual with synchromesh on the top three gears, and that’s what this car currently has. However, if I’m reading the story correctly, it originally had the “Easidrive” automatic, which was apparently the first fully automatic transmission offered in a British small car. The rear axle ratio in Estates was 4.778:1, so you’ll be limiting your driving to the two-lanes.
Something I love about British cars of the postwar era is their dashboards. Because the UK auto industry depended heavily on exporting their offerings abroad, their dashboards made the task of switching the steering column very easy. The instrument cluster was often in the center of the dash, as it is here, making plenty of room for either left- or right-hand drive. Even though the Minx has a bench seat, it still has a sporty floor shifter, making the wagon look as if it’s plenty of fun to drive. The interior pictures in the ad look pretty good, too.
Being a New York car, the seller says that there is some rust, as you can see in the lower tailgate above, but it doesn’t look like “lost cause” rust. And since few will have any dreams of rotisserie restoring a $4,500 Hillman Minx, it’s an excellent candidate for spot repairs and intelligent preservation.
Honestly, for anybody who likes British cars, this is an amazing find at a pretty reasonable price. With cars this inexpensive, there’s little to lose, so if you’re looking for a car with a neat story that will draw a lot of looks and smiles, you could hardly do better.
Wish I could.
The first car I owned was a ’59 Minx sedan (saloon?), bought for the munificent sum of $50 back in 1966.
I found the column shifter’s pattern a bit problematic — during the factory conversion to LHD, They did not alter the linkage much, so it was reversed — so replaced it with a floor change salvaged from a friend’s wrecked Husky (the two-door wagon). I wanted a Husky instead, but none were available. I ended up selling the Minx to my now Husky-less neighbor.
Not a bad little car at all, but the wagon would have been useful when I moved out of my parents’ house. Now, sixty years later, this strikes me as an appealing way to get around, and you’re unlikely to see another passing you by.
And yes, I’d put addressing the rust at the top of the to-do list. All cars rust here in the Northeast, including my Toyota, which is nowhere near as charming as this Minx.
I presume parts are still available in England. The lack here concerns me a little; back in the day, I could get what I needed from now-defunct BAP.
Ray, I remember BAP. In Ohio we had BAP-Geon if I recall correctly.
I think BAP-GEON was the successor. They were a good source, and had parts for my Healey and various Renaults before they closed up shop.
A high-school friend worked there, I think to get a discount on parts for his TR3.