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.
My dad’s first two cars were Minx saloons; one like this and then a 1965 one. I remember the second one, but not the first – although there is photographic evidence that I encountered it.
The reason for buying it? His pal’s dad was sales manager at the local Rootes garage.
Bought a Hillman Minx sedan when I was High School, fun little car.
These are good cars and the Husky is actually kinda cool! I’d be considering this if I had storage. The best 4th of July I remember was travelled to and from in the Husky version of this. In 1970 an Air Force buddy had one and we drove from McConnell to Peabody, KS for their (actually famous) 4th of July fireworks and parade celebration. He had family there-it was a great weekend, and every time I see a Hillman wagon, I think of Peabody, KS!
Dad was a major in the Air Force when he bought two 1956 Sunbeam Rapier two doors, back in 1963- one for parts. I remember it was a light yellow with grey on the sides. The interior was leather and as a little by of 7 or 8, it was always an adventure to take a trip with him in that car- You never knew when you would end up on the side of the road with dad cussing and making a repair! Not sure if it was an Air Force thing or not, but he had a couple of friends that also had them…
How did Michelle miss out on this one?
Here is my Hillman story. 30 years ago I was living in the Jersey Shore area. Some guy in the next town has a Hillman Husky 2 door wagon in his garage and he can’t get it to run right. I offered him $600 and he took it. Its condition was similar to this one. I got it running good, drove it around for a few weeks and then put it up for sale on Ebay. A guy in Texas whose name was Hillman comes up and buys it for $1200. That may not seem big by todays standards but back then I doubled my money! It was a fun little driver with a stick!
My father bought a ’59 Hillman Minx brand new. He loved how solid it was, but every time there was a cloud in the sky, it wouldn’t start. After 2 years he threw in the towel and traded it in on a new ’61 Rambler American. He went to work one day and it was in the parking lot. He found the new owner/coworker and told him it was the worst car he ever owned. Coworker told him he had trouble with it when he first bought it too. Said his buddy put it in the garage and turned out the lights and saw the distributer arcing to the block, problem solved.
Compared to its’ British competition, Hillman lucked into a “hit ’em where they aren’t” strategy with this generation of Minx; a decade into a flat-rate annual registration fee that made the old taxable horsepower categories obsolete the Minx was the only former “Ten” that stayed true to the old bracket, half a size smaller and similarly cheaper than the Austin Cambridge, Morris Oxford and Vauxhall Victor and half a size bigger than the Ford Prefect.
That also meant it was substantially more car than a VW for the same money on export markets.
An “illman”, you say? This must be steering wheel cover week, and on a fine British motorcar,,,for shame. I always wondered, and our British cousins may concur, is a crummy, bunched up cover really better than a cracked wheel? When I was a kid, we had an older doctor that made house calls( remember them?) and he had an affliction for unusual, to us, foreign cars. He had a Borgwardt, something else, and a Hillman sedan. I’m not sure where Hillman stood in the British car lineup, I’d have to think one step up from a Morris(?) or what a “commoner” might drive. Naturally, it’s not designed for our hectic pace, but aside from this site, I’ve tried to eliminate as much frustration in my life as I can, and this would certainly work for me.
Apparently, it’s an ironclad of rule, cars you might want are never close to home.
Here’s some additional scoop. I hear all the time, “that car is 9,000 miles away”, and they usually are. Sadly, for many, me included, shipping a car today is almost a deal breaker. Research shows, it’s almost 2,000 miles from upstate NY to Salida. Generally, the shorter the distance, the more it costs, some as much as $2.60/mile! Wish I made $2.60/mile, unheard of in my day. Over 1500 miles is considered “cross-country” by the “industry”, and is less, .65/mile-$1.20/mile for open transport, $2.50/mile for enclosed. Okay, say they take $4,000 on this, that adds almost another $2grand to the price, and out of my ,,ahem,,,budget. So what’s the answer, drive the family pickup cross country, rent a car trailer? Good heavens, I can’t begin to say what might happen there. Fly out, drive back? This? I’d be better off with the Jeep. Got to be something odd in the Denver area, no? Mike, anything? I’d love to have this just for my Wally runs. Stay tuned,,,,
Howard, only unusual thing I can think of nearby is a LeCar in Kiowa, but it’s not for sale….the guy is in love with it. I’ll keep looking.
Ha, just yesterday there was an old Swedish ad for the Hillmans posted on Facebook. It had a headline loosely translated as ”In the Good Old English Quality”.
I commented that whoever had written the ad probably had never driven English cars much…
I have owned quite a few, and while often fun and charming it was never quality and reliability that were the most obvious memories…
Seems to be my brother had a Hillman car probably around this year. I think it had a 4 speed on the tree. Is that possible? I was sure it had more then 3 forward gears Am I right.? I was just a kid then. Would appreciate any comments on this post.
John
My 1953 Austin Somerset, total project car that I bought thanks to BF, is a 4spd on the column. My 1959 Mercedes 190 also had this configuration.
Yes, the Minx had four-on-the-tree. While rare — maybe nonexistent — in U.S. cars, this was common in Europe.
My Minx had a column shift. Even after I installed a floor shifter, I left the original lever in place, because why not?
Later, I owned a Renault 16 that had the same setup. When I replaced the original transaxle with one from a Euro-model R16 TX, I had a FIVE-on-the-three.
It’s a wagon, and it has a 4 spd. What’s not to like? Nicely priced.
There is a direct connection between a Hillman husky station wagon and a Sunbeam tiger. Ponder that for a while.
This article started out with a list of small fuel efficient foreign cars. The 60’s around the Florida Space Coast was jam packed with engineers, scientists, military, machinists, etc. that all drove these as commuter cars. On weekends, wagons like these were dwarfed by long boards!
Please get it off the lawn. nothing will rot it out faster other than road salt
My first car was a 1960 MGA I bought to restore in 1973, £100, I still have it, but my first running and driving car was a 1960?? pale green, maybe two tone, Hillman minx 1500cc, bench seat, very handy at age 17, I bought it for £25.00 with a full years MOT test, and even a month’s tax, I drove it until the MGA was finished in 1975………….then sold it for £60.00…..
30-plus years ago I was selling a ‘62 sunbeam alpine project in upstate ny- the buyer showed up with what may be this exact car with a trailer attached, loaded up the alpine and spares above the roof line and off they went- I have wanted one ever since that day
Saw this little beauty at a Friday evening car cruise last weekend in Mahopac NY.. appears to be in great condition and running well.
My first car was a Husky but the model before this one (1956 I think)- had kind of a pug nose and a little flat head four with a four speed on the floor. I bought it from my uncle. For $70 about a week after I got my drivers license on my 16th birthday. The car didn’t have an exhaust system, just the header pipe that ended right under the drivers seat. My uncle had an old Jeep muffler that he had picked up somewhere, he threw it in the back and said that I should tell the cops that it just fell off if I ever got stopped. I drove that thing all over New England all through high school and my first year of college – never did put a muffler on it. I sold it to a friend for $75 dollars, he put an exhaust system on it and promptly blew the engine – couldn’t take the back pressure, I guess. A lot of fond memories attached to that car!
When I was at the 2014 British Invasion in Stowe, VT, there was Triumph TR10 station wagon. I loved that car! This Minx Wagon reminds me so much of that TR10 wagon. I would love to buy this car but I don’t have space for it.