Starter classic: Hillman Hunter/arrow/vogue (1967-’77)
Three in one, tons of fun
Model: Hillman Arrow 1,6 0 to 100 km/h: 14,90 seconds Top speed: 144 km/h Fuel index: 9,35 L/100 km (at 100 km/h) Price: R1 945 CAR test: September 1968 (plus four others)
From the Triumph featured last month, we move to another long-gone name: Hillman. The trio of similar models replaced the Minx and had a long model lifespan of 10 years. The parent company was the Rootes Group but owing to financial problems from the ambitious production of the Imp (see September 2020 issue), the Chrysler Corporation took over after the start of production.
PACKAGING
The shape was straightforward with a three-box sedan body‐ shell. Styling, was conventional, meaning neat and tidy with slightly rounded edges. As we have seen from the 1960s, there was confusion as to whether to stay with round headlamps or switch to the short-lived trend of rectangular items. In Hill‐ man’s case, it had no such prob‐ lem with three similar models; the Hunter started life with round, the Arrow and Vogue had rectangular. Job done. Later in the lifecycle, they all went for the squared-off look.
The boot capacity of 500 litres was large but the spare wheel had to be raised almost upright and was set deep into the boot which took effort to access. As with many cars of the day, a station wagon version was included later using the name of Hunter Safari. This had a full 1 750 litres of utility space with the rear seat folded flat.
Apart from the headlamp shapes, another trend in the early 1960s was rectangular instrumentation binnacles, sometimes with ribbon speedometers. These were soon phased out in favour of neater circular items. This was done with this trio.
POWERTRAIN
A big selling point of these Hillmans was the use of engines from the Peugeot 404. These were made locally at the Stanley Motors Peugeot plant in Alberton. These engines had a great reputation for robustness. The rear diff was said to be sourced from the Valiant so the overall quality appeal helped boost sales. The engine code was XC-6 until 1973 when the XC-7 was introduced. This had the same output of 60 kw but with different cylinder liners and improved carburetion from the Solex 34. The compression ratio was modest at 8,3 to 1. The gearbox was a conventional four-speed with floor shift and rear-wheel drive. The last models released in 1975 were the Vogue GL and GLS that used a 2,0-litre engine.
SUSPENSION AND STEERING
Coil springs in front with leaf springs and a solid axle at the rear were retained. Brakes were a disc/drum setup without boosting although road testers of the time reported that the pedal felt strong underfoot. Recirculating ball steering was used that was not as accurate as rack and pinion.
WHICH ONE TO GET
The Vogue will be the best for looks plus some extra features such as a wood veneer facia and bumper overriders. Station wagons are nearly as useful as bakkies are these days and, as always, your choice all depends on the condition, rust and missing trim.
AVAILABILITY AND PRICES
The more luxurious Vogue version was the biggest seller by far, with sales of around 3 000 per annum while the others added about 2 000 per year combined. You would therefore be more likely to find a Vogue model in the classifieds. Station wagons are rare but wonderfully spacious and prices follow the usual trend from R10 000 to about R50 000.