bought a 1973 bitter green one in 1975, all my mates had 1600e's & capris, used to eat them & spit them out laughing, probably got more satisfaction from her than any other car ive owned, would love to know if she is still about, ome 9L. steve.
I never owned a Hillman Hunter GLS, but being a Hillman enthusiast, I understood that the basic 4 cylnder engine used in that car, had developed over a period of twenty years, from a 1390cc three bearing motor, used in previous Hillman models to a 1725cc five bearing motor in the final years of manufacture, whilst dimensionally remaining almost the same.
The last hoorah was Holbay being contracted to breath new life into an old motor for the Sunbeam H120 model, and the Hillman Hunter GLS. The latter was quicker, because it was lighter by 200 lbs.
15 years ago, as a project, I built up a 1725cc Rootes motor to Holbay specification to fit my 1956 Series 1 Hillman Minx. The wheels & suspension were upgraded to series V Minx with front disc brakes, 3.89:1 diff , and 5 1/2 J 13"" wheels. Gas shocks were fitted as another upgrade.
The motor was fitted with the all synchro gearbox, and J type overdrive from a Hillman Hunter, which gave the car six forward speeds.
The Sunbeam Rapiers of the 50s & 60s were based on the Hillman Minx body shell & mechanical components, being known as arguably one of the best balanced rally cars of the era.
To reflect on the motor performance, I can truly say that it was brilliant. The vehicle was driven daily through Melbourne commuter traffic with absolute reliability and flexibility. We went to Adelaide and back from Melbourne, ten times over the years, and the car was an absolute joy to drive on the open road. Top speed was circa 180 KPH. Viisually, nothing indlicated that the car was anything more than a standard Hillman Minx except for the tyres and wheels being nominally wider.
Over quarter of a million kilometres were covered on this engine, without failure, and the car was very quick and super responsive, yet on long runs could return 25 - 30 mpg.
It would rev freely to 6,000 rpm, if needed, and one Hunter owner I met talked in terms of red line 7,000 on his car.
Alas some hoons in Tasmania decided to trash the car, and burn it one night, but the vehicle was salvaged and is now set to rise again, as a convertible, with that wonderful 1725cc Holbay modelled engine now bored out to 1800cc fitted with racing pistons and reworked head.
These great engines are very tough and simple power plants.
Ian M
Melbourne Australia.
Very simple motor to work on. No complicated arrangements
Unless great care is taken on assembly, prone to small oil leakages
I had been looking for a GLS for over a year. I had finally found one that was a generally dirty state, I have had it for six months, and in that time I have to strip the engine and rebuild, renew all sorts of parts, completely scrape the underneath and reseal. I am at that stage where the car is running better and better, it is now becoming a great car to drive and pretty quick.
I have already contributed to this forum sometime ago, however after reading the most recent effort by Mazza the memories once again came flooding back. My inspiration for the Hunter GLS was initiated in August 1973 when my Dad (I was 18) bought a new 1725 Hunter Super. It was our first new family car and although I thought it was great, I could n't help casting my eye to the right hand column of the owners handbook where the GLS was specified! I was a student for several years in the 1970s so a car of any sort was out of the question. I did however inspire my best friend Derek in the right direction and in 1977 he bought a grasshopper green GLS. It was in reality the first GLS I had ever been even close to and it resided just up the road! In those days, talk in the pub mainly consisted of how he took on allcomers and usually beating them. In 1979 I borrowed £800 from my Dad just as I finally started work in a proper job (for Shell UK, and still there today 29 years later) and bought BEV 622L a GLS in metallic gold. In reality and on reflection the tin worm was already evident and the next seven years of ownership was one constant battle throwing money in one direction only. The mechanics were great however, and the Motor road test 0-60 of 9.7 secs was truely underated. My GLS did 20k miles per annum for the first 4 years (prior to getting married!). In total, three of friends had GLSs and apart from tweaking with the carbs now and again were relatively easy to work on and service. The girls loved the interior and the guys loved the mechanics and of course the acceleration. I did also have a near miss in 1982 on the M5 Avonmouth bridge going downhill when the accelerator jammed at full throttle. I weaved at full tilt onto the hard shoulder and switched the engine off (maintaining steering!) and took an age to stop with the servo being ineffective by then. The GLS was an excellent car all round and if I had the room at home, I would be after one. I have to make do with my 1972 signal red 150 bhp TR6 which I've had for 12 years now; another money pit; but it's great too and in good order, somethng to pass onto my son (Harry aged 8!) that's my excuse for keeping it for another 10 years or so.
I have n't seen a GLS on the road for years now, the last one rotting in a garden in Great Wakering, Essex about 8 years ago. If you know of any doing the classic car show circuit, please put it on the forum. It may be an excuse to go away for a weekend, and keept the memories alive.
All the best Trevor
Performance; induction roar; one up manship
tinworm; fuel; low gearing in non overdrive cars.
Reviewing a 1972 model.
BEV 622L non overdrive;
Owned for more than 5 years.
My dad bought a light green gls new in 1973,he actually ordered a avenger gls in purple but a strike at the factory delayed delivery so he upgraded to the hunter. I was 10 at the time but will always remember this car for giving my dad imense pleasure in outrunning escort mexicos mgbs and even much larger cars. it was always quick even the mechanic at the local dealer comented on how quick it was for a gls during a road test under warranty for a transmission noise which resulted in a gearbox rebuild! he sold the car in 79 for a cortina because tinworm was starting to show in the front wings which had been replaced when the car was in a minor accident when 2 years old. He always regretted selling it to the day he died. the car (NUJ317M) stayed local for many years and i remember finding out by accident where it lived, i deliberated as i was 24 by then in asking if it would be for sale, by the time i decided to ask they had recently sold it. i saw it only once more after that :-(. So i then decided to own one and hunted down a brown one locally which although l reg it was only registered one month before dads, It needed an engine rebuild which i did and it had overdrive which my dads did not.I had so much fun with that car, both my sons were brought home from the hospital after birth in it and my wife loved the roar of the webers and the way it took off from traffic lights! in 1992 i had a bump at some traffic lights rushing to work which ruined the front valence and one of the wings so i retired the holbay into the garage as he was looking a bit sad on the body by then even though i did my best to keep the rust at bay. he stood till august last year when i fianaly decided it was not going to get done so a friend who loves to restore cars offered to buy it off me and the panels i had collected to get holbay trobbing again. as he has been a good friend for many years and i knew he would actually restore the car properly i sold it to him for a token gesture of money (put it this way i could have got more for the engine) .but this way i get to drive the car again soon when its done and its well on the way and an old friend is going to get it too. The gls has very fond memories for me both from childhood and adulthood. if my mate ever sells i will probably buy it back of him . the gls hunter is probably the most underrated hot saloon of the 70s without doubt. I love old cars and have many favourites but the gls does it for me the engine sound alone is fantastic. As an anecdote i recently bought back my late fathers last car which is a triumph 2.5 s stilln great condition but if i had the chance to own the hillman assuming it stil exists i would not hesitate to buyit.
incredible acceleration when in tune
rust and a tendency understeer at speed
Reviewing a 1973 model.
Owned for more than 5 years.
18 years old had written of my dads nissan 120 and was fed up walking to work . Passed a second hand garage and was attracted to this dark green hunter gls . Did not know at the time exactly what it was in terms of performance , but it looked in good nick and i loved the dashboard dials etc. Done a deal at £695 , insurance was a lot but i cant remember how much . The first weekend was spent cleaning and polishing , the car had been ziebarted from new 1972 and absoloutly sparkled , it was pristine no marks anywhere inside or out . did not spend any money at all on the car other than polish , kept it for 1 year and sold it for £895 to a mate to pay for a 2 week holiday to Malta with my then girlfriend the wife . He discovered that the overdrive had been removed for some reason. Anyway he sold it after a year to another mate who wrote it off . Had 2 more GLS,S but none matched the condition of that first one, and even though i have a focus navara and brand new golf gti edition 30 i would still buy another gls if i could find 1 .
Performance comfort looks
needs overdrive
Reviewing a 1972 model.
Dark green black inside superb condition
Owned for 1 year.
Owned one light blue '72' for 2 years that gave me lots of fun and scares until it gave up the ghost, now I have three of Gls Hunters, one a 'K' reg believed to be one of the original models all intact but could do with a new shell as it would take a lot of welding and new panels to take it back to its former glory, if there is any one out there who fancies a restoration job I would be willing to part with it for the right price, the other is a '75' N reg in prestine contition that goes like a train, metalic aqua green that I bought two years ago and is the buisness, have also a 'P' reg for spares intact, best 70's car by a mile !.
I owned my Hunter GLS from 1979-83. It was fast, noisy and exhilarating. Yes it was good to leave the boy-racers behind in their Mini Coopers, Cortina 1600Es and GTs - and the Capri brigade! I actually thought the GLS was quicker than the Capri 3000E but I could be wrong. I had a few problems with carburretion - Had this nasty flat spot when starting off. I could never get it tuned out until I finally drove it to Holbay neasr Ipswich and they tried re-jetting the twin 40DCOEs. In addition, I got rid of the nasty orange plenum chamber and makeshift air filter and added chrome wire ones. Much better - and it roared even more! Rust was a problem and I exchanged it for a Dolomite Sprint in 1983.
A Q-car. No-one expected this throbbing, performing monster.
Bought a metallic blue one (wanted a metallic green, but could not wait) from new, February 1973 for less than £1300 . It was just great fun to drive - in the days when driving could still be fun! No speed cameras, empty motorways, petrol at 30p per gallon and lots of Cortina GT's and Marina TC's to piss on! Can you imagine going through central Birmingham on the M6 doing 110mph, hanging on to the wheel for dear life. I could get from Lancaster to Reading (remember no M42 or M40) in 2hours 45minutes.
Well, where do I start? I first owned a 1973 GLS in 1979. A friend of mine owned it and it was his pride and joy. For some unknown reason one day, he could not get it to start. So after a lot of persuasion, he decided that he would sell it to me for £800. This was quite expensive at the time really, especially as it may need an engine rebuild. I went to collect it with my dad and to tow it home. We signed the paperwork and attached the tow rope, I got in and thought well lets just see what happens when I turn the key. Blow me it started up! From that day and for 4 years on I drove it without it ever breaking down. It was a fantastic car, I just didn't realise completely at the time what I actually owned. I sold it at Blackheath car auction for £300 and have regretted it ever since to be honest. I have recently obtained another, but 1974 this time. It has been owned by it's previous owner from new. He drove it for only 2 years then worked abroad, came back drove it for another 2 years and then put it up on blocks in his garage in 1982. It was there until July this year when I bought it, funny enough for £800 again. Weird really. The engine is seized but I am working on it, the interior is like brand new, the body is really good and the underneath was protected so is in amazing condition. Just can't wait to hear those twin 40 Webers growl again.
Used to eat 2ltr fords BM's and cooper S,s in a straight line, classy interior and beutiful growl from these twin forty's, just bought a 72 in almost original condition looking forward to a long and interesting restoration job?.
I had a metallic gold GLS from 1979 to 1986. It was my pride and joy and no doubt spent too much money on it, notably £750 in 1981 on a brand new block and head from a Rootes dealer !! after giving the car a good thrashing on a European tour with my mates. The only Fords I could n't beat in a straight line were the 3 litre Capris. Also 3 of my friends had one. I referred to it as a 'thinking man's 1600E' - Summary a great car, much lamented my BEV 622L - where is she now !! little chance as I scapped her!!
Bought the car new in 1973 NCA126M, metallic purple, new type rostyles, O/D, Ziebart, 8 track player. Stunning car, fast but thirsty. I would like to know where it is now?
Hmm, had one of these for over three years. It was a classy car in its day - a real head turner. Removed the twin airbreather & replaced it with four gauze covers. It used to growl like a beast and move like crazy 0-22 ist gear, 55 2nd, 85 3rd. Top speed about 115. 0 to 55 in 5.7 seconds. I sold it for a BMW 2000(bad move) in 1977. I would really love to get my hands on one again.
Hmm, had one of these for over three years. It was a classy car in its day - a real head turner. Removed the twin airbreather & replaced it with four gauze covers. It used to growl like a beast and move like crazy 0-22 ist gear, 55 2nd, 85 3rd. Top speed about 115. 0 to 55 in 5.7 seconds. I sold it for a BMW 2000(bad move) in 1977. I would really love to get my hands on one again.
A nice easy car to drive with more power than you would first think
Owned for 2 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed February 2004.
Performance
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This is one extremely underrated car, they look superb, nicely trimmed inside and of course that great engine. So much more civilised than a RS Escort, a real sheeps in wolfs clothing.
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed May 2003.
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Classy car with performance to match, in its day would eat 2 litre Cortina's,(and RS's on a straight line) liked to drink the juice, thirsty motor with a distinctive growl when excerted. lovely interior finish (typical seventy's.
Owned for 3 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed March 2003.
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yo ma poppa had one manim gona do this decated to him drop a 12a bridge in it wif a series one rx7 5 speed gear box lock diff cammo paint job despringed seats bolted to the floor 14 inch modgies the list goes on poppa itll be for u
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