Hillman Hunter GLS Goes for a Drive
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
- The Hillman Hunter GLS was the hottest car in the Rootes Arrow range of Cortina rivalling family saloons, which ran from 1966 to 1979, the Holbay tuned GLS arriving in 1973
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We called these Paykan Javanan here in Iran, which is literally meaning for the young. If regular hunters were family cars that everyone had or the first car of every family, these ones were for the pure car guys. The ones who wanted to modify it, have fun , put crazy car horns on it, etc.
This was a very pleasant trip down memory lane for me as I worked in the drawing office at Rootes when this was being designed & I have seen quite a few pieces of my own work on that car! Thanks for that.! I also worked on the H120 Sunbeam Rapier fastback & the Imps.
One of my primary school teachers had one of these but in metallic blue.
Care to share which parts were done by you? :)
All nice cars!
Sir,you're a star, loved all three of these models.
I admired your work and those of your colleagues as a small child
Back in the eighties when we were buying cheap old cars, Cortina's, Escorts, old Vauxhall's, you get the picture, I got hold of a Hunter, none of the local lads had driven a Hunter. I guess they weren't a cool car for young men.
I will never forget my first drive, it was the best car I had driven at that point. So much better than the Fords and Vauxhall's. (I didn't mention the Marina on purpose.)
Such a shame this car never got the recognition it deserved, it was far superior to the competition of the day.
The Glasgow distributor - at one time you had dealers and higher up the food chain distributors - Melvin Motors
had their garage opposite our school. Heaven!! The Rootes cars were way under-rated, frankly I much preferred the Imp and variants to the Mini, while the late Avenger was a lovely handling saloon and ( even better ) estate
with a really nice springy positive gearbox. It rusted in the wings and C pillar but felt so much more together than the Marina or the Vauxhall variants . Only some Avenger Tigers exist now I believe and the Sunbeam Lotus
but they would be worth checking out. Or a Holiday - tuned Rapier 120. Thanks Matt
@@iainbradley2847 I learnt to drive, and passed my test in a K reg Avenger estate. Good in its day.
@@iainbradley2847 the sunbeam rapier was a nice car
A friend had a Marina 1.8 TC Coupe and it wasn't a bad car at all. Certainly held its own against my mk1 Mexico.
Funny though a lot of cars do not get the reputation they deserve ,being superior to the competition . Reputation has a lot to answer for.Lots of the Italian stuff of the sixties seventies and 80s was far superior to what Ford Bl and vauxhall were doing at the time,you would not mind Italian cars were no worse rust wise
It’s really hard to think that these cars are rare on the road now they were everywhere, and of course the hunter won the London to Sydney rally in 1968
My dad bought a brand new Hunter in 1973. By 1979, it had rusted so badly that it had to be scrapped, so it's not hard to understand why there are so few left today.
With those wheels and cut off grill you've got a 1600E
Not really. The typical lifespan of a car is 15-20 years & the Hunter has been out of production for 42 years.
Yup, I remember the day when they set off from Crystal palace, for a 10,000mile London to Sydney, Marathon, I was that time living in Kenya and we owned a Hillman Hunter Estate, I particular was very proud of it as it was the under dog car in Kenya as most popular cars in Kenya were dominated by Peugeot , I even remember the drivers names, they were Andrew Cowan, Colin Malkin, Brian Coyle. They were my heroes.
I love Hillman Hunters best handling easiest to work on cheap to run comfortable What a wonderfully balanced car.
Rostyle wheels made every car look cool in the 70s, love em.
They sure did!!!!
Those are Dunstyles
My father's first car was a Hubter DL 1500. It was very noisy too and definitely needed another gear. My sister and myself had great fun annoying each other by sliding along the shiny, vinyl rear bench seat. It was a competition to see who could slam into the other whilst convincing our parents that it was the vast cornering g forces that made us do it. This developed into a game to see how many times we could get our mum to tell dad to slow down so as to not hurt her children. Oh, memories!
haha, my brother and me did the same thing on the vinyl seats in our family Escort!
Back in the early 80s I owned an extremely rare GLS here in New Zealand. It was purple with a beige vynal roof. At the time my sister had a a blue 1969 Hunter and my brother had a blue 1974 GL auto. Funnily enough, they all got stolen in the same week. The thieves could not get my brothers auto started. My sisters manual ran out of petrol at the end of the street and my GLS was never seen again. I had owned it for 13 days
My dad had a 1974 hillman hunter DL plastic or vinyl seats that burnt the skin off you in the summer. But the car does bring back distant memories 👍👍
I had the exact same year and model with the 1500 iron head engine - base spec, slow and frankly totally worn out by the late 90s and 110,000 miles later. But it was reliable and very comfortable to drive.
My dad did too. Exactly as you describe :)
My dad bought a left hand drive Ford Taunus back in the 70s that would also do that. You soon learned how to sit in the back wearing shorts without melting your legs to the seats!
You put fashionable sheepskin covers on the seats :) Very cosy!
Underrated car back in the 70S. Boy racers wanted the 1600e back then. My Avenger 1500 GLS was nippy and good value for money back in the day
My dear departed Dad loved Hillman's back in the early 70's. He owned 4 of them at one point or another ( 2 x Hunters & 2 x Minx's) so this brings back some great memories.
Grew up in Iran so this brings back a lot of memories. I learned driving by stealing my brother's GLS at 12...lol I love to have one of these but it's impossible to find one in North America. For now I just keep a picture on the back of my phone case😅
Chrome, black vinyl and wood finished off with lime green. Only in the 70s 🤩
The Hillman Hunter was such a common car in the 1970s, and even into the 1980s. It's remarkable just how rare they are now, and are rarely even seen at classic car shows. They suffered the fate of having been so common in their day that few people ever thought of preserving them, much like the Montego and Sierra in the following decades.
Awesome. My Dad's Mate had 2 GLSs in 1973 I think. A gold one and then a brown on with a brown vinyl roof. They could hit 100 mph inside a mile and the sound with the Webers was like a Lotus. I think that one had overdrive on a stalk.
Now I am going to savour this with my breakfast.
Lucky man, your Dad acquired it at the right time, I can't get one if I want one now.
@حمید رضا HOLBAY HAD TWIN WEBBERS STANDARD 1725 HAD THE OTHER TWIN ZENITHS CARBS SO DID SCEPTRE 1725
Blimey that brings back memories back to the 80s working on a white Hillman Hunter for a friend
Thankyou. This brings back memories. My dad was a foreman and service manager of a large Rootes and later Chrysler dealership. I remember these Hunter GLS models and they were certainly rapid in the day. Fairly light weight, with a lot of modifications including the twin 40 webbers, high lift cam, flat top pistons, bespoke manifolding, revised gear ratios and even a special exhaust system. The suspension was firmer too and the wheels were wider than standard Hunters. With overdrive they were refined and a good cruiser. My dad tells a story of an old gent who ordered one of these in 1973 finished in metallic brown with a tan vinyl roof but the car terrified him when it began to "growl". He would book an appointment for a tune up and to accompany my dad on a fast cross country blast "to clear it out". Good old days.
Such a lovely, classy, beautifully-engineered car! Those crisp, elegant lines...ahhh, how nice!
I started work aged 16 in a small (around 15 employees) engineering firm. One of our jobs was machining pulley bosses for the Hunter which was being built in Iran at the time!
1974 my dad had 1725 twin carb hunter I loved it was gold colour I was 18 at the time and I used to borrow it I loved the car this was such a pleasure to see this brought back so many happy memories dad bought this car in Arbroath
Kermit’s been on the phone. He wants his car back.
😂😂
And Robin in green with envy....
I remember seing a very looking Minx being scrapped in the mid 80's in Norway, the owner said he tried to sell it but no one was interested so he just scrapped it. I remmeber at that time I thought it was a shame as the car looked mint, now thinking back it's even sadder...
As a lad I would sometimes walk from school to my Dad's office in town, and cadge a lift home with him. One of his colleagues had a brand new red Hunter GT with Rostyles and chrome racing wing mirrors. To this day I will never forget the memory of that bright shiney new Hunter. I was gob smacked. Went home in my Dad's ancient 1200 Beetle. The shame................:-(
Rootes Group cars were the most under appreciated in Britain at the time.
What a lovely trip down memory lane . I had one of these in 1976 , the colour was called bitter green . It was was very fast and also practical . Try finding one today! Many thanks
i drived about 20 years with this car . we call them peykan in Iran. we loved them and they are lovely.❤🚗❤
Many years ago, my dad acquired a Hunter, with a blown engine - possibly from my cousin (Hi, Mike!). Dad, and his friend George put a different engine in. I can just about fit new wiper blades, but Dad and George's wizardry still amazes me today.
A very pleasant surprise seeing this Holbay GLS, brings back memories, that fantastic induction roar from the twin webbers is synonymous with this model and the Rapier H120.
Happy times great cars..
Thanks!
As an apprentice motor mechanic back in the 70s I cut my teeth on the Hunter range along with the rest of the Chrysler products. The arrow range of cars were far better than the French imports of Chrysler such as the Simcas, Chrysler 180s and Alpines - proper cars!🙂👍
The French Chryslers ruined Rootes legacy. The 180 was to be a Humber with the option of a v6 and upmarket trim but the parent company took the wrong choice with dire results. The nice looking but clattering tappet Alpine was another bad move.
@@jackiron4785 A tad unfair to the Alpine which was superior in every respect! Heaps of genuine 100mph performance , good grip and spectacular interior / luggage space !
When the Alpine was launched it was better than the Ford Cortina in every respect ! (Maybe not reliability 😂)
Just seen you on itv London one o’clock news mate great advert for your channel
That engine noise brings back memories for me. When I was very very young, my grandfather had a 1976 Sunbeam Rapier H120.
I had the same in red
I remember sitting in the drivers seat of a neighbour’s new GLS as a kid, and being fascinated by the sporty drilled spoke steering wheel….So of course I tried the fit of my fingers in the holes and one of them got stuck fast 🙄. Took the neighbour ages to slime up his polished alloy spokes and extract me!
I had a 1970 Firebrand Red 1725 Hunter GL. Loved that car, I went to bed one night and it had rotted completely away by the morning.
My dad had a Hunter 1700 GT, which had been upgraded. It had a Holbay head and twin stromburgs, with overdrive on 3&4, it was good to drive. I had a mkii Cortina at the time and it blew that away.
Brings back memories of my Dads Hunter. Mainly getting my feet wet when driving in the rain!
I love watching these. In the USA, we were rocking cars as much as 4.5 - 5.5 meters long with engines 5 - 7 liters not uncommon. Of course they guzzled fuel like it was water. But it's fun to see what the UK was doing with limited resources post-war that fit the roads and people's budgets.
Great car. I had the Hunter GT with a Holbay engine fitted. Best car I've owned. I loved it. Only problem with the handbrake was when the cable stretched, and the seat sagged, you had to be very careful getting in and out otherwise you'd do yourself a nasty injury
I grew up in a small village in Suffolk called Hollesley Bay, in the village garage John Read started Holbay, he had to move to Martlesham near Ipswich as he made too much noise in the engine testing bay and the locals complained. The main engineer called Bob once told me that Rootes never returned one of their engines faulty, a real testament to the engineering skills at Holbay.
Unbelievable colour, I cannot believe that is factory, wow!!
I had a hunter GT which was a very fast car for it's day and I also used to drive a whole load of Hunters when I did taxi work in Ashford Kent in the late 70's early 80's. Loved them as a car. Never broke down but not as glamourous as the Fords, which all my friends drove and seem to have an old man's tag. Their loss and my gain.
Oh my God! Love it!!! We never received these stateside, and but I have always loved the sensibly-sized cars from the UK and Europe of that time. And the color as well! A nice contrast and show of individualism in a sea of gray, beige, black, white modern SUVs with interchangeable design. Oh, and you can actually DRIVE it rather than spending your time fiddling with the infotainment.
I really like the clean design of the center console. The wood is light colored, with a subdued grain, and looks like quality material. Yes, the cigar ash tray makes a great coin holder (or for sweets as you prefer), and the position of the lighter is a perfect location for plugging in any devices for charging. The cars I have been driving have had the lighter at the bottom of the "center stack", and not within cobvenient arm's reach as here.
Fantastic stuff as always!!!
Actually, in 69/70 the Sunbeam Arrow was available stateside but they sold poorly and pretty much unknown now. But I've got my eyes peeled!
Great review of a lovely car.
Dad had a Hillman Minx (G reg) and a Hillman Hunter (N reg) n the same shape.
Both cars took us on many holidays to Wales and I learned to drive in the Hunter.
It was rather cool driving around in a car with the family name on the boot lid!
Happy memories and great to see one that is clearly cherished by its owner.
I used to own a red GLS with a black vinyl roof and full Webasto sunroof - in its day it was a quick (ish) car and it drove really well. The Holbay engine always sounded very 'metallic' but boy did it sound right under acceleration with those Webbers... good to see one still on the road.
A neighbour gave me a lift to school in one of these as a kid..same colour too...fastest trip I ever had to school. My parents had a Sceptre...as you say..basically the same car with a more luxurious trim. The Sceptre had overdrive as a column stalk lhs...ends of the wings would rot out quickly on them....thanks for putting this one on...brings back memories.🥂🙄
My Dad had a 1972 Sceptre in dark Blue
When I was a kid my dad had the Singer Gazelle version of this car. I spent my journeys sliding across the rear vinyl bench as it went round corners like a hippo on a ice rink.
Ahh the memories, I had the GL, 1725 cc , alloy head and overdrive. Wish I still had it ! 🙂
That engine sounds really good too. All that power and room for the family too!
Always loved these and back in the day when someone opted for one of these instead of the ford/Vauxhall offerings, I was always a bit envious.
My old man had one of these in red!! I drove it a few times and it was woeful,handled terribly and had no poke compared to the late eighties cars I was driving in….I loved the styling and Steering wheel but that was where the good stuff ended lol. Spun at a roundabout lol which was fun as a teenager lol. 😆
My grandad had a white estate blimey it could move ,love the green looks superb
Old is definitely gold. and I love that steering wheel.
Beautiful car loved the Hillmans…my dad had 2 avengers, that hunter looked a lot of fun.
Had a hunter gls back in the very early eighties, the holbay engine model. I remember it was the car I had when the compulsory wearing of seatbelt law came in. It was quick, would do the ‘ ton ‘ with ease, and still think it was one of the best looking cars I owned. Was very comfortable too, enjoyed this drive out, many thanks, brought back good memories!
When I was an apprentice, my boss had a lesser version of this in a metallic green. He towed a caravan all over Europe. Lovely car, thanks for the vid.
This car is on my list of those I looked at and wish I'd put in the garage years ago.
I had a Sunbeam H120 back in the eighties (same Engine)... loved the car. Mine was in Wardance Orange and I think the GLS came in that colour too.
My dad had an orange gt...wardance orange... I never knew that's what it was called!!
very hard to find now
My father in law owned a garage and taught me to drive, I drove whatever had tax and mot in many different cars and Van's. He loaned me a hunter for my driving test having never driven one, the handbrake done me every time in the test, surprisingly I passed first time in it!!
Hi i had the Hillman Minx before it was called the Hunter it had the same body shape (J reg), it had single round lights at the front, i had a 1725 engine and i went everywhere in it and it had a top speed of over 100mph. I loved this car the only problem on these cars was rust. I wanted the GLS but the insurance for me was high otherwise i would of had one of them, nice to see one on the road. Thanks Paul. I also want to say i had a Hilman Avenger GLS which i also loved and a Hilman Minx series 6 was my first car which was called the Noddy Car.
Amazing colour, and dashboard, compared to my 1971 Hillman Hunter, bought for $200 (with new radials) in Australia in 1984. Still, a wonderful car. Body shape stayed modern for many years. Thank you for comprehensive review.
If ever there was an under appreciated and underrated British car of the 70s, this is it. They were everywhere back in the day apparently, however by the time I bought mine in 1998 they were almost non-existent even then!
Even my worn out base spec 1500 was a lovely car to drive, I liked it a lot and even bought myself a sceptre estate which interestingly, although far flusher and in better condition I never gelled with. Nowadays they’re very different and a nice classic that’s good value.
Front discs on my 1973 GLS, drum rear, what a great car they were.
This is the car that my dad had in Iran when I was a kid. A Peykan. Our wasn't a GLS. I think you call it GL in the UK. One carburetor with rectangular headlights. But everything else was exactly as I remember. Our definitely didn't have anything close to 100hp. It was a slow car but very fun to drive. Very unsafe too, which makes it even more fun to drive.
Thanks for the video. Such a nostalgic trip
My late mum's two brothers ( my uncles) in Wales had a bronze colour 1973 Hillman Hunter GLS, the reg was JDE 71L.
My first car was an Arrow minx (beige) bought from my dad after he had a second hand hunter engine fitted when the old 1400 engine died. If I remember right the hunter 1725 engine had twin strombergs on it. I miss that car to this day, loved it
Nice review. In 1980/82 I owned a white 1968 Hunter 1725 DL then a bronze 1973 Hunter 1725 Super - loved 'em both!
Yeah, I had the GL with overdrive. The switch was a second stalk on the left hand side of the steering column. Happy memories. 😎
My second car in 1975 was a 1971 "Arrow" Hillman Minx 1500.
Bog standard, rubber flooring and not much else.
No head turner but when I added a Lotus steering wheel and gearknob along with two spotlights, she could really shift! 😂
At the time my work boss brought in a new Hunter 1725 and an Avenger everyone hated them, preferring the older Cortinas.
👍 I'd echo your own sentiment, more Rootes Group cars - yes please! 👍👍
These were assembled in Australia. We had the Hillman Hunter, Sporty Hustler, the Royal and the top of the range was the Royal 660. No idea what the 660 signified. It had metallic paint, vinyl roof and wood grain dash. They were fairly common in the day but I cannot remember when I last saw one.
As a fellow Aussie, I think the Royal 660 was to add the family of Valiant, in the Valiant Regal 770's of the time which had a tacho, vinyl roof, metallic paint, but no wood veneer dash and were the sporty full sized luxury sedan of the Chrysler Australia range.
The Hillman Hustler was designed as a small version of the sporty Valiant Pacer sedan. The earlier Hunter GT's and the later on the 660's had the best looking, veneer wood dash for an Aussie car I'd ever seen till 1970.
The sporty one was the GT, timber dash and twin carbs.
@@mikevale3620 I reckon you are spot on Mike. That seems logical now you mention it.
@@petersargeant1555 The GT was discontinued earlier. The Royal 660 HE series was the sporty one at the end of Australian production with wood grain dash, full instrumentation, high back bucket seats, and the same material used for trimming as the Valiant 770. The Holbay engine with twin carbs was fitted to them along with Rostyle wheels. They sounded so sweet in full song. I was a 15 year old in 1975 growing up in country Victoria and my sisters husband (who would be termed a hoon today) had one of them. They were particularly fun to play with on gravel roads. The GLS of this video seems so plain in comparison.
That's awesome Matt. Didn't know any of those existed. I wish dad would have got one of these, but he was into British Leyland more really. Well he had a triumph dolomite 1850... not a bad car. Great stuff, what colour too..
Used to have a ‘69 square-headlight Hunter. 1725 Rootes and 4 spd. Drove it lots of miles. Did you know the clutch throwout bearing was a solid carbon puck instead of a roller bearing? One day leaving a parking lot, I stepped on the clutch pedal and the slave cylinder piston came out of its bore and fell down on the road! Apparently the carbon puck had worn so thin. Very underrated car in its time. Had it for 22 yrs. Great Lockheed brakes.
What a great looking car and what a cracking colour as well. Great review as always
I've had a Hunter GT complete cylinder head buried in my garage for decades. Just jogged my memory that I've got it! Its got the manifolds, twin carbs, etc - just needs a rocker cover.
I had a Hunter GLs it was the facelift model GVC159N i loved it, my pals and I drove to the Oktoberfest in 1981in it🙂
I was, lumbered with three in a row of Hunters as my company car!
Finally got a Triumph Dolomite 1850hl phew what a relief .
What a nice car, has a huge Italian vibe about it. Especially the interior. Love the colour, doesn't get more 70s. Great review Matt, thanks really enjoyed it!
I drove a Hunter way back in the early ‘80s…I was expecting it to be rubbish…was shocked how good it was👍
What a fantastic trip down memory lane, there were a few of these in the family back in the 70s and early 80s they were very good cars. Thanks very much indeed for taking us for a drive in one, it's a real eye opener that they weighed so little. A family car coming on at a similar weight to an MR2 from the 90s, it's incredible 👍👍
Dash board changed when the Minx disappeared and they all became Hunters, mid 1972 from memory. My father had a 68 Hunter with two round 7 inch lamps like a Minx, then a 70 car with big square lamps, same as the posher escorts and HB Vivas, then he had a 73 with the smaller square lamps. Before he bought that he drove a GLS, but didn't buy it because it was bright red!!
I grew up on the back seat of a Hilman Hunter in the 80s, like many other Iranians...literally every corner of this car brings back tons of memories...
My Dad bought his first new car in 1973 it was a Hunter GL in red, I can still remember the reg number OMK 365L, can’t remember what I did last week though. The original steering wheel had a bulbous middle to it and my Dad would use it to steer, until one day when it came off in his hand halfway around a bend.
Me and my dad had hunters possibly 6 or 7 over the years we were both travelling sales men,allways bought secondhand.They we’re very strong motors only had 1 that had engine problem,big end started to rattle,I changed the big end shells in front garden while engine still in car.only selling them when they got to 150,000 miles.Then we moved on to Triumph 2000 and I had 2.500 pi.wow what a car that was.I must have mad in my day 120 mph regularly down M1.
My first car very good motor vehicle had a lot of memories in the vehicle ,nice to see one still on the road
From that angle ,by the tunnel, it looks so much like a Cortina MK2
The Hunter was launched slightly ahead of the Mk2 Cortina, same year though. 1966.
I was the 3rd owner of a 1967 mk1 Storm Grey Hillman Hunter alloy 'head 1725 with a tomato red interior. I bought it in 1999. It was registered in Banff, Scotland & the first owner kept it until 1998... fully serviced at the dealership it was bought from (now a Peugeot dealer) every year! It still exists & is undergoing a full restoration with all genuine Rootes NOS panels... front wings, rear quarters, sills, front & rear panels, etc. It's the oldest surviving Hunter in existence!! ESE 655E. Cheers. Leigh.
Thanks for bringing one of these to the channel Matt, bit like you I've always had a soft spot for Roots cars but never owned one
Always had a soft spot for Rootes cars. Our local Rootes dealer from the early 1970s took great car of my Father. They went from Hillman Humber to Chrysler Talbot to Peugeot to Ford And Mazda to Fiat Alfa Romeo to Kia and Vauxhall.
My Wife bought 2 Kias from them in 2009 and 2011 and my daughter bought a 2019 Fiat 500S from them last year.
Great cars, my dad had a Minx back in the late 70's and I had the Sunbeam Rapier version a few years ago.
First car i took my wife to be out in, around 1974/75. 👍 must have made a good impression as its our ruby anniversary in a couple of weeks 😉 i was 15 at the time and err had borrowed it shall i say, but i parked it back where it originally started later in the evening.
Loved the way you went for fifth gear a couple of times (and don't try and deny it)! I had a Mk1 Cortina with a similar long throw gear change, but a previous owner had fitted a "remote change" to it. It connected from the top of the gearbox on the tunnel by covered rods to a box, about 18 inches further back, where a short gear lever came out of. This cut down the movement between gears on the Hill pattern to 3 inches up and down, and about 3/4 of an inch side to side. Anyone remember those lovely things?
Ashamed to admit I put mine on the road as a taxi. A very fast, efficient reliable taxi it was too! The local Alfa dealer loved the car and tuned those lovely Webers every couple of weeks. Generally got about 25mpg overall. After nearly 182k miles it was retired, re-engined and sold on. Lovely car, quiet comfortable and sadly missed. Yes, I removed that lethal centre rib-cruncher from the steering wheel!
What a cool car! I don't remember them from my childhood.
That engine looks fantastic!
My dad bought severaln Hillman cars. Minx, Avenger and two Hunters both the GL models. I learned to drive in the second one in a 70's metallic brown. My first car was a rotbox Avenger followed by a hunter from the era before the one on screen. This has brought back many memories, thank you.
My Dad, had a GLS In orange. I drove it once. Great car to have.
The Sceptre was a Humber. My dad had two. With overdrive on 3rd and 4th.
My first car was a Humber Sceptre, I was thinking about it and the overdrive only today. You’d cruise at 50mph with the engine barely above idle.
Hi. Well this brought back some memories ! I had a L reg Grasshopper green Hunter GLS as my first car. it had the overdrive which worked on third and forth gear. In order to overtake I used to follow in third-overdrive, a flick of the ( left hand column ) stalk and whoosh past another surprised capri !
The door caps were wooden. it's sad demise was a RHS crash by a one-eyed transit driver, who split the wood capping into a spear. I survived, the car did not. One less GLS. BUt oh that Holbay sound track ! Cheers
Up until 10 years ago they were still relatively common in Iran. In the 70’s they were everywhere in Tehran. They were badged as Paykan, many were used as Taxis.
As a teenager I hitched through Iran in 1978 and the Paykan was everywhere, the people’s car. Tough, simple to fix and relatively large, it didn’t matter that they were thirsty as petrol was so cheap, as Iran was an oil producer.
Paykan is Farsi for Arrow.
In the early 1980s I saw a Hillman Hunter make mincemeat of a GT Cortina at some traffic lights. I was very surprised, & when I met up with some guys from the local car club I mentioned it to them. As one man they all shouted "G-L-S"! I'd never heard of the model before & I think that was the only one I ever saw.
My dad bought a new GLS in 1974 RBO 360M in bronze, the seat belts were inertia reel so I’m not sure if he specified this? He loved racing other cars on the motorway when it was just me and him “they think this is just an ordinary Hunter but it’s not, it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing” as he demolished the competition 🤣. The thing would roar, we both loved it and by the time I was old enough to drive (1978) he gave it to me in an attempt to stop me buying a motorbikes (didn’t work), great car to drive I loved it.
Thanks for uploading
I chuckle at the pushrod versus overhead camshaft performance output argument carried on from the days of Talbot Swiss engineer Georges Roech, with the former engine configurations mainly being adopted by the Rootes Group. Ford came up with the crossflow kent engine, and contracted Colin Chapman to render a twin cam version for the Lotus Cortina. When compared there was not much between the Holbay prepared Hillman Hunter GLS with it's push rod engine and the Lotus Cortina with it's crossflow twin overhead motor. The output and top speed is almost identical. The main advantage that the Ford Cortina had was light weight. Bernard Unett demonstrated the brilliant performance of the Hunter GLS on UK race tracks many times.
Love the rorty engine note and the styling - inside and out