﹒1494cc Engine

﹒Matching numbers  

﹒Original interior

﹒Original handbook

The Hillman Minx dates back to 1931 where it was first revealed to the public on 1st October. Sold as a mid-sized family car which was a simple conventional design, it had a pressed steel body on a separate chassis with an 1185cc engine that produced 30bhp. Proving popular, the Minx got a revamp in 1934 and was given a new front grille that was V shaped and a four-speed gearbox. 1935 saw the car gain synchromesh to all four gears and it became the first mass produced car with synchromesh. 

1945 saw the arrival of the Minx Mark 1 with a much more modern looking body that had a protruding boot and virtually the same wheelbase as the pre-war Minx. Two years later the Mark II was available, which was soon replaced with the Mark III in 1948. The Mark III was offered in three body styles, the saloon, an estate and a drophead Coupe. Under the body, apart from an upgrade to the front suspension, the car remained the same, with the 1185cc engine. Throughout the early 1950’s the Minx went through a few more changes and models, going from the Mark V, Mark VI, Mark VII and in 1954 the Mark VIII, where a new ohv 1390cc engine was installed. 

It was in 1956 that the Minx got another major overhaul with a fresh new design by the Rootes Group, along with the help of the Raymond Loewy Design Organisation, who were involved in the design of the Studebaker Coupes. The new body design for the Minx was known as the Audax design Hillman Minx starting with the Series I. The Minx went through a succession of annual facelifts, starting with the Series II in 1957 and the Series III in 1958. This was fitted with a more powerful 1494cc just like the one we have on offer here. In 1959 the Series IIIA, 1960 Series IIIB followed by the Series IIIC in 1961, carrying on until 1965 with the Series VI. The Series VI received another engine size increase to 1725cc, with a variety of manual transmissions on offer, and with a choice of floor or column change, or you could go with the Borg Warner automatic. The Rootes Group also used different names for the cars depending on the market. The Minx was also known as the Sunbeam, Humber and Singer.

This 1958 Hillman Minx was purchased by the seller on 13th July 2020. Many of us have a type of car or an era which we love.  The seller is just like that, he has a passion for cars from this era and is constantly on the hunt for something to add to his collection to either drive and enjoy or work on. 

The Minx was spotted for sale and subsequently bought. The seller enjoys to fettle with his cars and so first things first, the car was given a once over with the engine, brakes etc before he could start to drive and enjoy the car on a regular basis. 

Some stay and some go and unfortunately this Series III Minx has to go. The seller has enjoyed his time with the Minx, but space and an eye on another classic has spurred on the decision to sell.

The V5 is present and shows the Hillman Minx Series III has had 5 previous keepers. The car comes with two sets of keys. The Minx is MOT exempt and the last certificate expired on 17th April 2012. 

There are some old MOT certificates along with some paperwork for the car, one of which is the original handbook which is in excellent condition.  It even has still attached to it the large unfolding diagram explaining where everything is and when to service. With the handbook is the original service book, although unfortunately, it has not been stamped. Just in case of a breakdown there are some RAC recovery vouchers although they might be a touch out of date. 

Looking at the paperwork, mileage and the MOT history, it would seem that the car has been in storage for a number of years. Showing just 36,918 miles, it would indicate towards the mileage being genuine but obviously would be difficult to prove.   

Inside the Minx the interior is all the original with red vinyl covered seats and door cards. Sitting in the front, the bench seat is in a nice original condition. The vinyl is a little creased as you would expect for the original. The door cards are in matching red with a gold piping inlay and are free from any noticeable damage. The windows go up and down as they should. A couple of them are slightly stiff but some lubrication would more than likely solve this. 

The steering wheel does show signs of some nice patina along with the dash which is in grey (a colour used to brighten up the interior). The instruments are in excellent condition, with a reading of 36,918 on the odometer. There is some patina around the instruments that could be addressed but to be honest it adds a little character to the Minx. The switches for the wipers, lights and ventilation work as they should. The car has also been fitted with a Smith's fresh air heating unit, which is working correctly.

The rear seat has unfortunately come unstitched and there are a couple of splits in the vinyl. Above the rear seat is a parcel shelf that has been replaced at some point and fitted with two speakers, although there is no sign of any radio being fitted. The vinyl around the edges of the floor is slightly creased, possibly where it has shrunk over the years. The carpets again are all original and do have some slight wear to them. Up above, the headlining is in brilliant condition with no signs of sagging. 

In the boot of the Minx the car retains the original boot mat, which does have a little wear to it. The spare wheel, jack, wheel brace and starting handle are also present.

The Minx has been resprayed at some point in its life, this looks like it was many years ago. Starting at the front, the headlights are in good condition with no signs of any cracks. The chrome bumper and grille do have some corrosion under the chrome, but they dont look rotten and could probably get away with a re-chrome. The bonnet aligns with the slam panel and wings well. The number plate looks like it's the original one that came on the car. The rubber around the windscreen does have some very slight perishing as you would expect. 

Around to the sides of the Minx, and the doors align well. The nearside front door does stick out slightly along the bottom edge and there are also some areas of the paint blistering along the bottom of the doors. The car has had new outer sills fitted at some point and painted black to match the car. Around the car there is some blistering that looks like the paint has slightly reacted with what was underneath or what it was prepped with at the time of paint, particularly on the tops of the rear quarters. It would need investigating but feeling the underside of the quarter there is no suggestion it is rust from the inside as it's nice and clean. The doors open and close lovely, so easily in fact, you can close it by pushing it with one finger. The door handles, like the bumpers, could be re-chromed if desired. 

Onto the rear, and the boot lid on the Minx aligns nice and straight, and the car retains the original number plate. The light clusters are free from any cracks and the bumper is consistent with the front and is free from any dents. The rear window rubber is perishing slightly more than the front rubber. The wheels on the Minx have been painted cream with four matching hubcaps, and the tyres have good tread and are approximately 10-12 years old.

This 1958 Hillman Minx Series III is fitted with the updated 1494cc engine over the previous 1390cc, and mated to a four-speed manual gearbox. This engine produced a 0-60 mph in 25.4 seconds and with a top speed of 76.9 mph, so no slouch for a mid-sized car of the day. 

The Hillman starts up straight away with no issue and ticks over with no signs of any noises that shouldn't be there, and importantly no smoke. There is a slight oil leak around the rocker cover, but this is only slight and wouldn’t take much to repair. 

The seller reports the car drives wonderfully, with the gear change just as it should be. The Minx doesn't suffer from any jumping out of gears which is quite a common fault on older cars. One thing to mention is there is a noise coming from the differential that would need to be investigated. That said, the seller does say that the car drives as it should, the diff is just a touch on the noisy side. 

As previously mentioned the seller does like to maintain his classics and so six weeks ago the car has had fresh oil and all the grease nipples/points around the car have been greased to keep the relevant parts in good order. Another point to mention is the car has also been converted to negative earth.   

If you like your British classics with enough room in them to take the family out and still capable of achieving the national speed limit, then this is for you. The cars are relatively easy to work on and with parts readily available, this could be the perfect car to step into classic British motoring with. 

This Minx has been repainted many moons ago and looking at the paperwork it was stored away for years. Still retaining many original features and parts, this could either be given a light restoration to address a couple of areas or just enjoy the little Minx as a British classic with some character. 

Notice to bidders