| The Hillman Hunter that we have been building over the past couple of years is entered on this years’ Rally of the Tests starting in Bournemouth on the 3rd November. The shell has been fitted with a full roll cage designed and manufactured in-house to MSA specification as we now have pipe bending facilities. All the chassis rails have been seam welded and gussets fitted between the front bulkhead and the chassis rails. Suspension points have been reinforced and skidded. |  |
The standard fuel tank has been replaced by a centrally mounted unit in the boot. All the glass in the doors is being replaced by polycarbonate as this was one of the modifications that Rootes did to the London to Sydney Marathon cars in an effort to reduce the overall weight of the car.
Re-assembly of the car started in the Spring. The rear suspension has been uprated with stiffer leaf springs and Bilstein dampers. At the front the McPherson struts have been modified by Cornering Force, a company in Harrogate who specialise in design and building race and rally suspension. The struts have been re-tubed, Bilstein inserts installed, uprated front springs and heavy duty top mounts fitted. The front cross member has been reinforced and extra mountings fitted for the sump guard.
The engine is the 1725 cc Holbay unit from the Hunter GLS. It differs from the standard engine with revised combustion chambers, gas flowed inlet and exhaust ports and a high lift camshaft. It runs on a pair of Weber 40 DCOE carbs and has a four branch tubular exhaust manifold. The engine has been fully rebuilt by Richard Guy who built the engine for the original London to Sydney Marathon car.
Re-assembly of the car started in the Spring. The rear suspension has been uprated with stiffer leaf springs and Bilstein dampers. At the front the McPherson struts have been modified by Cornering Force, a company in Harrogate who specialise in design and building race and rally suspension. The struts have been re-tubed, Bilstein inserts installed, uprated front springs and heavy duty top mounts fitted. The front cross member has been reinforced and extra mountings fitted for the sump guard.
The engine is the 1725 cc Holbay unit from the Hunter GLS. It differs from the standard engine with revised combustion chambers, gas flowed inlet and exhaust ports and a high lift camshaft. It runs on a pair of Weber 40 DCOE carbs and has a four branch tubular exhaust manifold. The engine has been fully rebuilt by Richard Guy who built the engine for the original London to Sydney Marathon car.
 | The gearbox has been rebuilt with a closer ratio first gear and the overdrive unit removed. The clutch comes from the Hunter GLS and uses a roller thrust bearing rather than the graphite standard item. The braking system has been converted to dual circuit with the servo only working on the front discs. All brake and fuel lines are routed through the car and aircraft style brake hose pipes installed all round. The car has been built for Historic Road |
Rallying so the interior trim has to remain in the car and some ‘comfortable’ seats for driver and navigator fitted. Full harnesses seat belts and fire extinguishers have been installed along with navigational equipment which includes a Brantz Tripmeter, Brantz Clock and map light.
The car runs on 6x13 Minilite Style wheels with Vredestein Quadtrac Winter Tyres for dealing with both tarmac and loose surface tests.
Last weekend the car was entered on the Stocktonian Targa Rally at the weekend as a shakedown for the Rally of the Tests and for Simon and new navigator Nick Pullan for the Rally of the Tests. After a steady run throughout the day they finished the 16 test event without any major problems.
The car is now on it’s way down to the start on Thursday in Bournemouth, keep your eyes on our facebook page for daily reports on the 4 day event which finishes in Chester on Sunday.
The car runs on 6x13 Minilite Style wheels with Vredestein Quadtrac Winter Tyres for dealing with both tarmac and loose surface tests.
Last weekend the car was entered on the Stocktonian Targa Rally at the weekend as a shakedown for the Rally of the Tests and for Simon and new navigator Nick Pullan for the Rally of the Tests. After a steady run throughout the day they finished the 16 test event without any major problems.
The car is now on it’s way down to the start on Thursday in Bournemouth, keep your eyes on our facebook page for daily reports on the 4 day event which finishes in Chester on Sunday.
RSS Feed