One of the things that I love to see is a nice happy story about cars in the papers. Too often you get some sulky journalist whinging about how vehicles are killing they environment, killing children or just generally being the scourge of the Earth. However, these same people probably climb into their 20MPG Aston Martin at the end of each day. It is, therefore, a pleasure to read a good ‘happy’ story about motors.
Bill Silver was in The Daily Mirror a few days ago due to him having a motor that’s been around some time. When I say some time, I mean a REALLY long time. His Hillman 14 is a bit special. Not only is it really old (made in 1939), it has managed 240,000 miles in Bill’s 45 years of ownership. This is, as the paper has pointed out, enough to get Mr Silver all the way to the moon (though not back).
Perhaps the greatest achievement of this wonderful mechanical creation is the fact that it has been utterly, utterly reliable. This Hillman 14 has managed to be a trouble-free motor; never braking down and passing MOT’s (including its’ latest one) with flying colours. A classic in two senses of the word then.
Unfortunately, Bill has had to sell the car due to ill health. He’s not asking much either mind, only a mere £1,800 at auction. Given the car has some wonderful history and an impeccable record for not braking down; I’d quite like to be in the queue for this one. However, you might want to change the interior – it has something akin to what I’d describe ‘dogs bed pattern’.
What does this story tell us though? Well, aside from cars being made just prior to the war being invincible, it poses some interesting questions. If I buy a car today, it theoretically should last for 240,000. However, this is only what ‘some’ engines are capable of. Is this the truth though, or simply that people get rid of cars too early?
I have a sneaking suspicion that Bill isn’t quite telling the whole story. You see, Bill looks like he knows his stuff in the picture. I think that although modern motors are far more complicated, they don’t get looked after. Mr Silvers, I’d wager, is a man who would know exactly how to change a tyre, as well as check oil levels, know what knocking sounds like etc etc. Basically, all of the things that the modern driver apparently has great difficulty with.
Whatever your car is, I dare you to try to make it a success story (rather than changing it every few years). Take Bill’s example here and look after your motor. Clean it, care for it and check your fluid levels. Get to understand the basics. Follow the instructions to change your tyre, so if you ever have to do it for real you’ll know what exactly you have to do and in which order. Perhaps then you’ll have a motor to be proud of too.
The Hillman 14 is a medium sized car that was produced back in 1925 by the Hillman Motor Car Co Ltd. It has a large stroke monobloc side valve 1954cc four cylinder engine. It has a four speed gearbox and drum brakes. Top speed is 55MPH flat out and it can manage around 25MPG – not bad for a car that’s as old as your granny.
Click here for more information on Hillman.
Danny says
June 28, 2008 at 11:25 amI once heard some bloke (a bloke on TV, not in the pub) say that the perfect F1 car would be built just strong enough to last the race… and if completely perfect, it would fall apart as it crossed the finish line. And that’s what they aim for.
It’s my firm conviction that these days they are designing their production cars to start to look tatty after 18 months, and to start to fall apart at around the three year mark.
The quality of some of the materials they use these days is pretty poor… recycled plastics are pretty dire and can fade and warp… but we know the reason they use them. The leather they use is some cars is abysmal! But we know that they are in competition to raise the ‘spec’ and a leather interior always sounds good, even if it is made from cheap Chinese hides.
It’s the wheels that get me. Painted alloys are hardy and will last for years. But some manufacturers have started putting on ‘diamond cut’ detail. Often you won’t even notice this embellishment until the lacquer starts to flake off after 18 months.
Another thing, that is murder on reliability is that the factories switch to pattern parts after a couple of years of production. Lucas and Hella on the new models… 2-3 years later, it’s all ill fitting no-name parts. With cars so packed full of electronics these days, this is really bad news.
The really sad thing is that it is often the cars we associate with quality and reliability that are effected by the above, namely BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen. I can’t see many of these on the road 80 years from now.
Mr Butterscotch says
June 28, 2008 at 4:21 pmDanny,
Thanks for the great comment. I’m in agreement that cars these days can suffer from poor materials – but there are others that do seem to really last. One of my relatives kept the same Fiesta for (I think) about nine years. Not too shabby.
Diamond cut detail sure sounds nice, but like you say is there any point in it if it wears so quickly?
The brands you mention are an interesting list – not least BMW and Mercedes. They were known for top notch quality, and Merc in particular went through a bad spell recently. I did hear that they picked up though?
As for 80 years, I dread to think what sort of horrendous eco-mobile nonsense the government will have forced on us by then. Made out of recycled, re-baked mud perhaps, capable of 30MPH and set to melt in heavy rain…
Danny says
June 30, 2008 at 8:22 amCertain cars do seem to be improving… French cars are getting better I’m told. And some friends of mine say that Alfa Romeo are no longer unreliable… although they do work at an Alfa dealership, so make of it what you will. I sure hope it’s true!
Back in the 1970s, Hillman only managed one third of their production targets because their workers were constantly on strike. It’ was this that pretty much killed the company.
Every time I hear the news at the moment, seems like some union is threatening strike action over pay. Luckily, this shouldn’t pose to much of a threat to British car manufacturers… mainly because there isn’t any!
It makes me really sad when I think of the great names and the great cars that have gone.
Mr Butterscotch says
June 30, 2008 at 6:28 pmI’m in agreement with you there Danny – some of the best have risen (and fallen).
Not sure about having none though, at my last count these were all technically British car manufacturers:
Westfield, Lotus, Caterham, Aston Martin, Radical, Ariel and Morgan. There must be more too. It’s a bit funny when everyone thinks they are buying Japanese with a Nissan Quashqai and it comes from Sunderland too 😛
I have a quick story about Alfa Romeo though. My cousin’s husband had an Alfa – a damn fine 156 GTA (03 plate so not that old). He remarked on the depreciation of my Astra.
I didn’t remind him that he’d paid £14k (ish I think) for the car and it had cost him over £7k to repair (including a £4k engine rebuild). I also didn’t remind him that he sold it for not too much either. It might have made him cry. True story though. So, frankly I’m not convinced of Alfa’s recent build quality, unless it has gone up since then.
Danny says
July 4, 2008 at 2:33 pmIt thought as I was writing that what I was saying about British cars wasn’t technically accurate. But it has now become such a complex subject, I thought I’d get away with glossing over it…
It’s not all bad news anyway.
TVR could move to Poland? That would be bad.
Jaguar is now owned by the Indians… They have BIG money, are excellent businessmen, appreciate quality, I think this is going to be good.
Aston-Martin is now mostly owned by Arab investors… they can’t be any worse than Ford! The cars look great, if they can now build them with quality they we be something really special.
And then you have foreign cars built here, and British know-how going into foreign cars… planes, ships etc.
So it’s ain’t all bad news. We still have plenty to be proud of.
I shall have to get some feedback from my Alfa-Romeo customers and share it. I’ll have to do the same for Masarati too. I’ll keep my ear to the ground, but frankly, I let my mate park in our car park when he goes shopping on a Friday afternoon, each week he has a different Alfa. And to be honest, they are so pretty… I’d certainly suffer the unreliability… if I had the money.
Mr Butterscotch says
July 6, 2008 at 11:57 amDanny,
Your last comment sums up exactly how I felt about the Alfa. There’s no doubt that it had problems – but first it shifted like an absolute monster (that 156 GTA has a sweet engine) and second it looked brilliant.
I’d like to hear your Maserati feedback particularly – it’s in my opinion a very rare brand here in the UK so I’d love to know more about it. I did see a Maser going for 49k the other day – probably explains why they are so rare!