Branch Projects
Old English Car Club
Kootenay Branch
We are British Car Enthusiasts who preserve, restore, and drive British Cars
Hillman Winter Project
Our branch had voted on taking on a restoration job belonging to our chairman Cliff Blakey for a winter project which started on October 23rd 2016. This project involved, among other items, updating the engine from the original 1200 CC side valve engine to an overhead 1600 CC engine from a 1964 Sunbeam Alpine supplied by Mike Broadley, one of our members, which was removed from the said Alpine when he upgraded his Alpine to a Ford V6. Both engines are made by the Rootes company, which is the parent company of both Hillman and Sunbeam among a few other makes. This project will have two-fold results. First, of course, is to restore the car close to it's former glory, and upgrade the car to handle normal highway speeds of our country, and secondly and most importantly, to act as a teaching agent in auto restoration by involving the knowledgeable members to share their automotive experience in a hands-on envoirment as on-going tech-talks. The engine transplant will give the car almost three times the horsepower, with the side valve having 30 hp and the overhead having 85 hp, giving it quite sufficient power to travel at highway speeds. Along with the engine upgrade, a rebuild of the steering column and box, which is in progress, rebuilding the brake system, bodywork (in progress) and possibly a paint job will be in the works. As with all restorations, other items show up during restoration which will need attention, so this restoration may diverge from the original schedule, but time will tell the outcome. When the Hillman is done, the finishing touches to Kelvin's 1958 MGA will be in line as the next project.
Below are pictures of the on-going restoration project
1957 Hillman Husky in original condition (2013)
Hillman Husky after grey primer paint (2014)
Project starting October 23rd
The Husky gets a power wash before entering the garage
First Step Removing the Hood
New Engine Gets a Bath Also
October 30th......
Now the old engine is out
New engine gets prepped for trial fit
Steering column and box coming out
November 4th......
Comparing the two Engines
Dismantling the Interior
The Engine Bay Stripped Out
Working on The Body
November 6th......
Fitting the New Engine Into The Engine Bay
Looks Good This Way Too
Shaping the Tunnel for the New Gear Shift
The Basic Shape of the New Tunnel
Transmission Mount Looks Close
Just a Touch Too Low as Yet
November 13th......
An MGB was Aquired to Replace the Hillman Front Clip and Rear End To Upgrade The Hillman for Today's Highway Driving.
Dismantling the MGB Parts Car
Front Clip is Out For Your Hillman, Barb
Taking out Some Parts for Wayne's Car At The Same Time
A Few More Things To Remove, Then....
Getting Ready To Pull The Rear End
November 25th......
Getting Ready To Swap out the Front Clips, but first, getting rusted bolts out and then, voila
Old Crossmember is Finally Out!
Comparing the Two Crossmembers
Now to find out what we have to do to shoehorn the MGB crossmember into the Husky. (Maybe we should clean it up a bit to see what is under the dirt!)
The next few weeks will be spent in cleaning and measuring to see how we are going to go about getting that thing in the Husky. After that, we should go home and see what the rest of the family is doing for Christmas, as that is just around the corner.
See you Soon,
Cliff