What Euro brands did you own in the past?

[billofdurham]

Never heard of Standard or Hillman

They were popular marques, in the UK, from the 1930s to the 1970s.

My first car was the 1955 Standard 10 in gleaming black with just a touch of rust here and there. They were fairly easy to maintain with only the rear brake adjustment causing trouble as they aged. My mechanical knowledge was about zero in those days but a mechanic friend and I changed the engine and put in a new clutch in 3 hours using just basic kit. Happy days.

Some pictures of the two makes you don't know:

1955 Standard 10 - not mine.

standard 10.jpg (27.37 KiB) Viewed 2792 times

Standard Vanguard Phase 111

fs_1957_standard_vanguard_phase_iii.jpg (106.74 KiB) Viewed 2793 times

Hillman Minx.

Hillman Mnix.jpg (25.68 KiB) Viewed 2792 times

Hillman Hunter 1725GT

Hillman Hunter.jpg (15.03 KiB) Viewed 3016 times

Hillman Super Minx

Hillman Super Minx.jpg (23.06 KiB) Viewed 3015 times

I wish I still had them as they are sought after for period films and TV shows.

Bill.

[HareBall]

Bill,
I remember seeing the Hillman Hunter around, just didn't know what it was. The others I don't remember, but probably saw somewhere at sometime.
We had a civilian working in the base post office who had a 1948 MG. I don't know what model. It had a very long hood and looked very similar to this one in this link:
http://www.ohtm.org/Auction/Auc02Pix/a02_48mgTc.jpg
I tried to use Photobucket but couldn't get the image link to work.

[billofdurham]

Larry,

I think we've hijacked Matt's poll with our trip down memory lane.

That was the MG TC Midget which was the first MG to be produced after WW11. Production ran from '45 to '49 and saw about 10,000 cars come out of the factory, many of them being exported to the US. They were every schoolboy's dream car at that time. That included me.

Bill.

[matthew1]

I think we've hijacked Matt's poll with our trip down memory lane.

Not at all. That Hillman Hunter photo reminded me of a Simca my family owned when we lived in Belgium.

I think it was this model:

[billofdurham]

That was one of the most popular models and was also one of the first 'hatchbacks' giving good access to the luggage space.

Simca was associated with Fiat from 1934 and produced similar models to them until 1939. The association continued after 1945 until Simca started producing its own models.

The Simca name eventually disappeared when it was taken over by Chrysler although some of the later models were re-badged.

My uncle, who we all thought was very rich, bought a Simca Aronde P60 Montlehry. He sold it after 6 months because he couldn't remember its full name. Actually it was not a very good, but very expensive to run, car.

Bill.

[matthew1]

Our crazy Belgian neighbor had a "Princess" -- I don't know if that was the brand or model. It had a drink dispenser or a dry bar in the back of the front seat if I remember correctly. Or maybe it was an "inside" joke my parents and their friends had. I was 8 or 9 at that time, late 1970s.

[billofdurham]

The Princess was made by Austin.

The original Princess was made from 1946 to 1959 in various models and was a full blown limousine which could have a bar in the back. There was a dividing window so the chauffeur couldn't smell the booze. They were used mainly for civic duties by mayors etc, weddings and funerals. Durham police had one for the occasions that Royalty visited and didn't bring a Rolls Royce.



When production of the limousine stopped the name passed on to the Vanden Plas Princess 3 litre and the Vanden Plas Princess R 4 litre. Both were based on the Austin Westminster but the 4 litre had a Rolls Royce engine. They were aimed at a bigger market as they were classed as a luxury family saloon.



In the 1970s the British Motor Corporation had absorbed several marques, including Austin. The Princess name was revived for a total abomination of a car to replace one which had not proved too popular but which I thought was a great vehicle, the Austin 1800/2200 range. The Princess went down like a building block in a swimming pool. Durham police had run a fleet of the 1800/2200s and bought the Princess as a replacement. Fortunately, the order was a small one as they spent more time in the workshops than they did on the road.



As we now have no home grown, large volume car manufacturers in the UK I think we can say R.I.P. Princess.

Bill.

[matthew1]

Bill, you're an encyclopedia of English cars.

That later Princess was exactly what my neighbor owned.

Thanks very much.

[HareBall]

I think we've hijacked Matt's poll with our trip down memory lane.

Not at all. That Hillman Hunter photo reminded me of a Simca my family owned when we lived in Belgium.

I think it was this model:

I had a friend that had a Simca back around 1970. About the only place you could get parts was J.C. Whitney. He really had two of them just to keep one on the road.
We pulled a engine out it once with a chain and a 2X4.

[holler1]

Until I read this I had almost forgotten about my Sunbeam Alpine, circa 1960. I bought mine in about 1966. It was my first and only English sports (sort of) car. When I was in college I always wanted a Tr4 or Tr6, but couldn't come close to affording one. The Alpine had a knocking rod bearing that I used to sand off periodically when the knock got too bad. It was slow but looked great with the removable hard top. I think it was designed to look like the old Tbirds. They later shoehorned in a big V8 and called it a Sunbeam Tiger. My only other European make (other than 2 Volvos) was a 1975 VW Dasher that was fast but had a clutch cable that wore out fairly often.