1960 Hillman Minx series iiiA - The bargain British classic car you need to try!

Hillman Minx Series iiiA

Those of you who are Rootes fanatics will know the Minx name was in use for many years from 1931 and the earlier cars are badged as pre war, wartime and then into the marks - so you get MK1 through to Mk8 in 1957.

You then get into the mid 50s, 56 to be exact and Rootes announce they’re bringing out the Audax series of Minxes.

If you think the styling feels American infused, you’d not be wrong, because the car design was helped along by Raymond Loewy.

If you’re into your American mid-century culture you might recognise the name, because he worked on seemingly everything from the coke bottle to the TWA twin globe logo through to other cars such as the Studebaker Commander and Champion.

There are several books available on this man to provide further reading if you want to know more - he deserves a whole video series really!

Anyway, back to our Minx. The Series i is introduced in 56 and quickly works its way up to the series 3 in 1958 whereby they make some really decent changes. The engine increases from 1390cc to the 1494cc engine we’ve got in the 3A.

According to Motor magazine you can get up to 76.9mph - but truly you’ll feel like you’re thrashing it at those speeds today. Better enjoyed at a more sedate 65-70. It was an increase in engine size of 7.5% and Motor magazine said that whilst it was not sensational it was well to their tastes, which I guess is some sort of praise.

59 also sees the revised gear and axle ratios, new clutch and steering mechanism and revised exhaust system alongside a whole raft of tweaks to the front and back end and the dash. One of the nicest changes is the rationalisation of the dash panel to bring all guages and controls into one place.

For the iiiA we’re testing today, more tweaks and improvements are made and you’ll note the enormous windscreen which is 21% larger than the outgoing model and a flair in the design department sees a double chrome strip along the side of each car, the attractive new tail lights and the rear large curved wings.

There were plenty of options available on these at the time but one which immediately stands out on this one is the paintwork - the 6 options of two colour colours cost an additional £14 3s and 4d extra.

The lifespan of the iiiA is shortlived as is the appetite of Rootes for continual improvement and the car is replaced by the iiiB in the late autumn of 1960.