| Hillman 14 hp | |
| Manufacturer: | Hillman Motor Car Co Ltd[1] |
| Production: | 1925–1930 11,000 approx produced[2] |
| Class: | Mid-size / Large family car (D) |
| Body Style: |
|
| Wheelbase: |
Track
|
| Length: | 162inches |
| Width: | 64inches |
| Predecessor: | Hillman 11 |
| Successor: | Hillman Wizard 65 |
| Engine: | 1954 cc I4 |
The Hillman Fourteen is a medium-sized 4-cylinder car announced by Hillman's managing director Spencer Wilks, a son-in-law of William Hillman, at the end of September 1925.[3] This new Fourteen substantially increased Hillman's market share and remained on sale into 1931. During this time it was the main product of the company.
Late 1920s fashion when engines and other mechanicals were firmly fixed to the chassis decreed that a medium-sized car like the Fourteen should be given a six-cylinder engine to reduce vibration. So the 2-litre Fourteen's place was taken by the 2.1-litre six-cylinder Hillman Wizard 65 in April 1931. This Wizard 65 was itself dropped in 1933. The 2.8-litre Wizard 75 continued (renamed 20/70) alongside a 2.6-litre Sixteen and a 3.2-litre Hawk, all of six cylinders. For four years Hillman had no offering in the 2-litre slot.
The six-cylinder cars were not as successful as had been expected, and in October 1937 a new 2-litre four-cylinder Hillman Fourteen with a handsome new body filled their previous place in the Hillman range. Hillman now offered just their Minx and this new Fourteen.
In 1946 production resumed but the former Hillman Fourteens were now given a protruding boot lid and no running boards and badged Humber Hawk.
In the early 1920s Hillman had concentrated on smaller cars with the 10 and 11 hp models but with their 14 horsepower car they entered the larger sized class taking on the Austin 12 hp and Humber 14/40. The new Hillman was priced at £345 for the saloon, undercutting the Austin which sold for £455, it was advertised as "the car that costs less than it should".[2]
In a test by The Autocar magazine, the top speed was around and fuel consumption 23-24 mpg.
Standard equipment included: clock, speedometer, oil gauge, screen wiper, driving mirror, shaded dash-lamp, licence holder, rug rail, floor carpets etc.[4]
In early January 1925, The Timess motoring correspondent described the new Hillman's engine as lively enough, quiet and vibration-free, but said the suspension was hard. There was no undue grumble or hum from the gears. All the controls including steering and brakes were said to work well, and the seats, front and back, were described as comfortable. The car's maximum speed over level ground was said to be 50-55 mph.[5]
During 1928 the Rootes brothers obtained control of Hillman.
A new deeper radiator appeared in early September 1928 with larger headlamps on a cross-bar between the wings. The wider bodies had been lowered three inches without reducing ground clearance or head clearance. The body range was rationalised to a standard saloon, fabric saloon, Segrave coupé, tourer and Huski (sic) fabric-bodied sports tourer. There were major changes to a strengthened chassis and an increase in the track of the home market cars from 52inches to 56inches. Other upgrades included a stronger Hardy-Spicer propeller shaft with metal joints, more powerful brakes and shock absorbers all round. An oil pressure gauge was added to the dashboard.[7]
The following month the chairman advised shareholders at the annual meeting that the Fourteen continued to be well-received[10] but six months after the motor show at the end of April 1931[11] its place was taken by the Hillman Wizard 65.
| Hillman Fourteen | |
| Manufacturer: | Hillman Motor Car Co Ltd[12] |
| Model Years: | 1938-1940 |
| Body Style: | 6-light 4-door saloon |
| Layout: | front engine rear wheel drive |
| Engine: | 1943 cc straight four |
| Transmission: | single plate dry clutch, 4-spd gearbox, no synchromesh on 1st or reverse, open propeller shaft with needle roller bearings, half-floating spiral bevel rear axle |
| Wheelbase: | 1141NaN1 Track Front 561NaN1 Track Rear 55.51NaN1 |
| Length: | 1721NaN1 |
| Width: | 701NaN1 |
| Weight: | 3024lb |
| Predecessor: | Hillman Sixteen |
| Successor: | Humber Hawk |
| Sp: | uk |
| Hillman Fourteen Humber Hawk Sunbeam-Talbot 2-litre, 90 and Alpine | |
| Manufacturer: | Hillman |
| Predecessor: | Hillman Sixteen |
| Successor: | Humber Hawk |
| Configuration: | straight four |
| Displacement: | 19430NaN0 |
| Bore: | 75mm |
| Stroke: | 110mm |
| Valvetrain: | side valves |
| Fuelsystem: | downdraught carburettor, mechanical fuel pump |
| Fueltype: | petrol |
| Coolingsystem: | water, thermostat and impellor |
| Power: |
|
The new engine was a return to the medium-sized simpler and more efficient 4-cylinder type rather than the 6-cylinder engines fashionable earlier in the 1930s. It had been given an oil bath air cleaner and an automatic choke for the downdraught carburettor. The valves were mounted to one side of the block and operated by pushrods. Cooling water was circulated by an impellor and the amount of cooling provided by the radiator was regulated by thermostat.[13] The design, then displacing 1669 cc, was a scaled down version of the Snipe's engine first used in Humber's Twelve of 1933 and now bored out to 75 mm.[14]
The engine, the clutch and the gearbox were mounted together on rubber which allowed them to rock and so absorb vibration. Accordingly the driver's engine controls were provided by cables. Claimed output was 51 bhp at 3,600 rpm. The tax rating was just under 14 horsepower.[13]
The engine continued in the Humber Hawk range and Sunbeam-Talbot and Sunbeam Alpine ranges. Converted for the Sunbeam-Talbot alone to overhead valves from July 1948[15] it was bored out 6 mm to 2,267 cc for 1951[16] It continued in side valve form for the Hawk until the summer of 1955[17] and remained in production for the Hawk until production ended in 1968.
Eighteen months after the new car's announcement The Times published a road test. Their motoring correspondent liked the new smooth clean look. He described the car as inexpensive and said it was easy to control and displayed quick power and smoothness. Altogether, he said, there was much to commend though the synchromesh required a short pause before engagement and under certain circumstances braking could affect the steering. The suspension was described as excellent, a rear passenger travelled in comfort without being tossed about on bad surfaces. 50 mph was easily maintained without scurry and 67 mph was the Hillman's mean maximum speed.[12]
Three days later the United Kingdom declared war on Germany.
In the British Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, where motor vehicles had famously been banned from the public roads before the First World War (although motor ambulances, fire-engines, and a road works vehicle had been authorised between the wars), even the Police force, the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force were not permitted motor vehicles until the Second World War. General Sir Reginald John Thoroton Hildyard, KCB, CMG, DSO, resigned his offices of Governor and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) in 1939 after the House of Assembly of Bermuda twice refused to allow him a motor car.[19] [20] [21] With the declaration of war, however, the legislature soon authorised naval and military vehicles to use the public roads, including cars for both the naval Commander-in-Chief and the Officer Commanding Troops, a Brigadier subordinate to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in the command structure of the Bermuda Garrison. A car was also authorised for the Governor, and in December, 1943, Governor Lord Burghley, his wife, and his Aide-de-Campe, Flight Lieutenant L. S. Litchfield, RAF, each obtained a Bermudian driving licence in order to drive the car obtained for the use of the Governor, a Hillman 14.[22]