The Hillman Avenger Was Rootes Group's Do Or Die! (1979 Chrysler 1.6 GL Road Test)

[@garysimpson3900]

That is why classic cars have such a place in peoples hearts. They bring back memories of childhood & happy family times.

[@Kevster-dp7tt]

Cars like this are the real soul of motoring and it's why I love shows like Festival of the Unexceptional. Exotica like Ferraris and Lamborghinis are all well and good but it's cars like these that were part of most people's lives. We fought on the back seat with brothers, we played car bingo on long trips, they took us to football practice, cub scouts and on holiday, we went along for the ride to pick up mum from the shops, we went with dad to the car wash just for the hell of it and went on countless other adventures. For me these sort of cars are the real supercars.

[@guillermojimenezcastelblan8456]

Remarkable survivor model shown here. Bogota, Colombia, where I live, we also had this model, but the CKD assembly components shipped to Colmotores plant came from Chrysler Fevre Argentina, and run from 1973/1976 as Dodge 1.500, base model along a SW, and the final product was the 1977/1978 Dodge Polara, Mopar Detroit name, by the way, as same as this sample in the video, headlights, bumpers, grille, but different instruments cluster, steering wheel, only manual transmissions, 4 speed, and 1.8 liter engine, with bigger Holley carburator above intake manifold, rather than vertical side fitted to the early 1973/1976 model line. Nice car, good for ride, mountain driving, very good milage, above 28 miles per gallon traffic/open road average. Good memories brings back to us with videos like this one. Thanks for sharing, a salute from Bogota.

[@davedoingdavethings247]

My grandfather's last new car when he retired in 1976 was a 1.6 gl with the twin headlights, I have many wonderful memories of being out in that car with my grandparents as a kid.

[@stewartmcmanus3991]

Fitted the fascias to hundreds of them when I worked at Ryton in Coventry, just before we emigrated.

[@silvermane9370]

My dad bought one in 1974. Coming home from holiday travelling south on the M6 a bolt dropped off the steering column… exciting. He went back to Renaults after that.

[@sputumtube]

Similar story here. My dad bought the twin headlight model on an 'M' plate brand new from the dealership. It broke down on the way home and the garage towed it back. They returned his money in full. It was the only new car my dad ever bought.

[@glenjarnold]

I had a 1500 GT, did a lot of mods to it - beautiful car. Broke my heart when someone drove into the back of it on the way back from a holiday in 1984 and wrote it off.

[@arthurgordon6072]

My first car was a mid '70s Avenger. I loved that car.

[@johnmcfarland9630]

I had two 1600 Avengers as company cars, they were very capable and a good family car. Went on to have two Alpines liked those too.

[@markstockton6918]

I remember when my Dad’s Hillman Avenger Estate got replaced with the new 1976 European Car of the Year, the Chrysler Alpine. It seemed like quite a step up from the Avenger, particularly in regard to interior comfort and was a lovely looking car at the time.

[@DessieTots]

The Alpines were terrible cars. Boring styling, difficult gear change. The Alpine only became a better car towards the end of its run when the cars were fitted with options as standard such as power steering, metallic paint, etc.

[@Barbarapape]

My first new car was a Chrysler Series 7 Avenger and having come from on old but comfortable Triumph 2000 estate was a bit of a downgrade. The bulid quality wasn't great, the dashborad creaked from day one, rain leaked into the boot and the engine was rebuilt under warranty due to high oil consumption and it always had a annoying ticking noise which was regared as common to the uprated 1600 engines, the 1500 was quiet by comparison. After 18 months i traded it in for a Datsun Bluebird 180B, what a difference, no more squeeks or water leaks, but the rust soon reared it's ugly head! So i chose a Ford Cortina for the next one, it had a much better ride, and was the car i should have bought instead of the Datsun.

[@malachyohara]

half way between the Escort and Cortina,the rally guys still love them

[@robertwalker1742]

Dad had a 1971 Aztec gold GL, and can’t remember any problems with it put a couple of spot lamps under the front bumper, and with the GL having four already, really made it look great.

[@matthewgodwin3050]

Love the Avenger. My grandparent's next door neighbours had an orange Hillman Avenger that they'd bought new, and kept until they gave up driving in the late 90s. By then it was looking rather careworn, but I always liked it. It's probably more of an Escort competitor, rather than a Cortina rival, but they made terrific family cars. If you could keep the rust at bay, the mechanicals were pretty robust. I remember seeing quite a few being used as taxis in the 1980s.

[@johnmontgomery9149]

The Rootes cars all had a lovely precise gearchange

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Absolutely!

[@Ritte13]

The early model was much better looking,especially the Tiger

[@ianlowden6168]

...especially with the "boomerang" tail lights.

[@interdiction2]

My mate had a GLS?, twin headlights, and a full complement of instruments. Thought it was racy and used to drive it like a racer. Only real flaw was the 'special' paint on it, someone told him that it was by the same people that made the paint for Concorde (!), which crazed all across the front end and bonnet like a big cobweb. It was apparently too hard for a car and couldn't cope with stone chips. Happy days though.

[@Kevster-dp7tt]

@@ianlowden6168 I always knew them as 'hockey stick' rear lights.

[@kreutzsungrazers]

Same bro ​@@Kevster-dp7tt

[@thejamesieboy]

I love these cars so much that I've owned four and still have three of them. My first memory is of my dad selling his Hillman Avenger and being inconsolable, I was about 4 at the time. From that point on I always wanted one, my first was a W reg Talbot I bought when I was 16. Sadly it was just too far gone with rust, I stripped it and everything bare the bare shell went into the loft!! I was 17 when I got my next one a '75 P reg Hillman, a 1300 Super I still own but now needs complete restoration. Then a few years later I was lucky enough to get a Tiger, also a restoration job (my '75 was still on the road at the time). Then many years later I got a limited edition Top Hat, which is what the blue one in the pictures is. It is still on the road but needs the lower rear quarter panels welded.

[@alexandergemmell664]

I very much enjoyed my experiences with owning Avengers. And it’s big brother the Chrysler 180.

[@raymondgill9796]

I had a 1500 and found it to be a great driving car. Good gearbox and handling. I remember when the new horizontal tail lights came out a car salesman I knew said " the way they blanked off the rear wing looks cheap"

[@paulhuggins5901]

Not only did they look cheap, they were often poorly fitted.

[@PaddyWV]

Considering how long the design was produced and where. It could certainly be called a success. Truly a World Car, long before Ford's World Car programme that brought us the Mk3 Escort.

[@alunhoskins4513]

I used to drive these, several on the fleet, in the early 80’s. The very basic, 1.6 version, vinyl trim etc. In one for 8 hours a day, a boot full of ‘stuff’ which made them quite tail happy. Regularly driven to their absolute limit too, the sound of ‘bouncing valves’, I think it was, frequently heard as the rev limit was hit. White with an orange stripe along the side - a jam sandwich - and a clumsy Police sign and blue light on the top. Not a Traffic car, heaven forbid, but a GP - General Patrol car. In the days when there were many cops on the streets to do just that, respond. These things were absolutely unburstable and completely reliable, unlike many so called ‘better’ cars. Initial basic Patrol driver training back then was a 5 week residential course, just to drive one of these. I’m guessing they wouldn’t do that now? I left ages ago. Once you learned the Avenger’s ways you could do anything with one. They were fantastic for the job. I had a FIAT 131 Mirafiori 2litre Sport at the time: exactly the same brakes as the Avengers, certainly the Police ones anyway. As far as I’m aware the Avengers we had were standard apart from upgraded electrics for the lights and radio. The siren then was a 2 tone Fiamm air horn with a compressor. Traffic guys cars, they had ‘Police Spec Specials’, Rover SD1 3.5, XJ6’s, even an MGB GT V8 (nice but useless), Dolomite Sprint (quick but oh so fragile) The Avenger was actually a very good car, certainly much better than the fragile one that replaced it.

[@christopherchadwick480]

I bought a 74 Avenger estate as a near banger in 87 because i needed a car and it was all i could afford in the local paper ads. Loved it. Fun to drive, strong engine and useful for moving. Sold it 18 months later and saw it around the town for a couple of years after that. Some while after that i was watching a 80s popular history show and it appeared in the background of one segment. Great old bus. The boomerang taillights were always a distinctive feature for me.

[@mfgt4595]

My first car was an Avenger 1300 , N reg. 2 door. Fitted a 1500 engine off an automatic donor car, it revved faster as it was balanced better. Broke it's rear axle casing by the diff housing doing a handbrake turn by my grans farm. Did a rally in another and won a trophy first time out. Then moved on to a Sunbeam, same car underneath but shorter floorpan. Most parts interchangeable. Sunbeam handled better, the Avenger was very tail happy. Had two Avengers and three Sunbeams. Easy and simple to maintain, in my opinion much better cars than Escorts.

[@martinburke362]

Passed my test in a 1974 Avenger really easy nice car to drive

[@glenmason1876]

My first car was a j reg avenger, in Tahiti blue, bought it second hand, very basic car, manual screen wash etc, I had it for a while, the jacking points were a rust trap on them, the rear wishbones used to rust as well, rust was the main problem, engine was a 1. 5 if I remember correctly

[@richardharibo]

I had one and was great a 1980 Talbot one and drove this very one at Drive Dad's car. It was great to drive and still drives well today.

[@stevennorth6484]

My dad had an Avenger, he went from an ex Police mini to a bronze Hillman with matching brown interior it seem quite big after the mini.

[@rawschri]

My first car was a 1.6L in a vivid green, WBN574T ..... I've driven this very car, and it evoked some great memories ...

[@paulwinterbourne2875]

The car I learnt to drive in. The earlier boomerang tail lights model. Indeed a great car. Driving Dad's Car is a fantastic experience. Where else can you drive the museum exhibits!

[@chrism1507]

"Keeping Up Appearances" and old Onslow wouldnt be the same without that old Avenger in the front yard. They were imported to America as the Plymouth Cricket for a few years.

[@ts6070]

Love that 70’s brown shirt 👕

[@johnpeace23]

My Grandad had a white Avenger estate, always remember when he took me and 2 of my cousins camping to Wales, me and my cousins slept in the tent and Gramps slept in the Avenger with the seats down! What a great car and great memories!

[@MrRetro-]

I would never pick a Marina over an Avenger, the Avenger was such a cool looking car, and better put together than a Marina, and better handling, i actually pref the later Chrysler and Talbot ones, i like the updated body tweaks

[@michaelpallett8650]

Those cars where brilliant

[@frankparslow4963]

I had a k reg automatic,we had no money, just married and was just starting up as a refigeration engineer.I saw the car in a customers front garden I did a deal replace the fridge thermostat for the car ,got it fired up filled the flat tyres with freon 12 and off we went.Had a dent knocked out and painted it black with a gold coach line .Ran it for years great car could leave my friends BMW 1600 standing.

[@waynemurphy4542]

My first car was a 1979 Chrysler Avenger. Assembled locally. In NZ, the top spec model had a 'GLS' badge. When I bought it, it was about 5 years old with just under 50,000 km on the clock. Compared to my peers, it was very modern and had a good equipment spec, full instrumentation and cloth seats.

[@blackvulcan100]

I had one of these. After three years the body started to rust not underneath but on the door skins on the wings so obviously the car had been painted when it was already rusting. I needed to change a bulb and the light cluster ( lower down one ) literally broke in my hand as I tried to remove the bulb as it was such thin plastic. The drive shafts leaked and both drive shaft seals needed to be replaced and the car had not even done 30.000 miles. Nice looking and drove nice but woeful quality. One good point is that you could work on them yourself as no computers ( I think )

[@carguygibby]

I worked on the assembly line in Linwood. The Avenger and Sunbeam shared the same production line.

[@davidyoung9561]

My mum had a Chrysler Avenger from 1985 to 1989. It was an S-reg 1.6 in reddish brown.

[@alastairwatson3201]

I love your informative, well-produced and to the point videos. The quality is up there with any of the larger channels. Well done!

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Thanks Alastair, that means a lot!

[@RB-qq1ky]

Worked for a Chrysler dealer when these things were in their prime. Not a few of them had a bad habit of breaking out a section of firewall where the clutch cable outer abutted, which meant no clutch. Got very adept at quickly fabricating (we had a pattern to cut from) and riveting on a reinforcement plate in the affected area. Also spent much time twiddling the contact breaker points to get the correct dwell angle with the special tools on those idiosyncratic Ducellier distributors. They would take quite a thrashing, one of our customers (an oil exploration company) had a fleet of 1300s and it wasn’t uncommon to find the engine bays full of semi soft mud from where the ‘boys’ had been playing Dukes of Hazzard around the well sites… Another customer had a 1600 station wagon on a rural mail route which he’d had a CNG kit fitted to. Because he couldn’t make the entire round on CNG, he needed it to also still run on petrol. CNG kit fitters would over-advance ignition to try to compensate for the power loss, owner would switch to petrol, car would spark knock and kick back on the starter to the point of jamming it. We would put timing back to spec, he would experience power loss the first time he switched back over and go around to the CNG guys who would advance timing again.. rinse and repeat.

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

We had dual curve distributors which changed timing curves with the flick of the same switch when changing fuels...

[@RB-qq1ky]

@@JohnSmith-pl2bk My original reply has vanished, so I'll have another go... I'm guessing you're a Kiwi? Do you mean the MSD/Autronic Dual-Curve add on modules? We sometimes fitted them but most customers wanted the Alternative Fuel conversion to be as cheap as possible, so most didnt bother. We did run a couple of vehicles with them fitted on the chassis dyno, and honestly, we didnt find that they made all that much difference, mostly, we thought because the curve programmed in was a generic one size fits all , and that you really needed to tailor the curve to suit the individual vehicle.. Adding on from the tale of woe with the 1600 wagon, the Zenith/Stromberg CD carb on it was the emission specced one with the spring biased metering needle which was actually designed to touch the jet in one spot instead of being concentric with it like the earlier CD generations. As the vehicle was predominantly run on CNG with a dry carburettor, the needle rubbing on the jet very soon wore the jet to the extent that when it was on petrol it was impossible to lean the idle mixture enough to stabilise the idle speed, or to achieve a satisfactory tailpipe HC or CO reading. I felt really sorry for the owner, he'd tried to do what he thought was the right thing but instead ended up with a nightmare.

[@forestfirestarter]

My father had the same car as the one shown ,A 1978 1.6.He loved it As a child I was intrigued by a small hole on both sides .It was i just behind the triangular shaped window on the rear doors .

[@davel9359]

I had a couple of Avengers, a 1500 super which was the first car I spent proper money buying and an old nail of an estate that I bought when we sold a better car to raise some money towards a house. Both decent enough cars and I liked them a lot.

[@neilmarshment2910]

My first car was a 1978 Chrysler Avenger 1.6 GL with black roof and brown velour upholstery. Fond memories but it did not enjoy being pushed as one of the spark plugs would seem to soot up badly. Looked good with aftermarket above bumper spotlights tho.

[@markclevedon81]

An informative trip down memory lane. My dad worked as a service/bodyshop manager for a large Rootes/Chrysler dealership and the Avenger was a strong seller and well received. It was in most respects a completely new design and size wise, it competed with the Hunter and its competition. The best cars were the Ryton built 1973-1976 variants with slightly more power and better spec. From memory, the Linwood built Chrysler and Talbot Avengers were harsher and shall we say, built with less care. I had a 1975 1300 DL and then a stunning 1976 (R reg)1600 twin headlight GLS with 80HP. Good to see the marque and cars like the Avenger receiving recognition.

[@petercrosland5502]

Yes, I remember these. Amongst the British competition I would rate it slightly better than most, perception was that it was more solid while it remained simple and easy to mend. Baggy grey seat covers on this one do it no favours. Rust killed them as with all others of the period. Apparently there only around 250 left in the UK, 249 more than your shirt. Great video, wish there were more like it.

[@peterrobinson3440]

Had a used '74 1500 with 60 0dd thou miles on the clock for three years and never gave me any trouble at all. Sadly had an accident which finished it off, but was very fond of it.

[@colrhodes377]

I had two Avengers and they are still my favourite ever cars

[@Zeem4]

Same here! Sadly both of mine were projects I never finished because they were rotten, so they were never road legal in my possession and never saw the road again. I'd love another one though.

[@colrhodes377]

@@Zeem4 So would I. If I can find one, even a half decent project, I'll try and buy it.

[@joeledger3013]

I’ve got one coming up for sale, a lovely yellow 1972 Avenger GT 1500 saloon.

[@colrhodes377]

@@joeledger3013 As much as I would love to take it myself, I have 3 ADO16s and a Moggie all in various stages of restoration. My wife is threatening to have me certified if I buy any more until these are all finished. Thank you anyway. 😊

[@LoudModeOn]

My old man had a ten year old one in the eighties. Rotten as a pear but he really liked it. As kids we used to climb on the bonnet and onto the roof and slide down the back window. Hours of pleasure! Nice shirt btw!

[@jamesgraham814]

My first car was a ‘79 Chrysler Avenger as a 17 year old ❤

[@Kevster-dp7tt]

The hockey stick rear lights on the earlier Avenger were iconic.

[@dr.plutonus1496]

I'm driving this very car today! It's my (very belated) Father's Day gift from my sons. I noticed a typo in the text for the 1974 ads - syncromesh is misspelled- & wonder if the proofreader got into hot water. Also, I think the bailout was in 1975 not 1976, as it was the big news item the day of my 13th birthday that year. And my second drive today will be in the Imp!

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Enjoy both!

[@dr.plutonus1496]

Let's just say I enjoyed the Avenger more than the Imp, which was a truly bone-shaking drive. 🥴

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

@@dr.plutonus1496 There is an Imp in New Zealand with a custom engine fitted...Honda Goldwing GL1500...goes well!

[@Cupidstuntfc]

My dad wrote off his company Car Cortina and then got a brand-New blue avenger . At the time I thought they were the bees knees

[@timobrien9123]

My old man had a Chrysler model. In think it was a 1979. This was in NZ in the mid to late 80’s until some point in the early 90’s. I think it was even NZ assembled. I can’t say my memories were quite as fond as yours 😅. But I was a kid and it did look pretty old compared to all the used Japanese cars that were flooding the market that had electric everything,power steering and AC. But my memories are obviously not that bad if I watched and enjoyed your video. Thanks mate, good trip back in time for me.

[@interdiction2]

We had a 'J' reg 1500 cc model. I recall driving it one evening when the clutch cable pulled itself through the bulkhead! Driving home 20 miles without a working clutch was a bit of a learning curve for a newish driver. Dead easy to work on though.

[@mikemartin2957]

That's when a pair of Mole.Grips come in handy to grip the bit that's pulled through the bulkhead , to get you home or to a garage where a more permanent repair can be made! This happens on Some Vivas , ( HB & HC )Golf MK1 & Fiat 127.

[@interdiction2]

If I remember correctly, my dad (toolmaker) made a slotted piece of mild steel to hold the nylon abutment in place, and pop riveted it in place until we could get a garage to weld it. Think it was just metal fatigue and maybe a bit of corrosion in the cable. Aside from that, apart from normal maintenance, it was fine. As a young lad, I loved that car until I got my first car, a TR6. Now that DID require some fettling, I can tell you. 😅

[@icooper5236]

I had an Avenger,every bit as good as my mk1 escort and the gearbox was as sweet as the ford a joy to drive and pretty quick for the time

[@SimonWallwork]

I had an Orange Sunseeker with a roll cage and Sunbeam Lotus Alloys. Loved it! Where are you OVS119N?

[@willswheels283]

I remember seeing Avengers on the road as I was growing up in the 80’s and 90’s although most had dissappeared by the 90’s, they’d all rotted their ways to the scrapyard! I did think the Avenger Tiger was 1700? That’s a lovely example you drove there, it’s obviously been well cared for over the years to last this long unless it the result of a total rebuild, either way it’s a credit to its owners and to the car museum at Ambergate. A good review, enjoyed it, thanks.👍

[@tellitlikeitis-rg4ny]

I had one loved it. The tiger was great

[@tricialyn4645]

I didnt know this vehicle til now! Very retro! which it is I suppose 🙂 It was a very good description by you!! I enjoyed watching this and hearing about how fondly you thought of it TY for sharing 🚗🚘🚗

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Here in the US, this car was imported by Plymouth Division, and sold at Chrysler-Plymouth dealers as the Plymouth Cricket.

[@hugebartlett1884]

Our nation is waking up to what it has lost. Those cars were "real" in as much as unique in styling,looks,and really did promote genuine loyalty. Who could face selling their old car which had served them as a family member for a generation? I know one man who had to let his beloved Jaguar S Type go,and it broke his heart. He died shortly afterwards. Who will ever miss the bland junk being produced today?

[@stuwhite2337]

My first car!

[@davidmccready6471]

I lived in Greenock not far from the Linwood factory and my Dad knew one of the mechanics in Church Bros who were dealers. He said every car that came from the Linwood plant had to have every bolt checked on the PDI as some were never tightened properly. On one occasion a car had different coloured seat in the back than the front, don’t think quality control was a priority. Theft from the plant was common it was only a matter of time before it all ended.

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Sadly so...

[@davidjones332]

I had cause to rent a couple of the facelift models for weekends away. They both drove nicely but the interior was a bit bland, even by 1970s standards. I always thought the original version was more stylish, and when I see one at a car show these days I think the design has lasted much better than any of the Cortinas.

[@stephenjones1861]

My 1st car was a metallic green Chrysler Avenger Super, brown vinyl roof, orange velor seats

[@nigelbond4056]

Now that takes me back, the unmistakable transmission whine of an Avenger 🥹

[@johndrake2729]

Yeah. The Marina sounded way out.

[@rabk5702]

I was a Rootes fan had owned Avenger Hunter minx and the Humber Scepter Mk3 I know the engines where soft; I was a mechanic and work on these cars every day so owning them was never a problem to as I knew their weaknesses and love them and was heat broken when the Rootes went out of business. 👍👍

[@rumcove07]

I have recently restored a 1972 Plymouth Cricket. I believe there to be only 7 roadworthy in the US!

[@rogerward5111]

The Tiger 2 (Orange) rather than the Yellow Tiger 1, was superb (both (1500cc). Kept mine for some years as enjoyed it so much albeit you could almost heart he fuel being sucked through the twin Webber DCO’s- much underrated and did well in comparison with the Escort. Rally version of the car even with a smaller 1275 engine did well in the RAC back in 1973.

[@davidclarke9767]

I worked in Chrysler in Coventry building the Avenger in 1973 they had the panels pressed in Scotland in their plant. But I'm afraid the Coventry plant the short time I was there was blighted by strikes . And regrettably the workforce didn't have much pride in their work and the management were very slack so of coarse some men took the p-ss. An inspector in the paint shop who was supposed to check every car for missing paint when it came out of the ovens told me he couldn't be bothered to check everyone.

[@TheAllMightyGodofCod]

No, this was also sold as a Sunbeam. Maybe not in the uk but it was. I had a neighbour with one of those and it was a Sunbeam

[@wheater5]

I owned an identical car to the one in this video; in fact when I visited that same venue I thought it was my old car as I sold it locally to Ambergate. However, mine was a V registered car. It handled like a sports car.

[@yuraku123zhe]

I had loads of these, a 2 dr an estate and 5 or 6 four door versions. I had a few of the following sunbeams too, they were basically the same car without the boot. They only had one bad weekness, the rear trailing arms used to bend where the coil spring was mounted, i was a bit of a thrasher though...

[@algizmo7079]

Compared to other cars of the 70s which I owned (Fiat, Ford, Renault and Nissan) my standout memory of Avenger 1500 GL was the thickness of bodywork steel.

[@andrewholgate720]

My first car and I've bought another one 40 years later

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Enjoy it!

[@brianwhite6616]

I had the avenger GL 1. 6 bronze with a vinyl roof wnt on for ever good days .

[@GlennPowell-ls3lg]

Like alot of cars in its class in the UK it couldnt compete with Fords Cortinas at the time but a good looking car.My friend had one albeit a few years old and it went well enough.

[@MrRetro-]

The later facelift model you are testing in GL trim was not the top spec, there was a GLS model, i recently sold my 1979 Talbot Avenger, a good car too,

[@petedenton9434]

I remember our family being amazed at the time that anyone had signed that body design off. Drivers following an Avenger on a sunny day were often dazzled by the sun reflecting off the complex curve of the boot lid! It really could be quite dangerous for that reason.

[@ianbrown-zw8pz]

Just remembered I had a Chrysler Alpine 1442cc in the early 80s-it was quite peppy but the engine was very tappety and it was replaced by a Ford CortinaMk4 which felt a bit more solid. Company cars obviously!

[@johnpapworth433]

Had one for a day - a 1978 T reg in red. Came back home the following day, and the old man swapped it for a Mini!

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

My mechanic friend decided to uprate the Hillman Avenger Alpine (duplex cam chain) he raced at the local club races by fitting a draw through turbo... He had to machine solid steel rockers as the engine would spin past 8000rpm...and smash the OEM ones. The car would leave twin black tyre marks all the way through the first three gears...and chirp the tyres going into 4th..

[@chrisaskin6144]

I always preferred the "look" of the original Avenger, rather than the face-lifted models. I always thought the Avenger was meant to compete in the Escort class, rather than the Cortina class. Although it doesn't look it, the Mk2 Cortina was longer overall than the Mk3 - albeit only by a quarter of an inch - but actually had a shorter wheelbase than the Mk3.

[@DavidUKesb]

Proper 70s shirt to go with the 70s car!

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Glad you noticed! -Phil

[@roygardiner2229]

It was impossible NOT to notice. Splendid! @@ClassicsWorldUK

[@MrAvant123]

I had an older 1500 Hilman Avenger good car better and cheaper than a 1300 Escort. In the MOD we had quite a few Avengers in their final days as pool cars, this was 1980-1984 ish. I guess MOD acquired them on the cheap because they were becoming difficult to sell. But my over riding view is they were decent cars.

[@oliverlotus]

Thanks for the vid. Interesting and nostalgic.

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dungbetel]

The earlier models were quite good looking, don"t like the facelift. Known as the Sunbeam in Europe (prior to Talbotisation). PS: Like the shirt!

[@Mancozeb100]

Always remembered them here, to be pitted against the Escort, rather than the Cortina. There was two of them in the (extended) family - an early (Hillman) saloon and an estate. They just kept going, even though the saloon was treated very roughly (multiple crashes!) . The estate was a great car. We had a Chrysler Hunter with the smaller Avenger headlights, which did nothing for the appearance - though better than the very fugly facelift last Hunter. Pretty sure they were all assembled in the Dublin importer’s plant - certainly, the Hunter was.

[@kins749]

Rootes cars are under-appreciated

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Absolutely!

[@michaelarchangel1163]

A chap I knew, who worked as a mechanic at the then Red Dragon Garage in Pembrey, West Wales, naughtily took a brand new Avenger Tiger for a blast down through the nearby Forestry Commission land during his dinner break, promptly rolling and writing it off. I'm not sure but he may have been temporarily blinded by a man wearing a similar shirt. He was immediately sacked, whatever !

[@basilwatson1]

I had a green Hillman grunta ... actually quite a good car ... Much better than the crap these days😅

[@minimaxi802]

The Avenger was a Hillman only car when introduced in 1970, no Singer, Sunbeam and Humber variants unlike the Hunter, this is a later facelifted Chrysler Avenger that lacks the L shaped rear lights of the earlier Hillman, and less Chrysler models have survived. There was a special sporty Tiger Hillman Avenger model in yellow or orange, and the Sunbeam hatchback was based on the Chrysler.

[@dlamiss]

My late father bought a brand new Hillman avenger in 73 GL model WDJ329M.. In early 76 it needed over £200 spending on it (76 money) about £1400 in todays money so he bought a toyota and had toyotas until he finished driving about 7 years ago.. remember those door handles clearly..

[@royshaft]

My first car in 1983 .

[@fasthracing]

Never really got the difference between the Avenger & Hunter as they were similar sizes. Both were in my experience a bit bland but not without charm.

[@sydnorth5868]

My dad bought a brand new Chrysler Avenger in 1977. He reckoned it was the worst car he ever owned!

[@davecooper3238]

I replaced more than fuel tank on the saloon version. The rear tyre sent chips onto the front of the tank. The tanks would then leak like a pepper pot. I applied under seal to that part of the new tank before installing. Apart from that I remember as being a generally good motor.

[@terrystevens5261]

I had the estate version and i could never fill the tank right up as it had the same problem.

[@RandomGuy-j8t]

My dad had one of these lol....same color too i think. Blue with black roof. Took us about a week to get up to 60mph. Kidding...my dad never went above 50mph

[@eddiejones.redvees]

My father hired one in the 70s to drive to my mum’s sister in Swindon from Liverpool one of her five daughters was getting married so I few of the family were going I drove there avenger while my dad drove his Austin 1300 down I can remember leaving him behind most of the time especially on hills it was good to drive had great handling and plenty of room inside we were up and down to a few weddings over the years I went one time on my 750 triumph bonneville which got me there quickly

[@richardhowlett9424]

Way better than the current abomination thar wears the Avenger badge.