Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Feeble Strategy

Nice try mate! But I'm afraid your hiding scheme won't work, you will be crushed sooner or later! ; (

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Lima Hunter



1978 Hillman Hunter MK4 in Lima, Peru.

Youth Weapon




Heavily modified Paykan Javanan. All I can say is this: BTCC be scared, be very very scared!!!... ;)

Special thanks to AmirPaykan.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Tasmanian Hunter





Dan from Tasmania has sent me these beautifully aged Polaroid pictures. I absolutely LOVE them! This is a 1968 Hillman Hunter MKI and was Dan's first car when he was 18 years old, he loved the Hunter and now regrets selling it.

A very special thanks to Dan for sharing his Tasmanian Hunter with us!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Mom Always Liked You Best

This is not a joke, believe it or not, it is an actual Chrysler advertisement for the US market. You see, Chrysler back then really tried to pitch the Sunbeam Arrow as a sophisticated European sedan. The biggest kick is that they even mentioned the devaluation of pound! At the end, as far as I could gather so far, they only managed to sell few thousands Arrows here in the US, from late 60's to early 70s.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

My Dad's First Paykan

No!... That is not Cat Stevens, that is my Dad! He is standing next to his first car, a late 60's Paykan. This picture was taken in early 70s at my grandparent's house in Darrous.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

WIRED Paykan

PaykanHunter is going BIG! Follow this Link. ;)
Special thanks goes to: Lou Gasevski

Monday, March 22, 2010

Heavy Metal Hunter

Hillman Hunter in Heavy Metal Britannia documentary. Heavy Metal music originated from industrialized Midlands in the late 60's. Metal pioneers like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Deep Purple they all blamed dull & depressing Midlands for their alienation and decent into the darker side of things. You might argue that Hunter didn't contribute much to Motoring, but now we know that it played a pivotal role in creation of Heavy Metal music! ;)

Special thanks to: Kamshots.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Norooz Mobarak!

Today is Norooz, the first day of Spring and the beginning of Iranian New Year. Noroozetan Mobarak y'all!

Picture from: Seymore's Life

Friday, March 19, 2010

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Craftsman Truck




As far as I know Paykan Pick Up still is in production. Are you looking for a tough reliable and multipurpose truck? Well... look no further my friends, Iran Khodro got you covered!...

Detroit Big 3 watch out! Just wait till Iran's sanctions is lifted, then you be saying goodbye to all your cash cow trucks!..... Nascar Truck Series? Anybody?... ;)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Through A Hole In Time



Brilliant and very Funny article by Simon Charlesworth from dep-o magazine. Also you can read about possibly The Cheapest MOT Fix Ever! It is so assuring to know that this Singer Gazelle was rescued by a true gear head!

Good Luck Simon! And don't let anybody discourages you during the restoration process, rest assure that you have the support of all Iranians... well ok... maybe not all, but at least a few... :)

Oh.... and if you want know why Charlesworth is UNHINGED read this.

Friday, March 12, 2010

1966 Earls Court London Motor Show



Just skip to 1:19, the rest of the video is just boring stuff really... ;)

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Chicken Coop

This Hillman Minx picture is from Unmitigated England Blog. The Minx was the base model among the Hunter range, and the author thinks this one might be awaiting conversion into a chicken coop! I'm sure the chickens would be very happy indeed!... ;)

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Paykan Benz#1

What a kick in the teeth for the Germans!... ;)

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Isn't Much of a Car...




Maybe the Hunter isn't much of a car, but Linda Dodwell and Gennie Obert finished the 1997 Peking to Paris rally in one, and collected not only the Gold medal for making every checkpoint, but also earning the Women's Cup . Its a very interesting read, specially knowing that they had so little time behind the wheel prior to the start of the rally.

Article from April 1998 issue of British Car magazine.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Hairy

100 mph for £961? Not bad, not bad.... I bet that raised a lot of chest hair back then, or maybe not... ;) I love this picture and it's backdrop, although I'm not sure if Rootes offered those "High Seats" for the UK market, I thought those specifically for the US market Sunbeam Arrow versions, but you know what? they went bankrupt like like 32 years ago, so I let this one slide for now.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Theo's Humber



Theo from Netherlands sent me photos of his fantastic looking 1976 Humber Sceptre. He has a working overdrive on 3rd and 4th gears, and runs this car on LPG also!

Thanks Theo for the pictures!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Naughty Paykan!

Naughty, Naughty, Naughty!... Ok, let me translate the sign word by word for you first, to see if this picture makes any sense, it says: "This car, for the reason of breaking the morality laws, has been impounded till further notice, signed by Security Forces City of Tonekabon". I'm being very serious here, it says "This Car" no mentioning of the owner, or the driver.
Man! conditions are getting tougher and tougher for the poor old Paykans out there, aren't they?... ;-/

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Half Rat Hunter





Rodney from Australia sent me photos of his so called "Half Rat Hillman", I love it! He is still in the process of sorting out the drivetrain for the car, and is planning to use it for club gatherings, or optional track car. Really nice job mate! It is going to be one unique Rat Hunter for sure by the time you are done with it!

Defense Mechanism

Another photo by my friend Kamshots, taken near the Hesabi Intersection in Tehran. Here we get a rare chance to witness the camouflage process, which some of these clever Paykans have been adapting lately. As you can see the transformation has started from the rear door, and soon this red Javanan would completely blend to the wall behind it; totally invisible to the authorities who wish to transport it to somewhere like this place! ;)