William Hillman's Wildest Dreams

I found it fascinating to know that name Hillman goes all the way back to the 19h Century. I bet you that William Hillman himself never even in his wildest dreams saw a time in which a car originally carrying his name, could be produced in Persia for nearly 40 years! Its a shame so many of those early car makers are now gone. Car industry has gone so competitive for the past 30-40 years that companies such as Rootes Group simply didn't had a chance to survive.

From Coventry Transport Museum:

William Hillman was a key figure in the beginnings of the cycle and motor industries in Coventry. Born at Lewisham in 1847, Hillman first apprenticed in Marine Engineering before he moved to Coventry in the late 1860s along with George Singer and others. Working closely with James Starley in the development of the velocipede, by 1875 he had gained enough experience to form his own cycle business – that of Hillman & Herbert. One of Hillman’s most famous machines was the ‘Kangaroo’ a revolutionary geared front-driven safety cycle, as well as ‘Premier’ models.

In 1892, the company changed its name to the Premier Cycle Company – claiming to be the largest cycle manufacturers in the world by 1896. At this time, the motor industry was in its infancy in Great Britain, and at the forefront of this development was Coventry. Some cycle manufacturers such as the Humber Company and Bayliss, Thomas and Company acted quickly, releasing motor-driven bicycles and tricycles, yet Hillman himself waited until 1902 to develop an experimental motor-bicycle.

It was not until 1910 that he would seriously enter the motorcycle market, offering Premier motorcycles. Hillman cars were of more conventional and economic proportions of 9 to 12hp through to WWI.

Hillman himself died in 1921, and by 1928 the company was absorbed into that of the Rootes Brothers Empire, seeing the introduction of the ‘Wizard’ and ‘Minx’ models in the 1930s.

The last car to carry the Hillman name was the Avenger introduced in 1970 until the final models in 1981.

Paykan Wannabe

As I promised before here is brothers Khashayar & Ashkan third Sunbeam Arrow. This "Paykan Wannabe" as I like to call it, is located in Toronto. The guys are definitely cruising around with style aren't they? ;)

This car was originally a US imported Arrow, and it had gone through major restoration in Georgia. I want thank Khashayar & Ashkan for taking good care of this car now, and for being such devoted Paykan enthusiasts!

Update: Lack of round headlamps and other details related to Sunbeam Arrows is casting a shadow over the origin of this car.

One Clean Paykan

Example of an early produced Paykan, between 67-69 is my guess. With the exception of the engine-bay, which shows a bit of wear, this car is in amazing condition; it was probably restored at some point. An early model Paykan like this is really rare to find these days in Iran.

Repossessed By SATAN!

OMG!... Are you KIDDING ME?!... OK, Hats Off here!.... I thought the Aussies were crazy, but I take back everything I said about them!... This Hunter, as it says on the sticker, was repossessed by Satan, and is located in the UK!.... Just Awesome!!... ;)

Multi-Valve Bypass Update

OK, I got a bit more info on this.... The engine is a Nissan FJ20 ET, that produces around 200 hp, so this must be one quick Hunter!.... And yes it is confirmed now, it is made in Australia!...

Multi-Valve Bypass

Nope!... Your eyes are not deceiving you, and these pictures are indisputable! You got love those Aussies man! well, I'm almost positive that the above perpetrator is an Australian! ; )
Nice Job Mate!...

Paykan Lowrider #6

Here is another Paykan Lowrider, or as they call them over in Iran "Paw kootah" which means Short-Legged.

Hunter-Gatherer In San Francisco

I CAN NOT BEGIN to tell you how SURPRISED I was when got an email with these pictures from Phil!... He had stumbled into www.PaykanHunter.com and wanted to tell me about his Sunbeam Arrow Wagon!...

Phil lives in San Fransisco bay area, and currently is restoring a 1967 Sunbeam Arrow wagon. This is his second Arrow Wagon, unfortunately he had to scrap the first one. According to Phil's research there were only 169 wagon version were sold in North America, including Canada. This makes the car an extremely rare example in the US.

This Arrow needed a major surgery to the A-pillars (Front Pillars), floors, and rocker panels. Phil had to make all the repairs himself. He believes that Hunters are tough as nails, and not terrible to drive, and plans on using his Wagon for rallying and camping.

I want to thank Phil once again for getting in touch with me, and wish him the best of Luck in finishing up the Arrow restoration!...

For Men Only

I believe this is an Australian ad for the Hunter GT. The GT was a more powerful version of the Hillman Hunter. It developed 94 Break Horse Power at 5,200 RPM, had vacuum assisted disk brakes, and front suspension had a larger diameter stabilizer bar than the standard Hunters. YES!... Very Manley Indeed!...

Richard West's 1970 Hillman Hunter

This is one Fantastic Hunter, I love all those racing modifications!.. Below you can read more about the car and it's Australian owner Mr. Richard West, from an article by Mark Hinchliffe of couriermail.com.au

"My wife was given the car by her great uncle and great aunt" he says. "They bought it new in 1970 for $1950 and had done 42,000 miles (67,500km) before giving it to her in 1990. "About 2000 I started in motorsport and that was the car I used. I just put in a roll cage and away I went." His father was also guest navigator for legendary rally driver Sting Blomqvist in 1978.

Over time West has become "quicker and better" and the car has gradually received more modifications as he moved into more "serious" racing. The historic category allows limited modifications, so the racing Hillman Hunter now has Koni shock absorbers; coil-over suspension at the front which is adjustable for castor, camber and height; a balanced and blueprinted engine; handmade extractors; handmade intake manifold; Cortina ventilated front discs; twin 45mm Webbers; and the four-cylinder 1725cc engine has been marginally rebored to about 1730cc.

It originally put out 53kW at the flywheel and now yields about 93kW at the rear wheels. "I was a laughing stock when I first turned up in the Hillman," says West. "No one had ever done it before. Plenty of people said they couldn't see why not, but plenty of people said it couldn't be done."

"I've had to plot my own way all the way. Over the years I've been getting places and winning. It's now a competitive car. No one laughs anymore," West says. "It's a good chassis to work on. But the Lucas electrics are a challenge; they call Lucas the Prince of Darkness."

"The UK motor and driveline are good at leaking oil and I'm not allowed under the rules to drop oil on the track so I've learnt how to stop it." West says the main advantage of the Hillman is that it is wide, and has good cornering speed. But I could do with more horsepower."

Best of Luck to Richard with his amazing Hunter!...

Sunset in Shiraz

A Paykan at sunset in the city of Shiraz, Iran.

Hunter & Camper

Hillman Hunter towing a Camper somewhere in England.

Paykan Invasion!...

Run for your lives!!!... They have been resurrected from the Dead! ;) This photo was taken at south side of Tehran by my good friend Kamyar, for more of his work please visit Kamshots.

The Peugeot 405 you see in the picture is also an Iran Khodro product.

Orange Hunter Rallying

Hillman Hunter prepared for Historic Rallying, this Hunter was recently for sale in England.

Paykan Won't Give Up!!!

Salam & Hello!!!... Please accept my apologies for the long pause on this site. Despite the lack of updates I had hits from all around the world!! Special Thanks to All of you for visiting and leaving comments!...

I wanted to put the site on hold, as a way to pay respect to all the victims of current political unrest in Iran. I also needed some time to think about if I wanted to continue this Blog or not. I then came to this conclusion that giving up in the face of difficulties is scary and sad, and only if we all hold on to our passion and let that be the guiding light, then we can achieve things collectively or individually... so I thought perhaps this battered Paykan picture couldn't possibly explain today's Iran any better. I have never intended a political tone for this site, but I guess not even a Paykan Blog could escape from the complex political landscape of Iran these days.

I will be updating the site regularly, so please spread the word to your friends and family, and please email me: shahin@paykanhunter.com any picture of Paykan or Hillman Hunter that you have and want to share with the rest of the world!

The above picture was taken some time ago, and it is from my very good friend and acclaimed photographer Sam Javanrouh.

Merci & Many Thanks!