Hillman Hunter engine

[Jim (across the pond) Adamek]

Is the Hillman Hunter 1725cc engine the same engine used in Sunbeams? Hillman Hunter parts are not available in the U.S. but a fair amount of Sunbeams were sold over here so if I need any parts or try to upgrade the parts may be available.

[Jim (across the pond) Adamek]

That's great. A lot of Alpines were sold over here and I believe the Alpine had twin carbs so I may be able to find parts to upgrade the engine.

[Dave Adams]

They made a tuned version of the Hunter here but they were never common, in the 80's i worked at a scrap yard and we took one in. My boss at the time was quite taken by it and told me about how sought after they used to be (even looking back from then) however he did say the twin strombergs were pigs to keep fully balanced and in tune for best performance (linkage i think....) the engine (in one tune or another) was common to a fair few cars made by Hillman at that time.

[Dave Adams]

To be honest it would be easier and produce much better results to pick a more modern engine and gearbox. one of the 16V Ford 1.8 or 2.0 engines (Zetec) they should be easy to find, they are very reliable and come in at about 130hp "out of the box" you will never see close to those figures on a Hillman engine......the ford engine will do more than double the mileage (gas consumption) so longer trips become less stressful. there wont be a great difference in costs either. i would think that some parts will be hard to find for the Hillman these days (and therefore expensive)

But if your able to source what you need cheaply enough it would make the car more interesting to own and drive, especially if ultimate performance is not your aim. otherwise i might be inclined to leave it as it is, the improvements on offer for such an old engine will be small and all the down sides of doing it in my opinion make it only worth while for fun and interest sake only.

[1midz0wwbl268]

I wonder, was there any common parts between the hunter and the morris oxford, because the Oxford was produced until very recently by hindostan cars in India as the standard  taxi,   being in the USA our friend may have problems inporting Iranian car parts into the States. he would most likily be arrested by homeland security :) 

[Jim (across the pond) Adamek]

Thanks for all the information guys. Since the Dutton is the only car I own right now the logistics of doing an engine swap are just not good but swapping out the carb would not take a lot of effort.

[Dave Adams]

as i said earlier if its an easy option for you it would make the car more interesting........would sound better as well. ;-)