Vehicle Description

For sale here is a 1955 Hillman Minx Vlll Drop Head Coupe. Built by Thrupp and Maperley alongside the 2 door coupe more commonly known as the “Californian” This was the last incarnation of the Minx range before the introduction of the “Audax” series of cars. The car has only had 2 registered owners from new, a total of 71 years. The first owner was a Mr. John Samual Quilliam from Sale, Greater Manchester who purchased the car on 01.03.1955 and kept the car before it passed to Mr. Gerald Walker of Morecombe Lancashire on 02.08.1988. Sadly Mr. walker passed away some time ago and this as well as some of his other collection of cars have been stored since. This was obviously a well-cared for and loved car whilst in possession of Mr Walker who owned a classic and vintage car spares warehouse in Morecombe as well as a collection of classic cars. It has the 4-speed gearbox with overdrive, servo assisted brakes, oil cooler as well as a modern stereo system with CD player. The Mark Vlll was introduced in 1953 and featured longer rear mudguards and a bigger boot. For the Mark VIII, in 1954, a new ohv 1390 cc engine was installed this engine, two years later, went into the first of the new "Audax series" Minxes.
The car was stored in a garage/barn for around 10 years where unfortunately pigeons were able to get in, when we removed the car there was a lot of droppings on the car (please see photos). We have since washed all of that off and the paint underneath is not too bad but there are marks in the paint. I have t cut and polished (only by hand) one side of the bonnet and it comes up ok, maybe a machine polish would rid of more. The body is reasonably solid with the exception of the lower part of the driver’s wing where there is some corrosion. We put a battery on the car and fresh fuel, and she fired up right away. Gears are all there, engine sweet, clutch good but the brakes will need attention so trailering away is recommended. Convertible top is ok with just a small tear on the driver’s side rear; interior is ok but some wear and tear on the seats. All gauges, lights etc seem to work. All in all, a nice straight rare 2 owner car that deserves someone to cherish and enjoy and possibly take it to the next stage of restoration. Last MoT was in 2011/2012 and the mileage was 70,438 now on 71,832.
The first 3 of the photos show the car at a show when still owned by Mr. Walker.