The Hillman Fourteen is a medium-sized 4-cylinder car announced by Hillman's managing director
Spencer Wilks
Spencer Bernau Wilks (26 May 189110 March 1971) was a British manager and administrator in the motor manufacturing industry. He served variously in positions including Managing Director, Chairman, and President of the Rover Company from 1929 unt ...
, a son-in-law of
William Hillman
William Hillman (13 November 1848 – 4 February 1921) was a British bicycle and automobile manufacturer. In partnership with Louis Coatalen he founded the Hillman-Coatalen Company in 1907, later the Hillman Motor Company after Coatalen's defec ...
, at the end of September 1925. This new Fourteen substantially increased Hillman's market share and remained on sale into 1931. During this time it was the main product of the company.
Late 1920s fashion when engines and other mechanicals were firmly fixed to the chassis decreed that a medium-sized car like the Fourteen should be given a six-cylinder engine to reduce vibration. So the 2-litre Fourteen's place was taken by the 2.1-litre six-cylinder
Hillman Wizard 65 in April 1931. This Wizard 65 was itself dropped in 1933. The 2.8-litre Wizard 75 continued (re-named 20/70) alongside a 2.6-litre Sixteen and a 3.2-litre Hawk, all of six cylinders. For four years Hillman had no offering in the 2-litre slot.
The six-cylinder cars were not as successful as had been expected, and in October 1937 a new 2-litre four-cylinder Hillman Fourteen with a handsome new body filled their previous place in the Hillman range. Hillman now offered just their Minx and this new Fourteen.
In 1946 production resumed but the former Hillman Fourteens were now given a protruding boot lid and no running boards and badged
Humber Hawk
The Humber Hawk is a four-cylinder automobile manufactured from 1945 to 1967 by British-based Humber Limited.
Humber Hawk Mk I & II
The Hawk, a re-badged Hillman 14 (1938-1940) was the first Humber car to be launched after World War II. Sl ...
.
New market segment
![1927 Hillman 14](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/1927_Hillman_14.JPG)
In the early 1920s Hillman had concentrated on smaller cars with the 10 and 11 hp models but with their 14 horsepower car they entered the larger sized class taking on the
Austin 12 hp and
Humber 14/40. The new Hillman was priced at £345 for the saloon, undercutting the Austin which sold for £455, it was advertised as "the car that costs less than it should".
[
;Engine
The engineering was largely conventional with a 72 x 120 mm long stroke, monobloc, side-valve 1954 cc, four-cylinder 35 bhp engine built in-unit with a four-speed gearbox and spiral bevel geared rear axle.
;Chassis
Four wheel, cable operated, drum brakes were fitted from the start but unusually a vacuum servo was an option. The handbrake had its own set of shoes on the rear brakes. The steel section chassis had semi-elliptic leaf springs all round.][
In a test by ''The Autocar'' magazine, the top speed was around and fuel consumption 23-24 mpg.
;Bodies
A range of bodies were offered including saloons and tourers. The cars were well fitted out and spacious with a right-hand gear change by the driver's door, a feature regarded as up-market at the time. Safety glass was fitted in the windows of the 1928 Safety Saloon. Wire spoked or ]artillery wheel
The artillery wheel was a nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century style of wagon, gun carriage, and automobile wheel. Rather than having its spokes mortised into a wooden nave (hub), it has them fitted together in a keystone fashion with m ...
s could be specified. A V-windscreened landaulette was advertised in 1927.
Standard equipment included: clock, speedometer, oil gauge, screen wiper, driving mirror, shaded dash-lamp, licence holder, rug rail, floor carpets etc.
Road test
In early January 1925 The Times motoring correspondent described the new Hillman's engine as lively enough, quiet and vibration-free but the suspension was hard. There was no undue grumble or hum from the gears. All the controls including steering and brakes were said to work well and the seats, front and back, described as comfortable. The car's maximum speed over level ground was said to be 50-55 mph.
;Update September 1927
Following two years of production improvements were introduced in September 1927 for that year's motor show. The wheelbase was lengthened by but not the car's overall length. The steering was improved for a smoother and lighter action and the column rake was now adjustable. The front brake cables were replaced with rods. The engine received larger crankshaft and connecting rod bearings and an anti-detonating ("anti-knock") design adopted for the cylinder head. A Weymann fabric bodied 4-light 4-door sports saloon (as chosen for personal use by Henry Segrave
Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneous ...
) with safety glass option and a 6-light Safety saloon (fitted with Triplex safety glass) joined the range. The artillery wheel option was dropped. Dipping headlights were a new feature. Separate seats replaced the front bench seat and both back and front seats were widened. There were also changes to the mudguards and running boards. The export car was widened to inches and its track to inches. A water-impeller and a large top radiator tank were also fitted to export cars.
Major facelift September 1928
During 1928 the Rootes brothers obtained control of Hillman.
A new deeper radiator appeared in early September 1928 with larger headlamps on a cross-bar between the wings. The wider bodies had been lowered three inches without reducing ground clearance or head clearance. The body range was rationalised to a standard saloon, fabric saloon, Segrave coupé, tourer and Huski (sic) fabric-bodied sports tourer. There were major changes to a strengthened chassis and an increase in the track of the home market cars from to . Other upgrades included a stronger Hardy-Spicer propellor shaft with metal joints, more powerful brakes and shock absorbers all round. An oil pressure gauge was added to the dashboard.
;October 1929
For 1930 a stronger frame was provided together with longer springs employing Silentbloc
A bushing or rubber bushing is a type of vibration isolator. It provides an interface between two parts, damping the energy transmitted through the bushing. A common application is in vehicle suspension systems, where a bushing made of rubber ...
spring shackles and improved brakes.
;Olympia Motor Show October 1930
Three Fourteens were on Hillman's stand, a 2-door drop head coupé, a 4-door safety tourer and a 6-light Weymann saloon with a sunshine roof. Front seats could now slide for adjustment and a petrol gauge was provided on the instrument panel. The brakes receive servo assistance on the safety model. All the cars displayed had safety glass.
The following month the chairman advised shareholders at the annual meeting that the Fourteen continued to be well-received but six months after the motor show at the end of April 1931 its place was taken by the Hillman Wizard 65.
All new car
;Olympia October 1937
First displayed at the Olympia Motor Show in October 1937 some of its thunder was stolen by the "Ghost Minx" displayed beside it. Holes had been cut in the Minx's body and replaced by ''Perspex'' panels.[
;Body
The new 2-litre Hillman Fourteen was a much prettier car than their Minx's sole remaining stable-mate their 3.2-litre ]Hawk
Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
which it replaced. It was a straightforward, in essence simple, design for an economical four-cylinder car. Full use had been made of the wheelbase and track so five passengers may be carried in comfort. There were six side-windows and swivelling quarter lights in the leading edges of the front windows. Further air was supplied through a ventilator in the scuttle. The de luxe model's sliding roof was steel like the rest of the body. Passengers' feet were not restricted by footwells. Lockable luggage space at the back of the car was considered adequate, the spare wheel was carried in a separate compartment below the luggage. The windscreen could be opened high enough for a clear view in fog. Two wipers were fitted and three swivelling ashtrays. Front seats slide forward and back.[
]
New engine
The new engine was a return to the medium-sized simpler and more efficient 4-cylinder type rather than the 6-cylinder engines fashionable earlier in the 1930s. It had been given an oil bath air cleaner and an automatic choke for the downdraught carburettor. The valves were mounted to one side of the block and operated by pushrods. Cooling water was circulated by an impellor and the amount of cooling provided by the radiator was regulated by thermostat.[ The design, then displacing 1669 cc, was a scaled down version of the Snipe's engine first used in Humber's Twelve of 1933 and now bored out to 75 mm.
The engine, the clutch and the gearbox were mounted together on rubber which allowed them to rock and so absorb vibration. Accordingly the driver's engine controls were provided by cables. Claimed output was 51 bhp at 3,600 rpm. The tax rating was just under 14 horsepower.][
The engine continued in the Humber Hawk range and Sunbeam-Talbot and Sunbeam Alpine ranges. Converted for the Sunbeam-Talbot alone to overhead valves from July 1948 it was bored out 6 mm to 2,267 cc for 1951 It continued in side valve form for the Hawk until the summer of 1955 and remained in production for the Hawk until production ended in 1968.
]
Road test
Eighteen months after the new car's announcement The Times published a road test. Their motoring correspondent liked the new smooth clean look. He described the car as inexpensive and said it was easy to control and displayed quick power and smoothness. Altogether, he said, there was much to commend though the syncromesh required a short pause before engagement and under certain circumstances braking could affect the steering. The suspension was described as excellent, a rear passenger travelled in comfort without being tossed about on bad surfaces. 50 mph was easily maintained without scurry and 67 mph was the Hillman's mean maximum speed.[
;Luxury sports saloon variant
At the end of August 1939 it was announced the shape of the Sunbeam-Talbot Ten would be used on the Hillman Fourteen's engine and running gear to make a new car. It was badged ]Sunbeam-Talbot 2 Litre
The Sunbeam-Talbot 2 Litre is an automobile which was manufactured by Sunbeam-Talbot in the United Kingdom from 1939 until 1948. It was offered in 4-light sports saloon, foursome drophead coupé and 4-seater sports tourer body styles as well as ...
and was available as a 4-light sports saloon, a 4-seater sports tourer, a drop head foursome coupé and a sports 2-seater. The new coachwork was of steel and ash on a shorter wheelbase and narrower track.
Three days later the United Kingdom declared war on Germany.
In the British Imperial fortress
Imperial fortress was the designation given in the British Empire to four colonies that were located in strategic positions from each of which Royal Navy squadrons could control the surrounding regions and, between them, much of the planet.
His ...
colony of Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
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, where motor vehicles had famously been banned from the public roads before the First World War (although motor ambulances, fire-engines, and a road works vehicle had been authorised between the wars), even the Police force
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
, the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, and Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
were not permitted motor vehicles until the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. General Sir Reginald John Thoroton Hildyard, KCB, CMG, DSO, resigned his offices of Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) in 1939 after the House of Assembly of Bermuda
The House of Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. The house has 36 Members of Parliament (MPs), elected for a term of five years in single seat constituencies using first-past-the-post voting ...
twice refused to allow him a motor car. With the declaration of war, however, the legislature soon authorised naval and military vehicles to use the public roads, including cars for both the naval Commander-in-Chief and the Officer Commanding Troops, a Brigadier subordinate to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in the command structure of the Bermuda Garrison
The Bermuda Garrison was the military establishment maintained on the British Overseas Territory and Imperial fortress of Bermuda by the regular British Army and its local militia and voluntary reserves from 1701 to 1957. The garrison evolved fr ...
. A car was also authorised for the Governor, and in December, 1943, Governor Lord Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...
, his wife, and his Aide-de-Campe, Flight Lieutenant L. S. Litchfield, RAF, each obtained a Bermudian driving licence in order to drive the car obtained for the use of the Governor, a Hillman 14.
References
{{reflist
14
Cars introduced in 1925
Cars introduced in 1938
1930s cars