1932 Hillman Wizard DeLuxe Saloon (24660703315)

The Hillman Wizard is a six-cylinder car produced by

Hillman Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had ...

between 1931 and 1933. Production began in April 1931 and continued until 1933. The Wizard was produced in two models, the 65 and 75. The 65 model had a 65mm bore and was rated at 15.7 horsepower, while the 75 model had a 75 mm bore and was rated at 20.9 horsepower. The key selling point for the Wizard, the self-proclaimed "Car of the Moderns", was that it had been tested for international conditions, not just those found in Great Britain. The car was reportedly subjected to every conceivable and practical test. Photos exist to this date of the Wizard being test-driven in France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco.

Body styles

The Wizard was first released with five body styles, each available in a choice of three colours. The models were the five-seater family saloon, £270; saloon de luxe, £285; coupe-cabriolet, £299; four-door sports saloon, £299; five-seater tourer, £270. The bare chassis was available for £198. The cheaper family saloon and touring car models came with 19 inch steel

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 ...

Wire wheels Wire wheels, wire-spoked wheels, tension-spoked wheels, or "suspension" wheels are wheels whose rims connect to their hubs by wire spokes. Although these wires are generally stiffer than a typical wire rope, they function mechanically the same ...

were available for an additional £7 10/-. All other models had wire wheels as standard, and

Triplex Safety Glass Triplex Safety Glass was a British brand of toughened glass and laminated glass. The marque is often seen on vehicle and aircraft windscreens. History The Triplex Safety Glass Company Ltd was founded in 1912 by Kent-born Reginald Delpech (30 ...

throughout instead of only for the windscreen. A Hillman Wizard was supplied to the Mechanical Warfare Experimental Establishment MWEE seemimgly for testing between 26th September 1931 and 10th November 1932. Source National Archives Kew

Powertrain

Both engines had a 106 mm stroke, meaning the 65 model measured 2,110 cc and the 75 model measured 2,810 cc The 75 model was predominately targeted towards export markets, given the additional £5 horse-power tax that was payable owing to its larger capacity. The

straight-six engine The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bala ...

featured

side valve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, a ...

s, a detachable head and coil ignition. There was a dry single-plate

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

and the

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), diff ...

had four speeds with silent third.

Suspension and brakes

Suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspende ...

was provided by half-elliptic springs at both front and back, with hydraulic

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most ...

s. Brakes were a Bendix-Perrot duo-servo series on all four wheels, operated through armoured cables by pedal or lever.

Sales

It is estimated that about 3,250 Wizards were sold in 1931, approximately 2,186 in 1932, and numbers for 1933 are unknown. These were disappointing results for a car with so much promise, however the tough economic circumstances of the times almost certainly contributed to the weak sales results for a car that provided its owners with a then unfashionable perception of exuberance. Meanwhile, the four-cylinder

Hillman Minx The Hillman Minx was a mid-sized family car that British car maker Hillman produced from 1931 to 1970. There were many versions of the Minx over that period, as well as badge-engineered variants sold by Humber, Singer, and Sunbeam. From t ...

was having a far more successful time, selling around 20,000 vehicles per year. The Wizard was discontinued from production in 1933. Rootes entered the six-cylinder market again in 1934, with the introduction of the Hillman 16hp & 20/70 models.

References

External links

{{commons category, Hillman Wizard
Hillman Wizard website
Wizard 1930s cars Cars introduced in 1931 Hillman Wizard Coupés Sedans