Team-BHP - Hillman Minx

hey all.
this car belongs to my scout master...
has it since his father was young....
car is in bad shape...came to us for help...

also spotted what looks like a willys jeep...can a jeep expert please explain

she is a beuty when restored like the black one. i would not know the exact count but i would believe there should be quite a few in india. if i believe right hillman was sold in india through dealers.

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Originally Posted by speedy (Post 597396)

I read in AI once that it was through API (Automobile Products of India who went on to manufacture lambrettas), Bbay....?

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Originally Posted by Stanher (Post 597426)

I read in AI once that it was through API (Automobile Products of India who went on to manufacture lambrettas), Bbay....?

It was through DADAJEE DHACKJEE & C0.LTD. They were distributors of Rootes Group Products; Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam-Talbot cars.

I think Hillman Minx was popular as Bombay taxis in the late fifties.

There used to be one lying at Panchgani/Mahabaleshwar on the side of the main road for years together, with no engine...I have a blurred pic somewhere let me see if I can dig it up.

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Originally Posted by -GS- (Post 597437)

It was through DADAJEE DHACKJEE & C0.LTD. They were distributors of Rootes Group Products; Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam-Talbot cars.

Coincidentally, the neice of the gent running the show at Dadajee Dhackjee lives above my aunt, and she (now in her 80s) has some terrific stories to tell...like a 1930s Mercedes he sold in the 40s to an American couple, but rather than cash, the deal was done for a GE electric sowing machine which she still uses! I got a treasure trove of period pictures from her.

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Originally Posted by CYRUS43 (Post 597453)

thanks for the info....now some one tell me about that jeep in the last photo...

All I can tell you is that it is a short chassis registered in 61. Seems to have a locally built body.

Hey, I remember my dad had one when I was very young. Maybe around 3-4 years old. I think it had a sunroof too. I remember my dad telling me that he had bought it for some 1000 bucks brand new from the showroom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by -GS- (Post 597437)

It was through DADAJEE DHACKJEE & C0.LTD. They were distributors of Rootes Group Products; Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam-Talbot cars.

The Dadajee Dhackjee Group has been around since 1894.

Apparently at some time around the turn of the 1960s, the Dadajee Dhackjee building used to house an automobile showroom for the majestic imports of those days.

My friend Pranav Desai used to live in the Dadajee Dhackjee building opposite Bombay Cycle & Motor Agency, Sandhurst Bridge, Opera House/Chowpatty.

The building had an elevator big and powerful enough to carry two full size American cars to the terrace for parking. When I visited my friend in the early 1980s, I believe that huge lift was being used as a watchman's residence.

Does that still exist? Does anyone know?

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Originally Posted by ram (Post 597852)

@khanak. Excellent picture.

Thanks for sharing it.

The magazine has sooo many interesting pictures and articles that Iv never been able to find anywhere else. Id love to upload more but Im not sure if there would be any copyright violations

However

ACI didnt create any of these pictures and theyre all atleast 40-50 years old now . Besides its an old edition and I doubt if anyone would be able to buy one even if they wanted to.