My 1960 Hillman Minx IIIA

Joe thought the rear springs didn’t seem right. And when I looked, the driver’s side seemed to ride about 4″ lower than the passenger.

I can’t have that. I know what I think about the driver of a car when it rides like that! That must be fixed.

Turns out the biggest leaf spring company in the US is in Harrisburg, PA..

StanleySprings!*

My new best friend Matt took the old springs and re set them.

However, he also said they were within tolerance of the original configuration.

Nevertheless, with new bushings, buttons, and the rubber things (#12 and #14 in the drawing) from Speedy Spares, they are back in the car.

We started installation with the passenger side. MAN was that hard. Ultimately it required another jack and levers.

However, the driver’s side went in like a breeze. Turns out the rear shackle (#28 on the drawing) on the passenger side was pretty much seized. But even with penetrating oil and time to set, it doesn’t seem to be much better.

We probably should have replaced the upper bushings on the shackles too, but after putting it together that can wait until the next time.

Unfortunately, that didn’t really fix the driver’s side sag.

After settling for a week or so, the rear of the car is close to level, but the front is still off.  Fronts shocks maybe?

Next? Rear Shocks

Turns out they aren’t so hard to find: Monroe part #31069

They went in pretty easily after putting some weight on the springs.

One thing to note though is that the smaller shock bushings go on the top.  The manual says they’re the same, but the ones that came with the shocks are not.

And now after settling down a bit, the back end is pretty close to level.

*This is the RIGHT Stanley Springs info:
Dayton Parts, LLC
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
1300 Cameron Street
Harrisburg, Pa 17103

(800) 233-0899
customerservice@daytonparts.com
www.daytonparts.com
Manufacturing Facility

Trying to sort out whether my car is actually a IIIA or IIIB. The VIN number seems to say A. But somebody suggested a B because of the size of the windshield. Searching for better pictures, I found this great collection at Simon Cars

This is definitely a IIIA.

But that hood ornament doesn’t seem to be stock.

It’s important to note that when replacing the Hillman engine with a Series V Alpine engine, the motor mounts, while in the same place, are NOT the same size.

That’s a bit of a difference!

Another point – after finally getting the right motor mounts from Speedy Spares (once they opened after shutting down for Covid 19) we put them on the Alpine 1725 and went to drop it in place, but it didn’t fit! The Alpine front engine plate looks the same as the one on the Hillman engine, but it is a couple of inches narrower, so the engine came out, engine plates were swapped and then it all fit.

We need new ones in the front for sure. But it’s likely to be part of a front end rebuild.  But where to find the springs? 
Perhaps Stanley Springs on Cameron Street in Harrisburg, PA

Will update when I know for sure.

UPDATE: Stanley Springs here in Harrisburg, PA makes leaf springs. Not coils. So I’m on a mission.

I finally found that Kip Motors had a set which I ordered.

But I also found that CoilSprings in the UK could provide them. From his email:

The Details I have for your car are a bit different but not massively so I will work with your information. However, I would like a description of the ends of your springs.
Delivery would be about 3 weeks to manufacture.

PETER  PEARCE
Coil Springs (1989) Ltd
94 ATTERCLIFFE  ROAD
Sheffield S4 7WW
Tel:- 0114 275 8573
E:- coilsprings.sheffield@gmail.com

CoilSprings.com (in St. Mary’s, KS) also said they could MAKE the springs but they requested additional information.

Please review the following data and advise:
O.D.   I.D.   Wire Dia. Checking Load @ Checking Load Height    Rate     F.L.  T.C.4.46″   ??        ???              1000#              @          7.75″              ???   11.03″

Here are are the measurements we took of our set

Cracks and holes can be fixed!

We found a blower motor for the heater. But it was pretty cracked up and had two sizable holes about 3/4″ x 1/2″.   (Sorry I didn’t take a before picture!)

So first up was to repair the casing.  We used some thin fabric, sheeting or particularly light weight shirting. Glued it on the inside coating the whole patch with Duco cement.

Not only did that add support to the cracked parts, but it also served as a base for the patch over top.

For that we used Sugru. This is pretty cool stuff.. but on the expensive side.   It  feels a little like silly putty. But you smear it in the void and the crack and it bonds really well.   According to the instructions for Sugru, you have to get the stuff started on the exisisting edges by really working it into the rough parts.  But after that it sticks to itself really well. We also found a homemade recipe here.

Here’s a picture of the repaired holes and crack. (View the larger size to really see the work.)

Next up hoses and connections

We found the hoses at Victoria British.  But they came with Moss Motors labels and part numbers.

But the elbow proved more difficult to find as a Hillman part.

However, we did find 90 degree silicone elbow coupler from Amazon  to connect between the heater blower and the radiator panel.

Some people said they needed a 3″ connector. Our Hillman used a 4″ one. The elbow fits right over the flange on the blower and inside the round duct through the radiator panel. It needs to be trimmed a bit since without trimming it pushes the blower up too high. We trimmed a little more than an inch off of the vertical leg of the elbow. We noticed too late that the cut should have been made on an angle since the blower opening is not directly in line above the radiator panel opening, at least on our Minx, but it is in and so far seems serviceable.

YMMV.

Use 20 w 50 oil.

This old car needs thicker oil!

Measured 37″  with a 3/8″ top

Dayco 15370  11A0940  at PepBoys!

Check this spec info about the Hillman