1966 Hillman Husky Wagon

Well, after looking around for a cool project car for a long time, I finally pulled the trigger when I came across one of the most unique vehicles I've ever seen. Like the title says, a '66 Hillman Husky.

Although Wikipedia says they were only made until '65... Anyway I can't tell you how much this car fits my style. It's like a kei car, but LHD. Rear wheel drive, floor shift, rear hatch opens sideways like a fridge (actually the whole back end just looks like some 1950s kitchen appliance).

Also, freaking cool spare tire shelf:

So I love this thing. But it's going to take a massive amount of effort to get it where I want it to be. When the Intercity delivery guy arrived to drop it off, he came out of the cab saying "Man am I bringing you a ton of work."

Yup. Current status of the car is non-running rust bucket. There is so much that will need to be replaced, cut out, patched, etc... I don't know where to start. Especially because this is my first serious attempt at a project car! I've torn down a few engines for timing chain and oil pump replacements (all 80s Toyotas) and done some basic tinkering, but this is my first foray into serious auto work. Especially body stuff. I've never even held a MIG welder but this car should give me enough training to be a pro by the end of it...

Big holes and cancer in the front fenders:

Base of the rear door is eaten through:

Rain guards on the edge of the roof are toast. I actually cut my hand up pretty well on the jagged edges when we were pushing the car into the garage. Check out those sweet door handles and slide windows though:

The interior is a complete mess. Big holes in the floor pan, rotted carpets, torn seats, dash rusted through:

Most of the dashboard was replaced with wood at some point, which has actually held up better than many of the metal bits:

Suspension/drivetrain are the definition of simple, although the leaf springs are sitting almost flat with no load:

So! That's basically the current status. As for my plans for her, I want to swap in a Toyota 20R or Datsun L series and associated drivetrain (sacrilege in some communities, but not among GRM dorks I hope), update all the lines and wires, stop/patch the rust, gut/swap out the interior pieces (and find/build a non-wood replacement dash), and do some painting. Oh and fender mirrors would look amazing. Basically I want to make it a British/Japanese bastardized version of Nakazoto's '67 Mitsubishi 360 JNC project.

The original engine is 98% complete from what I can tell, which is more than can be said for the top of the grill/body where the hood latches:

...but I plan on just pulling and selling the engine to offset the cost of other parts of the project. Hopefully someone out there wants a 55HP Rootes Group 1.6L beast.

So wish me luck! And if anyone who has undertaken a restomod like this feels inclined to pass along some wisdom, that would be much appreciated!

In the meantime I'm going to start pulling/cleaning interior bits. Gotta start somewhere.

I'll keep you guys posted.

Looks like a good project!

As first reply I think I have to say the 2 required items:

1. AWESOME!
2. Needs an LS swap.

That is very cool! The rust looks rather scary to me. How does a dash rust?!! The drivetrain might be a hard sell but maybe there is someone looking to build a retro Locost.Your windshield looks in good shape which is excellent - glass for these old non-mainstream Brits can be hard to find. I wonder if you could put the whole thing on a shortened Datsun mini truck frame ...

ArthurDent wrote: That is very cool! The rust looks rather scary to me. How does a dash rust?!! ...

Leaky windshield gasket.

Cool car! Don't get overwhelmed by the big-picture. Focus on one area until it's fixed, then move to the next. You'll probably have to force yourself to keep going occasionally, as motivation waxes and wanes. But in the end you'll really have something interesting and unique.

Looks like the perfect place to marry up a wayward Miata.

Cool find.

Great project and a way cool car. My suggestion:

Do all the bodywork first, suspension and rolling stuff second, and the drivetrain last. That way if you need to abandon the project for any reason, you'll have something more easily sold and/or scrapped with the least amount of investment.

Also, these cars share a lot with other British cars of their era. Don't give up on parts until you've searched other marque suppliers. Good luck!

Thanks for the comments everybody!

Basil Exposition wrote: Great project and a way cool car. My suggestion: Do all the bodywork first, suspension and rolling stuff second, and the drivetrain last.

This is my plan. Also because I expect the bodywork to be the most frustrating aspect so I want to tackle that first.

Basil Exposition wrote: Also, these cars share a lot with other British cars of their era. Don't give up on parts until you've searched other marque suppliers. Good luck!

Thanks, I didn't realize this but that makes sense. When it comes time to start sourcing big parts that are missing/broken beyond repair (like the dash, grill, etc.), I'll check into this.

James McD wrote: Cool car! Don't get overwhelmed by the big-picture. Focus on one area until it's fixed, then move to the next. You'll probably have to force yourself to keep going occasionally, as motivation waxes and wanes. But in the end you'll really have something interesting and unique.

Thanks for the encouraging words. This is exactly what I need to do-- Just focus on one portion at a time.

ArthurDent: I wonder if you could put the whole thing on a shortened Datsun mini truck frame ...

Hopefully the frame and suspension are salvageable, but that's really not a bad idea. Would make conversion to an L series driveline that much easier.

In reply to saruken:

First, this is a super cool project. I've never seen one of those and when it's done it'll be really awesome to see on the road.

For a project in this condition I'd like to make a suggestion: tear it down and have the body media blasted. It may seem a bit expensive in the beginning, but it'll make a big difference in your level of aggravation and how nice the finished product is. It's like ripping the bandage off to see all the cancer. I wish I had done this on my X1/9 project instead of piecemeal grinding, cutting, and welding. You end up saving a ton of time, especially on the bottom and other hard to reach areas that need to be cleaned, primed and repainted.

Please keep us updated!

That is an awesome ride. I do however have to agree that you have bitten off a big chunk. As someome mentioned, the trick is to not look at the big picture. Pick a task and finish it and then do another until you are done.

Don't tlet the lack of welding and or fabrication experience stop you; this is how you get that stuff. Do yourself a favour if you have not bought a welder yet, buy a Lincoln or a Miller. The other stuff can work fine, but you don't need another variable at this point.

So I finally had a couple hours to get down to the basement this afternoon and work on the Hillman. Interior started like this, with rotted brown carpet everywhere:

Well, we tore that up, and found a layer of pretty decent red carpet underneath:

Then we tore that up and found a layer of pulverized rust and big holes in the floorpan:

Passenger side is even worse:

Oh, also the front seats weren't bolted to anything in the back, and just folded right up:

Handy for getting into the back; would definitely kill you in a collision. Oh and check out this bizarre/awesome spotlight dome light:

Fancy. Anyway, the floorpan in the back was rough too. It's hard to see in the pictures, but the area around the parking brake is pretty well separated from the rest of the floor. It felt like putting much weight on the back footwell area would have resulted in a boot straight through to the garage floor.

But anyhow, with only minor struggles we got the seats and carpet out (only one broken bolt), and the back door as well.

Along the way I found out that the fuel filler neck was about 50% absent:

Which makes me think this car sat for even longer than I previously believed. I also started taking the dash apart and found that even the wood had "rusted" through:

All said, it was a good first drop in an enormous bucket. The car is full of holes, but so far there's only one section of rust that really scares me. The passenger rocker panel where it starts to curve up toward the A pillar, that whole area is eaten through from the floorpan to the dash to the door sill:

It's the depth and severity of the rust here, coupled with its structurally important-looking location that makes me nervous.

Once the car's all stripped down, I'm considering having it media blasted, as mblommel suggested above. The only reason I'm wary is that I have no idea what that would cost, and I don't want to sink a bunch of money into it just to find out the rust is beyond [my means to] repair. Does anyone have experience with media blasting services? I'm just wondering how much I'm likely to be out if I have a shop do it. Renting a unit myself isn't a real possibility because of space and cleanup restrictions.

Well, until next time. Thanks for reading!

saruken wrote: Once the car's all stripped down, I'm considering having it media blasted, as mblommel suggested above. The only reason I'm wary is that I have no idea what that would cost, and I don't want to sink a bunch of money into it just to find out the rust is beyond [my means to] repair.

Two ways of looking at this:

1. I don't want to sink a bunch of money into it (stripping the chassis) just to find out the rust is beyond [my means to] repair.
2. I don't want to sink a bunch of money into a nice restoration on a chassis that didn't deserve it.

Let's say you spent $1000 media blasting it and find it's really far gone. At that point you have the option of sucking it up and doing more metal work than you hoped for OR throwing in the towel and being thankful you only spent $1000 to blast it instead of $5000 to restore it. Now let's say you don't media blast it and start the restoration with it only doing the very obvious repairs. If you paint the car and in 5 years the paint is absolutely ruined from rust coming through and you've got new holes all over in the chassis that were previously hidden....isn't that kind of wasteful?

Personally, if I was planning on keeping it and really liked a rare oddball car, I'd bite the bullet and strip the chassis one way or another. Better to fix it at the beginning than the end!

Bryce

Nashco wrote:

saruken wrote: Once the car's all stripped down, I'm considering having it media blasted, as mblommel suggested above. The only reason I'm wary is that I have no idea what that would cost, and I don't want to sink a bunch of money into it just to find out the rust is beyond [my means to] repair.

Two ways of looking at this: 1. I don't want to sink a bunch of money into it (stripping the chassis) just to find out the rust is beyond [my means to] repair. 2. I don't want to sink a bunch of money into a nice restoration on a chassis that didn't deserve it. Let's say you spent $1000 media blasting it and find it's really far gone. At that point you have the option of sucking it up and doing more metal work than you hoped for OR throwing in the towel and being thankful you only spent $1000 to blast it instead of $5000 to restore it. Now let's say you don't media blast it and start the restoration with it only doing the very obvious repairs. If you paint the car and in 5 years the paint is absolutely ruined from rust coming through and you've got new holes all over in the chassis that were previously hidden....isn't that kind of wasteful? Personally, if I was planning on keeping it and really liked a rare oddball car, I'd bite the bullet and strip the chassis one way or another. Better to fix it at the beginning than the end! Bryce

Wow, I thought my truck was rusty. This thing is pretty bad. I am not trying to dissuade you, just trying to make a point. Like Bryce says, this is going to be full of little bits o' rust just about everywhere. Everything can be repaired, given time, skill and tools. The only way to really know what you're up against is to strip it all in one shot. I've never done this, so my opinion isn't all that useful, but media blasting is where I would start.

That is how the seats are supposed to be for access to the back. Classic Minis are the same way.

You guys are a bunch of weenies. I'm from New England.

If you have holes in the floor, it isn't that rusty.

If you have holes in the floor big enough to stand in, its a bit rusty.

If you have small bits of floor clinging to the underside of the carpet in one massive hole, its rusty.

If the carpet itself has also rotted away and driving resembles a glass-bottomed boat ride, its a New England car

Cool car!

Lots or rust, but it looks like it can be saved. You will most likely need to hand fabricate all the repair panels.

Right now the car has value because it is more or less complete and restorable. It’s a good project for the right person, but may not be the right project for you. You can easily sell it and move on or try a few simple projects.

You could try restoring one of the doors or fenders to get a feel for what is in store for you. This car is going to be a labor of love.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: You guys are a bunch of weenies. I'm from New England. If you have holes in the floor, it isn't that rusty. If you have holes in the floor big enough to stand in, its a bit rusty. If you have small bits of floor clinging to the underside of the carpet in one massive hole, its rusty. If the carpet itself has also rotted away and driving resembles a glass-bottomed boat ride, its a New England car

I had a truck like that. Tunawife (then Tunagirlfriend) fell through the passenger side of the floor rather unexpectedly one otherwise romantic evening. She's still here, but the truck is not. I patched those (many) holes with steel, rivets, and a hammer. I wrote a note on them, saying that the truck was far too rusty and had been hit hard and was not worth restoring. Anyone wishing to work on a project truck would be wise to throw this one back and cast again.

I should have left a phone number.

Some inspiration.

Before:

During

Done

This was my first effort at a restoration. Failure was not an option. I could have easily bought a solid driver for less than I spnt on parts and been driving 6 years earlier.

That glad, I am glad I did this. You come out the other end a different person car-wise in that you know that there is not much you cant do.

A car that unique is definitely worth the resto and if you decide its too much work you'll get a fair amount back out of any investment of having it blasted and primered.

That car is awesome. I didn't think there was a '66 Husky. I thought they ended in '65 and restarted in '67 with the Imp based one. Either way I vote a British motor in it. Either a Triumph 1296cc or a MG 1275cc or go crazy a put Triumph 6 cylinder in it.

Lots of work there. Also lots of coolness potential.

Hey man, I see you are in Knoxville. I saw this 1957 Hillman on CL. It looks like it has MG wire wheels. Not sure if you want to contact the owner or not. Here's the link:

http://chattanooga.craigslist.org/cto/4211859776.html

Thanks everyone for the comments. It turns out we have a good media blasting shop here in Knoxville, Strip Technologies. I talked to a guy over there who quoted me ~$1500 to blast the whole body and all the panels. I'll probably end up going that route, but it'll be another couple weeks before everything's stripped down enough to haul it over there.

octavious said: I saw this 1957 Hillman on CL. It looks like it has MG wire wheels. Not sure if you want to contact the owner or not. Here's the link: http://chattanooga.craigslist.org/cto/4211859776.html

Thanks for the link! Turns out it has a Toyota 2TC swap, so since that's pretty much the direction I want to go I texted the owner. According to him, the front end is clipped from an E30 Corolla. Seems like the kind of thing you would want to mention in an ad, but nah it's Craigslist. Anyway it's an interesting thought; would certainly make suspension and brake parts easier to find, but I think I'd only consider that route if the rust damage on my Hillman is too severe to save the original components. And then I'd probably just go with ArthurDent's suggestion and drop the whole thing in a shortened Datsun truck frame.

NOHOME said: Some inspiration.

Those frame rails were absolutely chewed up! It's amazing you brought it back from that point. Definitely inspires me to think that the Hillman can be resurrected.

93EXCivic said: I didn't think there was a '66 Husky.

I've read that there is and there isn't, depending on the source. Any idea where I can look on the car for a date to be sure?

I would try to find the VIN or Comission number to start. Then l would look around on some boards specializing in the Rootes group.