Hillman 14

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.[5]

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 2 in (51 mm) 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) 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 67 in (1,700 mm) inches and its track to 56 in (1,400 mm) inches. A water-impeller and a large top radiator tank were also fitted to export cars.[6]

6-light coachbuilt saloon registered June 1930

Tourer first registered March 1930

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 52 in (1,300 mm) to 56 in (1,400 mm). 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.[7]

October 1929

For 1930 a stronger frame was provided together with longer springs employing Silentbloc spring shackles and improved brakes.[8]

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.[9]

The following month the chairman advised shareholders at the annual meeting that the Fourteen continued to be well-received[10] but six months after the motor show at the end of April 1931[11] its place was taken by the Hillman Wizard 65.

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.[13] 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.[14]

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.[13]

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[15] it was bored out 6 mm to 2,267 cc for 1951[16] It continued in side valve form for the Hawk until the summer of 1955[17] and remained in production for the Hawk until production ended in 1968.

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 synchromesh 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.[12]

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 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 96 in (2,400 mm) wheelbase and narrower 48 in (1,200 mm) track.[18]

Three days later the United Kingdom declared war on Germany.

In the British Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, 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 Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force were not permitted motor vehicles until the Second World War. General Sir Reginald John Thoroton Hildyard, KCB, CMG, DSO, resigned his offices of Governor and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) in 1939 after the House of Assembly of Bermuda twice refused to allow him a motor car.[19][20][21] 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. A car was also authorised for the Governor, and in December, 1943, Governor Lord Burghley, 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.[22]