HIllman Minx

Rootes Group · 1945–1970 · Petone-built

Eight Phases, six Series and an Audax body styled with help from Raymond Loewy — the Minx is the Rootes car New Zealand grew up with.

Find Hillman Minx parts by category

All Hillman Minx PartsEverything we list for this model, in one place

Window SealsWindscreen · Rear screen · Quarterlight Door SealsDoor rubbers · Pinchweld · Bailey channel Boot & BonnetBoot seals · Bonnet rubbers · Buffers Clips & FixingsTrim clips · Moulding · Screws · Washers Brakes & ClutchCylinders · Kits · Hoses · Pedal pads Suspension & SteeringBushes · Ball joints · King pins · Idlers Engine & GasketsGasket sets · Mounts · Seals · Bearings CoolingHoses · Thermostats · Caps · Senders Ignition & ElectricalPoints · Caps · Rotors · Coils · Leads Fuel & FiltersPumps · Hose · Filters · Exhaust mounts Lighting & MirrorsLamps · Lenses · Bulbs · Mirrors Axle & GearboxSeals · Mounts · Bearings · Universals

Not listed? Plenty of parts suit several marques and never get the model name in the title — ask us and we will check the books for you.

About the Hillman Minx

Todd Motors had the Rootes agency from 1928 and built Minxes from CKD kits at Petone, just out of Wellington, right through the car’s best years. It was the family saloon of choice here: cheap to run, simple to fix, and sold in enough numbers that parts still turn up. The 1956 Series I brought the Audax body, shaped with input from Raymond Loewy’s studio — the same consultancy behind the Studebaker coupés — and The Motor called it one of the most alluring medium-sized saloons ever built. Over 200,000 Series I cars went out the door, which is a large part of why a Minx is still a realistic restoration today.

Two things to get straight before you order. First, the engine: everything up to the 1265cc Phase VII is side-valve, and everything from the 1390cc Phase VIII onward is overhead-valve, so the two halves of the range share very little above the sump. Second, there is no Series IV — the sequence runs I, II, III, IIIA, IIIB, IIIC and then jumps to V, and Series V is where the body changes hard: flatter screen, squarer roof, and wheels down from 15in to 13in. One local tip worth knowing: the Humber 80 was a Todd Motors badge job created purely to win extra import licences. Mechanically it is a Minx, and it takes Minx parts.

Hillman Minx — specification & changes within the model

Built: 1945–1970. Phase I–VIII 1945–57 · Series I–VI (Audax) 1956–67 · Arrow-based Minx 1967–70. No Series IV was ever made.
Engines: 1185cc side-valve (Phase I–III) · 1265cc side-valve (Phase IV–VII) · 1390cc OHV (Phase VIII, Series I–II) · 1494cc OHV (Series III–IIIB) · 1592cc OHV (Series IIIC, V) · 1725cc five-bearing OHV (Series VI) · 1496cc and 1725cc OHV (Arrow Minx)
Brakes: Drums all round to Series IIIC. Front discs from Series V (1963) onward. The Husky kept four-wheel drums alongside the disc-braked Series V, so check the car rather than the year.
Gearbox: Four-speed throughout, column or floor change. No synchromesh on first until Series VI (Australian Series Va got the all-synchro box a year early). Options over the years: Manumatic, Smiths Easidrive, and Borg-Warner 35 automatic on Series V.
Rear axle: Spiral-bevel up to Series IIIA; hypoid from Series IIIB — a hard interchange break.
Body changes: Independent front suspension from Phase III · 15in wheels from Phase VIII · Series IIIA windscreen 21% larger, with fins and elliptical tail lamps · Series V new flatter screen, squarer roof, 13in wheels · Series VI linear speedometer facia
Electrics: 12 volt throughout the post-war range, dynamo charging.
Bodies: Four-door saloon, drophead (to mid-1962), estate, Californian two-door hardtop, utility. Series V and VI were saloon only.
Also wearing this shell: Singer Gazelle, Sunbeam Rapier, Humber 80 (NZ) — and the Isuzu-built Hillman in Japan, 1953–64.