It really burns me to have to do this, but with a new business and new baby on the way needs must.
This is my 1973 Hillman Aventer 1500 Super. I bought it about 5 years ago with hopes of turning it into a weekend toy for road and perhaps the occasional track use.
It was on the road as recently as 2006. The chap I bought it from had recently bought it from the previous owner and had decided to turn it into a drift car. He had got as far as removing all of the interior, the petrol tank and most of the sound deadening out of it together. I believe he went over the underneath as well cleaning off the old underseal and reapplying it. This was both good and bad. Good in that it allowed for a close inspection of the car and showed it to be remarkably solid - I don't think it's ever been welded. Bad in that he threw some stuff away including the seats, and lost most of the nuts and bolts to refit stuff such as the petrol tank. However, if your plan is to turn it into a track or rally car, then it's not such a problem. If you're hoping to restore it, then I'd suggest finding a very rusty but complete spares car to rob the missing bits from.
Since then, I've had it stored away whilst I collected various bits for it. These include
-2x wheel arch repair sections
-2x front outriggers (don't think they're needed but never hurts to have
them)
-2x HD rear springs (can't remember exact rating)
-Tubular exhaust manifold
-Strut brace
-Lotus Sunbeam anti-roll bar
-Hipo camshaft (like the springs, I can't remember the specs, but I don't
think I would have chosen one that was wildly innapropriate for the
intended use)
-2x caliper brackets to adapt rear disc brakes (for ford calipers of some sort
I think)
-2 x front brake discs
-Head set
There may be some other bits to as well. I believe I may have a spare grille (in addition to the original), a set of rear brake shoes, and possibly an inlet manifold to fit twin webers but I'll have to look.
I do have a set of six Lotus Sunbeam Alloy wheels for sale separately.
Anyways I'll now list the good and the bad.
Good
-great colour
-1500 cc engine
-engine not seized,
-very little rust
-car looks to have never been welded
-The car may be tax exempt (it came with a letter from a Rootes expert
saying it had been built before 1st of January 1973) though I can't vouch
for that
-Odometer says 51,000 miles which may or nay not be original (would be easier to judge if I had the original interior)
Bad
-needs a little welding in floor, rears of sills, front valance, and behind rear
arches
-needs new front wings (but these are bolt on so easy to swap for better ones)
-brakes are not working
-two of the door windows have been removed - glass is still present but no
guarantee that all the other bits needed to refit them are.
-much of the interior and door seals have been removed, some present but
seats are gone, as well as two of the door trim panels.
-I haven't had the engine running
-I haven't got the V5 though I've now applied for one
So basically it's a clean, mostly solid and honest starting point for a great little project whether you want to restore it, or turn it into a trackday car or rally car. I'm looking for £500 for the car and all the extra spares/parts aside from the Lotus Sunbeam wheels although if you want to make me an offer to include the wheels that is fine. I will have the V5 available for anyone who buys the car.
Anyways, to the pictures:
The car
Rusty bits and non-rusty bits
Rear of nearside sill
Behind rear nearside arch
Rear nearside door (all doors appear to be very solid)
Front nearside door (excuse the crappy phone photos - I didn't realize you couldn't see the lip in the photo but they're all good).
Front nearside wing - all filler and rust at the front of it.
Front offside wing - more filler
Bottom of the offside wing is shot - I think the valance is ok here though but I'll have a prod next time I'm with the car
Front lower valance - it appears that there may be a few pinholes here, not uncommon on Avengers.
Front offside door
This is the only hole I could find in the floor - drivers footwell. The rest including the boot floor is solid.
The front passenger's footwell is solid.
Rear offside door- solid
The rear offside sill is probably the worst bit on the entire car.
The quarter behind the rear arch is a bit crust but better than the nearside.
Boot floor - clean and solid
Bootlid also good
The extra bits
The two pieces of door glass that have been removed
A box full of bits, including seat tracks, and I believe the winding mechanisms for the glass that was removed.
Console
Off side door trims - near side trims are missing.
Front jacking points - I believe the ones on the car are good but these are cheap so I grabbed them "just in case"
Rear arch repair panels
Rear springs
Sunbeam Lotus front antiroll bar under all that tape
Tubular exhaust manifold
The strut brace
Camshaft
As mentioned I may have other bits and bobs as well. I'll have a look this weekend and post any additional pictures.
The car is located in Chertsey, Surrey (Junction 11 M25). I'm prepared to sell the car separately from the various parts if that is your preference.
Please PM me if you want to view the car.
The inspiration
This is my 1973 Hillman Aventer 1500 Super. I bought it about 5 years ago with hopes of turning it into a weekend toy for road and perhaps the occasional track use.
It was on the road as recently as 2006. The chap I bought it from had recently bought it from the previous owner and had decided to turn it into a drift car. He had got as far as removing all of the interior, the petrol tank and most of the sound deadening out of it together. I believe he went over the underneath as well cleaning off the old underseal and reapplying it. This was both good and bad. Good in that it allowed for a close inspection of the car and showed it to be remarkably solid - I don't think it's ever been welded. Bad in that he threw some stuff away including the seats, and lost most of the nuts and bolts to refit stuff such as the petrol tank. However, if your plan is to turn it into a track or rally car, then it's not such a problem. If you're hoping to restore it, then I'd suggest finding a very rusty but complete spares car to rob the missing bits from.
Since then, I've had it stored away whilst I collected various bits for it. These include
-2x wheel arch repair sections
-2x front outriggers (don't think they're needed but never hurts to have
them)
-2x HD rear springs (can't remember exact rating)
-Tubular exhaust manifold
-Strut brace
-Lotus Sunbeam anti-roll bar
-Hipo camshaft (like the springs, I can't remember the specs, but I don't
think I would have chosen one that was wildly innapropriate for the
intended use)
-2x caliper brackets to adapt rear disc brakes (for ford calipers of some sort
I think)
-2 x front brake discs
-Head set
There may be some other bits to as well. I believe I may have a spare grille (in addition to the original), a set of rear brake shoes, and possibly an inlet manifold to fit twin webers but I'll have to look.
I do have a set of six Lotus Sunbeam Alloy wheels for sale separately.
Anyways I'll now list the good and the bad.
Good
-great colour
-1500 cc engine
-engine not seized,
-very little rust
-car looks to have never been welded
-The car may be tax exempt (it came with a letter from a Rootes expert
saying it had been built before 1st of January 1973) though I can't vouch
for that
-Odometer says 51,000 miles which may or nay not be original (would be easier to judge if I had the original interior)
Bad
-needs a little welding in floor, rears of sills, front valance, and behind rear
arches
-needs new front wings (but these are bolt on so easy to swap for better ones)
-brakes are not working
-two of the door windows have been removed - glass is still present but no
guarantee that all the other bits needed to refit them are.
-much of the interior and door seals have been removed, some present but
seats are gone, as well as two of the door trim panels.
-I haven't had the engine running
-I haven't got the V5 though I've now applied for one
So basically it's a clean, mostly solid and honest starting point for a great little project whether you want to restore it, or turn it into a trackday car or rally car. I'm looking for £500 for the car and all the extra spares/parts aside from the Lotus Sunbeam wheels although if you want to make me an offer to include the wheels that is fine. I will have the V5 available for anyone who buys the car.
Anyways, to the pictures:
The car
Rusty bits and non-rusty bits
Rear of nearside sill
Behind rear nearside arch
Rear nearside door (all doors appear to be very solid)
Front nearside door (excuse the crappy phone photos - I didn't realize you couldn't see the lip in the photo but they're all good).
Front nearside wing - all filler and rust at the front of it.
Front offside wing - more filler
Bottom of the offside wing is shot - I think the valance is ok here though but I'll have a prod next time I'm with the car
Front lower valance - it appears that there may be a few pinholes here, not uncommon on Avengers.
Front offside door
This is the only hole I could find in the floor - drivers footwell. The rest including the boot floor is solid.
The front passenger's footwell is solid.
Rear offside door- solid
The rear offside sill is probably the worst bit on the entire car.
The quarter behind the rear arch is a bit crust but better than the nearside.
Boot floor - clean and solid
Bootlid also good
The extra bits
The two pieces of door glass that have been removed
A box full of bits, including seat tracks, and I believe the winding mechanisms for the glass that was removed.
Console
Off side door trims - near side trims are missing.
Front jacking points - I believe the ones on the car are good but these are cheap so I grabbed them "just in case"
Rear arch repair panels
Rear springs
Sunbeam Lotus front antiroll bar under all that tape
Tubular exhaust manifold
The strut brace
Camshaft
As mentioned I may have other bits and bobs as well. I'll have a look this weekend and post any additional pictures.
The car is located in Chertsey, Surrey (Junction 11 M25). I'm prepared to sell the car separately from the various parts if that is your preference.
Please PM me if you want to view the car.
The inspiration
