HUMBER SUPER SNIPE
1968 Series V Saloon
This wonderful car, one of the last of the big Humbers assembled in Australia, has been upgraded in unorthodox fashion, with a 3-litre Nissan turbocharged engine and transmission which delivers from 24-28 mpg as against the original 14-18mpg. It runs on unleaded petrol and performs adequately in the traffic of current production cars.
Nissan claimed this engine was designed to have a life of 400,000 km. A reviewer said "The engine is an exemplar of modern technology, running seemingly forever as long as it is properly serviced with regular changing of oil, filter and coolant". There is more detail on this fabulous engine in a November 2004 article on CarPoint.
A wee bit extra under the bonnet . . .
I found early on that the Series V is prone to cracking of the front-end crossmember, and was obliged to find and fit a replacement in the 1990s. Fortunately, an excellent supply of Humber parts was available in Australia from Auto Spares Galore in Victoria. They supplied a front-end which had to be freighted 3,400 kilometres to Perth. The task of fitting it was skilfully done at my local service station. At the same time, the front brake calipers were overhauled and new discs fitted, as well as new kingpins and bushes. Update info: As at 2012, the entire stock of Auto Spares Galore has been acquired by AUTO SURPLUS at Mitcham Victoria (email sales@autosurplus.com.au, phone +61 3 9873 3566).
The very heavy suspension calls for greasing at least every 1000 miles. Today's auto workshops and their staff are not accustomed to these needs, so I decided to invest in a compressor and start pumping the grease myself. (After growing a bit older, I subsequently found a trustworthy mechanic.) I also arranged to fit air shock-absorbers all round.
So the Humber has a new lease of life. I have repaired all the rust spots and sprayed liberal doses of fish oil into all panels and crevices. Now, as you can see, the badges are off for the repaint job, which I'll be doing myself over a period of months or years. This will be followed by refurbishment of the interior trims and vinyl upholstery. Hopefully, she'll scrub up as nicely as the Australian-built Series V in the next picture. Unfortunately, in Australia the cash value of Humbers is not great, so it will be a labour of love more than anything.
