Chrysler Hunter: the Rootes Arrow under Chrysler’s badge

The Chrysler Hunter was the Hillman Hunter sold under the Chrysler name after Rootes became part of Chrysler Europe. Marketed from 1976 to 1979 as part of the Rootes Arrow range, it kept the Hunter’s conventional engineering: a 1725 cc overhead-valve engine, MacPherson struts at the front and a leaf-sprung live rear axle.

Chrysler Hunter at a glance

The Chrysler Hunter is the Hillman Hunter under the Chrysler name; this page uses the English Wikipedia article on the Rootes Arrow range and the photographs show the car as a Hillman.

History of the Chrysler Hunter

The Arrow range

The Rootes Arrow was a single platform sold under many names by the Rootes Group and later Chrysler Europe from 1966 to 1979, and continued in Iran until 2005. It is usually known by its most prolific model, the Hillman Hunter. The range was conceived in 1962: after the Hillman Imp, a larger rear-engined car was considered and rejected, and the engineering settled on something more conventional, close to the existing Audax cars. Rootes was short of cash and struggling with the Imp’s cooling problems, so the Arrow broke little new ground: new parts were based on proven Rootes components, starting with a new but strong five-bearing version of the 1725 cc overhead-valve engine, inclined by 15 degrees to allow a lower bonnet line and easier carburettor packaging.

Engineering firsts

The Hunter was the first Rootes car with MacPherson strut front suspension, combined with a conventional live rear axle on leaf springs. Curved side glass and flow-through ventilation were also new to the company. Manual cars had a four-speed gearbox with an optional Laycock de Normanville overdrive, and a Borg-Warner automatic was offered, initially the three-speed Type 35 and from 1973 the four-speed Type 45. The handbrake sat between the driver’s seat and door rather than between the front seats, following Audax practice. The first Arrow model, the Hillman Hunter, replaced the Hillman Super Minx: it was lighter than its predecessor and its wheelbase was 2.5 inches shorter, yet the cabin was longer because the engine and toe-board moved forward.

Names and changes

Some models were given different names to justify trim differences, and the car was sold as Chrysler Hunter and Chrysler Vogue as well as under Hillman, Sunbeam, Singer, Humber, Dodge and Iran National badges. The 1725 cc engine ranged from 66 to 88 bhp, and specialists Holbay used two Weber 40DCOE carburettors to produce 107 bhp for the Sunbeam Rapier H120 and Hillman Hunter GLS. Power-assisted brakes became a factory option in May 1968, a mild facelift in 1970 brought new grilles, and a more thorough facelift for 1972 added an all-plastic dashboard with deeply hooded round dials, a new steering wheel and squarer headlamps in a new grille. The Arrow family ended European production in 1979.

Design and features

• Rootes Arrow platform: one chassis sold under more than a dozen marque and model names.
• Five-bearing 1725 cc engine: a stronger development of a proven Rootes unit, inclined 15 degrees.
• MacPherson struts: the first Rootes car to use them at the front.
• Curved side glass and flow-through ventilation: both new to Rootes on this car.
• Holbay option: twin Weber carburettors gave 107 bhp in the Hunter GLS.

Chrysler Hunter versions

• Chrysler Hunter: the Hunter under the Chrysler name from 1976.
• Chrysler Vogue: the better-equipped version of the same car.
• Hillman Hunter GLS: the Holbay-engined sports saloon.
• Estates and pick-ups: estate bodies plus the Dodge Husky and Paykan pick-ups.

The Hunter was sold alongside the Chrysler Avenger and the Chrysler Alpine, which effectively replaced it in the range. More cars are in the Chrysler collection.

Sources

• Hillman Hunter (Rootes Arrow), English Wikipedia: development, engineering, names, facelifts
• Hillman Hunter, Wikimedia Commons: photographs