I had a 1978 Chrysler Avenger it was a beautiful gold one with a black vinyl roof, I have very fond memories of it. My dad worked in the Linwood factory from when it opened in the early 1960's to when it closed in the 1980's. :)
Rootes products never seemed to get the credit they deserved. If I'd known you were going to drive past my house you could have called in for a cup of tea 🍵
I think it was originally planned as a Cortina rival but the Mk3 was a bigger car than the Mk2 and so the Avenger fell between the Escort and Cortina in size.
@@Whiters8 makes no sense why Chrysler would plan it as a Cortina rival when the 3 year-old Hunter already was their Cortina rival. The Avenger ended up only 0.2” longer than the Mk1 Escort. Its engines directly rivalled the Escort’s in size and power, rather than the Cortina’s. It was certainly aimed at the Escort. To note, even the Mk1 and Mk2 Cortinas were significantly bigger than the Avenger. The Mk3 really grew in wheelbase rather than physical size. And even so, the Hunter was the Cortina rival.
Growing up in Maidstone, Kent in the 70s and 80s, with the huge Rootes dealership/servicing building (still my favourite video you've done to date!) we saw so many of the Rootes and Talbot cars and vans. So many memories. and just lovely to see this exceptional car still roadworthy. Thanks Matt, another super review.
Great video! That is NOT a Peugeot trademark on those headlamps , yes the Chrysler Pentastar logo is present at the top corner, but that Lion is Joseph LUCAS trade mark that was used until around 1983. That Lion logo appeared on many Lucas headlights in the 70s such as MK1 &2 Capri, Austin Princess & MK1 Granada.
Now that's how a classic car review should be done!! Small quirks us anoraks love to know and a very in-depth history of the mark as is and has been. Well done indeed 😊 Very underated but great car would love to own.
I own a 74 Sunbeam Avenger 2dr with the 1.3 liter although it originally had the 1.6 that the previous owner apparently blew up. The 1.3 is a lovely little engine and the gearbox is so smooth and easy, the rest of my specific car is quite hinky since its been done up in the 90's "My Summer Car" style. I'm hoping to get that thing back on the road this summer if all goes well, or at least try and get it going under its own power, which it didn't do yesterday.
Great video, I always liked the Avenger but actually prefer the facelifted version over the original. Very popular as police patrol cars on 'T' and 'V' plates, no doubt because they were inexpensive but pretty tough and reliable. According to the Avenger Sunbeam Owners Club production actually continued into early 1981, which I have read elsewhere. When the Avenger officially became a Talbot in 1979 it seemed to take a while for the Chrysler pentastar badge to be replaced. Apparently dealers were provided with Talbot badges to replace the Chrysler ones they had on new cars in stock, but it seems like many of them did not bother!
Yes, the Avenger was an Escort competitor, not Cortina. Even the Mk1 and 2 Cortinas were the next size up. The Arrow range was the Cortina competitor. As mentioned in the video, the Avenger started life as a Hillman, became a Chrysler, then a Talbot, but also been sold as a Sunbeam, Plymouth, Dodge and VW. Has any car been sold under so many different marques?
Bought a '74 Avenger @ 2 years old, and ran it to 100k with minimal issues. One of the best cars I have owned, and many times better than the Cortina of that era.
What a lovely example. 😍 I do like Avengers. Shame that these later ones lost the 'hockey stick' tail lights and bold looking steering wheel with it's round hub. Between 1986 and 1990 my parents bought a 1980 Talbot Horizon 1.3 LS. Their first hatchback. It still had the blue Pentastar badge on the grille. I recognise the interior door handles on this Avenger as the same ones o. The Horizon and the seat fabric was similar.
That's a blast from the past! They were very rare here in the Netherlands. That steering wheel is straight from the Talbot Horizon and Simca 1308, as far as I know.
The steering wheel had to be updated because of safety regulations, the Chrysler Europe design department was after the disastrous Chrysler 160/180/2 litres moved to Ryton UK and headed by Roy Axe later of Chrysler USA and Austin-Rover. He had design responsibility for all Chrysler Europe.
I'd forgotten that by this stage the memorable hockey stick rear lights of the original Hillman version had been dispensed with. I recall Victor Meldrew was an owner of a crimson Avenger, and had problems visiting his local garage.
@@buickmclean8163 same her with my dads 73 Avenger 1250 deluxe estate (none of your fancy accessories like carpet or a radio here!). I passed my test in it in 77 and have great memories related to it
IIRC the Avenger also pioneered the use of structural adhesives in its body construction. Now, if you could find/drive a (very orange) Avenger Tiger....
So amazing to see a 42 year old product of Linwood still looking and driving as intended. They got a lot of stick because of the Imp but it was a great little car and there was nothing wrong with the Sunbeam or the Talbot Avenger. Very famous for appearing in the Steets of San Francisco in Plymouth Cricket guise. I have travelled in 1971, 1972, 1975 Estate and 1979 Chrysler versions and they were indeed all a cut above. Great engine.
My parents owned a special edition Hillman Avenger, called a Top Hat. It was electric blue with a white vinyl roof and automatic gearbox. They are now extremely rare apparently. I was shocked to learn that so few Avengers have survived, they were a good car.
I remember these well……not bad, but not great either. Better than a Marina, but outshone by the Cortina and Cavalier…………a bit of a stretch of credibility by 1980, and sadly the facelift lost the excellent ‘hockey stick’ rear lights of the original design…….formed the basis of the rather charming Chrysler Sunbeam though.
The door mirrors look like they're placed in different positions, but they're not! My dad had one with "J" lights in the early 80's. He had just ground in the valves, and refitted the cylinder head and went for a test drive. A drunk driver in a Capri crashed into him. I was a 5 year old child in the front passenger seat, I remember the mangled door being ripped open to save me.
The Avenger actually started out as the Hillman Avenger, with round head lamps and L shaped tail lights, and a couple of different dashboard designs if I remember correctly, it was facelifted when it became the crysler avenger
@@garywilton1514 They were badged Hillman until 1975. From 1975 to 1978 (or so) they were badged as Chrysler. After that they were badged Talbot on the bonnet, but retained the Chrysler pentastar badge on the front grille (my dad had one of these), because the PSA Group built them but Chrysler still owned the rights to the design. The very last models were fully badged as Talbot, like the one in the video.
@@levelcrossing150 ? Just watched the film again and can’t recall any mention of Hillman at all, let alone on several occasions (“at times” as you say). And no Matt doesn’t just talk about “this “ Talbot version, he goes through the Avenger’s history from design to the end of production.
My first car back in 1990. Cost me £260 and £260 to insure. No radio so I had a stereo cassette player on the back seat which a various friend had to operate. Bright green with a black vinyl roof. PAC142W
At BT in the early 80s they had a couple of Avenger Estates in the car pool - if you preferred the newer FWD Ford Escort Estates (which it seems everybody did!) you had to get up very early in the morning! I used my own car, Ford Granada 2.8i GL, for the luxury, and took the mileage money! 😂
I had the Chrysler Avenger back in the 80s it was a great driver & served me well for many years, I eventually sold it for twice the money l bought it for.
This is a great video on a car that’s unjustly panned or forgotten. However, one thing I can’t understand is why everything I’ve ever read about the Avenger compares it to the Cortina… when *the Avenger was almost identical in exterior size to the Mk1&2 Escort* and was much smaller than the contemporary Mk3 Cortina. The larger Hunter and then Alpine/Solara were the company’s Cortina rivals. Why the Avenger is assessed the same way, as a Cortina rival, baffles me. Taken against the Escort, it was a far more competitive model and superior in many ways.
I had a 1972 Hillman Avenger Estate 1500 DL. The only car I've driven that understeered more was an early Marina. If you could get the front end to go round a corner fast enough the back end would hop sideways.
Iremember my Roots Rapier back in the sixties!, wish I kept it longer. This was a 2 door twin carb 1500cc 1957 model. It outclassed most cars that siize at the time!
My dad had an early Hillman Avenger in blue. It was the car that brought me home from the hospital after I was born. He sold it to friend who used it until it dissolved some time in the mid 80’s
My first car was a 1979 Chrysler Avenger GLS 1.6. it was very modern when I bought it. Have good service but the plastic dash and cloth seats suffered from sun damage. This example is in remarkable condition. I'd say it's main rival was the Ford Escort while the Hunter was pitched as a rival to the Cortina and Marina.
I watched this waiting to hear the word Hillman as I had the Tahiti Blue GL model .... glad to see this omission has been corrected in the comments. I never found the steering heavy.
The first time I have ever seen an Avenger review not once referring to it as a 'Hillman' Avenger. Everything that followed was just window dressing, just like the Ital was to the Marina.
Quick addendum: might want to try and smooth the sound for any post-edit talks, I think it's mainly because of the microphone, but the sounds tended to be rather harsh, which is a pity considering you do have a very smooth and light voice that's generally a joy to listen to
Chrysler 180 was the Cortina competitor. Like the Cortina the Australian version, the Centura, ended up with a 4 ltr six, a hemi in the case of the Chrysler. A great car with a limited slip diff. It was my first car!
Mate back in the day had estate repmobile really decent motor good drive made my ford at the time feel like fred flintstone car (but still prefered fords of the time...) spoiled by politics and failures of the time...
Ah the second Avenger. Not the original Hillman Avenger with the boomerang rear lights and the weird drum-shaped switches for lights and wipers sticking out of the steering column. My grandpa had a couple of "real" Avengers. I have not-so-fond memories of having to drive a Talbot Avenger when I had to go and visit a customer as part of a summer job. I borrowed a colleague's Avenger and it was clapped-out, totally and utterly. He'd parked it on the wrong side of a busy road, facing up hill, in a fairly small parking space with cars parked ahead and behind. Try driving a car that you've never driven before, whose clutch bite point is unknown (and almost non-existent: the clutch was so badly worn), when you have to set off uphill, starting on the wrong side of the road so you need both directions to be clear before you can go. I spent a minute or so nudging the car back and forth so I was pointing out of the space and had a fairly straight route to set off, then waited for a gap in the oncoming traffic, pulled out half way across the road and waited for someone to let me join the traffic. It was the only way: I'd still have been there now if I'd waited for both directions to simultaneously let me out. The car was a wreck: the clutch seemed to slip if I applied a shade too much power, and there was a throbbing at about engine-rev speed which may have been stick-and-slip of the clutch as the engine rotated, due to warped flywheel. The gear selection was very hit and miss: sometimes it would go into third and sometimes if wouldn't - maybe worn synchromesh. And the brakes... Well at least my colleague had warned me to brake earlier than I would do normally, and I'm glad for the warning because the brakes didn't really work and pulled to one side and juddered badly. I wonder whether that car passed its next MOT.
Over the years I have owned 2 avengers the first a 1972 1500 Super owned from new by my father this was my first car at the age of 17 in 1977 , the 2nd I've had from new in 1980 a 1.6 GLS in moss green met with black vinyl roof and all the std GLS equipment Inc front fogs in a binnacle under the stainless steel bumper , rostyle wheels stainless wheel arch mouldings , bodyside mouldings silver painted front grill chrome door handles and stainless rear trim between the rear lamp clusters which included rear fogs and reverse lamps ! This car runs now an uprated and modernised TI spec engine and exhaust wiith the twin Weber carburetors. The front suspension was replaced with the Capri 2.8i struts and vented discs and the rear a narrowed Chrysler 2litre beam and discs and the Optional in 1980 rostyle wheels shod with 185/65x13 tyres and yet to the untrained eye the car looks pretty much original To say the car has been cherished is an understatement!
I had one of these in 1991 when it was 11 or so years old, it was as new condition and only 16k miles and it was extremely rare then. I never went looking but it was my friends elderly fathers car and he gave up driving, I got it cheap because basically nobody wanted it. It was basic, but ran beautifully. The interior was typical Talbot, which I quite like. Sadly a drunk driver collided with it while it was parked, and it was a write off.
Thanks Matt, what a charming little car! These were never sold in Australia, so I'm not really familiar with them. Last year (September 2022) when on holiday in New Zealand, I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw an immaculate yellow Avenger just like this one. I wasn't close enough to see if it was Chrysler or Talbot. It was at Pak N Save supermarket at (I think) Whangarei on the North Island. An older woman was driving it, I wondered if she had owned it from new? It looked really well cared for. They were assembled in NZ. The lion image on the headlight glass was Lucas's symbol at the time, quite different to the Peugeot lion, BTW.
Thanks Matt, really good to see one again with a Talbot badge, they were a good car, I think rust and apathy seems to have killed most of them off, there’s a big following for BMC, Ford, Vauxhalls of the 60’s, 70’s but Rootes cars seem to be still lagging behind. I had a Talbot Samba which was a great car but they were never a rootes car of course just a rebadged Pug 104. You don’t see many Avengers of any badge description, and there’s probably fewer of the Talbot badged ones. That one looks in very nice condition.
@@TomAlter1000 are you not thinking of the Sunbeam that got a new grille and Talbot logo for the last 9 months of production. Part of the Peugeot takeover of Chrysler uk was that Chrysler kept the rights to the Avenger so any cars produced would have to carry the Pentastar logo although with a Talbot script on the bonnet.
Very overlooked, the Avenger , originally with Hillman badging, although it was aiming to compete in the fleet market with the Cortina’s and Marinas of the world , it also generated the Hillman Avenger Tiger , usually painted in bright yellow with very 1970s black decals , but these were aimed at the R S Escort range.The Tiger name came from the earlier Sunbeam Alpine Tiger which had an American Ford V8 instead of the standard 4 pot 1725 cc.
@@paulpaintshop103 didn’t say the Avenger had 1725cc . If you read the text again , you will see I was referring to the Sunbeam Alpine sportscar of 1960s . The Tiger variation of that car had the Ford V8
It must be the one of the best car model names of alltimes. If Im not mistaken the tv ads at launch time used the Avengers theme music ( i.e John Steed Emma Peel etc)
My parents had a succession of Avengers as company cars from my father's transport business. The first was a bronze saloon, with the conical glass on the instruments and the big chunky rotary switches. The second was a bright blue estate, and the third was a sort of gold metallic estate. They were also sold in the US as the Plymouth Cricket.
We had couple of avengers in early 70s when I was young great cars, in 1980 dad got new company car was 1.6 estate in maroon red, was a good car, changed it in 84 for astra estate just not as good.
Growing up in the 1970's I saw a lot of them. The 1st the Avenger badge on the front was rectangular, then they upgraded it to a circle, thats was vital information for a kid. I remember the day I saw the Talbot version in a garage in Renfrew near where it was built. As a car mad youth who took down number plates and could name every car being sold in the UK this was big and I saw it 1st. On the Monday morning I remember explaining to my mates the massive upgrades.A totally different steering wheel, a new front end, dials that where round not the rectangular old speedometer that was a orange line that went up to the speed it was doing but the most important change in our book was the rear L style lights had changed and me and my mates where upset as we liked the old rear lights but we gave it a pass as it had these new fangled rear fog lights which really impressed us. Thanks for the memories dude
@@TomAlter1000 Yes your right I remember it being rectangular but must have got it mixed up with my mates dads Austin land crap that was the 1 that moved up
Nan & pop showed up in a rental. I think around 1971. It was the relatively new Hillman Avenger with hockey stick taillights. The one they had was very basic. It had no passenger visor or lighter. Pop smoked and had to use his own lighter and remember to bring it along. He wasn't impressed. He'd had a Super Minx and he thought the Avenger tinny & plastic. I think this was shortly after the time Chrysler took over. Nobody at the NA dealerships seemed to know how to keep the Plymouth Cricket's carb tuned.
This takes me back. As a kid I was always a fan of the Avenger and often pestered my dad to get one if he couldn't get the Chrysler 2 Litre or a 180, he couldn't afford it with a mortgage, 2 jobs and kids so he didn't. They were very popular in the 70's. It wasn't until the later 80's that I got to drive a rather tired one to a festival, for some reason I ended up being the only one with a valid licence at the time and had insurance and the others would 'pay me back for the petrol used', they didn't. Anyway I still have very fond memories of these cars, even the one I drove that had... err interesting behaviour as far as some of the controls were concerned, I did mention that it was very tired. Many thanks for sharing Matt, this brought a smile to an older fart who thankfully had the chance to drive an original all those years ago.
My first car in 1989 when I was 19 was a Hillman Avenger 1600( DL or HL. I can't remember at this point). The first car I drove solo was a Chrysler Avenger around 1982 when I was still a child. It was a hire car and my dad let me drive it around Clarach Bay Holiday Village which was private land. Considering how much the Avenger is linked with my motoring past I know precious little about it and never felt an emotional attachment to it like later cars.
Wow that brings back memories. My dad had a bright red one with a black roof as a company car in the early 80s. Think it came after his brown Allegro! Do especially enjoy your drives when it's a car from my past. Very nostalgic!
My dad's work Friend had one Identical to this car .. I believe his was a 1.6 GLS automatic. Both gentlemen worked for The Rootes Group my Dad worked 32 years there. My other uncle worked at Rootes Ryton Plant he took tours around the factory the days of the Talbot Alpine and Solara and the big barge car..Tagora..He had at least 5 brand new cars over a period of years Imp or Sunbeam Hunter and Avengers 1976 was his last one Pinky coloured one with vinyl roof Even I worked as a part time valeter at Cheylesmore garages.. I got to drive a few cars.. I grew up with my dad owning a Hillman hunter 1500 DL 1973 car in Lilac with black vinyl roof NOE 442M. I had the odd driving lesson and my sister too.. He then splashed his hard earned cash and bought a brand new Talbot Horizon 1985 1.3LX omg C409 URW its still out there some where. Even I owned Hillman Avenger 1.6GL I gave £40 for it Spent £100 on mot work and drove it about Coventry Some guy went in the back of me Funny it was Id Decided to sell it I got £50 from the guy who tapped my rear end A light cluster from Scrap yard for £3 quid fixed it myself and straightened the chrome bumper out and had a sale of £325 Quid. Great video to watch after the Friday from hell... Insurance companies..
Yes, remember these. They certainly seemed to disappear from the roads very quickly. Don't remember seeing many after about 1990. The example in the video is a very nice example.
There was a hot version. Avenger Tiger, although it had Escort Mexico beat, they could have gone beyond and installed the 1725 Holbay H120 motor. That would have it competitive with RS 2000 and close to Vauxhall Magnum 2.3.
I had a Chrysler Avenger 1300LS in Chestnut brown, "The Flying Turd". No rev counter on the Chrysler variant, the LS being a very lowly model in the range at the time. Vinyl seats too. I still loved it and would love one now but finding decent examples is difficult, many remaining cars can now be swept up with a brush and dustpan and carried away in a carrier bag or two...
I had a few of these. The front nearside chassis rotted terrible at the tie rod, all of mine did. I guess thats why so few survived. Definitely an escort rival (and better). A really clever design idea came in the rear seats of the estate version. The seat was double hinged so that the seat pad could be extended to form a pillow slightly raised from the rest of the flat bed, great idea ive never seen used elsewhere, but meant you could sleep in it when you'd run out of petrol (or your chassis had broken). The only (old) car i had in the '80's i have real affection for. Oh chassis easily mended with a length of 3x2 timber screwed into the channel : ).
![Cody Johnson - I'm Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yy9PuYMU29g/mqdefault.jpg)
It started out as the Hillman Avenger
For me it was always a Hillman
Came here to say this
@@robinforrest7680 The best looker in my opinion.
I had the Hillman Avenger.
@@jon8xty1 Yes they were the purest and nicest looking Avenger I think.
I preferred the MK1, the Hillman badged version.
I had a 1978 Chrysler Avenger it was a beautiful gold one with a black vinyl roof, I have very fond memories of it. My dad worked in the Linwood factory from when it opened in the early 1960's to when it closed in the 1980's. :)
Victor Meldrew had a red 1500 GL Hillman Avenger
Rootes products never seemed to get the credit they deserved. If I'd known you were going to drive past my house you could have called in for a cup of tea 🍵
I always thought of the Avenger as Escort size rather than Cortina size. The Hunter and later the Talbot Solara were rivals to the Cortina.
I agree.
Yep, definitely an Escort rival. The Minx/Hunter and then the Solara were the Cortina fighters.
I think it was originally planned as a Cortina rival but the Mk3 was a bigger car than the Mk2 and so the Avenger fell between the Escort and Cortina in size.
@@Whiters8similar story to the Morris Marina being pitched against an outgoing competitor
@@Whiters8 makes no sense why Chrysler would plan it as a Cortina rival when the 3 year-old Hunter already was their Cortina rival.
The Avenger ended up only 0.2” longer than the Mk1 Escort. Its engines directly rivalled the Escort’s in size and power, rather than the Cortina’s. It was certainly aimed at the Escort.
To note, even the Mk1 and Mk2 Cortinas were significantly bigger than the Avenger. The Mk3 really grew in wheelbase rather than physical size.
And even so, the Hunter was the Cortina rival.
Growing up in Maidstone, Kent in the 70s and 80s, with the huge Rootes dealership/servicing building (still my favourite video you've done to date!) we saw so many of the Rootes and Talbot cars and vans. So many memories. and just lovely to see this exceptional car still roadworthy. Thanks Matt, another super review.
+1 from me, I also grew up in Maidstone and passed the Rootes garage on my way to school every day ("Olim meminisse juvabit").
I remember that
That Service building is still standing unused today.😢
@@johnsampey344 It's actually being converted to flats. There's a video of it as a disused shell on this very channel.
Great video! That is NOT a Peugeot trademark on those headlamps , yes the Chrysler Pentastar logo is present at the top corner, but that Lion is Joseph LUCAS trade mark that was used until around 1983. That Lion logo appeared on many Lucas headlights in the 70s such as MK1 &2 Capri, Austin Princess & MK1 Granada.
Did you just manage to talk about the Avenger for nearly quarter of an hour without once mentioning the word Hillman?
You forgot that it was a Hillman Avenger as well, I had a1500DL I miss that car it was fantastic.
Now that's how a classic car review should be done!!
Small quirks us anoraks love to know and a very in-depth history of the mark as is and has been.
Well done indeed 😊
Very underated but great car would love to own.
I own a 74 Sunbeam Avenger 2dr with the 1.3 liter although it originally had the 1.6 that the previous owner apparently blew up. The 1.3 is a lovely little engine and the gearbox is so smooth and easy, the rest of my specific car is quite hinky since its been done up in the 90's "My Summer Car" style. I'm hoping to get that thing back on the road this summer if all goes well, or at least try and get it going under its own power, which it didn't do yesterday.
Great video, I always liked the Avenger but actually prefer the facelifted version over the original. Very popular as police patrol cars on 'T' and 'V' plates, no doubt because they were inexpensive but pretty tough and reliable. According to the Avenger Sunbeam Owners Club production actually continued into early 1981, which I have read elsewhere. When the Avenger officially became a Talbot in 1979 it seemed to take a while for the Chrysler pentastar badge to be replaced. Apparently dealers were provided with Talbot badges to replace the Chrysler ones they had on new cars in stock, but it seems like many of them did not bother!
My first car was a Hillman Avenger 1250 DL - PCW 879 J - Loved that car
What a shame there are so few left these days, Avengers were a really good car in their day.
Yes, the Avenger was an Escort competitor, not Cortina. Even the Mk1 and 2 Cortinas were the next size up. The Arrow range was the Cortina competitor.
As mentioned in the video, the Avenger started life as a Hillman, became a Chrysler, then a Talbot, but also been sold as a Sunbeam, Plymouth, Dodge and VW. Has any car been sold under so many different marques?
Bought a '74 Avenger @ 2 years old, and ran it to 100k with minimal issues. One of the best cars I have owned, and many times better than the Cortina of that era.
Too short. Such a rare car deserves more time.
What a lovely example. 😍 I do like Avengers. Shame that these later ones lost the 'hockey stick' tail lights and bold looking steering wheel with it's round hub.
Between 1986 and 1990 my parents bought a 1980 Talbot Horizon 1.3 LS. Their first hatchback. It still had the blue Pentastar badge on the grille. I recognise the interior door handles on this Avenger as the same ones o. The Horizon and the seat fabric was similar.
That's a blast from the past! They were very rare here in the Netherlands. That steering wheel is straight from the Talbot Horizon and Simca 1308, as far as I know.
My Chrysler Avenger had same wheel plus door bins in front. The lack of a glove box always annoyed me
The steering wheel had to be updated because of safety regulations, the Chrysler Europe design department was after the disastrous Chrysler 160/180/2 litres moved to Ryton UK and headed by Roy Axe later of Chrysler USA and Austin-Rover.
He had design responsibility for all Chrysler Europe.
Also produced in Brazil under the name of Dodge Polara. We didn't have the four-door version around here. Thanks for sharing !
I'd forgotten that by this stage the memorable hockey stick rear lights of the original Hillman version had been dispensed with. I recall Victor Meldrew was an owner of a crimson Avenger, and had problems visiting his local garage.
Yea I remember that episode. Very funny.
Yes ,poor old Victor was booked for ' kerb crawling' in one episode when his Avenger was playing up!
Stellantis just introduced the Jeep Avenger... a Europe only EV. Seems they think the Avenger name still has weight in Europe?
Police forces used them abundantly as unmarked cars and CiD cars.
At no point in this video did you state that it was a Hillman Avenger at launch and for many years.
Why no mention that it started as a Hillman
Fond memories of my grandads '74 1.6 Hillman Avenger estate! Great car to drive and so reliable! The car I passed my test in!
Salute , I passed my test in my Father's K reg Avenger estate.
@@buickmclean8163 same her with my dads 73 Avenger 1250 deluxe estate (none of your fancy accessories like carpet or a radio here!). I passed my test in it in 77 and have great memories related to it
@@grahamhassall3408 But you did get a foot mounted dipswitch if I remember correctly ? : )
My first car was this!! Amazing car, loved mine ❤ Escort rival not Cortina. Great to see a video on it, thanks 👍🏻
IIRC the Avenger also pioneered the use of structural adhesives in its body construction. Now, if you could find/drive a (very orange) Avenger Tiger....
So amazing to see a 42 year old product of Linwood still looking and driving as intended.
They got a lot of stick because of the Imp but it was a great little car and there was nothing wrong with the Sunbeam or the Talbot Avenger.
Very famous for appearing in the Steets of San Francisco in Plymouth Cricket guise.
I have travelled in 1971, 1972, 1975 Estate and 1979 Chrysler versions and they were indeed all a cut above.
Great engine.
My parents owned a special edition Hillman Avenger, called a Top Hat. It was electric blue with a white vinyl roof and automatic gearbox. They are now extremely rare apparently. I was shocked to learn that so few Avengers have survived, they were a good car.
I had one of these back in the day, VWM 311L. It was a really nice car.
I remember these well……not bad, but not great either. Better than a Marina, but outshone by the Cortina and Cavalier…………a bit of a stretch of credibility by 1980, and sadly the facelift lost the excellent ‘hockey stick’ rear lights of the original design…….formed the basis of the rather charming Chrysler Sunbeam though.
The revised rear lights looked like a cheap fix.
It was known as a Hillman Avenger in New Zealand 🇳🇿
The door mirrors look like they're placed in different positions, but they're not! My dad had one with "J" lights in the early 80's. He had just ground in the valves, and refitted the cylinder head and went for a test drive. A drunk driver in a Capri crashed into him. I was a 5 year old child in the front passenger seat, I remember the mangled door being ripped open to save me.
You forgot the Hillman Avenger.
The Avenger actually started out as the Hillman Avenger, with round head lamps and L shaped tail lights, and a couple of different dashboard designs if I remember correctly, it was facelifted when it became the crysler avenger
Deluxe had a long speedo in an all vinyl finish, the Super was similar with a silver panel and the GL was totally different with three round clocks.
Was it just me or did Matt miss out the Hillman badging entirely? Surely most Avengers were badged Hillman?
@@garywilton1514 They were badged Hillman until 1975. From 1975 to 1978 (or so) they were badged as Chrysler. After that they were badged Talbot on the bonnet, but retained the Chrysler pentastar badge on the front grille (my dad had one of these), because the PSA Group built them but Chrysler still owned the rights to the design. The very last models were fully badged as Talbot, like the one in the video.
@@garywilton1514 No he did make reference at times but this video was about the Talbot Avenger. The first generation of Avengers were indeed Hillmans.
@@levelcrossing150 ? Just watched the film again and can’t recall any mention of Hillman at all, let alone on several occasions (“at times” as you say). And no Matt doesn’t just talk about “this “ Talbot version, he goes through the Avenger’s history from design to the end of production.
My first car back in 1990. Cost me £260 and £260 to insure. No radio so I had a stereo cassette player on the back seat which a various friend had to operate. Bright green with a black vinyl roof. PAC142W
Great review Matt. Coincidentally I will be passing the site of the factory it was made (Linwood ) in the next half hour. 🏴
At BT in the early 80s they had a couple of Avenger Estates in the car pool - if you preferred the newer FWD Ford Escort Estates (which it seems everybody did!) you had to get up very early in the morning! I used my own car, Ford Granada 2.8i GL, for the luxury, and took the mileage money! 😂
I'm showing my age now; I remember Bruce Forsyth in the TV adverts, waxing lyrical about the electronic ignition (a big deal in the 70s)...
Always been a big Rootes fan, sadly unappreciated and often forgotten
I had the Chrysler Avenger back in the 80s it was a great driver & served me well for many years, I eventually sold it for twice the money l bought it for.
This is a great video on a car that’s unjustly panned or forgotten.
However, one thing I can’t understand is why everything I’ve ever read about the Avenger compares it to the Cortina… when *the Avenger was almost identical in exterior size to the Mk1&2 Escort* and was much smaller than the contemporary Mk3 Cortina.
The larger Hunter and then Alpine/Solara were the company’s Cortina rivals.
Why the Avenger is assessed the same way, as a Cortina rival, baffles me. Taken against the Escort, it was a far more competitive model and superior in many ways.
I had a 1972 Hillman Avenger Estate 1500 DL. The only car I've driven that understeered more was an early Marina. If you could get the front end to go round a corner fast enough the back end would hop sideways.
Iremember my Roots Rapier back in the sixties!, wish I kept it longer. This was a 2 door twin carb 1500cc 1957 model.
It outclassed most cars that siize at the time!
I had a 1972 Hillman Avenger in the early 80's. I noticed you missed Hillman from your list.
My dad had an early Hillman Avenger in blue. It was the car that brought me home from the hospital after I was born. He sold it to friend who used it until it dissolved some time in the mid 80’s
There's an immaculate Avenger Tiger on display at a petrol station in Knighton, Powys,
My first car was a 1979 Chrysler Avenger GLS 1.6. it was very modern when I bought it. Have good service but the plastic dash and cloth seats suffered from sun damage. This example is in remarkable condition. I'd say it's main rival was the Ford Escort while the Hunter was pitched as a rival to the Cortina and Marina.
I watched this waiting to hear the word Hillman as I had the Tahiti Blue GL model .... glad to see this omission has been corrected in the comments. I never found the steering heavy.
The first time I have ever seen an Avenger review not once referring to it as a 'Hillman' Avenger. Everything that followed was just window dressing, just like the Ital was to the Marina.
Looks like a Marina
It does, but it's a much better car. The Marina was a Morris Minor with different tin.
I'm feeling my age now. You're telling me this is really rare and so on but to me thats just a car. The things are everywhere. Were...
Quick addendum: might want to try and smooth the sound for any post-edit talks, I think it's mainly because of the microphone, but the sounds tended to be rather harsh, which is a pity considering you do have a very smooth and light voice that's generally a joy to listen to
Chrysler 180 was the Cortina competitor. Like the Cortina the Australian version, the Centura, ended up with a 4 ltr six, a hemi in the case of the Chrysler. A great car with a limited slip diff. It was my first car!
it was also called the Hillman avenger but was an earlier shape with L shaped rear lights
Mate back in the day had estate repmobile really decent motor good drive made my ford at the time feel like fred flintstone car (but still prefered fords of the time...) spoiled by politics and failures of the time...
Ah the second Avenger. Not the original Hillman Avenger with the boomerang rear lights and the weird drum-shaped switches for lights and wipers sticking out of the steering column. My grandpa had a couple of "real" Avengers.
I have not-so-fond memories of having to drive a Talbot Avenger when I had to go and visit a customer as part of a summer job. I borrowed a colleague's Avenger and it was clapped-out, totally and utterly. He'd parked it on the wrong side of a busy road, facing up hill, in a fairly small parking space with cars parked ahead and behind. Try driving a car that you've never driven before, whose clutch bite point is unknown (and almost non-existent: the clutch was so badly worn), when you have to set off uphill, starting on the wrong side of the road so you need both directions to be clear before you can go. I spent a minute or so nudging the car back and forth so I was pointing out of the space and had a fairly straight route to set off, then waited for a gap in the oncoming traffic, pulled out half way across the road and waited for someone to let me join the traffic. It was the only way: I'd still have been there now if I'd waited for both directions to simultaneously let me out.
The car was a wreck: the clutch seemed to slip if I applied a shade too much power, and there was a throbbing at about engine-rev speed which may have been stick-and-slip of the clutch as the engine rotated, due to warped flywheel. The gear selection was very hit and miss: sometimes it would go into third and sometimes if wouldn't - maybe worn synchromesh. And the brakes... Well at least my colleague had warned me to brake earlier than I would do normally, and I'm glad for the warning because the brakes didn't really work and pulled to one side and juddered badly. I wonder whether that car passed its next MOT.
Over the years I have owned 2 avengers the first a 1972 1500 Super owned from new by my father this was my first car at the age of 17 in 1977 , the 2nd I've had from new in 1980 a 1.6 GLS in moss green met with black vinyl roof and all the std GLS equipment Inc front fogs in a binnacle under the stainless steel bumper , rostyle wheels stainless wheel arch mouldings , bodyside mouldings silver painted front grill chrome door handles and stainless rear trim between the rear lamp clusters which included rear fogs and reverse lamps !
This car runs now an uprated and modernised TI spec engine and exhaust wiith the twin Weber carburetors.
The front suspension was replaced with the Capri 2.8i struts and vented discs and the rear a narrowed Chrysler 2litre beam and discs and the Optional in 1980 rostyle wheels shod with 185/65x13 tyres and yet to the untrained eye the car looks pretty much original
To say the car has been cherished is an understatement!
Nice that you're profiling the Talbot, but I want to see a Hillman one.
I had one of these in 1991 when it was 11 or so years old, it was as new condition and only 16k miles and it was extremely rare then. I never went looking but it was my friends elderly fathers car and he gave up driving, I got it cheap because basically nobody wanted it. It was basic, but ran beautifully. The interior was typical Talbot, which I quite like. Sadly a drunk driver collided with it while it was parked, and it was a write off.
Thanks Matt, what a charming little car! These were never sold in Australia, so I'm not really familiar with them. Last year (September 2022) when on holiday in New Zealand, I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw an immaculate yellow Avenger just like this one. I wasn't close enough to see if it was Chrysler or Talbot. It was at Pak N Save supermarket at (I think) Whangarei on the North Island. An older woman was driving it, I wondered if she had owned it from new? It looked really well cared for. They were assembled in NZ.
The lion image on the headlight glass was Lucas's symbol at the time, quite different to the Peugeot lion, BTW.
It fascinates me how this car spent the twilight of its existence as a Volkswagen in Argentina.
Thanks Matt, really good to see one again with a Talbot badge, they were a good car, I think rust and apathy seems to have killed most of them off, there’s a big following for BMC, Ford, Vauxhalls of the 60’s, 70’s but Rootes cars seem to be still lagging behind.
I had a Talbot Samba which was a great car but they were never a rootes car of course just a rebadged Pug 104.
You don’t see many Avengers of any badge description, and there’s probably fewer of the Talbot badged ones.
That one looks in very nice condition.
The Talbot logo on the grille has been retrofitted, it would have had the Chrysler Pentastar from factory until the end of production.
@@TomAlter1000 are you not thinking of the Sunbeam that got a new grille and Talbot logo for the last 9 months of production. Part of the Peugeot takeover of Chrysler uk was that Chrysler kept the rights to the Avenger so any cars produced would have to carry the Pentastar logo although with a Talbot script on the bonnet.
@@TomAlter1000 ok, shame it never made it onto any of the publicity material.
Oh Matt, why didn't you show the rear end and how it differed from, in my opinion, the far better earlier model? 🤣
Memories of being driven to school in 1987 in Yeovil in a brown mid ‘70’s Hillman Avenger Estate with brown vinyl.
Very overlooked, the Avenger , originally with Hillman badging, although it was aiming to compete in the fleet market with the Cortina’s and Marinas of the world , it also generated the Hillman Avenger Tiger , usually painted in bright yellow with very 1970s black decals , but these were aimed at the R S Escort range.The Tiger name came from the earlier Sunbeam Alpine Tiger which had an American Ford V8 instead of the standard 4 pot 1725 cc.
Avengers were 1500 or 1600 cc, even the Tiger, they never had the 1725.
@@paulpaintshop103 didn’t say the Avenger had 1725cc . If you read the text again , you will see I was referring to the Sunbeam Alpine sportscar of 1960s . The Tiger variation of that car had the Ford V8
@@martinclapton2724 I restored one a few years ago
It must be the one of the best car model names of alltimes.
If Im not mistaken the tv ads at launch time used the Avengers theme music ( i.e John Steed Emma Peel etc)
Not going to lie, that startled me seeing a person sat behind you out of the blue.
My parents had a succession of Avengers as company cars from my father's transport business. The first was a bronze saloon, with the conical glass on the instruments and the big chunky rotary switches. The second was a bright blue estate, and the third was a sort of gold metallic estate. They were also sold in the US as the Plymouth Cricket.
We had couple of avengers in early 70s when I was young great cars, in 1980 dad got new company car was 1.6 estate in maroon red, was a good car, changed it in 84 for astra estate just not as good.
Growing up in the 1970's I saw a lot of them. The 1st the Avenger badge on the front was rectangular, then they upgraded it to a circle, thats was vital information for a kid. I remember the day I saw the Talbot version in a garage in Renfrew near where it was built. As a car mad youth who took down number plates and could name every car being sold in the UK this was big and I saw it 1st. On the Monday morning I remember explaining to my mates the massive upgrades.A totally different steering wheel, a new front end, dials that where round not the rectangular old speedometer that was a orange line that went up to the speed it was doing but the most important change in our book was the rear L style lights had changed and me and my mates where upset as we liked the old rear lights but we gave it a pass as it had these new fangled rear fog lights which really impressed us. Thanks for the memories dude
@@TomAlter1000 Yes your right I remember it being rectangular but must have got it mixed up with my mates dads Austin land crap that was the 1 that moved up
Nan & pop showed up in a rental. I think around 1971. It was the relatively new Hillman Avenger with hockey stick taillights. The one they had was very basic. It had no passenger visor or lighter. Pop smoked and had to use his own lighter and remember to bring it along. He wasn't impressed. He'd had a Super Minx and he thought the Avenger tinny & plastic. I think this was shortly after the time Chrysler took over.
Nobody at the NA dealerships seemed to know how to keep the Plymouth Cricket's carb tuned.
Didn’t mention the Hillman Avenger which my dad had. He also had the estate version.
Victor Meldrew. The Crimson Avenger.
What is the big deal about a tea shelf? You are bloody obsessed with them.
It came equipped with unergonomic uncomfortable seats!
This takes me back. As a kid I was always a fan of the Avenger and often pestered my dad to get one if he couldn't get the Chrysler 2 Litre or a 180, he couldn't afford it with a mortgage, 2 jobs and kids so he didn't. They were very popular in the 70's. It wasn't until the later 80's that I got to drive a rather tired one to a festival, for some reason I ended up being the only one with a valid licence at the time and had insurance and the others would 'pay me back for the petrol used', they didn't. Anyway I still have very fond memories of these cars, even the one I drove that had... err interesting behaviour as far as some of the controls were concerned, I did mention that it was very tired. Many thanks for sharing Matt, this brought a smile to an older fart who thankfully had the chance to drive an original all those years ago.
My first car in 1989 when I was 19 was a Hillman Avenger 1600( DL or HL. I can't remember at this point).
The first car I drove solo was a Chrysler Avenger around 1982 when I was still a child. It was a hire car and my dad let me drive it around Clarach Bay Holiday Village which was private land.
Considering how much the Avenger is linked with my motoring past I know precious little about it and never felt an emotional attachment to it like later cars.
Very similar in to the Morris Ital in shape and in purpose.
Wow that brings back memories. My dad had a bright red one with a black roof as a company car in the early 80s. Think it came after his brown Allegro! Do especially enjoy your drives when it's a car from my past. Very nostalgic!
My dad's work Friend had one Identical to this car ..
I believe his was a 1.6 GLS automatic.
Both gentlemen worked for The Rootes Group my Dad worked 32 years there.
My other uncle worked at Rootes Ryton Plant he took tours around the factory the days of the Talbot Alpine and Solara and the big barge car..Tagora..He had at least 5 brand new cars over a period of years Imp or Sunbeam Hunter and Avengers 1976 was his last one Pinky coloured one with vinyl roof
Even I worked as a part time valeter at Cheylesmore garages.. I got to drive a few cars..
I grew up with my dad owning a Hillman hunter 1500 DL 1973 car in Lilac with black vinyl roof NOE 442M. I had the odd driving lesson and my sister too..
He then splashed his hard earned cash and bought a brand new Talbot Horizon 1985 1.3LX omg C409 URW its still out there some where.
Even I owned Hillman Avenger 1.6GL I gave £40 for it Spent £100 on mot work and drove it about Coventry Some guy went in the back of me Funny it was Id Decided to sell it I got £50 from the guy who tapped my rear end A light cluster from Scrap yard for £3 quid fixed it myself and straightened the chrome bumper out and had a sale of £325 Quid.
Great video to watch after the Friday from hell... Insurance companies..
A Rare Bird Indeed…Attractive Though.
The lion on the headlamps is the Lucas lion logo not a Peugeot one.
Not the same without the hockey stick rear lights...
Yes, remember these. They certainly seemed to disappear from the roads very quickly. Don't remember seeing many after about 1990. The example in the video is a very nice example.
I had a talbot avenger 1.3 auto in a cherry red. good car, also had the mk1
There was a hot version. Avenger Tiger, although it had Escort Mexico beat, they could have gone beyond and installed the 1725 Holbay H120 motor. That would have it competitive with RS 2000 and close to Vauxhall Magnum 2.3.
I owned one, in Sundance yellow, a series 2 very tuneable motor.
The Avenger had an unusual body in that the roof was an important part of the shell which is why they advised against fitting a sunroof.
I had a Chrysler Avenger 1300LS in Chestnut brown, "The Flying Turd". No rev counter on the Chrysler variant, the LS being a very lowly model in the range at the time. Vinyl seats too. I still loved it and would love one now but finding decent examples is difficult, many remaining cars can now be swept up with a brush and dustpan and carried away in a carrier bag or two...
Also the Hillman Avenger.
Seeing you drive that in the streets of Coventry close to the heart of Rootes. Perfect.
Around the Cannon Park area of the city I see.
I always loved the avenger since I first seen it in an old Elmar's guide on all the cars from european brands in the 1970's
My grandad had one of them although it was badged as a Chrysler. It was a lighter shade of orange but apart from that, it is identical.
I had the Chrysler version as my first car.
The front sub structure was a problem area for rust
I remember this car from my teenage days as the Hillman Avenger.
I always thought this car was a rival to the Marina? Great video as usual Mat.
I had a few of these. The front nearside chassis rotted terrible at the tie rod, all of mine did. I guess thats why so few survived. Definitely an escort rival (and better). A really clever design idea came in the rear seats of the estate version. The seat was double hinged so that the seat pad could be extended to form a pillow slightly raised from the rest of the flat bed, great idea ive never seen used elsewhere, but meant you could sleep in it when you'd run out of petrol (or your chassis had broken). The only (old) car i had in the '80's i have real affection for.
Oh chassis easily mended with a length of 3x2 timber screwed into the channel : ).
You could the buy the front chassis part cheaply in the 1990's Peace be unto you.
Hillman, talbot, chrysler, Plymouth, and volkswagen are all names this car was sold under.
And Sunbeam and Dodge.