1972 Humber Sceptre MK3 1725cc - Readers' Rides -Walkaround, Test Drive & Chat About A Rootes Legend
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- In the first of a new series, long-term Humber owner, Karl, talks to us about his 1972 Humber Sceptre MK3 and takes Claire for a test drive.
We are very thankful to Karl for spending his time so generously with us. We feel that the best way to get to know about a car is to speak to the owners. They know what it's like to live with these classic vehicles and, as you'll see, Karl has been on quite a journey since he first spotted a photo of this Rootes legend, nearly two decades ago.
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My brother travelled around Europe in the mid seventies in a 1968 Humber Scepter . It was a lovely car. Would pass on the auto version though. Manual with overdrive is the way to go. Not easy to find.
My very first car!!
I’m ancient now, but in 1972 I bought a Humber sceptre in metallic claret (still remember the registration: NNB 299H) with tan interior - and, of course, a tan vinyl roof.
A loved that car, but the 1725cc engine needed care. Tappets could become noisy after a few thousand miles. I loved the Laycock de Normanville overdrive but never ever managed to get more than 32/33 mpg on a long run.
Interesting that this one is an automatic. I rarely saw the odd estate version in my home town of Bolton.
I learnt to drive in one of these motors..
My dad had a 1969/70 Hillman GT. I loved that car and it's what got me into cars since.
The estate version was really quite plush, extremely rare though.
Excellent video and fantastic car!
Had a H reg white Scepter manual overdrive with rostyle wheels @1979 with the full sunroof fantastic looking car wish I still had it was my second car was the first used to love the walnut dash only trouble was the petrol light was almost always on only being young could not afford to fill it up but I loved it
My first car too. The petrol light was near permanently lighted on mine too. A couple of times a year I could afford enough petrol to make it go out!
My Dad had a Humber sceptre from new I think it had twin SU carburettors , many many years ago . When I was a kid , My mon her sister and two kids , my Dad and my brother and me drove from Birmingham to the south of France in it towing a boat as well , an epic trip , I don’t think folks t would tolerate that now , but happy days 👍, it didn’t miss a beat
My Dad had the same car, but in silver. We thought it was great - happy days…
I was a Rootes fan back in the 1970's, as an antidote to all my friends who swore by Fords. My very first car (before I had even passed the driving test) was a silver Singer Vogue (Hunter shape) . Sadly, I was 'rear ended' and the car was written off. Heart broken I fell into despair, deepened by resorting to an Austin 1100 as all I could afford! However, year later, I bought a 1970 Sunbeam Vogue. It was identical to the Singer save for the badging. DMD 451J was in a pale, silvery green colour called 'phantom mist metallic' with light wood fascia. My last Rooted purchase was the Humber Sceptre. It, too, was phantom mist metallic with black vinyl roof but a slightly odd blue interior.
I became an expert on the 1725cc four pot and I still have the special tool for adjusting the Stromberg carbs. Ahh, the happy hours spent doing top end overhauls, adjusting valve clearances and tweaking everything to a Swiss watch perfection with nary a computer in sight!
You sound like just the kind of guy Karl would sit a talk cars for hours with! He has great knowledge of these cars, too. Simpler times and cars you could maintain and fix on your driveway...take me back to the 70's and 80's!
Great story i have a 1963 Hillman husky with the 1725cc engine in it love having a spin about in it .
My uncle up in Norfolk had a Hillman Hunter in the 70s- which this reminds me of. The beauty of sharing Karl’s Humber is that there is a touch point for many of us. Interesting to listen to Karl’s 18 year journey as someone buying my first classic car just over a year ago and going through the dilemmas that Karl has already gone through. Completely love the diversity of your content - it’s constantly surprising me and it’s thoroughly enjoyable watching late evening in New Zealand’s late autumn - that same warm feeling as a hot mug of Ovaltine before bed. Well done!
Thank you, Gerard, that’s a lovely comment. We’re trying our best to mix up the content, even when we know that some of the videos we upload will not be as popular as others. It’s great to know that there are some of you out there who will appreciate that and it’s rewarding to hear that what we do is being enjoyed all over the world.
You’re right about Karl; this has been a journey, one that’s ongoing! Hopefully, your own journey will be as much fun as his.
I had a Hunter PYW 725L around 1980/81, I could never find a Sceptre at the right money, one thing i did to mine was add the twin headlights & an overdrive gearbox & Lotus Cortina wide wheels
Stunning car . I don’t like the white wall on the tyres but other than that she’s a beaut !
Great seeing this. My Dad had 2 from new, one was bronze and one in this colour, VVA494H and DVD106K. I remember going with him to collect them at the ages of 5 and 7 from the local Rootes dealer. Loved the wood trim and multitude of dials and lights on the dashboard.
Used t own one. Metallic Green . Auto with twin Webber’s. Really fast, from a standing start, with the use of kick down.Would redline in first at 50 mph. :-)
This has been a interesting watch & I have a lot of time for the Minx,Hunter & Scepter, my first car was a Hunter. But you guys are just rambling & @ half way through I have lost all interest.
I had one back in the day it was White with a black vinyl roof it was a l reg not bad condition but like most of them rust was there downfall but i really liked it it was manual had it for a couple of years then bought a sunbeam rapier similar engine but a good car
My father had one in the same Tango metallic - AGV 510L.
I own a Fastback Rapier from 1968, lovely car
They call it Paykan which means arrow in my country
Great video, and a lovely Humber Sceptre.
Nice car. 👍
I had the Corgi with wheel Jack's & roo.😂
The equivalent in Australia would have been the Hillman Hunter 660 Royal. My brother in law had one in the 70's when I was in my mid teens. Probably the next series as it had the twin stacked horizontal tail lights. It had the sporty engine with twin strombergs. Fond memories of being in that car on many occasions while he would give it a bit of stick and have some fun doing donuts - Olympic rings on gravel roads. It had a beautiful exhaust note with trumpet shaped exhaust tip. The upholstery was a little more up spec too compared to what is shown in the car in this video. When i was 18 i went for my license in a 1970 Hillman Hunter Safari Wagon that belonged to my then girlfriends parents. I soon caught the Mini bug soon after and had many of those over the years and never unfortunately got to own a Hillman Hunter myself.
I had two Sceptres in the early 70s, both manual with overdrive so relaxed cruising at 70 plus on motorways. Fuel consumption was in the low 30s which was not bad then for a 1725 engine. Both cars were very reliable. The first car was H reg and genuine Rootes but the last one was an M after Chrysler had taken over and build quality was much worse! Carburettors could be tricky to get properly adjusted and balanced but once they were the cars were a joy to drive.
My Dad owned a Hillman Hunter in white, (manual with overdrive) and a later series Humber Sceptre in beige with autobox. The Sceptre became very rust prone, but was certainly more classy-looking trim-wise inside . Both were really nice. My favourite of the cars my Dad owned though was a 1970 Ford Cortina 1600E.
It seems the owner of the Sceptre is unaware that the cold air intake system he has had fitted (ie the conical air filter to the Weber) will not give anywhere near the upgrade he wants, due to the fact the filter is sitting in the engine bay drawing in engine heat. The system works best when it is sealed from the engine bay - hence 'cold air intake' ! Drawing outside air in. But it looks good when you pop the bonnet ha ha. BUT I must say the car itself looks fantastic, a rare survivor! I had a mate who had a manual Hunter GT in the late 70s, it was a great car!
I went in the Hillman version of this car being researched in Coventry with a Maxi 1750 engine in it . They couldn’t eliminate the problems so stayed with the original 1725 engine.
My Dad had a Mk 3. It was a kind of dark olive green. Just remember being in the back with my sister going on summer holidays when we were kids
My second car was a Hillman Hunter 1500, same shape but totally different to Sceptre . It was a real dog , bought it for £350, kept it six months and traded in for £500.
Whoever lined up the N/S wing with the front door has made a bit of a pigs ear of it. Besides that, its a fairly nice car.
Great car my dad had the hillman hunter GL on a 72 plate what lovely car and it was the same colour (HAC 351K) yep sad how I remember the reg 😂 ….. and something you didn’t mention is that the handbrake was down on the right
Ah. Our Singer Gazelle has the handbrake there, too, as does the Austin A30 that we uploaded tonight. Must have been a ‘thing’, back then.
An extremely chic car especially with those lovely thin white walls complimenting the colour beautifully.
Sure is. We love the personal touches on the car, too.
That there, is a beauty 😍
Beautiful!! ❤❤❤❤
Sweet