My 1970 Hillman Hunter

Not anymore. Now it has more than doubled its power and is a serious contender for ninth place in Group N of the Queensland Cup of historic sedans built before 1972.

He could have chosen a better car to race, but the 44-year-old chief executive just couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. “My wife, Trudy, was given a car by her great-uncle and great-aunt Charlie and Mabel Perarson,” he says. “They bought it new in 1970 for $1950 and drove it 42,000 miles (67,500 km) before giving it to Trudy in 1990.

“Trudy landed her first teaching position at Longreach, and that's when I met her. I was shakaru at the time and a bit of a car freak and everyone said she picked me up to look after her car.” Not that the car required special attention.

“We made several trips back and forth to Brisbane, driving it down dirt roads to houses and going on holiday from Longreach to Rocky, Townsville, Cairns, Hughendon and Winton and the only problems we had were typical of an English car. “It used up four liters of oil and needed a new generator,” he says. "Otherwise everything went very well."

When Trudy finished her teaching job, the couple returned to Brisbane and left Hillman under their mother's house in Toowoomba for about 18 months. “Then Trudy’s mom called and asked me to get rid of him,” he says. “I liked it so much that we used it as a second car for about four years, and then I got a management position and Hillman retired.”

“About 2000 I started motorsport and used this car. I just put the roll cage on and off I went." West has a racing pedigree thanks to his father Graham, who co-driver Dean Rainsford in a Porsche 911 and finished second in the 1976 Australian Rally Championship behind the Nissan Japan factory team.

His father was also guest co-driver for legendary rally driver Stig Blomqvist in 1978 on the Saab EMS when he was here at the Canberra Rally. “So racing is in my blood,” he says. West began his motorsports career with sprints and hillclimbing, time trials with limited Hillman modifications. Over time, the West became "faster and better", and the car gradually received more and more modifications as it moved into more "serious" racing.

The historic category allows limited modifications, so the racing Hillman Hunter is now equipped with Koni shocks; spring suspension front, adjustable for castor, camber and height; balanced and thoughtful engine; handmade extractors; do-it-yourself intake manifold; ventilated front discs Cortina; twin 45mm Webbers; and a 1725 cc four-cylinder engine. cm was slightly oversized to about 1730 cc.

It originally put out 53kW to the flywheel and now puts out about 93kW to the rear wheels. “I was a laughingstock when I first appeared in Hillman,” says West. “No one has ever done this before. Many said that they did not understand why it was impossible, but many said that it was impossible.

“I had to make my own way all the way. You just can't buy things off the shelf. Over the years I have been getting places and winning. Now it's a competitive car. Nobody laughs anymore,” West says. “This is a good chassis for the job. But Lucas electrics are a challenge; they call Lucas the Prince of Darkness."

“British engine and transmission are good at handling oil leaks and by the rules I'm not allowed to spill oil on the track so I learned how to stop it.” Hillman's claim to racing glory was winning the first race from London to Sydney in 1968 with British driver Andrew Cowan, who later moved to the Mitsubishi Ralliart.

West says the Hillman's main advantage is that it's wide and light. “It's about 40mm wider than the Escort and has good cornering speed. But I could use more horsepower.”

“The big limitation is the gearbox. I need to go down. I am in the process of being vaccinated in Escort limited diff. Then I can use better tires and go even faster. I sometimes get a little frustrated with its limitations, but while I love racing, I also love development and race engineering.

“This is the first and only Hunter registered as a Group N car in Australia, so I set the specs for it. And maybe the last one."