1969 Humber Sceptre Mk III For Sale

Page last revised on 27th October, 2024

1969 Humber Sceptre Mk III - FOR SALE

Top of the Rootes 'Arrow' range of cars.

Asking price £6,950 ono - offers invited

If you are already knowledgeable about Sceptre Mk IIIs, you can skip to the MY CAR section below the last photo.

For many years, the British Motor Industry was dominated by groups of formerly separate companies producing very similar cars under the established marques through what came to be known as ‘badge engineering’.

Rootes Group was one of the exponents of this practice until they succumbed to Chrysler in 1967 and even then their existing badge engineered models survived for another decade.

The last of the genuine Rootes Group designs was the ‘Arrow’ range introduced in 1966 to gradually replace the previous ‘Audax' cars. Similar cars were sold under the Hillman, Humber, Singer and Sunbeam marques with saloon, pillar-less coupé and estate car bodies.

Introduced in 1967, the Humber Sceptre was at the top of the Arrow range with vinyl roof, plush interior and, until the arrival of the Holbay engines, the most powerful version of the 1725cc engine, shared with the Sunbeam Rapier.  

As the prestige model, the Humber Sceptre saloon, and from 1974 estate cars, arguably remained the top of the range even after certain Sunbeam and subsequently Hillman models were equipped with the more powerful Holbay engines.

Although radial tyres were first introduced in 1948 (on the Citroen 2CV), they were still not widely used in the UK until the mid seventies. My car was originally supplied with 6.00 x 13 'whitewall' cross ply tyres, with which it would have had light steering even at low speeds. It is now on Davanti 175/70 R13 (radials), which are the same diameter as the original cross plies but keep more rubber on the road and considerably improve the handling and ride. Steering may be slightly heavier at manoeuvring speeds than it would have been originally.

The more traditional and distinctive Humber models, namely the Hawk, Super Snipe and Imperial disappeared soon after the arrival of the Arrow range in a major rationalisation by the new owners, Chrysler.

Over the years, the arrow cars acquired various enhancements including radial tyres (155 R13), steering lock, inertial reel safety belts, heated rear window, hazard lights and more conventional jacking points (on the sills rather than under the bumpers). The latter was a retrograde step in my view but probably saved a few quid per car?

The Arrow models were discontinued in September 1976, except for a brief run-out exercise in the guise of the 'Chrysler' Hunter. The Imp range was also discontinued in 1976 and the Hillman, Singer, Sunbeam and Humber marques were discontinued at the same time. The Hillman Avenger, the only remaining 'old' model, became the Chrysler Avenger.

Shortly after, in 1978, Chrysler UK was absorbed into the PSA group, headed by Peugeot. The long established marque 'Talbot' (another Rootes owned name) was adopted for the brand, presumably to give them a more British identity. More recently, PSA Peugeot Citroën merged into Stellantis.

My car at Hebden Bridge Car Show - 5th August 2023.

MY CAR

Use THIS link to see more photos.

My car is a fairly authentic example of the model and even the after-market Minilite wheels are period correct for the sixties & seventies. With the advent of low profile, radial tyres in the seventies, when my car was still in its prime, many enthusiastic drivers fitted wider than standard wheels to take advantage of the wider radial tyres. The current tyres are Davanti 175/70 R13s that have done about 1500 miles and the handling is excellent: much better that the original cross-plies on skinny wheels.

It is probably one of the rarest of the Arrow cars as many of the Humber Sceptres would have been supplied as automatics: this one is the 4 speed manual gearbox with overdrive on 3rd and 4th gears.

Like many classics, my car now benefits from electronic ignition and a thermostatically controlled electric cooling fan, both of which will have a beneficial effect on fuel consumption. For their day, these cars were relatively fuel efficient already of course, with mpg in the thirties. It also has a catalyst in the fuel tank enabling it to run happily on E10 fuel.

The electric cooling fan means the engine is warm and generating warm air from the demister/heater very soon after setting off.

I've swapped the stalk switches over so that the indicators switch on the left, like my everyday car, and with the overdrive switch on the right. I've made the same swap on other classics over the years to make driving a little easier! The seat belts have been upgraded to inertia reel ones and a relay has been installed in the lighting circuit so that the lights only work with the ignition on.

I've swapped out the front seats for high-back modern ones in order to gain both comfort and safety but the originals are available and are in excellent condition. Of course the originals were comfortable by the standards of the sixties and with a bit of restoration (new squab foam) would be again but not to the same standard as modern, high-back seats.

Mechanically, the car is in excellent condition and drives splendidly. I've done a couple of thousand miles, mainly traveling to car shows and meets around Yorkshire and Lancashire, without any breakdowns or issues. 

During my ownership, the brakes have been refurbished including replacement of a flexible hose and the seals in the master cylinder. New sills have been fitted and inner/internals sills, cross-members, ribs, outriggers etc., plus foot-wells and inner wings, have all been professionally rebuilt as necessary.

All three prop shaft universal joints, the alternator, temperature sender and both seals and chrome trims on front and rear screens have all been replaced.

Though structurally sound and very presentable for ordinary purposes, the bodywork does let the car down somewhat on close inspection. My intention had been to spend some time this winter working on the paintwork (number of bubbles, chips etc.) and the wood trim to progress the 'rolling restoration'. However, I've now decided I'm ready for a change so she'll be making way for a new addition instead.

Attention to the bubbles/chips is needed fairly urgently to prevent deterioration.

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