Solved - NEH 4089: Toran - one-off with supercharged Hillman engine

[nicanary]

No point in getting too pedantic. The Arrow cars usually had 1725cc engines, I think, but the poverty-spec Minx variant had the old 1494cc engine.

I reckon the puzzle car had a Rapier engine fitted, or a Minx with twin-carb setup or similar tuning. To complicate matters, the Rootes cars had 1592cc engines from 1961, so the engine in this car must have been quite old when fitted.

Still can't find it, although I've found some great new sources since I started looking!

[oko94]

How come we cannot find an Australian, mid-sixties, Audax-powered one-off ? Let's try a different approach. Was it built for hillclimbing ?

[Carnut]

Was it built for hillclimbing ?

I believe it was, yes.

[oko94]

Was it built in the state of Victoria ?

[Carnut]

Was it built in the state of Victoria ?

I can't say with certainty where it was built, but Victoria state is quite likely.

[Paul Jaray]

This is the Toran, space frame chassis and a mid-mounted 1500 supercharged Hillman engine with VW box. The body was aluminium and glass. Probably it had a Bolwell nose.

[nicanary]

This is the Toran, space frame chassis and a mid-mounted 1500 supercharged Hillman engine with VW box. The body was aluminium and glass. Probably it had a Bolwell nose.

Well solved. I had spent hours going through the usual sites for Australian specials, but got nowhere. It's surprising how many cars in that country were fitted with Hillman Minx engines, sometimes supercharged - I'm keeping some of them for future puzzles!

Using your information, last night I found the original puzzle photo, and now I can't retrieve it! I wanted to check out the date and origins of this car, because Paul Bolton also fitted a supercharged Minx motor to his MRC (called a Sterling) and also to a Rennmax BN7, and I wondered if he had a link to this puzzle car.

I'm glad it's solved now, it was starting to frustrate me.

[Carnut]

This is the Toran, space frame chassis and a mid-mounted 1500 supercharged Hillman engine with VW box. The body was aluminium and glass. Probably it had a Bolwell nose.

Yes indeed.  Well done.
Attached is another picture, which I guess shows this car was indeed built for hill-climbing.
Apparently the builder of the car cast the one-off magnesium wheels for it himself; very enterprising!