Humber FV1600

[warren brown]

Aha! If only I'd read the past few pages before I wrote that previous post. Pretend I said nothing. Straight to the boofheads corner...

[Lynn Eades]

After you put up a post, you will see an edit option (bottom right) You can delete your whole post or change it if you wish.
If your quick enough, no one knows.

[warren brown]

Thanks Lynn - I'll keep this in mind for the future. I know very, very little about these vehicles - about five years ago I met a Rolls Royce collector who, believe it or not - had a fairly rough FV1600 as part of an otherwise amazing collection of antique RRs simply because of its engine and he called the truck a Commer rather than a Humber. Rather gingerly I tried to correct him, but he simply told me it was a Commer. I tried to correct him again, but he dismissed me as a dill and that the truck was a Commer. I pointed out to him - gently - that someone had handwritten Humber on the bonnet ( I think it was bought at an auction) and mudguard but he disregarded this and it was still a Commer.
However, sometime later, I read somewhere that in Australia - these trucks were actually termed Commers - is this true?

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Hi Warren,
You have such good taste!
The 100 or so Humbers ordered by the Aust. Army were "badged" as Commers. The only difference is on the data plate which is found on the chassis behind the front left wheel, this has Commer stamped on it instead of Humber. In my experience they are called Humbers regardless. I would say that any imported by Archie Marshall in to WA in th 1960's would be stamped as Humbers anyway.
As for getting one, took me 12 years to find a nice one. Maybe 10 good condition roadable ones over here, they are very susceptible to rust as you will see if you go through the posts in this thread.
Nice one just sold in WA for $10500, thought it may have got a little more though.
If you want to do a restoration there are a few down Stawell (Vic) way that are saveable. If you are serious about getting a good one I can ask around.
You are more than welcome to have a drive of mine to see if it was what you really want, you just need to be travelling the Hume Freeway as you would go past our back fence.
Hope this helps
Rich.

[warren brown]

Rich, thanks so much for your offer. If I'm heading your way I'll let you know well in advance and definately take you up on the offer.

I'd dearly love an FV1600 but he only thing is that I'm not sure I am capable of maintaining - let alone restoring - post-war British vehicles like the Humber or a Champ in that they're another level above WWII vehicles like a Blitz or a Scout Car. I can handle them - easy.
That's why I reckon I'd be looking at a goer rather than a resto - I've restored quite a few cars over the years, but a ground up Humber is a serious undertaking. But what a good thing!
And thanks for the Commer info! I wonder why it was that they were badged as such? Do you know? Cheers and many thanks .

[warren brown]

BTW Rich - great looking vehicle - red hot.

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Hi Warren,
Both Humber and Commer were part of the Rootes Group. It was a marketing decision to call them Humbers in the UK, based on Humber being a known name for military vehicles (eg.Humber Amoured Car). I expect it was a similar decision for Australia?? Maybe the Commer brand was recognised as more "Truck", with Humber more "Car".
A full restoration would be a serious undertaking, they are heavy and awkward to work on and takes a bit to get your head around the design. But this goes for all the British vehicles of that era, you should see the ones that did'nt go into production!
Mind you, there are advantages, you can talk while driving, and the ride is surprisingly good.
As for the much maligned Champ; buying one turned out to be the best thing I ever did. You just can't tell, can you.
Rich.