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‘The younger generation sometimes say, “is that a Mk.1 Escort?” – much to my annoyance! I am very occasionally asked “is it a Viva?” but the most common reaction is “what is it?”. 

To which the answer is that Michael is the proud owner of a 1970 Hillman Avenger 1250 Super in “Tahiti Blue” and it is not the only example of ‘The Pricefighter’ in his fleet.

‘As a daily driver I have an L-registered Estate in dark green, and I also own a 1972 limited edition “Top Hat”’ – more of these two fine Hillmans in forthcoming blogs.

As for HEV 873 H, Michael believes to be the earliest known example of the Avenger – ‘it was registered on 5th March 1970 and was the 5,575th off the production line. I’ve owned the Super since 2007, and I’ve very subtly modified it with Minilite wheels and bespoke springs. I’ve always thought the Avenger was a great handling car and these improvements enhance the experience’.

When new, a car such as the Wall Avenger would have cost £821 14s 9d, with servo assistance for the brakes setting the owner back a further £13 1s 1d and front seat belts another £10.

The Super was the mid-range version, and Autocar regarded it as ‘a perfectly conventional and very competitive small car’  and ‘a good sensible family car with a lot to be said in its favour’.

In other words, Chrysler UK seemed to have the perfect rival to the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall Viva.

It even survived a splendidly naff advertising campaign that “borrowed” the theme tune to a certain ABC TV series - https://www.hatads.org.uk/catalogue/record/773ac3e0-aa82-44cd-b7d6-bd3b31905883.

The unsubtle message was driving an Avenger would make you the next John Steed or Mrs. Peel…

Michael has been an enthusiast of the Avenger ‘since I was aged three or four when my parents bought a new Estate – and I can still remember the registration number’.

Mr. Wall was clearly a keen motoring critic from an early age, for when the family acquired a second-generation Avenger saloon ‘I thought it was not a patch on the Estate’.

Michael prefers the styling of the original Hillman-badged models over the later Chrysler versions – ‘details such as the smaller front indicators and the “hockey” rear lights’.

Naturally, Michael frequently hears the mantra ‘my dad had one of those’ when he visits a supermarket or a petrol station.

The oddest reaction to HEV 873 H was a young motorist who asked, “Why do you buy Mk.1 Escort” and he was quite offended when I told him “I prefer Avengers”.

The last Talbot-badged models left the factory in 1981, and today the Wall Hillman has the ability to convey you to a lost world. Back in 1970, an Avenger 1250 Super on the driveway was as much evidence of enjoying the good life as ownership of a colour television set.

To quote the Pathe Newsreel commentator - ‘A new car to be proud of’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpHE00xLzpY

With Thanks To – Michael Wall