The Hillman story with a happy ending

A CLASSIC car owner has been reunited with his rare fuel filler cap after a Champion reader brought it to him after reading our piece in last week's edition.

Geoff Murray, from Lathom, said that a reader based in nearby Burscough had called at his home to give the fuel filler cap for his 1936 Hillman Hawk - one of just seven known to exist worldwide - after reading last week about the rare car component going missing at a nearby petrol station.

“I'm absolutely delighted that I've got the fuel filler cap, which is incredibly rare, back onto the car, so obviously the original article has paid off. I'd only had last week's Champion through my letterbox about five minutes earlier when a man called at the house with the fuel cap,” he said.

“He told me that he'd gone to the same petrol station that day, and as he was paying for his petrol his grandchildren found it, started playing with it and took it home, not realising what it was or how rare it is. He'd completely forgotten about it until he read the piece in last week's edition. If it hadn't been for The Champion, I probably wouldn't have seen it again.”

Last week Mr Murray appealed to Champion readers for their help in finding the filler cap for the 75-year-old car, which he had left at the petrol pumps and driven away by mistake on April 1.

He had resorted to using an emergency filler cap made from plastic but said that due to the rarity of the car, it was unlikely he would ever come across another example of the original chrome filler cap again.

Mr Murray bought the car, believed to be the only open tourer variant of the car in the world, in a partially-restored state in August last year, and showed it to members of the public in Banks earlier this month at the Riverside Steam and Vintage Rally.

Some car parts you just can't replace

IF you or I lost a car component, we'd simply pop down to Partco or Halfords and order another. But what if your car's more than 70 years old and one of just a few left in the world?

That's the conumdrum one classic car owner in West Lancashire is facing, and he's called for help in finding a petrol tank cap - because it's unlikely he'll ever come across another one like it.

Geoff Murray said that his 1936 Hillman Hawk is one of only seven known to exist worldwide and he lost its petrol cap after pulling in for fuel in Lathom.

Geoff, of Brooklands Grove, Lathom, said:

“With modern cars, the filler cap's usually fixed to the car so you can't leave it by mistake, but with older cars you often have to take them off to fill up. I left it by the petrol pump and drove off.”

“I went back and it wasn't there, so someone may have just picked it up. It's useless to anyone else but for me me it's virtually impossible to replace.”

Mr Murray's Hillman was one of just 300 made by the British company in 1936, and his Open Tourer version is the only one known to exist. He bought the car in August last year and finished off a restoration which its previous owner had begun more than 20 years earlier.

The cap was left at the BP petrol station, on Briars Lane in Lathom, shortly after the car had passed its MOT on Friday, April 1.

The car was still a star attraction at the Riverside Steam Rally, held in Holmeswood last weekend, where many West Lancashire residents visiting the show saw the 75-year-old car.

The classic chrome cap has been replaced with a plastic one, hopefully as a temporary measure. He is appealing for anyone who may have picked up the original cap to get in touch via The Champion.

Let us know by calling 01704 392400 or by sending an email to david.simister@champnews.com