Plymouth Cricket

[Guest Richard D]

Still want to buy a 1971 or 72 Plymouth Cricket Please see thread on second page of forum. Not a show car but one that can be made a nice driver. And no, I am not insane, well maybe a little, I also like stock Gremlins.

Richard

305-233-9593

dalk01@aol.com

[Guest DodgeKCL]

You realize a Plymouth Cricket was an English Hillman Minx? I had 2 Minxs when I was young and stupid. A 1949 and a 1951. They were awful cars but they were all I could afford as a 16 yr. old. You can't of had a good time with a Cricket surely? Mostly guys want to acquire something from their youth that brings back fond memories. You had a good time with a Hillman Minx?!!

[Bleach]

I just learned something here.

I always used to think they were Japanese imports.

[ply33]

I just learned something here.

I always used to think they were Japanese imports.

I assumed they were Japanese imports too. Now that I've learned something new for the day, I guess I've met my quota.

[keiser31]

You realize a Plymouth Cricket was an English Hillman Minx? I had 2 Minxs when I was young and stupid. A 1949 and a 1951. They were awful cars but they were all I could afford as a 16 yr. old. You can't of had a good time with a Cricket surely? Mostly guys want to acquire something from their youth that brings back fond memories. You had a good time with a Hillman Minx?!!

Actually, they were derived from the Hillman Avenger...not Minx.

[NTX5467]

In the early 1970s, Chrysler invested in The Rootes Group in England, which is where the later generations of Hillmans evolved into. This was "Cricket" . . . mascot logo and all. The Dodge Colt was the result of Chrysler's investment in Mitsubishi. The Chevy L.U.V. (later versions deleted the periods . . . Light Utility Vehicle) was GM's investment in Isuzu. Ford invested in Mazda. Everybody purchased about a 10% stake in the respective companies, which lasted for several decades afterward.

This makes the Cricket uniquely British in heritage and other things, just as the more popular Colt was Mitsubishi and Japanese. NOTHING interchanged between them, obviously, other than possibly a PentaStar emblem on the lower rh fender.

Take care,

NTX5467

[JACK M]

Well being British they must leak and have electrical problems ?

This is meant to be humor....I have owned British things.

I am currently restoring a BSA. I think it leaks and has electrical problems already.

[Guest DodgeKCL]

Rust was a very big problem with all English cars that came over here after WWII. Besides of course the Lucas electrics. When I started work I found I would be around a lot of Limeys who emigrated to this side of the pond after WWII but not before working at some of the car manufacturers in the 40s and 50s. This one guy,who knew I worked on my own cars and thought English stuff was junk, starts telling me at break one day that he worked for Wolsely Motors before he came to Canada. I have since found out in my latter antique car/truck hobby days that Wolsely was one of the 1st to sell their cars in Canada,as early as the teens, and had a big dealer ship in Toronto. But the cars were up market in those days. By the time the 1940s and 50s had rolled around they were however well within the reach of the working Canadian. I remember many of them. So he tells me why English cars rusted so bad. The factory would get panels from manufacturers like Carbodies and line them up against the factory stone walls outside! The factory workers would go out in the rain,it's always raining in England, and bring the panels in to the line straight away. They would dry the panels off and clean off the orange rust with a rag and put the car together! He said they were rusty orange when the paint sprayer hit them. He said it was no wonder they would rust so badly over here in the rust belt around the Great Lakes. I have since found out that the main reason for this may have been the payments that Britian owed as a result of WWII. But it put a bad taste in our collective mouths for British cars. And the Japs put the final nail in the coffin.

[Guest Richard D]

Hello All, Still looking for a driver Cricket

Richard

[Guest specialedduluxe]

Dude I had a 1972 Plymouth Cricket in college in 1985. It was an awesome car. Beat the hell out of it. Four speed.

[Guest DodgeKCL]

I just wanted to correct a statement that Chrylser started investing in Rootes in the 1970s. While still in my English car days, and still accepting the punishment that that held, I bought my first new car in 1968. It was a Sunbeam Alpine white with a black conv. top,black upholstery,$3300. On the front fender sides low down it had the Chrysler Penta Star logo. And the manual said 'Rootes Group Division of the Chrysler Corp.' or words to that effect. I had had a bad time with Rootes/Hillman as previously stated and only bought it because Chrysler's name was on it. BIG MISTAKE. The paint started peeling almost immediatley and the car had to be repainted. This of course left overspray on rubber seals and a VERY bad taste in my mouth. Then the disc brakes started to grab and the Toronto dealer,Wietze's Motors, told me this was to be expected and the car would have to have a brake job each year at my expense!! I told the salesman John what he could do with his business and drove it up to Leslie Chev Olds in King City Ont. and traded it in on a 1968 Nova which I couldn't break and put 146,000 miles on it over 6 years. Never touched the brakes. Ever!! Never even put shoes on it. (It was a stick and sticks don't eat shoes/pads like automatics.)

[Chrycoman]

Actually, Chrysler made its first investment in the Rootes Group in 1963. By 1966 they had a majority interest in the company and in 1970 the company became Chrysler United Kingdom Ltd.

The American-market 1971-73 and Canadian-market 1971-72 Plymouth Crickets were based on the Hillman Avenger (became Chrysler Avenger in 1976). The Canadian 1973-75 Plymouth Crickets were Dodge Colts with different grilles, taillights and emblems. The Cricket's version of the Colt GT was the Formula S. So there were some Japanese Crickets built.

Brakes were not the fault of Rootes as they did not make brakes. They were Girling units on the Cricket and Lockheed on the Alpine/Arrow models. The British Lockheed brakes of the 1960's and later were nothing like 1930's to early 1960's Lockheed brakes in North America, by the way.

I believe GM was the only manufacturer to make their own brakes. Every other North American car company, for example, bought brakes from Bendix, Lockheed, Wagner, Budd or Midland, although Nash of Canada bought Canadian Chevrolet brakes for the Canadian Statesman in the early 1950's.

[junkyardjeff]

I dont think I have seen a Cricket in over 20 years and if there ever was one still around there would not be much left.