1962 Humber Super Snipe Series III
These motors come with lots of walnut veneer and leather and were the
epitome of the typical up-market British car - very comfortable, quiet
and good performance with imposing presence. When Dad bought this
Super-Snipe about 18 years ago it needed a lot of work on the body and
this was done by my brother. Since then the car has covered about
100,000 miles and now needs more work as it is quite scruffy
again.
One of the inherent problems is water, leaking through the wrap around
front and rear screen seals, which eventually does further damage
elsewhere
inside the car. During the time we've had the car it has had a
major
engine rebuild, a replacement auto transmission and several rear axle
rebuilds.
The roads that Mum and Dad drive on in Surrey, Kent and Sussex include
a lot of steep hills and a lot of quite rough country lanes - all of
which
take their toll on a heavy car of this age.
The Snipe 6 cylinder engine was never as good as the Hawk 4 cylinder
motor. It only has 5 main bearings and we are sure this
contributes
to the main bearing rumble and relatively early failure that has been
experienced.
It is also Dad's experience that all the Humbers had weaknesses in the
rear axle and manual gearboxes - certainly on the sorts of road that we
use. Later versions of these cars had improved components fitted
but when you purchase used parts you don't know their history.
Before the Snipe we had about 6 Hawks all with the 2,267cc engine,
these cars were replaced when the bodywork became tatty - some had
gearbox
and axle problems but all the engines were good.
August 2000 and the Super Snipe has gone - it became too scruffy
to
pass the MOT and has been replaced by a Volvo 740 Estate. The
Humber
is sorely missed but when you are 84 you have to be sensible about your
car. Maybe someone will do it up or at least use the parts to
keep
another one going.
- 6 cyl. 2965cc. OHV. 130bhp.
- Semi-elliptic rear springs.
- All leather and walnut trim.
- Independent coil spring front suspension.