What kind if price can I roughtly expect to pay..

[stucbr]

Hi,

I'm new here and to Humber Sceptre's, I've never hard or classis car of this age before, what I should I be aware of in term's of handling, power, braking ect ect. I'm looking for a good mk1 Sceptre, maybe a mk11 but I prefer the front of the mk1 eg the twin headlights, I've seen a mk1 on Ebay for £1600 but it now, but it's kent and thats miles away from me (I'm in Glasgow). There's mk11 or maybe 111 but it's a "squarish" front headlights not the round one's like the mk1 and 11, also apart fron the like's of Ebay what other place's can they be picked up from, and how easy or hard is to find parts.

[BeJay]

Hi,
..... you can pay anywhere between £200 and £2000 for a Sceptre, depending on whether it needs completely rebuilding or whether it has already been done to a high standard, or obviously anywhere between the two, as far as handling braking and power are concerned, a well maintained Sceptre is perfectly capable of keeping up with modern day traffic, up to the legal limits certainly, without any problem at all, and braking is also as good with a servo assisted front disc and rear drum setup.
.......As far as parts etc are concerned if you click on this link it will take you to the home page of the PVHCC (Post Vintage Humber Car Club) down the left hand side you will see a list of other links, if you double click on any of these it will take you to the relevant page, if you try the 'links' one it will take you to a page full of links to various suppliers etc, and try the 'sceptres' link on this page, (top left), it will take you to a whole page full to look at and compare, there is also a classifieds link which may be helpful, hope all this is of some use to you.

..........cheers, Jack.

[rootesmadnick]

that two tone sceptre on ebay for 1600 is in my eyes a bargain,

I paid 1500 for mine and to be honest it was not as good as it first seemed although I still love it to bits
I use mine as a daily driver and it is fine in modern traffic and will sit at 75-80 on the dual carriageway/motorway with no problem at all, the brakes are excellent, the handling is somewhat of an aquired taste although I dont find myself slowing too much for corners but then i have been driving rootes motors for a few years and know what to expect..

the visibility from a sceptre is something you cant describe, that huge windscreen and skinny pillars give you a great view of the road, mine isnt the most economical car i have ever owned but I have owned cars a lot thirstier..
i normally get 50 miles form 9 litres of fuel (a tenner) and on a run this increases a reasonable amount.

the mk1's are a 1600 so they might be better
the mk2 is 1725 so a bit torquier


things to look out for...

corrosion in the sills (original sills are rounded profile cover replacement sills are normally square)
check around the rear wheel arches and the lower edges of the front wings for corrosion
corrosion under the windscreen in the surround can be trouble to erradicate
the rear valance can rot badly if the drain holes are not kept clear or the boot seal is leaking..

at the end of the day any sceptre up to mk2 is heading for 40-50 years old ow and i think for the money you would be hard pushed to find a more practical car for daily use, they are great to drive and almost sporty, the steering can take abit of getting used to but tyre choice can help this...

all the best

Nick

[stucbr]

Thanks for the replie's..

I've had umpteen cars over the last 10 years, and currently have a 98' Civic 1.8VTi and a Volvo V70, but never had or driven a classis, my dad had an Morris Minor, Avenger, Hunter, and a couple of other's I remember, but I was to young to drive any of them, hence asking what they are like compared to what I currently drive.

After reading your reply rootesmadnick when you mention the mpg eg about 25ish normal driving, thats more/less what the V70 get's and thats a 2.5turbo, but granted there's about 30-40 years diffirence. I'll keep my eye's peeled of what's out there (not alot though) the only thing is though, if I do go to look at one with the prospect of buying, there's no one i know who has any knowledge at all of these classic's. So I would just need to read all I could on here ect and hope that I wouldnt sound a complete prat and get ripped off.

[BeJay]

Hi again,
........just been looking on the 'Bay' and there's a Mk 2 on there that looks quite tidy and has 12 months M.O.T. on it, but the main thing is it's a hell of a lot closer to you than Kent, it's in Crewe Cheshire with a starting bid of £1100, if you're interested it may be worth keeping an eye on it by putting it into your favourites, here's the link.
........by the way I get about 28/29 mpg out of mine but it's mainly on runs during the summer, I don't use it as an everyday car.

............cheers, Jack.

[rootesmadnick]

stu i just sent you a very long winded pm about the things to check for, (or the main things i would check) obviously this is a supplement to common sense so if you buy a dog dont come crying to me cause i didnt warn you about something !!!!!!
hope it helps though and good luck

[steveC]

Hi,

I know the auction for the maroon one has now ended, although it keeps getting re-listed, I looked at at about 4 months ago, all I can say it is, it needs a bit of work doing on the inside....and the re-spray quality....... Only my personal opinion though.

I hope you find a Humber soon, great fun. Got a MK1 a few months ago.

[rootesmadnick]

just of interest, what is the appeal of a mk1 over a mk2?

when I went sceptre shopping I never even weighed mk1's into the equation..
now I have seen some nice pics of them I can understand the love of that twin lamp front and styling but i still think the mk2
front is more my cup of tea, sort of more youthful and livelier ?? does that make sense?

just my opinion though, every sceptre saved is a plus in my book

[scoot]

I thought I'd add my experience too. I paid £1900 for my early Mk1 last year & It came with 12 months MOT etc etc.....I let my heart rule my head & perhaps I should have held out & not bought the first one I saw, but hey the cash was burning a hole in my pocket & the little old lady owner cried quite a lot at the prospect of having to sell it, so she got me on the "emotional blackmail" !! The car could have been used as is easily, but I started digging into it & now I'm into a resto project, but only because I wanted too. As I said it could have been used as is. Keep searching, they are out there. Yes, you might have to put some miles in to get the right one, but don't give up. They do seem to be coming out of the woodwork at the moment. Perhaps it's because their Ford & Vauxhall equivalents are getting so pricey that the Sceptre's are picking up in price a bit as people are looking for more affordable "period" alternatives.
And yes if you do your research & trawling the net the spares are out there too. I've collected a bunch of stuff over the past year (I think my loft may collapse soon !) & there's always someone on here or the Sceptre section of the Humber Forum that will help you out with spares or advice. As for running costs/mpg.....well (big gulp & expect the lynch mob !) I'm contemplating dropping a 2 litre EFI Carlton engine/box into mine !! Damn, there go the concours points already !!

[rootesmadnick]

i was debating the peugeot 1.9td xud engine in mine as the one in the missus 405 is lovely and smooth
and very ooomphy too..

my problem is i dont want to lose the OD box as I love the sound of the hillman gearbox (stupid i know)
the vauxhall 2 litre 8v engine is a fantastic engine and shouldnt be overlooked, I would by choice take that
instead of the ecotec for various reasons including the fact a 8v cambelt failure would result in far less damage
than an ecotec which tends to smash valve guides and worse...

[stucbr]

just of interest, what is the appeal of a mk1 over a mk2?

when I went sceptre shopping I never even weighed mk1's into the equation..
now I have seen some nice pics of them I can understand the love of that twin lamp front and styling but i still think the mk2
front is more my cup of tea, sort of more youthful and livelier ?? does that make sense?

just my opinion though, every sceptre saved is a plus in my book

Yip, it's the twin light's that do it.....dont get me wrong, if I saw a mk2 that I liked I'd probably go for it.

[rootesmadnick]

just a few of the differences between the two from personal experience....

mk2 has:
1725 engine, all synchro gearbox, improved panel illumination, adjustable steering column (weaker horn ring), seatbelts from new unless a really early one, slightly improved suspension

mk1 has 1592 engine, no synchro on 1st gear, no light over the heater/wiper,light controls, fixed steering column, no seatbelts, and yes a niceer front profile...... !!!

i would still have a mk2 though....