1964 Humber Sceptre 1.6 litre petrol from UK and Ireland
Summary:
A nicely styled, fast and comfortable car
Faults:
Clutch went recently.
Engine stalling problem. traced to a badly blocked up air filter.
Self induced minor electrical problems.
General Comments:
Very nicely styled, similar to the larger super snipe series cars and the early 60's american saloons.
Fast for its day and handles well, although it does have a fair amount of body roll.
Economy in normal driving is good. 30-32mpg easily attainable in normal driving.
The 6 speed manual/overdrive transmission is *brilliant*. Much more flexible than the 4 or 5 speed manuals found in modern cars. O/D change control is mounted on the column and is self cancelling. Transmission could be made to be 8 ratio with the disconnection of the lock out on 1st and 2nd gears (1 wire).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 7th June, 2002
29th Dec 2003, 06:31
Agree. The overdrive is a Laycock de Normanville unit. If you run OD on 1st and 2nd you are definitely likely to over rev and overheat the overdrive. There are many quaint descriptions of the result, but suffice to say the overdrive unit will not work any more.
16th Nov 2007, 07:35
I owned a 1964 Mk 1 Humber Sceptre for about 7yrs. (It was stolen). I rewired the overdrive to work on all forward gears. I only once tried to pull away quickly with overdrive engaged in 1st. The adaptor flange broke. I never tried that again. The overdrive was in use in all gears for all the time I owned it and covered in excess of 100,000 miles like this. I found it very useful for the low-speed crawl along the A40 in the 1970s getting to work and home. Apart from the above, the car only let me down once when the head gasket went on a hot summer's day.
8th May 2010, 05:41
I had a 64 Sceptre way back in the eighties. Every time it rained, the fuel tank would fill up with water because the fuel filler cap was recessed into the body. The single drain hole was not large enough to evacuate the water, and I can't remember how many times I had to drain the petrol tank to remove the water. What a nightmare!
25th Feb 2018, 08:44
Just needed a new rubber around the filler cap, or the drain tube was not as clear as you thought. I just blow down it with an air line very occasionally; never once had water in the fuel tank.
24th Nov 2002, 05:29
It would be pointless in cutting one wire to the overdrive just so you can say you have 8 ratios. It would also burn out the overdrive unit in less time than it took me to type this.