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It's been a long time coming but I've finally managed to get this little project rolling, which is something I've wanted to do for a good 10 years or so now, so I hope this thread is interesting, entertaining or educational in some way to someone out there! ANYWAY,  The story of the Hillman Imp is a rather interesting one; Produced by Rootes group in 1963, the Imp was originally intended as a rival to the Mini which was already very popular in the UK. With innovative features such as it's opening rear hatch window, it's suspension set up and it's 875cc engine mounted in the back at a 45 degree tilt, the Imp could easily out-handle the mini due to it's lower center of gravity. However, it's sales never really picked up as the Mini quickly became the 'in' thing to have as well as a few (lot) of teething issues with earlier models damaging it's reputation. Early models (pre 1965) had been fitted with a automatic choke as well as a pneumatic throttle linkage, which in no way could possibly go wrong   The lever actuates a pump, that compresses air which controls a second pump at the Solex carburetor end. Funnily enough, the rubber used in the hoses between the two pumps was prone to perishing and leaking, resulting in the need to pump out the accelerator pedal to maintain speed. There were also issues with maintenance of the fully aluminium alloy engine block, which required skimming of both the block and the head on each head gasket change due to the engine's tenancy to warp when overheated. The Mk2 Imp (post 1965) was fitted with a stronger engine block, traditional choke and throttle cable controls and the suspension height was altered slightly.  My Imp is a 1969 Imp Super, which as far as I can tell from looking though the huge pile of Imp manuals I have acquired is no different from a Mk2, other than possibly a slightly different trim. The car in question has been in the family for around 13 years now, it was given to my father sometime around 2002 after its original owner passed away. It'd been parked in a garage at some point in the 1970's and left there the entire time. Since then it has been re-sprayed from the original classic British 'Vomit gold' to a nice red, a couple new tyres on the rear and had the engine stripped and rebuilt. However, since 2004 it's only been on the road on maybe 3 or 4 occasions, spending the rest of the time under a sheet acting as a shelf in the garage. This year it passed it's MOT inspection again with very little wrong with it, so I decided it was time to clean it and get insured to drive it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpxgSJVpXns (made pretty with a little colour correction) The engine itself runs like a dream after I adjusted the points & condenser a few years back, it is mechanically sound, but there a few patches of rust in the rear arches, the roof seal at the nearside rear and on the leading edge of the bonnet. Also the rear hatch leaks like a sieve.  As it stands, it drives, but is a little floaty and the rear shocks appear to be doing very little. The front tyres are 45 year old crossplys, so it's probably about time to change them. I'm not planning on any SICK MODZ, just restoring and keeping this rare classic going. Any questions regarding the imp (or variants) are welcome, as I have a mountain of handbooks and manuals so I'm sure I could find an answer for any questions you may have. (Next update - who the hell even stocks 155 12" these days?) GoodbyeTurtles fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Jan 30, 2015 |
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Jan 30, 2015 01:22
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Wally Joyner posted:Do older folk swarm you when you go out, deafening your ears with tales of times past? As I work in the garage where the Imp is parked, we get maybe 2 or 3 customers a day comment on it, last Monday we had someone who used to race them have a good sniff around it. The day after 2 people came in saying that they'd buy it there and then. It's water cooled.  You can see the radiator fan on the left with the water pump in front of it running off of the auxiliary belt.
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Jan 30, 2015 01:35
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Sporty looking. How big of a pain in the rear end is it to adjust the valves on that engine? It takes maybe half an hour to completely remove the engine from the car, so I cant imagine it'd be too difficult - I'll check the book time once I get to work though. The sump has a laden ground clearance of 5 inches. The rear seats fold down to leave a decent amount of space in the back and under the bonnet you have the fuel tank, the spare wheel and a little (tiny) bit of room for cargo. I'll take some better pictures today when I fit the new tyres.
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Jan 30, 2015 08:34
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Two new tyres (155 12") to replace the 45 year old crossplys on the front. Swapped the new radials to the back and the former rear radials to the front. Took it for a road test and the steering and handling feels great save for some flat spots on the older radials, but those should round out after a few good runs, so I'll be taking them off to balance them properly in a few weeks time. The old tyres are a bit of a state, loads of tread left but cracked all over. I'll post some pictures when I get home. sadnessboner posted:I have a real soft spot for the imp, it's such a perfectly cartoonish looking car. I feel like they'd make a fun little track/hill car, but maybe I'm skewed by how drat good they look with a little set of flares on them Maybe my next imp...
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Jan 30, 2015 13:53
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spog posted:IIRC the problem here was that during development, they were supposed to do a (say) 10,000 mile road test to find all the problems, but they didn't have time to do it properly: so they simply went round and round a test track until they racked up enough miles to tick that box. shittheydontputinthemanual.txt Sounds about right really, considering the rush they were in to push the car out. InitialDave posted:You're allowed radial on the rear and crossply on the front, presumably because the failure mode is understeer. Can't have it the other way round, or mix tyre types on one axle. I'm pretty sure this is right, though I seem to remember something about having to have radials on the drive wheels if they are mixed.
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Jan 30, 2015 18:54
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New tyres! Turns out that the old crossplys are pretty badly cracked all throughout the tread. They were also only contacting the road was the bit of tread right in the center, so that explains the handling issues!  Took it for a road test straight after fitting these and the handling is absolutely prefect, save for the back end knocking around on those shocks. It actually feels grippy for a change! Seat Safety Switch posted:What's the cargo area look like? With the rear seats folded down there is actually a fairly decent amount of space back there. You'll have to excuse the clutter, it's still being used as a shelf part time.    The rubber seals on the back hatch are in dire need of replacement, as they leak terribly to the point where I cant leave it outside in the rain at all without the rear filling with water. "What's under the bonnet?" they ask. "Not much" I reply.  The cap on the left is the brake fluid reservoir (hence the state of the surrounding paint) and the cap on the right is the fuel filler. Some of the rusty bits that I intend to sort out. (not pictured, the rust on the leading edge of the bonnet): The nearside rear roof seam.  The nearside rear wheel arch.  The offside rear wheel arch. Note the crack that has formed (where it has been filled in previously)  BONUS INTERIOR SHOTS:    The driver's seat is currently an XR2 seat, but I do have the original seat, just for now I'd rather have a head-rest whilst still getting used to driving the thing. Another of the engine bay: 
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Jan 30, 2015 19:39
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Cancelbot posted:Holy wheel arch intrusion! How bad is the pedal offset on them? It's not uncomfortable to drive and the position feels ok, but I've only driven it for short periods so I'll pay attention to the position & get better photos next time. It seems like there is enough room but with large boots it can be a little awkward trying to heel-toe the throttle and brake pedals due to the lack of space between that wheel arch and the steering column.
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Jan 31, 2015 02:51
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DrakeriderCa posted:Jesus Christ that car is cool as hell Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go all out crazy with it, but the value of this particular car lies in how original it is. I'm only the third registered keeper, the one before me being my father and the one before that only using it for a couple years in the 70's before storing it. The engine and chassis numbers all match and it's supposedly never overheated. Knocking on wood pretty hard right now. Next time I'll grab something with a lot less value and make it some kind of track day monster, as I do have a sports camshaft + top end and some other performance bits laying around.
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Jan 31, 2015 02:59
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OFFICER 13 INCH posted:Theres a guy here in Ballard who always has 3 of these parked out front, talked to him one day and he owns 17 OF THEM  That's a lot of donor cars! Wait. 3 are parked outside? It rains out there! Surely he hasn't discovered some ritual to prevent the rear hatch from leaking..?
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Jan 31, 2015 12:22
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stump posted:Imps are the poo poo, yours looks really good. Back when I used to do classic rally events there were a couple that competed and sounded great. That sports exhaust though. 
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Jan 31, 2015 16:22
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8ender posted:That looks so similar to a motorcycle exhaust I have to assume thats what it is. You're probably right.  But goddamn does it look cool. Also the sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFtdK7R0fHo
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Jan 31, 2015 18:13
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BalloonFish posted:Cool car and a great project - I fully understand the "should I?/shouldn't I?" about whether or not to go down the modifying route but, as you say, the significance of this one is its originality and the hotted-up Imp has been done to death. It will be interesting to watch someone simply restoring one to stock(ish) condition. For me personally, I've always loved both the Imp and the Mini, though the Imp was mostly due to my father owning a few over the years (in my lifetime only my current one and the one before, which he refers to as 'Frankenstein' due to it's constant state of being covered in primer patches). Early Minis are a lot of fun to drive, but as you said they are pretty rough around the edges. I've always been a fan, but with the prices these days it's very unlikely that I'll pick one up anytime soon. That and how they are probably the most common classic car in the uk these days, I see maybe 5 every day while I'm at work /commuting (one is a pretty smart looking clubman van). I do know a guy who has one in a garage that was going to let me take a look at getting it running, but lets not get ahead of ourselves... So far I've only been out in the imp a few times, just test driving it around work and getting petrol, but I was totally surprised by how accommodating other people on the road were. People actually let me out and wave to me and are actually happy to be stuck behind me with my 875 screaming its way up to 30mph. Totally different to driving my generic white econobox clio around. Everyone just loves the drat imp and everyone has a dozen stories about them and how great (yet unreliable) they were, its really interesting and funny.
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Feb 1, 2015 00:28
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BalloonFish posted:Having spent five hours today scalping my knuckles changing my Mini's water pump I'm now kinda wishing I had an Imp - it looks like a blissfully simple job on one of those! I have a theory that it was incredible foresight by the designers that lead to it being so easily accessible..
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Feb 1, 2015 21:03
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Cakefool posted:So how cheap are we talking and where should I be looking for these bargain well, there's the imp owner's club (https://www.theimpclub.co.uk) they usually have one or two for sale. Also they pop up on ebay every once in a while, but other than that just break into old people's garages? I'm not sure though, as I didn't really have to look very far for mine.  I have seen a few on sale on the owners club forum that are over in the US, but I'm not sure what they'd cost over there. As far as prices go, depending on condition it could cost from around £1000 for something that might run all the way up to £10,000 for a kitted out rally car. A good condition (and very original) one will usually fetch around £3000- 3500. As mine stands now, it's easily worth about £2000 or £2500 at a push.
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Feb 1, 2015 22:18
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Cancelbot posted:Holy wheel arch intrusion! How bad is the pedal offset on them? I looked a little closer today and took a couple photos. Note the angle of the steering wheel.  Yeah... you do sit at a little bit of an odd angle and there's not a lot of room for boots on those tiny pedals. 
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Feb 3, 2015 00:14
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Cancelbot posted:Your spine may have some issues in later life, I would still buy one however I'm a mechanic so my spine is already condemned, might as well suffer in style.  The boots were on offer for £15 at Lidl, but they have served me well so far so I cant really complain. Anyway, I took it for it's first >2 mile run today. It drives very nicely, it'll take a little bit of getting used to the 'POWER' and the fact that the gear-stick doesn't return to central when you drop into neutral. It's got synchromesh on every forward gear, so changing gears isn't too different from normal, however it is a 46 year old gearbox, so everything must be done slowly, especially when downshifting. I've practically mastered the choke, but not quite heel-toeing the brake & throttle for driving when the engine is still cold. Had our local bodywork guy come have a look at the rust patches & he said that he'd be able to cut out the old and fit replacement rear arches (which are available), as well as respray the whole thing red again. In an attempt to stop (or at least reduce) the leaking rear hatch I've been told to generously apply Vaseline the rubbers  .The signature British 'Active rust prevention system' is working perfectly too! Video coming soon.
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Feb 3, 2015 20:41
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mafoose posted:What an awesome little car! Looks like the engine is longitudinal, how does the transmission look? Beaten by Baloonfish but here's a lovely picture:  Bonus: baby turbo? nah 
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Feb 3, 2015 20:49
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InitialDave posted:Oh, I may be getting my UK goons mixed up, but do you still have that old 8v 1.2 Clio? It's still my DD 
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Feb 4, 2015 00:20
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Cakefool posted:For a split second i thought you had a Clio pickup Haha that would be the grossest thing. Cancelbot posted:I thought Vaseline (petroleum jelly) degrades rubber? Depends if you're replacing later on or not but silicone grease might be less damaging. The rubber is already beyond saving, so its more of a temporary solution until I buy the £16 replacement rubbers.
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Feb 4, 2015 14:49
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Car blood... Putting it up in the air to get a better look at the underside and that little  It's a little damp around the sump.  ... and around the gearbox.  The oil levels are all okay though, so I guess I'll just clean it up and leave it. The rubber drive couplings are looking a little tired and some small cracks are forming, but they should be okay for a while. Another thing to add to the list of things to keep an eye on.  The other end of the drive shaft and one of the leaky rear shocks  . Lots of surface rust around on the front and rear sub-frames, but nothing too terrible. Might be worth taking them out and cleaning them up at some point. I managed to oil most of the accessible brake pipes while it was in the air, hopefully that'll keep them going for a while longer. Also I managed to grease my kingpin nipples. Going to do a full brake fluid change tomorrow if I have time tomorrow. GoodbyeTurtles fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Feb 5, 2015 |
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Feb 5, 2015 22:54
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Managed to get the Imp out for a nice little drive in the sunshine, nothing too exciting as I was stuck behind someone sightseeing but I'll get a video soon of opening it up on a A-road. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEgqsNCp818 Working on a better camera setup because the rest of the footage was of the back seats. Gotta sort those shocks out soon too because those speed-bumps were pretty drat brutal.
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Feb 8, 2015 20:11
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Today I noticed that the old Imp was running a little rich on idle (was able to idle whilst cold with the choke fully closed). A quick dive through the manual later and I was up to speed on how to adjust the idle speed fueling on the solex carburetter. (click for big, follow link for really, really big potato photo)  So I ran it up to temperature and hooked it up to our emissions tester that I was told should read around 5% Carbon Monoxide when properly fueling. The tester read that the CO was up to around 8-9% so I took a small flat blade screwdriver and turned-  -slowly until the tester showed that it was back down to 5%. After that I took it for a little road test and all seemed to be running well, when I noticed how much salt had been spread on all of the roads.  So I then spent the afternoon jet-washing the inner wheel arches and the underside to hopefully delay the inevitable. In other news, I got it up in the air again and cleaned most of the gunk off of the sump in order to locate the oil leak, which looks like it could well just be due to the lack of an oil seal on the gearbox end.  As you may be able to see, there is a screw thread on the end of the crankshaft at the flywheel end, which is great for keeping the oil inside when the engine is turning it, but not so great for when it is not. Either way, it's nothing to be worried about. I'm not even worried. Not at all worried. Nope. NEXT THINGS THAT NEED DOING: I've been soaking the wishbone bolts with penetrating oil every time I get it up in the air in preparation for dropping both the front and rear wishbones (because all independent suspension ) so that I can rub them down and apply a generous coating of waxoyl. I'll likely take out the springs too and give them a similar working over.Still not had time to change the brake fluid, but I feel like I'll need to strip all of the brakes down to give them a proper going-over because brake fade is a terrifying thing.
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Feb 12, 2015 22:02
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Knobjockey posted:Apropos of that, I'd consider a front disc conversion. I know you want to keep it original but... well you already said it. I've actually been looking at disc conversions and they seem easy enough to do, if a little expensive for what you get. I'd want to do both a front and rear conversion and maybe fit a booster servo if I was going to upsize to a 998cc engine with twin webers, high lift camshaft (I actually already have one of these, not fitted of course) and a sports exhaust, but as it stands the little 875 has no weight (or power  ) to it, so the drums are plenty good enough for the time being at least.On a similar note, I stripped down and inspected the brakes before attempting a brake bleed on Friday, which were in pretty good shape save for a few issues. (these pictures are shamefully blurry but they'll give you an idea of the setup/ condition) Nearside front:  Good condition, very little wear and all the pistons retract properly. Nearside rear:  Again very little wear, the piston is seized solid so I'll have to either free it up or buy a new one, which when looking at the prices, isn't exactly going to break the bank. --The parts are ordered. Offside rear:  Brake shoe seems to be contaminated slightly but the cylinder isn't leaking at all, so I'll change the cylinder anyway just to make sure, but I'll keep my eye on the shoes as the friction surfaces are a little rough. Offside front:  Everything seems to be fine here. I rubbed all of the friction surfaces with a little emery cloth so that should help a little, I saw no point in adjusting everything up as it'll all need to come off again before I drive it again anyway. So the brake bleed is postponed yet again until the new cylinders arrive on Thurs, which is fine because I'm not planning on driving it again until most of the salt has washed off of the roads. Next weekend could be the time to waxoyl the front wishbones but I'm not holding my breath.
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Feb 15, 2015 22:04
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You Am I posted:What type of disc brakes would be compatible to that, Hillman Hunter or so other brand like a Cortina's? Looking around it seems that the hub + caliper from a Vauxhall Viva HB was the swap of choice back in the day, but nowdays there are lots different discs used, I've seen ford Ka brakes used but that'd probably require larger wheels which could mess with the steering geometry and I'd also have to machine the stud hole spacing from 100mm to 101.6mm. There are a few full conversion kits that supposedly have all of the parts required, but it's likely that I'd need bigger wheels regardless.
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Feb 15, 2015 23:47
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No pictures this time but a little update: Replaced both the rear brake cylinders, adjusted and bled the rear brakes and changed the engine oil (but not the filter because it's done maybe 20 miles on that filter). Pushing the brake pedal is now much less of a gentle suggestion for the brakes to slow the car in their own time, which is nice and much less terrifying! The brake cylinders were well and truly seized and the offside had clearly been leaking at some point, but all things considered changing them over was incredibly easy despite having to remove the brake shoes (which took all of 2 minutes). Weather permitting, I'll take it out for a spin this weekend to make sure everything is working as it should. I'd like to take it out somewhere that I can go a little faster than 30mph (if it goes that fast) just to see how it does.
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Feb 21, 2015 02:05
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Things have been a little slow working on the imp recently, but today I received a couple goodies in the mail. Managed to grab myself a pair of classic plates for a more ~~vintage aesthetic~~ and a set of wing mirrors (and arms, not pictured) to replace the cracked and dull old ones that were totally useless on the road.    You may have noticed the stainless steel backbox sitting on the floor in the second picture there, that's because it needs a little work.  This right here is 50% of my exhaust system. The rest is just the manifold.  It was repaired about 12 years ago with a patch of mild steel, so I've decided to send it off to be properly patched up (and maybe made a little more shiny) by someone who works with stainless steel. It's being picked up tomorrow so I should have it back by Monday. Until then, I have a mild steel spare that I've fitted (it didn't quite fit, but it's just for driving to and from the ramp so it'll be fine).
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Mar 5, 2015 21:35
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After deciding to secure the temporary exhaust backbox properly so that I could drive the car on the weekend, I noticed that the frame just behind the left rear wheel arch was damp... and dripping. There is a small three way connector (also with the coolant system bleed tap) between both lines to the heater matrix (which is located all the way at the front of the vehicle) and the water pump. It was leaking from the water pump hose and a new clip did nothing to stop the leak, so I had to order in a little bit of hose and cut it to fit. Bearing in mind all of these hoses are original and totally rock hard, it was pretty lucky that it was only the easiest to get to/ replace hose. I will at some point have to renew ALL of the hoses, which shouldn't be too awful. I then had to bleed the system, which in a car infamous for it's ability to warp heads due to overheating, was a little nerve-wracking but all seems to be okay but the weekend run isn't going to happen. Stainless backbox should be all done and ready to put back on for Monday, after that I'm thinking i'll source a second engine to use and abuse as I please while the original engine stays safe and sound in storage until I come to sell the car. I know a guy with a 998cc engine, but depending whether or not he'll throw in the manifolds/ ancillaries is kinda a dealbreaker, as the 875cc stuff won't fit on it and sourcing those is turning out to be a nightmare.
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Mar 7, 2015 16:38
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Mooseykins posted:Is there some motorbike engine that you can bolt in there? Or maybe one of these little turbo engines like the VW TSI or Ford EcoBoost? Hahaaa that would be a great/ terrible idea but yes, there are, and maybe. The draw of picking up a 998 imp/ stiletto engine is that I could just leave the old transaxle in there, unbolt the maybe 10 bolts required to remove the engine, swap it over and slap it in with no real modifications and it'd only take a couple of hours. A bike engine (or any different engine really) would require a fair amount of reworking the entire drivetrain and loving about with cooling and a whole load of general fuckery, which would end up being rather expensive! Besides which, then I wouldn't be allowed to take part in classic car races and poo poo without it being at least mostly standard. I have heard that the 998cc engine takes boost quite well though...
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Mar 7, 2015 19:57
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A little walk-around of the imp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz8d6q5tlf4
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Mar 7, 2015 20:12
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BalloonFish posted:It looks (and sounds) sweet in that vid. I like the ominous can of (presumably?) top-up coolant in the engine compartment. Also, is it a trick of the camera or something else, but it looks like the fan isn't rotating, although the water pump/alternator clearly is? Is there some clever temperature-sensitive coupling on the fan drive (I can imagine Rootes designing such a thing at great expense, and it working better on paper than in reality? It'll sound much better with the stainless backbox on there, and look much better with a good wash! Yes, that is a bottle of water/coolant mix, and you'll likely find one in the same place on pretty much any imp! Because reliable. The fan is rotating constantly and is fixed on the same shaft as the water pump impeller, what you can see in the video is just the fixed outer fan housing which looks quite a lot like a fan itself. I believe the 875 parts are easier to find, considering I have a few (a lot of) spares for them laying about (I have maybe 3 or 4 different inlet manifolds and carbs, 2 sets of twin strombourgs, about 3 solex carbs and a nikki carb/manifold, all of which would fit the 875). The 998 would be nice to have but spares would be an issue, and I'd have to find a sport exhaust manifold, which I've seen costing anything up to £500. Of course if this guy has the full engine complete with everything, It'll be worth doing. I'd like to strip the current engine down at some point, but the drat thing is so original the engine has never been stripped before. So I may just pull it and leave it on a shelf, clean it up and put it back in when I want to sell it.
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Mar 9, 2015 01:15
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It's been a couple of weeks but work has been done! NEW OLD BACKBOX  It fits a lot better than the mild steel exhaust too!  A little post- drive video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0yMq_Sj8no So the fuel gauge doesn't work, I wonder what it could be. Time to meticulously check all the wiring.  Oh, ok. I just removed the one connector, cleaned it out a little and it worked, now to never touch it again as long as it still works.  Oh, and here's a picture of the coolant hose that I had to replace a couple updates ago.  Next things on the list: - New carpets (only £70~ on ebay for a full set!) - Rear window seal - Rear loading shelf/ rubber seat back mats
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Mar 24, 2015 22:22
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Saga posted:Your video is private. No fair, we want to see your privates. Fixed!
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Mar 25, 2015 00:28
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As is the ongoing theme with this thread and project, I looked at the car today and decided to do something completely different to the things written at the top of my to-do list and went straight to waxoyling the front wishbones. After getting 3 bolts into removing the front wishbones it became clear that one of the main hub bolts wasn't coming loose and I wasn't prepared to break anything and have to order a lot of imperial bolts, so I decided that the wishbones would have stay on the car. So I rubbed them down to get rid of the majority of the surface rust, then got to work applying the waxoyl.   Even without taking them off it turned out pretty good, so that'll be that sorted for another year or so. After that, I decided to deal with this issue: (gross wheel)  First layer of paint is on, I'm having to brush it on but it should look decent when it's done (it's how it was done before and looked even).  The paint is far from even right now, but after the second coat which will be going on tomorrow they should look perfect.
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Apr 4, 2015 02:25
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8ender posted:This is good though. When I was restoring my old motorcycles I'd tend to take a few days here and there to make something look nice and it always helped boost spirits so I could tackle one of the miserable jobs. It's the little things that you always notice, like wing mirrors that actually work as mirrors and nice looking wheels that at least help me keep the momentum up with a project like this. This morning I applied the second coat of paint and the wheels are looking much better already. I'll probably get them sandblasted and powder coated after I get the rest of the car painted, but we'll see how they look mounted. I picked this weekend to do them as I'd have the ramp free for 4 days (bank holiday) and the weather was looking awful, but the sun is out today just to spite me and all I want to do is drive the imp. 
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Apr 4, 2015 13:16
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Forgot to post these here but here's how it turned out! Not too bad with the centrecaps on there.  Looks nice on the car! Despite the 80g of wheel weights I had to use the balance the one wheel that's slightly buckled.  Managed to take it for it's first trip to the beach!   Managed to get 55mph out of it on the way there and it definitely had more to give, but until I get that engine swapped out I don't really want to push it too hard.
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Apr 12, 2015 18:36
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Not much to show in the way of progress but today I did what I've been wanting to do since I first saw the car, which was put the steering wheel straight. I've been driving it so long with the steering wheel at a funny angle, when I put it right it felt really different. Managed to get a hold of a steering lock, so I can now bring it home overnight without having to worry too much about it. Also the carpets are now ordered, should take around 3 weeks because they are made to order. Crosspost from the post your own ride thread:   The tiny car fleet.
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Apr 23, 2015 22:42
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Commodore_64 posted:It reminds me of a baby Corvair. The twin headlamp version of the Imp (sunbeam stiletto) does look awfully similar to a 1961 corvair...
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Apr 24, 2015 19:04
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Well, it looks like the guy who was gonna sell me an 875cc engine for £100 has decided he wants to hold onto it for whatever reason (he's old) so now I'm back to trawling ebay for engines in decent shape. I know a few more people with Imp parts around so I'll be asking around for a standard (or 875cc sport) engine, but worst comes to worst I can probably pick one up for £400-500 (possibly already stripped down and rebuilt). It would be nice to find a sport exhaust too, but those are going for almost as much as an engine these days.
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May 13, 2015 23:21
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It'd fit so well...
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May 14, 2015 12:25
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 02:54 |
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I got a package! Things I learned this weekend: - Cheap ebay carpets are cheap ebay carpets for a reason. - Use carpet glue in a well ventilated area. - Cheap carpets will need a lot of stanley blade related fitting assistance. Ripping up the footwell carpet.  My old friend: rust.  Luckily enough it's only surface rust, so a little spray of WD-40 to make me feel better and I'll get back to that another time. The passenger side is totally clean though.  Seats out.  Most of the carpet laid out.  Floor is really clean, which is REALLY good news considering how much water leaks into the drat thing.  Imagine several pictures of slow, messy progress here. After a couple of hours looking at the bits of carpet I had removed and the ones I had to fit and scratching my head I eventually managed to get everything together. I was also hoping to fit the original driver's seat, but one of the mounting brackets had gone missing from the seat so that sucked. I'll either need to fab one myself or ask in the owner's club if they have any.  Then I went for a drive.
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May 18, 2015 18:36
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