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Hillman Imps / Our other cars

The problem with cars that are maybe 50 or more years old is some of them may have been left sitting in a field and got prone to a "little" bit of corrosion.

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The solution though is we have an expert welder and metal man on hand who can deal with this.

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This particular one hasn't been on the road for about a decade and has been left sitting in long grass beside a house.

It's not gonna be a concourse winner but in less than a month it will be structurally and mechanically sound and back through an MOT even though it no longer legally requires one. ;)
 
Took George ('67 Singer Chamois) for a run out on his own today.

For anyone familiar with the area we went from Stirling, Bridge of Allan, over to Doune, back to Dunblane, up to Gleneagles then over to Glendevon where we stopped for a drink at the Tormaukin Inn.

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We then headed to Muckart then onto Pool of Muckart and stopped for some dinner, very nice it was too.

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Headed back along the hillfoots and back into Stirling.
 
Orrr, I'm sure George wouldn't mind a little noggin and natter with Joe...
 
Many years ago we bough an Imp as a first car for my girlfriend (now wife) at auction for 'pennies' I pressed out the tight steering pin's (?) popped in new ones and new grease nipples ..remember them !? and fitted a new carpet, bought from a catalogue if I recall. It gave a year or so of trouble free motoring and we sold it on to a friend of ours who promptly destroyed the engine by overheating it despite being told many a time to keep an eye on the temp gauge and coolant.

Now here is a question for OP. The one we had was a dark red (maroon) with cloth faced (checked ?) seats , a heated rear window (or did I dream that bit) and a radio in the dash marked 'Chrysler'. Many years after the demise of the little Tyke someone told me that the radio would now be worth a pretty penny to an Imp enthusiast as they were quite rare ??

OP any ideas as to which model it might have been (no photos , sorry) We bought it from a district nurse who used to do her rounds in it.

Happy day's :)
 
Petrol Pete said:
Many years ago we bough an Imp as a first car for my girlfriend (now wife) at auction for 'pennies' I pressed out the tight steering pin's (?) popped in new ones and new grease nipples ..remember them !?
Click to expand...

Certainly do, they were originally designed to be maintenance free.
After a while when they realised that after a car had sat for an extended period they would start to seize/tighten up they went to the grease nipple option.
We changed one on a mates car a few months ago after he complained of tight steering, here is the tool to ge the old one out. :)

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Petrol Pete said:
Now here is a question for OP. The one we had was a dark red (maroon) with cloth faced (checked ?) seats , a heated rear window (or did I dream that bit) and a radio in the dash marked 'Chrysler'. Many years after the demise of the little Tyke someone told me that the radio would now be worth a pretty penny to an Imp enthusiast as they were quite rare ??

OP any ideas as to which model it might have been (no photos , sorry) We bought it from a district nurse who used to do her rounds in it.
Click to expand...

Sounds very much like the Hillman Imp Caledionian, a limited edition model launched by Chrysler in 1975.

Home - Hillman imp caledonian
 
pmcgsmurf said:
Certainly do, they were originally designed to be maintenance free.
After a while when they realised that after a car had sat for an extended period they would start to seize/tighten up they went to the grease nipple option.
We changed one on a mates car a few months ago after he complained of tight steering, here is the tool to ge the old one out. :)

View attachment 80994



Sounds very much like the Hillman Imp Caledionian, a limited edition model launched by Chrysler in 1975.

Home - Hillman imp caledonian
Click to expand...
That's the one ! knowing my luck they are probably worth a bomb now ours is long gone.:( . The photo rings a bell , I used a 20t press and a 'gas axe' at work to get mine out. Worked a treat !
 
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I believe the Chrysler radios were rebadged RADIOMOBILES??
 
can't deny, giving I'm only 30 i have a soft spot for an imp, after reading an article in classic car mag a few years back
 
pmcgsmurf said:
Thanks guys, we have quite a few of these and the goal is to get them all back on the road and running.
With the work that has been done on "George" he will be good to go for many years to come.
The green Mk1 (around 6k off line) still has it's auto choke and pneumatic throttle which works as it should.

We also have another Mk1 at around 5k off the production line due for a restoration.

From next year the government are proposing bringing in a no MOT required for 40+ year old cars.
We will continue to have our cars tested though as we think it just makes good sense.

The great thing about these cars is you don't need a diagnostic tool, maybe a multimeter at best but that's all.

We had a reconditioned engine running up on an engine stand in the factory car park the other night.
Fuel from a can, 12 volt to the coil and a jump lead to the starter, not even any need for electric to the fuel pump as it's mechanical.

Here's a little bit of a treat we got to do this year for the 50th anniversary of Celtic winning the European cup (I’m a fan).
In '67 three journalists drove from Glasgow to the game down in Lisbon in a car the same as the dark green one that was supplied by the factory in Linwood, apparently Lord Rootes thought it would be great PR for the car.

View attachment 72827
Agreed 100% pmcgsmurf your comment on the simplicity of cars of that era. !!! Can of petrol, a battery a couple of cables, and off you go. And everything on them was repairable. Everything electrical was reconditioned...common sight was starters , dynamos, wiper motors etc out on the work bench being cleaned up ( hacksaw blade for the grooves on the armature, after polishing it with sand paper ) and fitting new brushes. And as for the rust issues......I'm looking at it now through rose tinted spectacles...but at the time, I often did enough swearing to make a bystander blush!!! However, it's really great to look at these restored Imps now..and other cars from that era. Full marks for keeping them alive !!!


The guys drove the same route as the original journalists in the dark green one and made a documentary along the way that is currently being edited for release in the future.
Click to expand...
 
pmcgsmurf said:
Someone asked if I could post a few pics after having seen my avatar picture, here you go.

View attachment 72818

Boris, 1967 Spring Special
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Mildred, 1963 MK1 original unmodified condition.
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George 1967 Singer Chamois
Did look like this when arrived.

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Then at one point like this.
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George is currently work in progress, engine and box ready to do back in and should actually be MOT'd in a week or two at most before painting. Will only have front window in for MOT.
Click to expand...
You will put back in the mechanicals BEFORE painting ???
 
Our latest Imp project is coming along nice and should be dropped back onto it's wheels in a couple of weeks after the underneath is sealed and painted (all metal work now done).

On a side note one of our mates decided he would like more (a lot) power in his Imp.

Se we have went down the BMW K series motor bike engine route for him.

Out came the old Imp engine.
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And the refurbed bike engine ready to go in.
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Having to do a lot of changes to the engine bay to make things fit but coming along nicely.

Second electric fan radiator installed with custom brackets.
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Hoping to have this up and running within the next couple of weeks far a test shake down.
 
Will be interested to see / hear how this goes. The Beemer 'brick' engine was no ball of fire by motorcycle standards, but compared to the original Imp engine, it will be a pretty hefty increase in power. The light weight of the Imp (although not exactly motorcycle light) should help in getting away from a standing start. Have you had to do anything with the existing gearing?
 
D-18 said:
Will be interested to see / hear how this goes. The Beemer 'brick' engine was no ball of fire by motorcycle standards, but compared to the original Imp engine, it will be a pretty hefty increase in power. The light weight of the Imp (although not exactly motorcycle light) should help in getting away from a standing start. Have you had to do anything with the existing gearing?
Click to expand...

Nothing done to the gearing, just an interface billet between the BMW engine to mate with the Imp gearbox.
 
pmcgsmurf said:
Our latest Imp project is coming along nice and should be dropped back onto it's wheels in a couple of weeks after the underneath is sealed and painted (all metal work now done).

On a side note one of our mates decided he would like more (a lot) power in his Imp.

Se we have went down the BMW K series motor bike engine route for him.

Out came the old Imp engine.
View attachment 84041
And the refurbed bike engine ready to go in.
View attachment 84043

Having to do a lot of changes to the engine bay to make things fit but coming along nicely.

Second electric fan radiator installed with custom brackets.
View attachment 84045

Hoping to have this up and running within the next couple of weeks far a test shake down.
Click to expand...
Wasn't Ricky Gauld was it with the BMW K motor bike engine?
 
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