139 replies to this topic

[ultimatecombination]

Looking good...keep those updates coming!

[barros]

is this not done yet............................................

[Christian]

barros, on 30 March 2010 - 09:11 PM, said:

is this not done yet............................................

Of course, just applying the final coats of lacquer now... We can't all create 6r4s in six months!

Actually I have been cracking on with it - I finished stripping the shell down ready for cleaning/prepping, and booked a few days off work after the bank holiday weekend to strip and re-paint the entire underside with POR15. I've also just dropped off the rear cross member for bead blasting, this will then get seam welded and POR15'd along with the rest of the major suspension bits. And the two engines and boxes are going up to Station Motorsport in Market Harborough soon to be measured up ready for the bellhousing conversion. It's getting there!













And one i've already done:

[barros]

cool now your flying keep the pics comin too

[Big Kev]

What an imacullate IMP

Cant believe you got it so cheap, what a bargain

Be good to see it when its done

[Christian]

Thanks guys, I just can't wait to get cracking on now.

[the_mighty_one]

I've been watching this thread for a while now and thought it about time I commented!

I have to say I am thoroughly jealous! Every Imp I have ever owned has turned out to be completely rotten! (Well apart from one but that was smashed up, but perfectly solid - sods law eh!)

You look to have got a very very good and solid base to start a very different and interesting project with!

Edited by the_mighty_one, 04 April 2010 - 02:29 PM.

[Ecosse]

The Imp's a minter mate, and thats a SUPERB choice of engine, a little left of field, but sounds like it's the perfect choice, light revvy and good for some decent power in something that light!

Keep the pics coming.

[Christian]

Quick picture update -

As I took a couple of days off work this week, I busied myself with stripping and re-painting the underside of the Imp with POR-15 rust preventative paint.

The underside of the Imp after hours of stripping off the underseal with a heat gun and a scraper -





After a brisk encounter with a twisted wire wheel on a grinder -



After POR-15 Marine Clean and Metal Ready -







And after one coat of POR-15 black -





I've just got another two to three coats to go now!

[Christian]

After a couple more coats of POR-15 - it's starting to look good.

[bigwheeler]

Looking great Christian i've always had a soft spot for imps
i'll be keeping an eye on this thread

[Christian]

Rear cross-member fresh from the blast cleaners:

[ianstaley]

Hello I am a new member here, but I was transported back to 1971, my first car, a red IMP. I worked at Chrysler UK then as a computer operator at their Whitley Engineering plant in Cov.

The cars were built at Ryton just on the outskirts of Cov and just past the airport. What I didn't do to that car, First off, a quick trip to Ryton and chat up the Comps department, how can I bump this beast from a light weight fairy inot a real WOLF in sheeps clothing, oooh they said no prob's mate whip pout the motor and bring it here to us, but and a big but don't forget to put a BIG hose clip around the doughnuts first otherwise you aint gona get them back on!

So out came the mota, head off, striped right down to empty castings and off to ryton again, this time on my Bike with bit's in a box on the back, well it was more like twenty trips with bit's on the back. Right said my new Pal in the comps, what sort of stage have you got in mind he asked, what sort of stage can you provide I asked innocently, flashing my pearly whites, well how about 1100 cc, what! 1100 out of an 850, yup says he, pull the liners out, rebore for wet liners and jobs a gud n, coool... yeh thats what he said too, it would run cooler, oh and how about some WILLS rings in the block and a nice shiny new special head gasket, up sound good says i, but wont the head need some work too, oh yeah says he we will deal with that too, up the comp a bit and wills ring grove it to match the block, bigger valves, how big I asks, well i think they are about 20% bigger, but we use um on our raly cars, says he smiling, ohhhh that sounds nice, ,oh and a new shiny cam too, harder valve spring will raise the RPM's a bit to about 7,5 grand okay, yeah suure whatever you say says i smiling, but wont the carb be a bit small it didn't look much bigger than a thimble the either, oh yes says he need to get more air and go juice in too, so what ya got in mind says I, well just so happens I've got this eer Webber 40 DCOE like should fit a treat under there.

WOW was I a happy chappy when do ya recon it will be finished says I, ah come back in about 3 weeks says he, but in the mean time bring in yer tranie, transaxle to you lot, that'll need a bit of work too, like wot says I not a lot, straight cut gears, new ratios and a comp clutch okay so bring that in next week okay cock. By the way mate i would upgrade yer brakes in the mean time wot me drums, yup says he, hang on a minute, goes away comes back with new shoes! these are wot we use in the rally cars. cool, yeah talking of cool ya need to fit this too, wot as he gives me a shiny new Radiator for the front, and wot looked like 200 meters of high pressure hydraulic pipe, it weren't but it was high pressure. after about 5 weeks i had a nice shiny new lump under the mota, but I had to buy my own exhaust,a bigger pipe, and new boots cause the ones i had on the car, wouldn't work anymore.

Ok, the spec then when it was finished, well i recon i could do 0 to 60 in about 8, top whack I dunno my speedo kept bouncing off the little pin in it, went like cack of a shovel, went round corners like my tyres were bostick. total cost of this transformation apart from the exhaust and new boots NOWT. hey ye work for us mate, lets say perks of the trade. what a car, I think I had it 9 months, what happend well lets say the insurance wasnt very happy that I had made some small changes to the car's spec, and they were real upset about it for some silly reason. but I cried rea tears, after I got the letter saying opps ya aint insured. Ah well. At such a tender age, my life was dashed, so I had no recourse but to put me leathers on, jump on me Honda and sart thinking about the replacement . Huuuuum, i do like that new Hunter, with its double 45 DCOE's it looked a Tiger and went like iot too..

These days I am an old fart, I drive for daily use my Merc Staion wagon, but ny other car, my pride and joy of my life, is my Toyota Supra MK3 N/A. I bought her new in Germany in 1987, oh she can still nudge the 150 mark, but i don't want to hurt my baby, i would like to think i will still be driving her with my Aero Top off for many years to come.

But I do love the state of the pics, you got a real bargain there mate. Ian

[Christian]

Excellent tale Ian, it's great to hear first hand stories of 'back in the day'. It's amazing how little Imp tuning has changed!

Anyway, back to the build: Last night one of my mates helped seam weld my rear cross-member, putting a bit of extra strength into it. Thanks Tom!









Lovely penetration!


This weekend i'm hoping to get a couple of coats of POR-15 on.

[Christian]

And now painted:

[Whiteblock]

ianstaley, on 15 April 2010 - 09:58 PM, said:

Hello I am a new member here, but I was transported back to 1971, my first car, a red IMP. I worked at Chrysler UK then as a computer operator at their Whitley Engineering plant in Cov.

The cars were built at Ryton just on the outskirts of Cov and just past the airport. What I didn't do to that car, First off, a quick trip to Ryton and chat up the Comps department,


. Huuuuum, i do like that new Hunter, with its double 45 DCOE's it looked a Tiger and went like iot too..

An interesting story, but just a couple of notes.

The Chrysler Competition Centre was based at the Humber Road site in Coventry where all of Hillman, Chrysler and Talbot competition cars were developed and built, but the actual Imp production was only ever at the Linwood plant in Scotland (although various engine and mechanical parts were shipped both north and south from/to the west midlands for building and machining operations).

Most Hunters would have had either single or twin Stromberg carburettors, with only the Holbay engined version having twin 40DCOE Weber carbs. The Avenger Tiger also had twin 40DCOEs though? Was it a Holbay Hunter or an Avenger Tiger that took your fancy after the Imp?

At that time both the Hunter and Avenger models would have been built at Ryton, only being moved north to Linwood after Imp production stopped to make way for the new range of Chrysler front wheel drive cars at Ryton.

Edited by Whiteblock, 22 April 2010 - 12:11 PM.

[the_mighty_one]

I beg to differ!

Early Imps, upto July 1970 where only built at Linwood (chassis number prefix 'LB') and later chrysler imps, July 1970 onwards, where built at both Linwood (chassis number prefix 'L') and Ryton (chassis number prefix 'R').

[Whiteblock]

the_mighty_one, on 22 April 2010 - 06:17 PM, said:

I beg to differ!

Early Imps, upto July 1970 where only built at Linwood (chassis number prefix 'LB') and later chrysler imps, July 1970 onwards, where built at both Linwood (chassis number prefix 'L') and Ryton (chassis number prefix 'R').

You learn something new every day!

Was this true 'production' though, or really just another satelite assembly plant for the car from 'completely knocked down'form, such as was done in several plants around the world including another one in Ireland?

Production started at Linwood in 1963, and by 1970 Imp sales were very poor, but I'm thinking that shifting some final assembly to Ryton may have been linked to making room at Linwood for Hunter production which was moved north from Ryton in 1969...which itself would have been done to make way for the new Avenger models production at Ryton. When you think about it, it wouldn't have made any real sense to move proper 'production' to Ryton.

By 1976 the Avenger also followed the Hunter north, and the Imp was very much on its deathbed.


Heres another interesting fact....

In 1965 BMC bought and were sole owners of the Pressed Steel plant at Linwood (who produced the complete shells for the Imp). They also produced Mini panels and the Rover P5 saloon, as well as the Volvo P1800 shell here.... and even panels for the Hawker Hunter military jet!


At that time BMC were in effect under contract to produce completed body shells for the FULL PRODUCTION output of their direct UK competitor to the Mini! Roughly one third of the workforce of Pressed Steel were involved on Imp production. That's a bit like Ford being forced to produce complete Corsa shells...

The following year Pressed Steel were bought over by the Rootes Group.

[moomin]

loving your work!

[the_mighty_one]

Whiteblock.

I get the feeling that they were mainly CKD cars mainly for export.

Which in the strict terms isnt production, but they were badged as Ryton production.

I have heard of a couple of home market cars with the 'R' prefix, but knowing Rootes these probably should have been export but probably never went.

Like Peugeot, they built a load of automatic 205 GTi's for the Japan market and then the deal dropped out from under them, so they rebadged them and stamped them as UK cars under the model of '205 Gentry'!!

If your into random facts, heres one for you. When Talbot designed the Arizona (Horizon replacement), which was actually sold as the Peugeot 309, their parent company Peugeot had a surplus of 205 doors and told them they had to use them! Thats why they are the ugly sister to the 205. To make matters worse every Peugeot up until quite recently was designed by Pininfarina, but Talbot / Peugeot decided to have a go themselves and made a right hash of it too!


Any way, sorry for going off topic if only slightly as they're all related to each other by takeovers and buy outs, which is why the Pug 106 TU engine is of a very similar design to the Imp, as they actually pinched most of the ideas on how to design it from the Cov Climax engines!