For sale,Cape Town,one 6 meter long shipping container

Now available,delivery can be offered as an extra and at Stelvaals cost.

The steel container is in good condition,it has a wooden floor and has been inside a factory for eight of the past ten years,now in Parrow where it can be viewed,it will be available to the buyer ex Noordhoek.

Priced to sell at R8000,no vat,cash payment or money transfer.

R McB

021 790-3859

Tourqe is cheap

Well it will be if I can sort out how to stop twisting on an Imps standard drive shafts.They are 3/4" and in cast Iorn,suitable for the standard Hillman Imps 38hp.When the sport version of the engine was released in 1966 the Rootes Car Co,changed the output shafts to a 1" diameter,whcih was sufficient to handle the new output of 55bhp.

Two standard Hillman Imp 3/4"drive shafts,check the top painted one,its showing signs of twisting and stress,clearly used with some sort of gusto in a car with more than the standard engines output.

I have an idea and possibly there is some person out there who can give an answer?

A mail that I sent to the boat designer Dudley Dix,he is also keen on cars and is rebuilding a Mk2 Lotus Europa right now.

Hello Dudley,

I was going to ask Graham about this but you have worked with cars also.

The two shafts are Mk1 and Mk2 Hillman Imp transaxle drive shafts,they are cast and 3/4" 

When the later Sport versions came out the power went up from 38bhp to 55bhp and the shafts were then made as a 1" version,they did not twist as much and were fine for normal use.They are now becoming  scarce and the ones I have are about to be shipped back to Scotland as part of the race Imp I have been building up.

Do you think that a bandage of 50mm biaxial carbon cloth and epoxy will stop the twist,what epoxy grade would I use,it would save a lot of old shafts if I can come up with a plan?

Regards

Roy

Hi Roy,

 I don't think it will work. You will have the same problem that they had with stainless steel rudder shafts in the 90s when they tried wrapping them in carbon to make them lighter and stiffer. Although stronger on paper, they broke. The problem is that the carbon takes all the load because it is on the outside. The carbon was designed to stiffen but not  to carry the full load, so it broke. That suddenly transferred all of the load to the stainless, which was also not designed to carry the full load, so that immediately broke as well. If you were to do this, you would have to design the carbon to carry the full load and use the cast iron shaft only as a core, or make completely new shafts totally from carbon over a foam core.

DD

www.dixdesign.com

On the beach in Jacere,Brasil

Seen here after a bottom paint job,working through the tides in the river the HBYC yacht Dixi Roller is nearly ready to set off an back to Hout Bay after an 18 month visit to Brasil.

The boat is a steel Roberts 35 Spray,home built by Steve.

Steve waiting for the tide to rise,he may well be considering the rather long trip back to South Africa,two handed with his brasilian born wife Renata.They are looking for crew and leave quite soon.

Pictures are from Steve and Renata,many thanks!

While I have been here and painted the bottom of our Endurance 37 Ocean Cloud, I used another method and had Brian Stevens source some very heavy local timbers ( sinks in water) we then made a drying rig and we took our boat in at the high tide,painting was easy then and we did not have to lean over like Steves boat did.

R McB

Singer Chamois Sport # 610 from the rear

The Imp Club  used to say some 25 or so of these cars were still in existance,this was from a production run of only about 2600 cars,I now see thats noted at just 15,do they  know about this one?

My job is just about finished now,the rear glass panel is being specially made for me in 5mm toughened glass,the old hinged frame has rotted out in the lower corners.

The Sport versions were noticable with special badges and also this smart louvered engine cover,probably the only such one in South Africa and soon to be shipped back to Scotland where the car came from in 1966.

R McB

The correct parts and jets for a Hillman Imps Webers

They arrived today via Fedex,who  I am pleased to tell you also work on a sunday,when we paid the clearing account,the parts being in Jo,Burg,they arrived today.

The jets required to set up twin Weber dcoe 40 carburetors with air cleaners according to a page from Car and Car Conversions (page 43) and named Dawsons Dodges was using either an R17 or R20 competition camshaft was Mains 130,Air 180,Tube F16,Choke 32,Pump 40,Idle 45 F9,Return 55.

My thanks to Car and Car Conversions for this information.

This is the engine they will be fitted to,pending a trial run of the new 998cc Imp engine.

R McB

The Hout Bay Harbour Market

Its not often such a venue is such an instant successs,we went on saturday to check it out,arriving at 10.30 am,it opens at 10.00 am it was looking full when we got there.Lots to see and do,eating,drinks and so many things on display.Recomended.

On arrival I never got past Brians stand,he has some select records on sale,I bought four before I even passed the stall and entered the markets main hall.

Cathy Nebe has here own stall,her brand name is Mr and Ms and is selling well,check out

www.mrandmrs.co.za

Lots of stalls with lots of items,many are hand made,all tend to be good value and people were not just looking,they were buying too.There is an FNB Cash Point near the bar inside if you need some money.

R McB

Local tip,parking may be an issue,so pay the R5 entry into the harbours first entry point,then drive or walk to the far side of the harbour and exit the Westfort gate right next to the market.

Argus race series,circa 1972 Hillman Imp 75F

A flash from the past,a picture said to exist in a fellow Impers collection,taken in 1972 at the Killarney Race Track just outside Cape Town City,thanks to Eric for the loan of his picture.

The car ran a 998cc Imp engine using parts imported from the Rootes Competitions Department in England,even though I used the less favorable Mk1 engine block,the car went well and I had got to forth position in the Argus championship that year when the organisers chose to ban the car outright.Thats a story writen in another blog I think.

R  McB

The next Imp project will be a Sunbeam

Seen here ready to move,the car which is recorded as a Hillman Imp but badged a Sunbeam has a straight body and is a late model version.

As a genuine Sunbeam the car is quite rare,I can rebuild it to any engine specification and ship to most places,it will be  a 1973 model,or later,one of the last Imps and with the round dashboard instruments.Its UK document shows it was first registered as FHP 518L making it a car with a 1974 plate.

All I can say is its original,new parts to the interior are either available or can be remade.There is a standard rebuilt engine ready to fit,new pistons can be supplied at an extra charge.The carburetor can be a single Solex down draft,the Sports twin Strombergs or even a Niki twin choke down draft.

The X Ray veiw of this remarkable small car.

R McB