Lifes a choke, part two

Weber 40 dcoe parts are now machined and can be refitted in the next day or so.

The tube on the far right was from a second double Weber carb set we have,it has the correct dimensions to allow the fitting of the 16mm air horn.Our engineer made a perfect job of turning the other four tubes down to match it.

With a set of trumpets like this we can start a band!

How hard can it be?

R McB

Will the real Bob Allan please stand up

Bob Allen is it seems a man of many skills,we tend just to think of him as The Imp Clubs spares guy but he has many other skills up his sleeve too it seems.

Hi, I'm Bob Allan. I've been a member of the Imp Club since 1985 and have organised the Warrington Area Centre, together with some of my friends, since 1986. This Web site is put together to advertise what we do in the North West of England. It's a joint effort with Area Centres in Cheshire, North Wales, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire and previously Fylde. We call it the "Mercia Area".

I've been working with Imps for over 30 years!   

 

This is the updated site for 2011. If you have relevant Imp related material for this site please send it to me via spares@theimpclub.co.uk. 
>>>>> Note, these pages are best viewed full-screen size.

What about the Mercia Horde? Are there more Imps buried out there?

Photo of the Month:

Jean McBride's Singer Chamois pictured in front of the Hout Bay Yacht Club in Capetown, April 2011. Hub caps are missing because its just come out of Roy's workshop.

Left click the image to read about Bob and his book.


Bob is the man to speak to about the Hillman Imps history,as it was he who wrote the book Geoffrey Rootes Dream For Linwood,by Robert J Allan.I once asked Bob to sign my own copy for me,he replied why de value the book?

R McB

Its a choke,this is where the time goes.

The twin Weber dcoe 40 alloy air trumpets arrived,fitting was to be easy,well we all live in hope,it was anything but and the existing outer choke tubes need a machine job.

The tube closest to the camera and next to the imported 16 mm air trumpet is correct,the other four need maching down,cheaper than new ones by some margin I hope.

Coventry Climax

After the seocnd world war,the British Post Office put out tenders for firms to supply water pumps that could be carried by two men instead of the four men required back then,they also demanded an output at twice the flow rate as the pumps at that time.

It was the Midlands company Coventry Climax who came up with an all alloy lightweight offer,just 750cc but with the ability to run at very high revs,all day.This is the engine that Rootes used as the model for their Hillman Imps released in May of 1963,the engine size was increased to 875cc.

A gathering of the clans

It seemed that way,four Imp guys meet for the first time,all either Imp owners or ex owners,we had plenty to talk about!

The forth guy was Malcolm,he took the picture,from left to right is Eric behind his 1967 Hillman Imp Mk2,center is Andrew,thats his hill climb 1966  998cc Singer Chamois Sport in the garage and then myself next to my 1967 Singer Chamois.

Thats Malcolm to the right,Eric is showing Andrew the new 875 sport specification engine he has,the block was fitted with plus 40 thou,pistons.

Down here on the ground

That just happens to be the name of the music used in one of my all time favourite movies,Cool Hand Luke,staring among others Paul Newman. Its also where our hill climb car is right now,on the ground and for the first time since starting the project.

The car seems smaller now,its quite low on the competition Monte Carlo road springs,plus the Yokahama tyres are low profile too.

The low profile Yokahama tyres have helped set the front wheel camber,a bonus in this case but the front wheel camper is part adjustable in a number of ways anyway,so is the rear.

After some months on a four wheel dolly,the car is ready to move.

R McB

Imp rear window panel from CKD Boats cc

This is one we have had under wraps for some while,with the original steel framed opening windows being both heavy and mostly rusty,we looked to install a fixed glass panel,here it is.

With the special rubber seal fitted around the Imps rear window from,the 5mm tempered glass panel is ready to fit.

The first two 5mm glass panels have now been sold,lead time for more looks like three weeks,we can ship to most places with the correct rubber seal.

Note how clean the back of this Imp looks when the stainless window suround and push button opening lock is removed.

Fitting with a 4mm draw cord requires two people.

Jean and myself fitted this glass and rubber,first time too!

How easy can this be.

Fitting the rubber,in this case the front wind screen,the picture is taken from the Rootes Hillman Imp workshop manual,paoge 5 of section 0.

The draw string method on the cars front screen is also used on the rear and side windows

R McB

Sunbeam Sport Exhaust Manifold for sale

Now sold,we will use the original Sunbeam Sport exhaust manifold to copy to make more to special order.

This is here in Cape Town,South Africa right now,it is not a copy or a repro,its the genuine artical and is for sale at the great price of R1800,plus postage if you can not collect.

Rootes Sunbeam Sport exhaust manifold,new and never fitted.

This is now a rare item as new,it will fit all Imps and even the standard Solex carburetors,normally it will use the twin Strombergs and alloy inlet manifolds.

Brought in as a special import and never used.

Jaguars in the rain.

Seen here in Hout Bay,what a fine line up of classic jaguars.

Picture by R McBride using a Canon G11 camera on an auto setting.

Speak up for your self,how hard can that be.

My Goodman Mezzo 2 speakers have been working really well,then a while back I noticed a slight side noise on one speaker.I tried new 1.5mm multistrand wires,cut to the exact length of  5mtrs so as to balance the pair,the ends were also hot soldered as well. I also tried changing the feed wires over on the Sony amplifier,the noise just changed speakers,so one was faulty,can you blow one of these superb Goodman speakers in normal domestic use,I doubt that?

To inspect start with the rear cover,you need to remove the back covers external screws,there are 12 number 6 six sized  x 1 1/4" long posi drive headed ones on these speakers,make sure they are a tight fit when you re fit them,a match stick often sorts out a loose one.

While the sound output was probably better with the new wires,the noise was still there,it was sort of a scratching sound.

Was a wire inside between the two internal speakers loose? the only way to find out was to have a look.

I normally keep this set to its mid way point,whats on the otherside,lets have a look.

Wow! thats a lot of gizmos,I must check Google to find out what they all do?

Large Woofer and Tweater speakers.

This is Little and Large,the larger speaker has some impressive magnets on the back of it.

Checking the fixing nuts on both speakers,I found they were all loose to some degree.The smaller ones are 1/4"and the larger ones 7/16",so you need an imperial set of spanners. Note there was a thick pad of 3" foam over the speakers,do not forget to put that back!

I ended up checking both speakers out,I think the service worked and I can hear clearly now,so folks do not be scared to try things for yourself,how hard can it be?

R McB