Hillman Imp disc brakes now in South Africa

With the first set now installed and a second set being on order,we are about to see some very modern looking and fast stopping Imps soon.

We tried making the sets locally but in the end placed our orders with a manufacturer overseas,even paying the import duty and freight,it was still no more expensive than trying to make them ourselves.

The calipers are Ford Ka,we can also use the Fiesta ones but the disc is smaller,Ford Ka discs will only fit inside 13" rims,which is what our project car has.

A South African first? it may well be,the quality is just tops!

Roy

Toylander drive time

Time to drive our Toylander but are the gears right,I would like to think so as I have driven up and down the workshop,forwards and backwards but the slope of the paved drive was too steep for the motor or was it the battery.

Its a one wheel drive car,factory cars all have two wheels driven,so two motors and two of everything else.

We have a simple bicycle chain  and sprocket connection,next we try a larger drive sprocket.

Time to recharge at our local filling station.

Lower bolts (4) only will not support the motor properly,this simple angle plate in plywood works fine.

Ready to drive and I did!

Roy

Whats in your garage?

Lots going on in this one,the Toylander had its drive motor and gears installed today and moved myself forward and reverse under its own motive power for the first time,progress indeed!

Yes,I can fit inside the Toylander,so can you.

The competition Hillman  Imp is now right side up,the turning rig removed and the car is on its four wheel dolly,a great bit of kit as it allows me to move the car around and have it exactly where I need it.The new front discs will be fitted soon,then the rear Monte Carlo road springs and the Supalite road wheels with Yokahama tyres.

The drive unit has a reduction box,as a safety item when the off,forward/reverse control is placed to off,the Toylander will stop and will not move,so all the driver needs to do is simply place the control knob in the center position to stop motion in either direction. 

Mike Storer Designs Goat Island Skiff

News today was the fact that the G.I.S (goat island skiff ) as a kit will cost the same as the Argie 15 kit,size and materials lists being quite similar.

Allow R7500 plus R700 to Mike Storers plans,plus any extra wetting out epoxies you may want as well.

Roy






This is a great boat,a good size and a good sailer,built correctly its the kind of thing that will last a lifetime and you can pass it on to your family!
We can sell you the plans only,or the plans and materials,we can do a CNC cut kit if required.The plans cost U$100 ( rands 700) plus our printing charge on the 86 A4 size pages,so allow R100 for that printed and bound as a volume,we can print and post given a day ot two,postal fees will depend on where you are?

Roy

phone and fax line @ 021 790-3859

Toylander,its the gear

Well its Toylander gears really,we now have them and will do a first assembly later today,speed being acceptable we can re produce now.

left click for more detail.

If this does not work,I think I shall just drop in the Hillman Imp engine seen at the back of the picture?

Roy

Hillman Imp race build progress

It looks like we actually made progress,time is not the only issue building a car like this,its finding the parts,importing them then often making them suit the final application,this is where we are today!

The bonnet is just loose right now,next we need to bolt those hinges in place and fit the support stay.

The genuine Singer Chamois Sport engine bay cover can only be closed once the turning rig is removed,the car will be placed back on its four wheel dolly to allow me to move the car around better,after which theSupalite wheels can be fitted.

Roy

Timber frame demountable structure kit

This easy to errect building can be made as a demountable kit set ,all the builder needs to install is the mount blocks on the ground,or they can even be stakes driven or drilled into the earth,which are cut off later when the building is removed.Supplied in treated pine wood with all bolts and plates required,it will ship easy enough.

We found this boat building structure up the Telford River in Gweek,seems to me it will beat the local Cape Town City councils rules on what a temporary structure should be,we need more space,this could be the answer!

Drumbeat Charters and other top companies promote themselves in Hout Bay

Looking at the crowds in the harbour the past two days,this advert/editorial worked,as they had long lines waiting for ice cream at Muriels even after 5pm yesterday and traffic contol to get us back out with our cars onto the road,it was more like christmas!

Fraser Hillman Imp racer 1967 wins at Silverstone

I found this on Ebay,memories of the mid to late sixties but similar cars are still being built and raced today.

Left click the picture,you should be able to read the words.

The place was Silverstone,the positions were 1st and 2nd for the 1000cc class,check the inside wheel lifting from the tarmac!

More on Irvin seat belts,the original options.

These are now for sale.

I am not sure how many options exist in total but checking out those from just three cars we have,all circa 1967 and in South Africa where they were fitted,here are some changes I have just noted.

Note the bolt in the center and its logo on the head,this is a stepped bolt,which may be used on the rear belt going back to the side of the car behind the wearer?

Left click for a larger view.

Note the name but no logo on this bolt head,the shoulder of which is much deeper and better suited to fit on a carpeted floor,the metal plate is wide on this option,suited for adjustments?

The same type of bolt with the Irvin name but note the end plate,its smaller and had a sewn termination end on it,suited to go behind the wearer or in this case on the short belt to the floor (remind me to vacume it)

Here we see another name plate,this one also has the logo as well.

Yet another name plate,this one clearly shows the SABS approval logo as well.

Note,the original belts were in a pale grey,I had new webbing sewn in and changed this to black,I still have the original webbing if anyone wants to copy them,sizes etc?

This is the keeper or house that the part with the logo goes into,its kept closed by positive tension and will fall loose if you slacken the belt off,so be aware of this.The side this part goes on is the longer webbing,floor to the rear of the cars inside.

Tail piece,the ends:

The tails were folded double & sewn mainly but some had the grey plastic or chrome ends on them,even the grey plastic end has the name Irvin on it,the top loop just held the loose tails togther.

Irvin seat belts original end terminal.
Other ends? our Singer Chamois (1967) came to us with the belts having the same ends on,these I have changed at the floor but retained at the rear strap position,as it misses the wood trim better,a large metal buckle will certainally damage the wood trim otherwise.

The original Irwin ends,now ready for replating and a latter re fit on some other classic car rebuild.
Roy

The car is the star

There they were,taking pictures of our Singer Chamois,a quick explanation and I was then taking pictures of them.

Roy

Irvin Seat Belts

A visit a few years back from a fellow Hillman Imp Club member had him comment on the fact that our own 1967 Singer Chamois has the now quite rare Irvin seat belts,news to me,they are the ones fitted with the car when it was given to us.(thanks Alistair)

Now a collectors item it seems,they were the best at the time they say and the fact that the parachute lable had a direct link with air planes seems to have something to do with it?

This is a slightly different design to the ones on our Singer,it has a central stainless steel insert that makes use of its tension on the belt as a friction provider.

Note,the buckles are SABS approoved,meaing they were either standard issue in South Africa and that those on our Singer Chamois were fitted here,not in Scotland where our car was made,as its an imported car.

The Irvin story,now I understand the importance of the name Irvin!

Roy

Irvin's History


Founder Leslie Leroy Irvin was an inventive man with great vision. He made aviation history as the first ever free-fall parachute jumper-with a parachute he invented and made himself in 1919. The first fall was from over 1500' over McCook Field in Ohio, USA. He used a 28' Flat Circular canopy in a 4Pin Container.

That single ambitious jump brought orders for more chutes, giving his aviation manufacturing company, Irvin Air Chute Company, its beginning. The Irvin parachute gained rapid acceptance, and by the early 1930's was in service with some 40 air forces around the world.

In 1922 Irvin started a club called the "Caterpillar Club". To become a member, your life must have been saved by a parachute (not a club many try to get into). He selected the name Caterpillar Club in homage to the silk threads that made the original parachutes and the fact that the caterpillar lets itself down to earth by a silken thread. "Life depends on a silken thread," is the club’s motto.

Irvin introduced his product into automotive applications in 1922 when he designed and built the first seat belt for famed auto racer Barney Oldfield. Diversification, along with company growth, has continued at a steady pace over the years. Business historians easily track the introduction of automotive products from Irvin as a close parallel to the growth and development of the automotive industry itself.

In 1989 Irvin Automotive Products, through acquisition, became a division of Takata Corporation, one of the world's leading automotive OEM suppliers of safety restraint systems. Established in 1933, Takata shares Irvin's long and successful history as an innovator within the automotive industry. While Takata's other North American divisions specialize in seat belt, electronics, and air bag technology, Irvin Automotive Products, Inc. focuses on soft trim components and assemblies for interior automotive applications. Today, Irvin is known for supplying a full line of high-quality interior trim products to OEMs worldwide. Irvin's products include seat covers, headrests, cargo shades, barrier nets, armrests, and sun visors.

Lucas tail lights

Lucas,once named the Prince of darkness in the motor trade,I dont know why really,excepting as the cars get older wire looms and earths in particular become less effective? When the Rootes Car Co chose the Lucas rear lights for their new Hillman Imp range to be released in May 1963,they chose a light fitting that was also to be found on Aston Martin,Lotus,Jensen and Lotus,did TVR use them too.

Ex a 1966 Singer Chamois Sport,far from new but still quite servicable.

Working on a car on its side certainally can be recomended,at this time I am doing a dry run to see what fittings are ex stock and what still needs to be flown in,the head lights will be fitted today as well.

One of those makes one of these

Both circa 1967 and both ex Scotlands Linwood factory where they were built,the finished car is a Mk2 Singer Chamois,the car on its side is a Hillman Imp Mk2 that was built (assembled,ckd) in South Africa but will be rebadged as a 1966 Singer Chamois Sport,which we broke due to a poor body shell,all parts and documents are original though.

Left click either image to view in a larger size and greater detail.

Today we fitted the Singer Sports new front radiator & made a discovery when it was finished too,once the front is removed,the entire area under the front petrol tank is accessable to view and work in,what a nice thing to have.Now service of the clutch and brake master cylinders is easy,we can also see and check the petrol exit pipe too.

The black box to the right is a pair of water service pipes from the rear engine to the front radiator,still to be plumbed in but an easy job given the space and access we now have.

Roy

Driving and working with Imps for 47 years!

And another view of the Imp side on

Or is that side up,probably?

Looks great to me and I can now fit the cars front radiator,run some water pipes and fit the petrol tank too.

So today I start making spaces on the storage shelves where this cars parts have been waiting for their refit,time to plan another one soon?

Roy