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Anyone drive a Hillman Imp? Advice needed.







Uncle C

Well-known member
Jul 6, 2004
11,709
Bishops Stortford
If its the Hillman Imp I remember they were a bag of trouble.

All aluminium engine was very expensive to work on. They were a nice little car but never became a classic due to poor reliability and rust. I'm surprised there are many left on the road. Sorry.

Heres a good little review. I would only recommend if you are handy at wealding a spanner.

http://www.hillmanimp.co.uk/
 
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The Antikythera Mechanism

The oldest known computer
NSC Patron
Aug 7, 2003
8,023
Hillman Imp, pah! Go for the Daf 33

daf33img0180w6gr.jpg


One reverse and one forward gear - It's the future!
 




Mackenzie

Old Brightonian
Nov 7, 2003
33,867
East Wales
I seem to remember that the engines were prone to catching fire, parts may be difficult to find now as well, but they do look like good fun.
 




goldstone

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
7,165
If its the Hillman Imp I remember they were a bag of trouble.

All aluminium engine was very expensive to work on. They were a nice little car but never became a classic due to poor reliability and rust. I'm surprised there are many left on the road. Sorry.

Heres a good little review. I would only recommend if you are handy at wealding a spanner.

http://www.hillmanimp.co.uk/

I had the "Californian" fast-back version for a year or so in the late sixties. From what I remember the above comments are valid.
 


Trufflehound

Re-enfranchised
Aug 5, 2003
14,121
The democratic and free EU
Hillman Imp, pah! Go for the Daf 33

One reverse and one forward gear - It's the future!

If you're going to get a DAF, this is the only one to have (it's also the only one like it they made):

dafkinitx1.jpg
 
















Clapham Old Mug

New member
Aug 6, 2004
182
Clapham
Uncle C's right - the aluminium bits make it an expensive repair job if you get gasket problems. I had a couple of the souped-up ones in the '70s; pigs to drive on a windy day (very light in the front) but quite fun otherwise. If you've been offered GJK103H, don't touch it. It used to be mine and was blown apart by an IRA bomb in 1974. It was an insurance write-off but I later saw it back on the road and parked outside Wormwood Scrubs prison!
 


otk

~(.)(.)~
May 15, 2007
1,895
Leg out of the bed
If you were going to source and pay for a classic-ish car, could I suggest a Ford, like a Mk.1 Escort or a Mk.1 or 2 Cortina. Parts shouldn't be too hard to source on the net and tuning bits were plentiful in their day...

Application of the wellington is positively encouraged :thumbsup:
 




Garage_Doors

Originally the Swankers
Jun 28, 2008
11,790
Brighton
Uncle C's right - the aluminium bits make it an expensive repair job if you get gasket problems. I had a couple of the souped-up ones in the '70s; pigs to drive on a windy day (very light in the front) but quite fun otherwise. If you've been offered GJK103H, don't touch it. It used to be mine and was blown apart by an IRA bomb in 1974. It was an insurance write-off but I later saw it back on the road and parked outside Wormwood Scrubs prison!

GJK103H is no longer and the DVLA database so its safe:D
 






Fungus

Well-known member
NSC Patron
May 21, 2004
7,113
Truro
GJK103H is no longer and the DVLA database so its safe:D

I can recommend PPO294K, though the windows used to leak. That was about 30 years ago, so they might have been fixed by now. Loved it, my first car.
 




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