Early Imp tests done in Africa

The Imps were tested in places like Canada, Spain and also in Africa.

This was fifty years ago and Imps are still running in Africa today!

Early Imps were tested for suspension and dust control, the rear engine was sucking in too much dust on our dirt roads and eventually export cars were given a 2" air intake pipe from the front of the car to the Solex carb at the rear.

pictures were taken from the Imps4ever web pages, my thanks to them.

Check the dirt all ove the car.

Roy

Cooper Climax F1 engine

Last year and around the first week in Febuary 2012 we had again the Springbok Series Revival weekend at the Killarney Circuit, just outside Cape Town, I used to race a 998cc Imp there 41 years ago and in the same event came second in my class.

The Coventry Climax name is a direct link to the Imps engine of course.

Cooper Climax by John Cooper, photos by Roy McBride.

I am sorry to tell you that the event was cancelled for 2013, what a loss to the South African race callender.

Roy

Imp, Singer Chamois goes to the beach

Seen here at the car park that serves the Hout Bay beach area, our 1967 Singer Chamois looks new in the early morning sunshine.

The car is on the light coloured brick pave, not the sand!

http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-new-discovery-lost-hbyc-club-house-is.html

Check the link for the full story, plus many more pictures.

Hout Bay, is at the rear of Cape Towns Table Mountain, South Africa.

Roy

Roys Imp at the Killarney race circuit sprint

In this picture, the Imp is the Argus series class F car, built up and driven by the owner/driver Roy McBride.

The car was banned from the Argus series due to having twin Webber 40 dcoe carburetors, the Argus class rules allowed only as many chokes as the cars maker sold the car with.

Who is driving the sports special, who is the guy at the back of the cars, who is the lady with the nice legs, she was one of the organisers on the day.

The period was around 1972?

A Mk1 Imp engine is a runner

After some weeks of slow work, the eventual outcome was success and an engine that starts first time. Work done was to strip and clean the engine, two days work before the bead blasting process alone!

Weeks of soaking the pistons, first in petrol and diesel which did nothing to release the piston rings and gudgeon pins, then two weeks in an oxalic acid solution. This saw sucess and
 the 0.030"over sized pistons could be cleaned, they were in good condition and the rings were near perfect when cleaned up.

This is not that engine, Google will not allow access to my recent pictures files, this was in a Picassa file with some of my own pictures in it.

The picture is of my own Mk1 Hillman Imp 998cc race engine and around 1972 when I raced the car at Killarney Circuit, Cape Town. The Mk1 block and very early cylinder head are a close match to the engine I have just rebuilt.

Very few Imps came out with this cylinder head patern, they were on the early 1963 cars we think and not for long.

The engine number on the Mk1 now restored is B41/1/501572 WSO, the last three letters mean its an  export en