Holy cow the craftman ship is top notch, 6hs to stich by hand a rollcage :o id probably still be finishing after 6 years and would look crap lol. Lovely motor.
I've been following this guy on insta for the longest time and have had the honour of seeing the car irl a few times now. So glad that the car and owner are getting the attention they deserve for such an amazing build.
I'm old enough to remember my father owning one during the late 70's, but it didn't look or work like that ! . It was usually overheating and the ride was brutal . Thanks to James for showing what it could look like
I'm not the only one then! I fancied a girl at school who's Dad had an orange P reg'd Imp. He was a detective inspector - anyone imagine a copper of any rank driving anything like an Imp now?!
My dad had one. I remember coming back from a week at nans with me and my sister in the back and it was tipping it down. This is when we discovered the floor had holes in and we where paddling in the back. Was always fascinated by the engine in the back.
Cheers, my dad had one :) . tbh in the main we loved it ( from new in 74?) . did trips up the western isles from yorkshire.. us kids asleep in the back..... Just out grew it I think, though it had started having some mechanical issues ( looking back after 6 years, crikey cars didn't last back then!).... . Wasn't as quick as that one though!
This is something i would watch everyday, the car they featured is so inspiring and immediately click on it after seeing it. Alex should go around UK and europe to review this kind of cars, i just watch 0:20 and i already loved it
You really should put more emphasis onto classic cars on the channel, I know they aren’t quite so good for views but it’s important to keep the passion for older cars flowing.
I mean, if one is interested in Tesla and such things there are better places than CT. I would expect car people to be more into unique content like this than random new cars content/reviews that you can get in dozens of other places, too...
Was expecting you to reveal Ethan is actually a sleeper engineer (and fantastic actor ha) and has been building this in his spare time since he was 12.
@@markcoyle5648 obsessed 🤣 3 comments on this channel and all about dwarfism😉 anything you wanna share mate? Won’t judge if you like a bit of Bridget the midget
Smashed one into a lamppost backwards when I was young, massive under steering with the engine in the boot, a mechanic told me to put a bag of cement under the bonnet and try again, much better 😂😂😂
@@casualmmafan4258 I had a paving slab but then I fitted Monte Carlo springs, which dropped the car 1", along with Chrysler Comps stiffer bushes etc and found it was no longer necessary. With standard kingpin carriers it had a slight positive camber which decreased under braking.
@Phil Earl Maybe I pre-empted that in my driving style but I found mine, on Monte Carlo springs (1" lower and stiffer at the rear), stiffer bushes and 155 Dunlops, had no tendency to do that. But it could be drifted quite nicely in the wet.
Had mine bored out and the original radiator in the back couldn't cope so moved it to the front, added some wheel spacers and it was brilliant. Could easily out corner my mates mini cooper back in the seventies.
I absolutely LOVE this imp! Just bought one as a project car a few weeks ago, this being a prime inspiration. There is something about this imp that I just absolutely adore.
I love When you show cars like this. Awesome build. Congrats to the owner! Please keep showing us more great builds like this. Btw I’m German and also have never even heard of this car.
Lovely to see old cars even if i really disliked the Hillman Imp in the 70's. What a beautiful colour and finish. Truly beautiful. Still don't like em though lol.
i absolutely love it when someone takes a nugget and really tarts it up properly. what a fantastic little hotrod! so much attention to detail in this hillman, beautiful!
Bought wife one many years ago , hand painted with massive SHELL sticker on roof, she wasn't happy. Water poured in everywhere when it rained, front suspension ripped off body work (she never noticed,cos I said they all handle like that,oops )plus starter motor used to jam so I turned fly wheel 90 deg and all was well ish again, she grew to love it even though I only paid £35 for it. Happy days
What a fantastic and unique build! I know it would be a huge amount of work, but the odd show like this, covering other peoples projects would be great. Well done guys!
I had one 38 years ago paid 30 quid for it shoved in the back yard for a year sold it to a mate for 40 quid SMH I've seen loads of gorgeous bike engined ones over the years I could cry !
That wasn't revving you've got to hear a tuned Imp engine rev to believe it - it's like a motorcycle engine! 9,000rpm was not uncommon with very few mods.
@@BlatentlyFakeName Very true, one of the reasons I ditched my Hayabusa - prison speeds every time you touch the throttle above 2nd gear. My MT-10 feels faster - even though it's much slower due to the short gearing, wheelies and windrush. You can have fun below 100mph.
You just took me back fifty six years to a time when I had an Imp as a warm road / club competition car. Nothing like this beauty, but great fun, and always punched above it's weight. One Christmas I hacksawed the back off the passenger's seat and jammed steel rod up the seat tubes so I could slot it back into place. With it removed, I could put a camp stretcher from the parcel tray to the back window. I joined my mates for a camping trip over the holiday break (Summer in NZ). We got unseasonal downpours for seven days! I moved out of the flooded tent, and slept in the car, back window open if it didn't rain, closed if it did... I was the only one who stayed warm and dry!
Grandad used to race hillman imps and sunbeam tigers and alpines in hill climbs and rallies. All out of a small privateer race team in Glasgow. Beautiful to see such a stunning car fly around.
We had an origional one of these at our garage in 2001. Still had the plastic over door cards. My boss worked building them when he was young , and so bought one. Built in Linwood, Scotland This one looks good, the origionals looked very strange, engine right over back wheels . Brings back memories.
I had one of these lovely little cars as a very young driver and it was a blast driving it , I just thrashed it everywhere I went but rust took over and I didn't have the time or the tools or a garage to strip an rebuild it to pass an MOT . So my next car was a Hilman minx in white with a red leather interior, I bought the car as the older Gentleman owner had had a front end bump and he had such a bad experience he just wanted the car gone . By then I was able to do a bit of panel work and use a tin of spray paint and recover the damaged front wing . The Minx was an entirely different type of car from the Imp to drive , and now looking back there were several design flaws in the Imp that had they been addressed they would have been a far better a roomier car than the mini , and the design flaw with the mini rear sub frame was rust took over and rotted it out . THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHOWING US YOUR WORKMANSHIP YOUNG MAN , OH by the way I still have the small steering wheel and the boss I bought back in 1973 .
Did you know the Engine in the imp is a legend!! it is called the Coventry Climax and was originally designed in the 1950's to be an MOD water pump...... part of the design brief was it had to be able to be picked up by two fire fighters and that lightness is why it found it's way into a lot of race cars.
FWMA was the pump motor designation. In '76 I pulled an engine to rebuild out of a Husky estate and drove home with it sitting next to me having left the passenger seat at home.
I've a 1973 imp super in a shed waiting for some TLC, this makes me want to make time for it to get done. I learned to drive in an imp, driving/drifting it around a field at 10, such cracking little cars. Maintaining it was my gateway to engineering... Everything is mechanical and the engine is easy to take in and out.
My first car too, a '66 Super. Took apart everything except the steering rack. Sold it to my BiL when I got a company car and I see online its last tax was due in August 1982.
@@nicwilson89 Honda Specialist used Cheap parts re branded as genuine parts or so the story goes, if you go back on the last prelude build episode you will see many a comments regarding them To add many will point you to this video ruclips.net/video/RRAoCOS15f4/видео.html
Prediction before watching (that's probably wrong) Either some sort of BMW(I dont know german cars well) or a Volvo Amazon Edit: nevermind I was completely wrong
Had two of these in the early seventies. With a set of wheel spacers and little tweaks on the suspension it was pretty fast around the corners compared to my mates mini cooper. Did blow the head gasket regularly with the aluminium engine but was an engineering student at the time so just skimmed it. In the end went for a Hartwell conversion, bored out to 915 cc, radiator moved to the front. This of course meant I broke the pipework running underneath the car on a rough road, still was a cool car. In the summer used to drive with the back window up for more ventilation but eventually grew out of my boy racer days. Not surprised Alex had trouble with the gearchange they were notorious for wear and even when new there was far too much linkage from the middle of the car to the gearbox. I even started mine a few times with the crank handle..
@5:10 reference to singer - my Grandmother drove a 'Singer Chamois' which was the posh version of this car. The coventry climax engine was first used as a generator in the back of a bomber, then used by the fire brigade as a pump! a version of it was also used by Jack Brabham to win the Formula One world championship in 1959
Lay your hands on a book from " Apex to Imp ". The Imp was Roots group attempting to build a high volume, low cost car. It was under developed/tested and had two notable failures, the water pump seal & the throttle linkage.
I have owned and competed in mine since 1988 (first car, and I passed my test in it). Driving position and gearstick position are excellent due to the car being designed jointly by Tim Fry and Mike Parkes. Parkes was a successful racer and became a Ferrari driver. The Coventry Climax derived engine loves to rev when tuned right and also powered world championship hydroplane racers - look up Andy Chesman. My engine is an ex hydroplane built to run a continuous 10500 rpm in its day. George Bevan won the BSCC three years in a row in the same Imp. Seriously underrated cars these days...
Amazing ride! Love it. I grew up in California, in the 70's. I saw a few Imps, there; never, anywhere else in the States. I must be a kindred spirit. I'm designing a Restomod Corvair; 2nd gen
I had one of these in the late 80's. I bought it wit a spare rally engine which i Put in the back with the seats folded down. It wheelied going over a hump back bridge due to the lack of weight in the front. You could squeeze into tight parking spots and climb out of the back window. Choke is on floor next to handbrake and heater hoses ran the length of the car so water would cool in winter on way to blowers. Used to have to leave heating on in summer to prevent engine overheating. I loved it! It eventually conked out and I gave it to a local garage. Last time I saw it was on Top Gear being used as a trials vehicle.
I had one in the 70's, bored to 940cc, 28 thou off head, twin dcoe carbs & R17 cam. Rally gearbox, team Hartwell suspension. Full cage. Very quick, needed weight in the front or no steering when on power. Good fun. It met a sorry end on the North Wales Rally when it hit an oak tree sideways at around 60 mph .Sad day.
Every Civic driver in the world: just nods. Driving a slow car fast is where it's at. That is indeed a well polished knob. As you said what a truly unique ride that is a fusion of racing designs and car scene modifications all applied to his vision and made into reality. That's what car culture is all about people!
One day in 1967 when I was 7 my dad came home with a loan car while his Ford Corsair 2000E was in the garage for some work. He drove me to school in it the following day, I was blown away - Google Sunbeam Stilleto, what a design, what a name?
Beautiful car... Looks fab on the outside and as much as I've never been that bothered about car interiors before.... This beast is stunning on the inside!!
So cool seeing my knob in this car.
Love your knob too!
You sir have talent 👍
You might want to rephrase that haha
@@abdurali8855 😂😂iykyk
Truly a magnificent knob
Holy cow the craftman ship is top notch, 6hs to stich by hand a rollcage :o id probably still be finishing after 6 years and would look crap lol. Lovely motor.
The rollcage is the easiest part...
@@pinut187 ironically probably right, i would still totally mess it up. The craftsman ship and skill is beyond a level i could archive.
This Hillman on bags almost makes Alex look like a giant...almost!😂
Lol 😂
@@fahadmars2022 .
@@fahadmars2022 .
I've been following this guy on insta for the longest time and have had the honour of seeing the car irl a few times now. So glad that the car and owner are getting the attention they deserve for such an amazing build.
He's cool beans
Whats his insta
@@nikostragoustis1749 @revracing
ruclips.net/video/PdV4DMJkbA4/видео.html
😃😬
I'm old enough to remember my father owning one during the late 70's, but it didn't look or work like that ! . It was usually overheating and the ride was brutal . Thanks to James for showing what it could look like
I'm not the only one then! I fancied a girl at school who's Dad had an orange P reg'd Imp. He was a detective inspector - anyone imagine a copper of any rank driving anything like an Imp now?!
Brutal...lol...yep I remember
My dad had one. I remember coming back from a week at nans with me and my sister in the back and it was tipping it down. This is when we discovered the floor had holes in and we where paddling in the back. Was always fascinated by the engine in the back.
😭😭🤭😶
@@6ettinold Why not a Lada?
My dad helped build the Hillman Imp in the Linwood factory in Scotland , brought a smile to my face when I saw this vid ! :)
Cheers, my dad had one :) .
tbh in the main we loved it ( from new in 74?) . did trips up the western isles from yorkshire.. us kids asleep in the back..... Just out grew it I think, though it had started having some mechanical issues ( looking back after 6 years, crikey cars didn't last back then!)....
.
Wasn't as quick as that one though!
this car is cooler than any new car can ever be, the owner can be proud.
7:54 welcome to forza horizon 4 game , that shot really looks like taken from the game 😍😍😍
😬😬😏😅
This car is just so unique in every single way... Absolutely love it, although I can only imagine the amount of work that goes into this
This is something i would watch everyday, the car they featured is so inspiring and immediately click on it after seeing it. Alex should go around UK and europe to review this kind of cars, i just watch 0:20 and i already loved it
ruclips.net/video/saM3gWvg2AA/видео.html
I'm from Canada and just for the record I've heard and seen Hillman Imp's before. Awesome little car!
😭🤭☺️
@@iwantsexseemyvideo33 You're Def a 50 year old hairy bloke
Hi, gato38! I'm surprised little Imps can be spotted in Canada under 3' of snow... ;-)
@@EleanorPeterson Haha Sadly I've never seen one here, would love to own one like this.
Me a intellectual: its a *ZAZ* *-* *Zaporozhets* *968M*
Car throttle : its a *Hillman* *Imp*
Me: *WHAT!!!??*
I only know it from Forza Horizon 4 haha
i thought the same thing my dude
exactly same as me :D :D
From the thumbnail I was thinking the same. But unless you are from the eastern block you wouldn't really know it
Grynai kaip ZAZ atrodo.
You really should put more emphasis onto classic cars on the channel, I know they aren’t quite so good for views but it’s important to keep the passion for older cars flowing.
Views are what matter. Car throttle is a business
I mean, if one is interested in Tesla and such things there are better places than CT. I would expect car people to be more into unique content like this than random new cars content/reviews that you can get in dozens of other places, too...
*every feature on an obviously modified car*
Alex - "is this standard?"
Audience - *facepalm*
Except for the rear hatch. That was standard but he thought it was modded 🤣
@@gerardmontgomery280 Yes, I actually laughed out loud at that. The sign of someone not doing homework ahead of a job.
Was expecting you to reveal Ethan is actually a sleeper engineer (and fantastic actor ha) and has been building this in his spare time since he was 12.
why does alex always look like hes always flexing😂😂😂😂
Short man syndrome innit
Its what midgets do to look big.
😑😑😂
Small man syndrome
@@markcoyle5648 obsessed 🤣 3 comments on this channel and all about dwarfism😉 anything you wanna share mate?
Won’t judge if you like a bit of Bridget the midget
I had an Imp in the early 70s and remember changing the clutch with the engine supported on a beer crate! Those were the days.
Yep, could get an Imp engine out and back in again in little over an hour.
I'd support the engine and transaxle on three jacks and roll the car away.
Smashed one into a lamppost backwards when I was young, massive under steering with the engine in the boot, a mechanic told me to put a bag of cement under the bonnet and try again, much better 😂😂😂
Doesn't this guy have a fiesta radiator in the front?
My grandfathers had a patio slab 😂
@@casualmmafan4258 I had a paving slab but then I fitted Monte Carlo springs, which dropped the car 1", along with Chrysler Comps stiffer bushes etc and found it was no longer necessary. With standard kingpin carriers it had a slight positive camber which decreased under braking.
@Phil Earl Maybe I pre-empted that in my driving style but I found mine, on Monte Carlo springs (1" lower and stiffer at the rear), stiffer bushes and 155 Dunlops, had no tendency to do that. But it could be drifted quite nicely in the wet.
Had mine bored out and the original radiator in the back couldn't cope so moved it to the front, added some wheel spacers and it was brilliant. Could easily out corner my mates mini cooper back in the seventies.
Always love to watch Alex review custom cars! 😁
I absolutely LOVE this imp! Just bought one as a project car a few weeks ago, this being a prime inspiration. There is something about this imp that I just absolutely adore.
My great uncle (george bevan racing) made and raced his hillman bevan imp, he got 1st place in 16 gt races in a row, a legend in my books
The Beven spannered Sunbeam Imp with Bill McGovern driving won the then equivalent of the BTCC in 1971 and 1972.
@@LondonSteveLee indeed he made it in his shed at home
I love When you show cars like this. Awesome build. Congrats to the owner!
Please keep showing us more great builds like this.
Btw I’m German and also have never even heard of this car.
Lovely to see old cars even if i really disliked the Hillman Imp in the 70's. What a beautiful colour and finish. Truly beautiful. Still don't like em though lol.
i absolutely love it when someone takes a nugget and really tarts it up properly. what a fantastic little hotrod! so much attention to detail in this hillman, beautiful!
The kid with the riced out Honda:
Exactly!!! Why hasn’t anyone heard of my 1000hp civic,tested on the Chuck.E cheese dyno!
ruclips.net/video/saM3gWvg2AA/видео.html
😬
love this build over an exotic.
“Im doing 30mph I’m having the time of my life”
Coming from someone who “should of” been a racer 🤣😂
should of
should of
should of
should of
should of
should of
should of
Mazda CX 9 Carbon Edition 2021 Review
I don't understand what you mean
@@richandiben should have*
Defaultdtrix RUclips Famous
Absolutely awesome craftsmanship. Simply stunning!
Uno reverse, I love hillman imps
😭😭🤭😊
So cool seeing my knob in this car.
Bought wife one many years ago , hand painted with massive SHELL sticker on roof, she wasn't happy. Water poured in everywhere when it rained, front suspension ripped off body work (she never noticed,cos I said they all handle like that,oops )plus starter motor used to jam so I turned fly wheel 90 deg and all was well ish again, she grew to love it even though I only paid £35 for it. Happy days
I'm doing a mgb gt with a s2000 engine. Once it's in going turbo route
Love this imp it's great.
What a fantastic and unique build! I know it would be a huge amount of work, but the odd show like this, covering other peoples projects would be great. Well done guys!
i LOVE these wheels, they look so good
Remember seeing this at fitted a couple years ago and love it!
Haha , joke’s on you , I love Hillman imps and see one ever time I leave the house
Mazda CX 9 Carbon Edition 2021 Review
@@carreviewsbyma7457 ?
This car is freaking gorgeous. Just fantastic work!!
Alex's dyed hair makes him look like a lego man
I wonder if it comes off the same way?
Great video, love your enthusiasm for it Alex. Quality cool car, brilliant attention to detail, fair play to the owner.
Did Alex really say "You've even given your helmet a proper going over" 😂
My Dad used to have Singer Chamois coupe back in 1972-I was 4 at the time and still remember it.
Andrew Gardner my mom had a singer chamois.
Never heard of the imp? you underestimate the finnish rally scene.
What an amazing attention to detail!
Love it when the small ones pack a punch
Reminds me of NSU Prinz TT over here. You gotta love these boxy little cars!
That's exactlay my type of car
ruclips.net/video/saM3gWvg2AA/видео.html
@@carreviewsbyma7457 STOP
@@uniformgeist303 He just getting his bag
I had one 38 years ago paid 30 quid for it shoved in the back yard for a year sold it to a mate for 40 quid SMH I've seen loads of gorgeous bike engined ones over the years I could cry !
@@carreviewsbyma7457 sorry to say this man but this is cringe
Love imps. Drive a warm sorted one and your hooked.
That has got to be the highest rpm with lowest speeds I have seen Alex go.
It's a 4 speed and it tops out at 80mph so they're pretty close!
😊🤒😑
That wasn't revving you've got to hear a tuned Imp engine rev to believe it - it's like a motorcycle engine! 9,000rpm was not uncommon with very few mods.
Slow motion performance is the future. Much more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.
@@BlatentlyFakeName Very true, one of the reasons I ditched my Hayabusa - prison speeds every time you touch the throttle above 2nd gear. My MT-10 feels faster - even though it's much slower due to the short gearing, wheelies and windrush. You can have fun below 100mph.
You just took me back fifty six years to a time when I had an Imp as a warm road / club competition car. Nothing like this beauty, but great fun, and always punched above it's weight.
One Christmas I hacksawed the back off the passenger's seat and jammed steel rod up the seat tubes so I could slot it back into place. With it removed, I could put a camp stretcher from the parcel tray to the back window. I joined my mates for a camping trip over the holiday break (Summer in NZ). We got unseasonal downpours for seven days! I moved out of the flooded tent, and slept in the car, back window open if it didn't rain, closed if it did... I was the only one who stayed warm and dry!
I love you guys you are one of the best motoring Chanel’s in the world
Maybe even the entire universe
Love it. Pure passion and craftsmanship in every stitch and part. Beautiful. And Scottish, even better!
I've definitely heard of it, but then I own an Imp...
😬😬😅🙈
I owned one in 1971 . First car . Big bore exhaust ,air horns . Bring it on !
Grandad used to race hillman imps and sunbeam tigers and alpines in hill climbs and rallies. All out of a small privateer race team in Glasgow. Beautiful to see such a stunning car fly around.
9:00 it sounds incredibly fast, until you see the landscape in the background going really slowly
We had an origional one of these at our garage in 2001. Still had the plastic over door cards. My boss worked building them when he was young , and so bought one. Built in Linwood, Scotland This one looks good, the origionals looked very strange, engine right over back wheels . Brings back memories.
The only project you need to hear about is the 1000tipla by @vilebrequin 😁
I had one of these lovely little cars as a very young driver and it was a blast driving it , I just thrashed it everywhere I went but rust took over and I didn't have the time or the tools or a garage to strip an rebuild it to pass an MOT . So my next car was a Hilman minx in white with a red leather interior, I bought the car as the older Gentleman owner had had a front end bump and he had such a bad experience he just wanted the car gone . By then I was able to do a bit of panel work and use a tin of spray paint and recover the damaged front wing . The Minx was an entirely different type of car from the Imp to drive , and now looking back there were several design flaws in the Imp that had they been addressed they would have been a far better a roomier car than the mini , and the design flaw with the mini rear sub frame was rust took over and rotted it out .
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHOWING US YOUR WORKMANSHIP YOUNG MAN , OH by the way I still have the small steering wheel and the boss I bought back in 1973 .
That has so much more character and interesting than a carpark full of tedious modern crap. What a fab car and the interior is stunning
Did you know the Engine in the imp is a legend!! it is called the Coventry Climax and was originally designed in the 1950's to be an MOD water pump...... part of the design brief was it had to be able to be picked up by two fire fighters and that lightness is why it found it's way into a lot of race cars.
FWMA was the pump motor designation. In '76 I pulled an engine to rebuild out of a Husky estate and drove home with it sitting next to me having left the passenger seat at home.
I mean it’s in Forza probably everyone has heard of this thing by now lmao
Lovely little Imp they are great fun.That little all alloy engine is a racing engine built by Coventry Climax which is great for tuning.
Based on the Coventry Climax FWMA engine actually.
Last time I was this early brexit didn’t exist
I can hear the Hillman Imp's going skyrocketing in value after this video
Not gone lie I thought it was a ZAZ for a second.
Love it, that's a cracking little car, love the finish on the interior too, absolutely nailed it!
*Alex: "Be different, don't try and follow trends, do your own thing"*
*Next video: "Let's roast your cars..."*
I've a 1973 imp super in a shed waiting for some TLC, this makes me want to make time for it to get done. I learned to drive in an imp, driving/drifting it around a field at 10, such cracking little cars. Maintaining it was my gateway to engineering... Everything is mechanical and the engine is easy to take in and out.
My first car too, a '66 Super. Took apart everything except the steering rack. Sold it to my BiL when I got a company car and I see online its last tax was due in August 1982.
hi alex, im here to remind you that you NEVER FINISHED THE PRELUDE PROJECT
ruclips.net/video/saM3gWvg2AA/видео.html
That one will never see the light of day cause of the guy they used for the engine stuff.
@@rafiulhaque8064 Oh? Sounds like there's a story there
@@nicwilson89 Honda Specialist used Cheap parts re branded as genuine parts or so the story goes, if you go back on the last prelude build episode you will see many a comments regarding them
To add many will point you to this video ruclips.net/video/RRAoCOS15f4/видео.html
@@rafiulhaque8064 Ahhhh, cheers dude
That roll cage is sublime! Bravo
Prediction before watching (that's probably wrong)
Either some sort of BMW(I dont know german cars well) or a Volvo Amazon
Edit: nevermind I was completely wrong
@WANT SÈХ - Rita 25 y.o ! OPEN MY C A N A L !!! shut up bot
Best modded car I’ve seen in a while, Amazing attention to detail.
Who hasnt heard of an Imp if they live in england and have any interest in classic cars
This is one of the coolest Cars i ever seen. The attention to details is simply sensational😍
Who else already knew what a Hillman Imp was?
He has made an amazing job of that it looks real cool and having it go up and down makes it good.
Getting famous off of comments day 170, so I can live the dream, live life to the fullest🤙🚀🤙
Had two of these in the early seventies. With a set of wheel spacers and little tweaks on the suspension it was pretty fast around the corners compared to my mates mini cooper. Did blow the head gasket regularly with the aluminium engine but was an engineering student at the time so just skimmed it. In the end went for a Hartwell conversion, bored out to 915 cc, radiator moved to the front. This of course meant I broke the pipework running underneath the car on a rough road, still was a cool car. In the summer used to drive with the back window up for more ventilation but eventually grew out of my boy racer days. Not surprised Alex had trouble with the gearchange they were notorious for wear and even when new there was far too much linkage from the middle of the car to the gearbox. I even started mine a few times with the crank handle..
Get the wheels on straight, lift it up a tad and it'll be sorted 👌
Kudos to guys leatherwork skills. Lovely stitching all around.
Give me this over a financed bmw or vxr anyday car scene is dead these days
As the owner of a 1972 Hillman Imp Super, I'm pleased to see some recognition for these rather forgotten things.
My mum owned one of these... I bought a bmw 1800 instead as there’s only 10 in the whole of the uk
Had one of those back in 1968. Great wee cars made by Rootes through in Linwood near Glasgow. Great handling little car and a whole lot of fun.
@5:10 reference to singer - my Grandmother drove a 'Singer Chamois' which was the posh version of this car. The coventry climax engine was first used as a generator in the back of a bomber, then used by the fire brigade as a pump! a version of it was also used by Jack Brabham to win the Formula One world championship in 1959
Never thought I'd love a Hillman Imp so much that I want it in my life.
Well done that man...👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Epic! He's clearly got some serious skill with the interior, too!
Lay your hands on a book from " Apex to Imp ". The Imp was Roots group attempting to build a high volume, low cost car. It was under developed/tested and had two notable failures, the water pump seal & the throttle linkage.
What a truly awesome, totally unique machine! Absolutely love it!
I have owned and competed in mine since 1988 (first car, and I passed my test in it). Driving position and gearstick position are excellent due to the car being designed jointly by Tim Fry and Mike Parkes. Parkes was a successful racer and became a Ferrari driver. The Coventry Climax derived engine loves to rev when tuned right and also powered world championship hydroplane racers - look up Andy Chesman. My engine is an ex hydroplane built to run a continuous 10500 rpm in its day. George Bevan won the BSCC three years in a row in the same Imp. Seriously underrated cars these days...
This guy is going to be headhunted for sure. Exquisite work fella!!
Absolutely quality ...another funny fact filled and witty vid
ruclips.net/video/r0xHfiec06M/видео.html
Amazing ride! Love it. I grew up in California, in the 70's. I saw a few Imps, there; never, anywhere else in the States. I must be a kindred spirit. I'm designing a Restomod Corvair; 2nd gen
Love these! My Grandad had one! This is seriously cool; deserves tyres better than Nangkangs!
I had one of these in the late 80's. I bought it wit a spare rally engine which i Put in the back with the seats folded down. It wheelied going over a hump back bridge due to the lack of weight in the front.
You could squeeze into tight parking spots and climb out of the back window. Choke is on floor next to handbrake and heater hoses ran the length of the car so water would cool in winter on way to blowers. Used to have to leave heating on in summer to prevent engine overheating. I loved it!
It eventually conked out and I gave it to a local garage.
Last time I saw it was on Top Gear being used as a trials vehicle.
They were originally called Roots Imps, Hillman eventually became Chrysler in the UK
My first car in 67.I thought it was cool,but nowhere as cool as this unit-LOVE it.
I have loved this build since i first saw it on a magazine, hillman imps have always been a favourite of mine and ive always wanted one
I had one in the 70's, bored to 940cc, 28 thou off head, twin dcoe carbs & R17 cam. Rally gearbox, team Hartwell suspension. Full cage. Very quick, needed weight in the front or no steering when on power. Good fun. It met a sorry end on the North Wales Rally when it hit an oak tree sideways at around 60 mph .Sad day.
Every Civic driver in the world: just nods.
Driving a slow car fast is where it's at.
That is indeed a well polished knob.
As you said what a truly unique ride that is a fusion of racing designs and car scene modifications all applied to his vision and made into reality. That's what car culture is all about people!
Love these little motors, a great friend of mine used to race them, fantastic little motor, thanks for showing us.
One day in 1967 when I was 7 my dad came home with a loan car while his Ford Corsair 2000E was in the garage for some work. He drove me to school in it the following day, I was blown away - Google Sunbeam Stilleto, what a design, what a name?
Beautiful car... Looks fab on the outside and as much as I've never been that bothered about car interiors before.... This beast is stunning on the inside!!