Flexing a classic first car - the rear engined RWD Imp
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- Flexing a RWD, rear engined classic first car. If we hear about Singer cars in 2022 we probably think of the 'Reimagined' Porsche 911s that have been beautifully back-dated. The old English car manufacturer of Singer is probably lesser known today, despite being part of the once-world leading Rootes group.
Thanks for stopping by The Late Brake Show.
The OG Singer is subject of this Generation Flex video, because it is a rare choice for a first car these days. Yet Zack in Essex wanted an Imp or Imp derivative since he was 15. His parents were into Minis, but he kept seeing these cheeky alternatives at car shows.
If you haven't heard of our new playlist called Generation Flex before, the basic premise is to celebrate young drivers and owners (under 25) of interesting, retro or modified cars, fronted by our very own young driver, Miles, aka the ManDelorean.
For more info on the Singer, the Imp and to find out about Jonny's own history with them, then head over and join our Patreon gang: / thelatebrakeshow
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Jonny Smith Creative content maker, car presenter & car pervert for hire since '98
Website: www.carpervert.com
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#rwdfirstcar #singer #modifiedhillmanimp #thelatebrakeshow 
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My first car was a Hillman Imp when I was 17, that though was 43 years ago! Great little car and I think it’s great when young people pick up on old cars and put their styling twist on it, I like the lowered stance and wheels. For the indicators being on the right on a right hand drive car is the correct way. It’s only when British manufacturers got taken over by European makers that they just used their left hand drive columns. The Japanese also being RHD kept the indicator stalks on the right for many years.
What a lovely Chammy. Looks totally ace on those wheels and all that wear and tear. Isn't it fabulous to see a youngster with a passion for something like this?
'Imp'ossible not to love this vid! Great presenter, great guest and cool car.
Brilliant episode - grew up rallying tuned 998cc Imps - what a fine car to play with.
We cut the roof off one of my Imps back in the day, looked really good, very much suited the looks of the car.
great little motor and wat top young bloke Zack is .. gave me a few giggles when describing parts of the car
That’s a beautiful car, you don’t need to go fast to fun
My first car was a 1966 tartan red Imp that my dad gave me when he moved on to a Sunbeam Rapier. A great little car when it worked but it suffered from the usual Imp problems - leaky cylinder head gasket, a new water pump every 2 years and the oil leaks meaning it did its own oil change. The clutch finally went at 98,000 miles and it wasn't worth replacing it so it never quite made 100,000. I must have liked it because I replaced it with another one. That was a Chrysler and it never felt as solid as the Rootes one.
Love it... right up my street this type of video.. I used to have an imp back in the day... 2 head gaskets to take up the warp lol.. (Phil - Lancashire)
My mother had a Chamois of the same year when I was 18 - I drove it miles. As you said the achilles heel of these cars was the water pump. Drivers did not realise that the engines required a special kind of anti-freeze partly because of the aluminium and partly because it lubricated the seals on the water pump. They put standard anti-freeze in which caused the water pump seals to fail, the water leaked out and the engine seized. Looked after properly these cars were really reliable and good fun to drive. Rootes wanted to compete with the Mini and so designed the front suspension with loads of positive camber to give a lot of understeer. Once the camber was sorted, some decent tyres fitted and some ballast in the front they would have more neutral handling -much better than the Mini.
Nice video guys , well produced , works . Thx
It's great to see you young whippersnappers getting into the cars us old farts were thrashing about when we was young. Looking forward to seeing more. The biggest issue when these were new was bad maintenance. People didn't understand how to look after an alloy engine. The coolant was often replaced by water which, of course, ended up causing corrosion and engine failure. They gained a reputation for unreliability and many blew up.
This review is Brilliant !! Two young chaps loving this quirky iconic car 👍
Thank you for watching Nigel
I had a 67 Imp when I was 17 and I used to race everyone back in the day. I used to rev the nuts off mine. A truly great little car !
Good to see the yoot dem a keep touch with true old skool. Muss av to big it up 👍🏿
Nice looking car, good job Mile's the mandolorian. My dad's mate has an imp in bits on his drive awaiting rebuild. We saw a young guy with a proper tricked out imp at the classic car show one year. I'm sure it was on air ride . I must have a pic somewhere 🤔
Wicked car. To the owner, your spare isn't pointless. If you get a puncture on the front, move a rear to the front and the spare on the rear
Happy motoring sir 😎😇
I bought a 1976 Hillman imp, 1 owner, 30K for 350 pounds...in 1998...now 4K wow!
My second car was an Imp, great fun to drive, and easy to work on, just undo a few bolts and roll the car off the engine/gearbox. I remember using the rear hatch to pick up some fence posts once, and having to brake to steer on the way home. I think I've still got the "Tuning Imps" book somewhere which details the four stages of improving the performance (to beyond the original, which was detuned for production).
My grandad had two Imps and a Sunbeam Stiletto. One of my earliest memories is of being lifted through the rear hatch to sit in the luggage compartment. A great car knobbled partly by the barmy production method.
Love an "Imp" .....that engine is a peach...as long as you look after it (water pump) ... A well set up Imp (Chammy, Stilleto, Caley) all great fun...uncle had a couple, mates had a couple including a tuned up monster pushing out over a monster 90bhp (claimed) ..it didn't matter..the noise and the response from the wee engine was rapid...thing flew!...nice little car.
my first car was a hillman imp it was just 18mths old j reg 1 owner from new via my garage that i was doing my apprenticeship it was best fun you could have in a car with rear engine and no weight in the front especially in the winter months i only got rid because the usual head gasket problems
What a fun vid and car. The speakers are genius and on those wheels it looks amazing. Cheers for the vid.
That poor Minor. Looks like it's had a fair bit done to it too. Seems a shame for it to be sat :(
It was odd! No drivetrain or floor pan, just a modified shell sadly.
Love this! Love all the upgrades and modernisations.
Had an Imp in Bronze or metallic turd, Was great. My mate had a black Stilletto with twin Stromberg carbs and Janspeed exhaust, also wired up the cooling to the a copper pipe on the front for extra cooling. Both eat Rotaflex couplings and we become very good at changing them, the dealer swore they were Lotus spec ones, but they never lasted.
A good car to learn throttle control in. Another mate had a Husky estate version which we got 7 in for a pub trip (Different times and no seat belts back then
The 998 was only in the works Rallye and didn't come in the standard car, the Sport was also 875, but had the twin Strombergs and a better exhaust system.
My first car was one of these. I put twin carbs on from a Stilleto. It used to overheat at anything over 60mph. It ate doughnuts and had no heater. I had a moped too so when it would not start in the morning I could get to work. It cost £250 to buy I made £100 and £75 from people that ran into it and I sold it for £60.
The problem with overheating was it warped the cylinder head, a big deal as the cars got older. The radiator is a dirt magnet, the fan sucks dirt into it like a hoover, and once clogged doesn't do its job.
Arrrgh! The problem was owners who didn't maintain the cars!!!
Brilliant cars
Great to see a Chamois in almost original condition, my first car was a 1965 Mk1, or Mk1&1/2, they were fitting the Mk2 up grades before they called it a Mk2. I never had any problems, it should start easily and not over heat. If it does over heat has it got all it's tin ware in the engine compartment, the shield between the engine and exhaust and is the radiator fully boxed so the fan is sucking air from under the car not from the engine compartment. The peak power is at 5000rpm but the engine will go to 7,500 without balancing, so use the revs, terrific fun, yes a go-cart that would thrash a Mini any day, if you lowered the front suspension.
Great show and what a lovely couple of lads, no pretence about you, just in to old motors. Genius keep it up.
Jack Knight made a five speed with straight cut gears for competition cars
Good grief insurance for younger drivers in the UK is insane. 1500 a year for a 4500 classic car!
I'm impressed that people like Zack are prepared to spend that type of money, as I'd imagine the 1,500 pounds would buy a lot of beer and nights out at 17 or 18 years old. You've got your priorities right - even more that you wanted an Imp/Chamois over a mini, or a modern car.
That is one wicked looking imp
I love it 👍👍👍👍
All Australian cars have indicator stalk on right side
Do you? That's wrong. Well, right.
Tremendous!
18psi is good for the track when the tyres are constantly generating heat and therefore pressure, not for the road.
18 PSI is plenty for the front tires in a car of that weight with a rear engine. Too much front tire pressure in a rear engine car and it will handle horrible, be Twitchy and the end result is you will probably go off the road backwards. I had a Renault 10 and as I remember the Factory recommended front tire pressure was 14 lb. A Corvair, also rear-engined has a factory recommended front tire pressure of 16 lb
My 1st proper car, i had a Singer Chamois that use to overheat all the time, problem was the radiator use to clog up because it is at the back of the car..mine was the 998 and use to do a lot more that 72mph
What's the box on the DeLorean dashboard for? Anything to do with the switch on the steering wheel?
My first car was a 1970's Imp super
Home made auto gbox paddle shift!
The white box is an unfinished replica “digital speedometer” from the Back To The Future DeLorean. All the wires and switches on the steering wheel are flappy paddles for the automatic!
@@MilesOnCars thanks for your reply
The only person in the world to compare a DeLorean to an Imp. And the Imp gets the better verdict!!
Cute car, must be a struggle for such a tall lad to get in.
The science of car aerodynamics was less well understood in those days, which is a roundabout way of saying that they are much more stable at high speed with a front dam.
Front number plates are only about a tenner...
Had a girlfriend in the 80’s on Canvey Island that had one of these. I made a giant imitation wind up key as a joke. She thought it was hilarious and mounted it behind the rear window so everyone could see it. 😂😂
side car racers used tuned imp engines and ware very quick in its day
Brilliant. I just turned 40 today so I’m officially “passed it” but it’s great to see an 18 year old getting into classics. Just a shame they’re so expensive these days. Great car and owner 👍🏻
past
@@gdtex3297 you know, I actually struggled with that for 20 seconds or so before incorrectly spelling it 🤦🏻♂️
Nice
Cool kid 😎
My mother had a green chammy in the 80s.
Sham Wow !
My friend rallied a lightened (yes!) Imp with what was basically a Coventry Climax engine. It sounded like a superbike when it got on the cam. Sadly the cam snapped more often than not.
So basically, it a 911 but better looking and way cooler!! 😎
11:51 Sounds like a Renault 10?
Yea
Great little car do you have plans on modding it with a engine swap ?
I was thinking about the bmw motorbike swap that is a common swap. But I'd rather have a screaming imp engine if I was gonna spend that sort of money
@@zakturner2426 that's fair enough bro love the car looks epic big respect to you
Custom Moggy? in the background at 17:40 needs investigating....
that alternator needs shimming before the belt comes off or snaps. cool "imp" though
My elder brother owns a sunbeam stiletto and we live in Australia the Sunbeam is a very rare car in Australia my brother only knows about three and he has two of them one is in very good condition the other is not its a rusty parts car the stiletto has a fast back no opening rear window and twin carburetors the hillman imp is the main reason Rootes Group went broke because they were terrible cars compared to the other cars they made plus Rootes were the largest car company in the world in the 1960s
Why is this car not a hillman imp?
Is it me, or does anyone else see 'Uncle Peter?"
Where?
So glad this series is being continued, massive props to Zack for stepping up to showcase his car. Lovely patina and glad that has been preserved around the modifications. I am not a huge fan of mods but he's done a really nice job on that, and it looks really special. And Miles you're doing an excellent job, you are clearly improving your screencraft and you have a good, honest style, keep it up you're doing great!
Thank you 🙏
@@zakturner2426 Great job on the suspension, that must've taken a lot of tinkering dialing it in. The brakes were a good choice too, I can't imagine driving around these days with drums up front, even in a car as light as this. Loved the speaker box, what a great way to sneak in modern audio without hacking up the interiour. Briliant.
Nice job Miles, keep the videos coming!
It's fantastic to see the younger generation bring enthusiastic about cars, this Imp is a credit to the owner and I love the re-purposing of his Grandads' suitcase.
Yeah that's the coolest Bluetooth speaker in existence for me 👍
Casually rolling into a filming session in a Delorean never gets old!
Never!
Obviously it's necessary to go back in time to review these older cars 😉😁
Great job Miles. What a lovely example of a fun little car. Watching this made me want to drive it! Loved the exhaust note too.
Well done!
Great car very cool for such a young lad.
I have a 68 imp, me and dad are slowly restoring it
Great to hear that, all the best with the build.
Love the look of the Imp. The wheels and stance are perfect. How great is it to listen to two young guys chatting about chokes and scrapyards. Love the quote "9 times out 10 it doesn't start" Brilliant just brilliant. Well done Miles 👍
Yep they were way more chilled than I was at that age, I've had a chat with Miles and he's a really charming young man with a passion for cars that don't have to be perfect. @MilesOnCars
I thought was a imp.but says singer on badge
@@lewiscarr8592 it’s an example of badge engineering, my friend, the same as BMC did with the Mini. A Singer Chamois is an Imp badged and trimmed and painted to appeal to a different market segment.
Good job Miles! Getting more confident with the camera. Keep it up fella.
Thank you!
Im sure miles will get better at being on camera and interviewing as he makes more of these episodes. You can tell a few minutes into the episode he already got more comfortable!
Agree. These things can take time.
What a gorgeous Shabby Chic Chammy. Bought my Triumph Vitesse aged 15 in 2017. Rebuilt the engine then got it back on the road. Similar colour and paint quality to the Chamois as well!
Young'uns,... Indicator stalks on RHD cars are meant to be on the right side of the column - it's only on the left of modern cars because the manufacturers got design exceptions so they could use the same LHD column in RHD cars, to 'save costs', and make more profits.
Isn't that motor related to the Coventry Climax used in a lot of race cars of the '60's ? The Suitcase mod is genius, perfect for other classics, without ruining the panelwork. Looks like this classic has found the right owner, correcting things first, growing with experience on the road, ready for the long haul of being the cars current caretaker.
What a beauty!! If I saw this in the street I would stop, have a look around and walk away feeling happy that I'd seen it. I can't think of many modern cars that I can say that about.
Well done Zack, your car is epic! What a great first car to have, love the look of it. Wheels are perfect for it 👌 Well done to Miles too, nice lad, knows what he’s talking about too.
My mum's car when I was 16. She drove to Spain (1,000 miles) and back a couple of times. I was a passenger and she got in to top by 28mph up hill and down dale. Navigation was provided by the AA who would print off instructions on side perforated computer paper. It made a stack 150mm thick for Spain and if you went off route you were completely lost! Thanks for the memories!!
Thanks Miles and Zack for a great TLBS episode, and thanks Jonny for putting them out there. What a great car - looks like so much fun! "Drives better than the Delorean" gave me a genuine LOL moment too. :)
Great job Miles (and Zack, of course). I was rather taken with the idea of getting an Imp when I was 17 and preferred them to the Mini simply because of their quirkyness and RWD. It's great to see a properly used car rather than a garage queen too so well done, Zack. You mentioned the estate and the van, the latter of which was news to me. Some viewers may recall the fastback Imp ('California'?) which was like a coupe version, if such a thing could be envisaged. Some models had four headlights at the front which basically took up half of the width of the car! Keep up the great work 👍
Lovely unique looking car - The bullet proof 875 engine - 37 bhp and nearly 50 lb torque but the 0-60 time is quite decent, really - not exactly santa pod but y' know what I mean! I love the ford style wheels - well cool looking. And 1966 - a good year - We won the cup and I was born! :)
Bulletproof are you having laugh. Head gaskets , big ends, timing chain, need i go on . worked on many Imps ,great when working on the odd occasion, but not often like that .
@@ronsimpson261 There are various reliability mods for performance engines, and don't forget that the Imp engine was often tuned to high outputs, and driven hard.
I drove a rally-prepped one many years ago, and it was a beast--easily more than double the quoted 39 BHP of the earliest (slowest) models.
@@RupertReynolds1962 The standard imp was not a reliable car . 44 yrs in the trade says they are a pita , but fun to drive . owned several .
@@ronsimpson261 Most cars had problems back then.
I'm not saying the Imps were particularly reliable, but my guess is that, if you had several, you knew a few things you just need to get right (such as antifreeze/inhibitor all year long because it's an ali engine), plus a few tweaks to make them reliable enough for you.
Everyone told me Minis were too fragile. So I built a 1380 that was a GTi-beater at any half-sane speed :-) It wasn't even expensive to do, because there were just a few tweaks. Once I'd done the tweaks, that car did over 20k miles in a year (commuting to a new job) with only oil, pads, tyres and adjusting the valve clearances. Only Mini I knew of with a pre-engaged starter (modified Firenza starter from a breaker's).
@@RupertReynolds1962 Good to hear the reply's! I am not an expert but I am just relaying what I heard - Thank you for your input! :)
Wow what a first car! I always loved the look of the Imp, never knew about the Singer Chamois. Great video guys, and well done Miles a very natural interview. I hope the lad continues with the restoration and that we can revisit it too!
Good man. Brilliant vehicle, nicely modded for modern driving conditions. Power was no problem back in the day, mine (a Super Imp - no wood) ran rings round 848 cc Minis, although my heater had to go too.
Fantastic to see the younger generation still picking cool cars! Fair play 👍
LOL! My first car was an 850 Mini van my Dad bought new in 1970 for £405. I had to rebuild it from the ground up, with the help of a welder who had worked on the set of The Italian Job.
Srsly, this is a delight. Have fun!
The lowered stance looks really well. The engine was based on a Coventry-Climax design and was very tuneable. I think the nicest sportscar to use it was the Ginetta G15, which only weighed 500 kg. Did the Nardi wheel come from a Ferrari? Could be worth more than the car, if so.
The best car to use the engine (and subframes) was the Clan. 🙂
Absolute fun video, Miles pulls up looking like a young Doc Brown and I loved Zack's solution for the speaker housing. I hope the amp goes to 11. Keep them coming lad's.
It’s great to see a young man in a old car it’s not loud a showy . Great job miles
My parents had one. I used to love the lift up back window. The first hot hatch 🤣
Great video 2x👍
Oh my goodness...
Watching this has transported me back nearly 40 years to MY first ever car - a royal blue metallic Hillman Imp.
Plus points (from a faded memory, admittedly...)
Cracking, raspy engine note - at least once I'd actually got it to start...!
Really light steering - even more unnervingly so once the car was above about 40mph...
You'd never worry about having your petrol siphoned off since the filler cap was under the bonnet - though, who thought that having the petrol tank as effectively your frontal crash zone must've been bonkers...!! 🤣
I love what you're doing for Miles. Huge respect Jonny.
Thank YOU for taking the time to watch. 👌🏽
My first car was a 1966 Austin Mini Countryman. My Father bought all new English ash trim and put a lot of work to make it look and fit perfectly. I am 38 And I still have it Because it means a lot to me
Singer chamois Sport had the twin carb, expected this too but it's original. Worked on Hillman imps an imp Van's. Friend of mine has played with his climax lump, bodywork is A1 Handles real nice, I like this Great project 🤝🏻
A mate who was in the REME used to service tanks in the falklands and he said they used an imp engine as a starter motor.
Love miles hosting this. Look forward to more episodes!
Good work, lads.
The indicators are the correct side for a right hand drive car. Once upon a time most cars were that way round. Mk1 escort etc. European assembly and influence changed then to the wrongside. Hence why many Japanese cars were correctly fitted to the right because they also are righthand drive
Loved this guy. Not trying to keep it 'original', but making it usable and then using it. Being different too rather than a Vx Corsa with stripes.
I had a 1966 imp as my first car at 17 years old that i completely restored from ground up starting when i was 14!!! It had a cage, buckets, harnesses, spax adjustable shocks and monte carlo springs, engine bored to 930cc with a high lift cam, big valve head, sccr jack knight gearbox, painted it bottom half rover mid pageant blue and top ford ice white, sat on 13" minilights over fiesta mk2 discs on the front and drums on the rear. Still the coolest car ive ever owned and ive owned a 500bhp corsa b 😅😅
Pleased to say I owned one once, ahead of its time with easily removable engine. I did have a concrete block in the boot to hold the front down,
A great article. The Chamois was a lovely version with that Singer character. My first car as 17 year old was a 1971 Imp Super - I paid £45:00 for it in the late 1980s! My dad was a Rootes/Chrysler Service Manager who had worked on Imps so keeping it in good shape was not an issue. They really were an advanced but misunderstood car and that engine was a peach until the head gasket leaked. This one has so much potential and looks good on the wider rims. Try the Stiletto - now that was a good driver's car.
Lol he suits that Delorean. Even has Doc Browns hair!
Love when people pick something unusual to muck about with!
I used to have a one of these "MTB 759C"in maroon. They do have seat belts which you are supposed to wear and I suppose the front number plate has fallen off! Main problem was the water pump and the rubber couplings on the drive shafts, some cars had a problem jumping out of second gear too.
I like the mixture of originality and Zack’s inventiveness to make such an old car still usable. Hats off to Zack.