Rare thing - A Clan Crusader

Author
Discussion

onomatopoeia

3,469 posts

216 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Skyedriver said:
can anyone think of an Imp based convertible. I cannot..
BS Nymph. There are a few of them still around.
TVR Tina. It is literally *an* Imp based convertible, as there are two that I know of and the other one is a coupe.


Steffan

10,362 posts

227 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
onomatopoeia said:
Skyedriver said:
can anyone think of an Imp based convertible. I cannot..
BS Nymph. There are a few of them still around.
TVR Tina. It is literally *an* Imp based convertible, as there are two that I know of and the other one is a coupe.
Indeed there are two kit cars I cannot remember at all from long ago with drop heads and based on Imps.

See

http://www.imps4ever.info/specials/nymph.html

http://www.imps4ever.info/specials/tvrtina.html

For the details.

I do not think either were built in volume but I may be wrong on that score as well.

The Imp engine really was a very fine design marred by the inadequacy of the Rootes group to cool it properly or supply ancillaries which could cope with the revs. It s often said Rootes were broken by the Imp failures but actually I think like BMC the writing was on the wall for years that the firms had lost their cutting edge in car building. Only a British car company (BMC and later owners) could produce an outstanding ground breaking design such as the Mini and fill it full of poor quality components likely to fail and then sell 5,500,000 of them all all with exactly the same basic faults as the original. It was and remains ridiculous.

It is often said that the Mini never made any money for BMC. I personally think that is twaddle: the earnings were diverted within the group and other total failures like the Allagro (which is my take on the Allegro) lost BMC the money the Mini must have been making. The same tooling was used for over 40 years. It is just the excuse of the appalling msmanagement of the reality that was hidden by those bland suggestions. Which was the aim.

As I know from experience Minis did not rust so much as evaporate over time. Just damned silly and one of the shining examples of how even a brilliant car design needs good engineering to be a long lasting success.

Interesting post there were Imp drop heads although not large numbers I suspect.

oliverb205

705 posts

225 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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This fine pair was at Blenheim Palace last weekend.

As stated, there were two TVR Tinas built by Fissore. One was a coupe which is undergoing a long term rebuild for someone who was connected to it when it was new. The other is a convertible which as far I know is in long term ownership in the USA.

Oliver.

coppice

8,561 posts

143 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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I owned OPT 440J which was chassis no 4; tired when I got it in 78 but rebuilt and upgraded with 998 Rallye Imp engine from Hartwell. Terrific car - quick, economical and great grip. Terrifying if you lifted off when cornering briskly- huge oversteer . I lived in Lincolnshire at the time and the reception the Clan got in remote fenland was the same as if I had been driving the Batmobile in a gorilla suit.

I own a Caterham now- appropriate as Paul Hassauer designed the Clan ISTR as a Seven replacement whilst working at Lotus.

Not a kit car originally and not cheap either. The legendary LJK Setright was big fan which is good enough for me

cardigankid

8,849 posts

211 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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This was my 'reality' dream car when I was 16. I was 6' plusand my recollection is that I fitted in without much trouble. Never actually got one later, and I see that there are none for sale now. That was a genuinely good looking little sports car, and I bet with the rear engine the handling would have been fantastic.

Where were they made?

coppice

8,561 posts

143 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
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Washington (Co Durham not DC). The seats in my car, I forgot to add, were those so sexy Corbeaus with built in headrests (very unusual at the time ) and with the ventilation holes which fuelled my GT40 fantasy ....

Steffan

10,362 posts

227 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
quotequote all
coppice said:
I owned OPT 440J which was chassis no 4; tired when I got it in 78 but rebuilt and upgraded with 998 Rallye Imp engine from Hartwell. Terrific car - quick, economical and great grip. Terrifying if you lifted off when cornering briskly- huge oversteer . I lived in Lincolnshire at the time and the reception the Clan got in remote fenland was the same as if I had been driving the Batmobile in a gorilla suit.

I own a Caterham now- appropriate as Paul Hassauer designed the Clan ISTR as a Seven replacement whilst working at Lotus.

Not a kit car originally and not cheap either. The legendary LJK Setright was big fan which is good enough for me
I learn something new every day being somewhat dim. LJK Setright was indeed a great motoring scribe and one I met in my early Mini racing days aeons ago and certainly the greatest motoring journalist since George Bishop. Dennis Jenkinon and John Bolster in their heydays.

The Imp should have been a runaway success it genuinely offered a secure good handling alternative to the all conquering Mini. Much as I love the Mini the Imp deserved better of its proginators but sadly Rootes were incapable of running a car business for at any time post 1950. They were the worst of a pretty poor bunch in the UK post 1945.

These drop heads look like decent cars to me. Especially for the times they were designed within. Obviously for whatever reason the buyers did not see the potential. Pity I think these could have made an interesting alternative. Have any actually survived on the road, I wonder?

storminnorman

2,357 posts

151 months

Sunday 21st September 2014
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Clan Crusader @ Stamford Classic show, 24 aug

dugsud

1,125 posts

262 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
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Just dug out a couple of shots of my old Clan which I had about 30 years ago.....I just checked its details on the DVLA database and it was taxed until 2012 and is now yellow!

I wonder if anyone on here owns it?




fatbutt

2,631 posts

263 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
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Wasn't there a clan for sale at HHC recently? I'd love one but I'm in the US for a while so can't frown

dodgepot

268 posts

139 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
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It's still at HHC

central

16,744 posts

216 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
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Belongs to my neighbour -

Clan Crusader by Fast an' Bulbous, on Flickr

Clan Crusader by Fast an' Bulbous, on Flickr

Slotcarman

3 posts

113 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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I've looked at this forum site several times so have decided to join in the
fun, especially having just seen photo's on previous post of my recently sold
Clan - the Lime Green one, this was my 3rd Clan since 1972 and this one I had
owned for over 10 years (sold this August) with myself being the third owner.

I was a founder member of the Clan Owners Club and some of you will know of
me particularly Skyedriver who I've not spoken to for a very long time.

Interesting some of the comments made thinking the Clan looks weird - no doubt
refering to the headlamp pods, as for the shape think back to the Bond Bug,
the wedge shaped Lotus Elite & Eclat and some other cars of the time.


2slo

1,998 posts

166 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
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A pic of one I took at a race meeting a couple of years ago:

Clan Crusader by 2slo7, on Flickr

dinkel

26,886 posts

257 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
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This one:
dinkel said:


... at the Snett 360 in 2011 wink

Skyedriver

17,655 posts

281 months

Saturday 1st November 2014
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Slotcarman said:
I've looked at this forum site several times so have decided to join in the
fun, especially having just seen photo's on previous post of my recently sold
Clan - the Lime Green one, this was my 3rd Clan since 1972 and this one I had
owned for over 10 years (sold this August) with myself being the third owner.

I was a founder member of the Clan Owners Club and some of you will know of
me particularly Skyedriver who I've not spoken to for a very long time.

Interesting some of the comments made thinking the Clan looks weird - no doubt
refering to the headlamp pods, as for the shape think back to the Bond Bug,
the wedge shaped Lotus Elite & Eclat and some other cars of the time.
Now you have me guessing, Robert?


Skyedriver

17,655 posts

281 months

Saturday 1st November 2014
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So where would a 998 Clan fit in today's Hillclimb classes both in England and the Scottish Championship. I'm thinking road going?

Slotcarman

3 posts

113 months

Monday 3rd November 2014
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You're guessing right, Tony.

onomatopoeia

3,469 posts

216 months

Tuesday 4th November 2014
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Skyedriver said:
So where would a 998 Clan fit in today's Hillclimb classes both in England and the Scottish Championship. I'm thinking road going?
Roadgoing specialist or modified specialist categories as appropriate, classes are down to events or championship SRs.

Depending on capacity splits in operation locally, you might have bike-engined caterfields for company.

Kevlardave

8 posts

111 months

Tuesday 16th December 2014
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onomatopoeia said:
Mine:

Took us quite a while to make that shell - no polyester resin or chopped strand mat in it.......!