How realsitic is a Hillman Imp as a first car?
Discussion
Equus said:
This is so not true. The two best cars I ever owned for snapping knicker elastic (back when I cared about such things) were Imps and original Minis (I had a bog-standard brown example of the latter that was par excellence). It was the only period in my life when girls approaching me in car parks and chatting me up was actually a regular occurrence.
Girls figure that:
a) You're not threatening and;
b) Men who drive big, flash cars are invariably compensating for shortcomings in the trouser department, therefore any bloke with enough self confidence to be seen driving, eg. a s
t brown Mini or a gold Hillman Imp must be hung like a horse and expert in bed.
By the same logic (and, again, I can confirm this from personal experience), if you want to become involuntarily celibate, drive a TVR Griffith 500. I did so at the same time I owned the Mini, and by contrast you'd struggle to get women to respond with anything other than a disdainful sneer, if you spoke to them.
30 odd years ago, a £2000 XJ-S was most definitely enticing the right/wrong sort of girls when you're 20. Sure, the nerdy ones might have gone for the old overcompensating thing, the bad girls who'd do anything for a Big Mac would have their pert little bums gracing the old Connolly leather. Girls figure that:
a) You're not threatening and;
b) Men who drive big, flash cars are invariably compensating for shortcomings in the trouser department, therefore any bloke with enough self confidence to be seen driving, eg. a s
t brown Mini or a gold Hillman Imp must be hung like a horse and expert in bed. By the same logic (and, again, I can confirm this from personal experience), if you want to become involuntarily celibate, drive a TVR Griffith 500. I did so at the same time I owned the Mini, and by contrast you'd struggle to get women to respond with anything other than a disdainful sneer, if you spoke to them.
Wipe clean as well.
s
tty Minis just didn't cut it. Dr G said:
What odd replies!
A classic car can be a superb first car, particularly so if you want to learn how things work and are happy to get your hands dirty. You will build a wealth of knowledge that will be invaluable for the rest of your motoring career.
Insurance at 17 today will be expensive regardless of the car; think 2-3k or more.
Replacing drum brakes, adjusting the timing, setting the points gap and lubricating your trunnions are all so useful in a world rapidly heading towards BEVs!A classic car can be a superb first car, particularly so if you want to learn how things work and are happy to get your hands dirty. You will build a wealth of knowledge that will be invaluable for the rest of your motoring career.
Insurance at 17 today will be expensive regardless of the car; think 2-3k or more.
As fun as it sounds, I wouldn't bother with a car as old as Imp as your only car. My grandad had one when I was a child in the late 70s/early 80s.
I'd suggest buying a cheap '00s Fiesta or similar. We inherited a 1.4 Zetec and it is a superb little driver's car with some potential for tinkering/improving -conventional engine tuning, geometry, brakes, driving lamps, better horns, seats etc. although it is supremely reliable.
Alternatively, buy something leftfield that doesn't handle as well as standard and work on improving it. I once read a great forum thread about an old Micra, "Project Sausage", that the owner had tuned and modified using DIY calcs and donor parts.
Buy an old motorbike to tinker with/mod.
I'd suggest buying a cheap '00s Fiesta or similar. We inherited a 1.4 Zetec and it is a superb little driver's car with some potential for tinkering/improving -conventional engine tuning, geometry, brakes, driving lamps, better horns, seats etc. although it is supremely reliable.
Alternatively, buy something leftfield that doesn't handle as well as standard and work on improving it. I once read a great forum thread about an old Micra, "Project Sausage", that the owner had tuned and modified using DIY calcs and donor parts.
Buy an old motorbike to tinker with/mod.
Edited by MC Bodge on Friday 2nd August 19:51
My first car was an Imp a 1971 model and thus was 1976 so it wasn’t an old car when I got it. With 20/20 hindsight it was st when I bought it and st when I got rid of it a couple of years later.
It had a spot of rust on the rear wing which I picked at and ended up with a 6 inch hole. Filled and painted it. The diff threw a bolt which came right through the casing and dropped the oil all over the road. After that was repaired the head gasket went. It was always trouble, in the end I could get the engine out in 20 minutes as all the bolts were easy to remove and I knew exactly what need to come out and in what order. Rotoflexes were a total pita to replace.
The front did used to go light and you didn’t get much steering. My mates could always tell when I was up ahead as they could always smell it.
I can’t see the intervening 40 years making Imps any better. Take my advice and avoid. I upgraded to a Datsun 100A which was a brilliant little car, ragged the arse off it and it never ever let me down.
t when I bought it and st when I got rid of it a couple of years later.It had a spot of rust on the rear wing which I picked at and ended up with a 6 inch hole. Filled and painted it. The diff threw a bolt which came right through the casing and dropped the oil all over the road. After that was repaired the head gasket went. It was always trouble, in the end I could get the engine out in 20 minutes as all the bolts were easy to remove and I knew exactly what need to come out and in what order. Rotoflexes were a total pita to replace.
The front did used to go light and you didn’t get much steering. My mates could always tell when I was up ahead as they could always smell it.
I can’t see the intervening 40 years making Imps any better. Take my advice and avoid. I upgraded to a Datsun 100A which was a brilliant little car, ragged the arse off it and it never ever let me down.
I have driven cars that age ever since I started driving in 1981. And apart from crashing in a firey ball of death every time I drive 3/4s of the journey I am attempting I enjoy driving old cars. Seriously once a classic is up and running and well maintained it will be as reliable as any other car. They take longer to service but that is all. Last year I did as many miles in my 1970 series land rover as I did in my 2007 mx5. I did more work to keep the mx5 running than the land rover.
Drive sensibly and maintain it well and it will be fine.
Drive sensibly and maintain it well and it will be fine.
My first car was an Imp, 39 years ago, it was just another secondhand car back then. My mates had Minis, so I wanted something different. The headgasket went after about 6 weeks, but unbelievably, the warranty covered it. I did all the basic maintenance myself using a Haynes manual and got spare parts from an old school breakers yard in High Wycombe.
I'd have another one right now if I could, just for nostalgia's sake.
An old classic as a first car is great fun, but beware, there's no crash protection, they're stupidly uneconomical, slow and have less than ideal brakes.
If you don't expect 21st Century performance and reliability from it, you'll be happy, and be the envy of all your mates in their Fiat 500 & Vauxhall Corsas.
Good luck,
I'd have another one right now if I could, just for nostalgia's sake.
An old classic as a first car is great fun, but beware, there's no crash protection, they're stupidly uneconomical, slow and have less than ideal brakes.
If you don't expect 21st Century performance and reliability from it, you'll be happy, and be the envy of all your mates in their Fiat 500 & Vauxhall Corsas.
Good luck,
elanfan said:
Rotoflexes were a total pita to replace.
Given your used name, I'm surprised you don't know the knack to that one: you leave the retaining band on, then once it's fitted up to one bolt, turning the wheel/axle on droop will flex it until the next bolt hole lines up.Ten minute job.
The front end lightness and sensitivity to crosswinds is due to Rootes having raised the front suspension when they realised that the headlights were slightly too low for some markets. You can get a bracket that lowers the roll centre of the front swing axles, and a set of 'Monte Carlo' (lowered) springs, which totally transforms the handling. An Imp with those basic modifications handles very well indeed, which is why, again, in their day they were popular for hillclimbing and sprinting, and could more than hold their own against Minis of equal capacity.
Nimby said:
ISTR the radiator is at the front, and replacing the hoses is a nightmare.
The radiator on standard cars is at the back, and doing anything to do with the drivetrain is a piece of cake - as has been mentioned before, with practice you can drop the entire engine out in 15-20 minutes (and without the need for a hoist). It's actually a routine maintenance necessity to take the radiator out and backflush it on a regular basis, but it's no big deal, as a job.Some cars (usually those modified for competition use) are fitted with front radiators, but in that case it's normal to use aluminium pipes from front to rear, and hoses only at the connections.
Equus said:
elanfan said:
Rotoflexes were a total pita to replace.
Given your used name, I'm surprised you don't know the knack to that one: you leave the retaining band on, then once it's fitted up to one bolt, turning the wheel/axle on droop will flex it until the next bolt hole lines up.Ten minute job.
10 minutes my arse. If you could do it it 10 minutes you’d have owners of both marques queuing up for your services.
elanfan said:
10 minutes my arse. If you could do it it 10 minutes you’d have owners of both marques queuing up for your services.
Seriously! It's not a big job when you've got the knack of it!OK, getting the car up on stands and removing the old Rotoflexes make it take a bit longer, but genuinely, 10 minutes to fit a new one is realistic.
The other 'technique' I developed personally with Imps was engine removal. The way I did it (after supporting the engine, removing the rear crossmember and disconnecting everything) was to sit on the ground at the back of the car, with my legs extending forward underneath it, then you could unbolt the engine from the bellhousing while sitting in that position, let it drop onto your legs, then shuffle out backwards carrying the engine on your legs.
Equus said:
Seriously! It's not a big job when you've got the knack of it!
OK, getting the car up on stands and removing the old Rotoflexes make it take a bit longer, but genuinely, 10 minutes to fit a new one is realistic.
The other 'technique' I developed personally with Imps was engine removal. The way I did it (after supporting the engine, removing the rear crossmember and disconnecting everything) was to sit on the ground at the back of the car, with my legs extending forward underneath it, then you could unbolt the engine from the bellhousing while sitting in that position, let it drop onto your legs, then shuffle out backwards carrying the engine on your legs.
I have deeply unhappy memories of repairing these as a mechanic in a 1980s back street garage. In fact I can trace my decision to leave the business back to repairing one. OK, getting the car up on stands and removing the old Rotoflexes make it take a bit longer, but genuinely, 10 minutes to fit a new one is realistic.
The other 'technique' I developed personally with Imps was engine removal. The way I did it (after supporting the engine, removing the rear crossmember and disconnecting everything) was to sit on the ground at the back of the car, with my legs extending forward underneath it, then you could unbolt the engine from the bellhousing while sitting in that position, let it drop onto your legs, then shuffle out backwards carrying the engine on your legs.
So said:
I have deeply unhappy memories of repairing these as a mechanic in a 1980s back street garage. In fact I can trace my decision to leave the business back to repairing one.
What, Imps, or Rotoflexes?If you were unmanned by an Imp, you really weren't cut out to be a mechanic - cars don't come any simpler to fix!
I ran an Imp in 1986, a 1966 D plate Chamois bought for 30 quid with an utterly mint body, and fitted up with the running gear from a rotten 1965 998 Imp Ralle. I fitted Cosmic alloys, Koni dampers and nothing else. Well, I had a 30kg sack of spuds in the front. :-)
Apparently the secret to Imps was running a good anti freeze mixture, and cleaning the outside the rad and the grate underneath to keep all the leaves and other st out of it. Mine didn't overheat.
Apparently the secret to Imps was running a good anti freeze mixture, and cleaning the outside the rad and the grate underneath to keep all the leaves and other s
t out of it. Mine didn't overheat. Touring442 said:
I ran an Imp in 1986, a 1966 D plate Chamois bought for 30 quid with an utterly mint body, and fitted up with the running gear from a rotten 1965 998 Imp Ralle. I fitted Cosmic alloys, Koni dampers and nothing else. Well, I had a 30kg sack of spuds in the front. :-)
Apparently the secret to Imps was running a good anti freeze mixture, and cleaning the outside the rad and the grate underneath to keep all the leaves and other st out of it. Mine didn't overheat.
Sounds like fun. Apparently the secret to Imps was running a good anti freeze mixture, and cleaning the outside the rad and the grate underneath to keep all the leaves and other s
t out of it. Mine didn't overheat. Ps. That car was 20 years old and that was 33 years ago!
Touring442 said:
...the secret to Imps was running a good anti freeze mixture, and cleaning the outside the rad and the grate underneath to keep all the leaves and other st out of it.
t out of it. 
Unfortunately the antifreeze bit extends to previous owners: if the PO's didn't maintain fresh, strong antifreeze, then you'll find that the waterways in the engine block will have scaled/sludged up to some degree, and it's a full engine rebuild to remedy that past abuse.In other words, make damned sure that the car isn't showing any symptoms of overheating when you buy it, 'cos its not always a quick and easy thing to fix.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff