Somebody mentioned the thing i was going to say & that was that the engine was based on a Coventry-Climax design, but the Rootes group engineers couldn't leave well enough alone & buggered it. As it's got the Coventry-Climax hertiage, why not get a 1.5 litre F1 V8 from the 1961-1965 period & fit that. That'd make it interesting. When i started supersprints, somebody had a 12A rotary in one of these, & it needed a sandbag in the front to make it keep the front wheels on the track.

very cool, there's one getting around launceston, looks stockish, nothing special..

D what so of time frame were these made?

I actually think the 2dr sedan looks better than the coupe version but I'll have to take a look at the rear to judge.

I Don't mind these car at all and am quite a fan of all these little buggers. They're nice and cosy like this Toyota S800

The toyo 800 is a very sought after classic, saw a few for sale in japan for around 25-30k. They have a twin cylinder v2 that is supposedly still used in some trucks for hydraulic work of somekind. Someone pointed it out to me and I couldnt believe it.

The imps where out around the early 63-78 i think, theoretically till 76 but some still where registered afterwards from sitting in showrooms I think.

Thanks for the links!

Not many choices for the engines like datsuns have.
You are pretty much stuck with 1000cc or 1040cc I think.

However there is nothing wrong with different modern running gear from front wheel drives in them as the original boxes are no stronger than for a citroen 2cv.

There seems to be more of these cars than b10 so for those who miss out it could be an alternative.

The way petrol is going it looks like our only alternative will be to look for boosted diesel engine setups or electric. LPG is still viable for now.

A lovely handling and sphincter tearing bike engined imp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxkaVOxj3eU

I'm a fan of the ol' Imp.

Theres one that competes every year at the Classic Adelaide Rally and it never fails to impress!

It's interesting to read of all the features that this little car sported, yet even more interesting to note that it has never even begun to approach the international cult status that our [by comparison] boring little Datsuns have.

They weren't too popular when they were new either. I remember seeing them around back then, but sightings were sufficiently uncommon for them to be noteable for that reason alone.

My neighbour, two houses along, back in the very early 70's had one of these & it seemed to exhibit all the characteristics that I have since come to expect from British cars.
My neighbour was nothing if not persistant as that thing sucked up more maintainance hours per mile of motoring than anything I had ever seen before, matched only by another neighbours Jag some years later.
Unbelieveable.

Over the years I've seen some Imps that went like mad, somewhere I recall seeing one with a Cosworth BDA stuffed in the back...........might have been a hillclimb car.

Naturally I prefer Datsun but the Imp is cool.

Tom

Looking at the imp site it looks there are more people following these cars than datsun 1000 at least by 10 fold. Not 1200 of course but they come close there is a huge following.

However there are the pre 66 and post 66 years. The pre 66 gave them their bad reputation with all sorts of issues expected from brittish cars.

Either way they are best when something else is fitted in their rears to make them into midship beasts utilising their almost unmatched handling vs lightweight vs budget combination.

There isnt an english car engine that i like in any way. The K series motorbike like construction is one of their almost great engines but small valves and bad tolerances from factory (nothing new), bad casting etc made it a shambles.

nothing like a jap engine from Nissan, Toyota , Suzuki, Daihatsu or Honda etc.

"I prefer the Datsun but the Imp is cool"

I reckon that sums it up for me.