The Hillman imp is nearly back on the road
I have been the proud owner of a 1966 Hillman imp for nearly 6 months and had great joy using over the winter until Feb 2009 when it needed an MOT and failed dues to a severe case of rust on the rear mounts. It was in the deep end for me because I had got the car to take my mind off programming and as a hobby.
So I needed to learn how to spray and needed the kit (compressor and cans etc) and also wanted to get down to some welding. I did some research on the welding has I had done a lot of airbrush art on a miniature scale at Uni. The welding kit is the basic stuff. I purchased a Sealey Gas Mig welder but found out that the Gas is expensive and waste of time for the beginner. Anyway I got some steel and welded anything I could find. I grew in confidence and finally got round to hacking out the rust from the bottom of the mount and built my new panels using clamps, would and pure brawn (something I cannot brag about).
To do all the welding on the car I was advised to take out the engine, which I wanted to do because it looks so easy on an HillmanImp, just slide it out the back. I got the engineout and threw it into a wheelbarrow until I could get round to mounting it in the outhouse. I found that some mountings on the engine had been broken when it was previously taken out. A netiming case was required and a way of taking it out without totally taking the engine apart. New gaskets all round.
I got round to sourcing and buying parts and tools to do all the jobs and got the car prepared for welding, not more rust. Anyway over a two day period I got the car welded and quick primed. Alright for a first attempt, we will see if the MOT says that.
I rebuilt the engine and put in all the new gaskets etc and slotted the engine back in, not as easy as taking it out but I got it in. I am slowly going through the process of connecting all the wires, pipes and tubes.
Why it has been without an engine and rear end I have replace the rear suspension and brakes and give it a good soak in thin tetraseal just to slow down any corrosion.
This weekend may be a testing time has I should have everything connected and filled to start her up again. We will see.
UPDATE:
she is back on the road. I got the dynamo working so no more charging the battery, I’m working on the cooling but I may of worked that one out by adding two more pints of oil, it was showing low on the dipstick. I got some nice bermuda blue 105 from the paint shop and all the welding has been sprayed with stone chip then bermuda blue. Nice match. Just needs a little bit of t-cut and the outside is looking good. I need to put the rear heater screen in next ready for winter, get the strombergs tuned so it’s not costing in petrol, they seem OK at the moment then focus on the interior over the winter months also get rid of the front and rear window leaks (got some seal for that). Recaro seats would be nice and a nice black (no dirt) interior.