dmulally

Indeed it is the w400. I didnt think of lowering the nozzle/pressure. Normally when I do I get runs but I dont really care about that as much as it's all out of sight stuff. Thanks!

Has anybody had any joy with small touch up spray guns? I only have a primer gun and a top coat one. But I have to do some small spaces like door jams and some parts and my top coat iwata gun will just blast overspray everywhere.

So after about four attempts I got the gearbox mount bracket sorted. For the welding I couldnt grind smoother I used the tig to flatten out. Sadly I can't box it but I will add some 8mm thick gussets which should be ok but will leave it up to the cert man to let me know. Happy to use the original mounts which is one less drama. I needed to do some panel beating inside and ended up cutting away the gearbox tunnel which I'll replace when I get some fresh steel. So the half shafts would bolt right up to the VW cv's if they had the same bolt pattern which is annoying. Maybe a fraction too long so I cant fit an adapter but I will explore it. That would save some farting about with engineering half shafts but not fussed. Next on the agenda is finish painting the awful green inside and then I might start on the radiator mounting for a break.

Right then. So the reco'd Imp engine suffered a setback. I was on my way to pick it up (Martinborough to Tauranga is a looooong way in a GMC) and 20 mins out got a call it had seized on the test bench. So thankfully my plan B was already decided upon and brought forward. I popped out to the LVV cert chap who gave me the green light to use the venerable EA81. It weighs the same as the Imp donk and only the gearbox requires some changes to the bodywork to fit. The EA81 is presently being reconditioned. The gearbox I have decided upon is a "freeway flyer" VW box. 0.87 4th and 3.8:1 final drive. A massive improvement over the super short Imp box. Some challenges remain in that the selector is out the top rather than the bottom. So the gear linkage will need to go on top of the tunnel rather than under it. The handbrake and rear seat platform are in the way but I can sort that. Don't really have a choice not to. I have started on the mount and am up to version 3. I'm trying to use the original Imp mounts and a bracket linking the box to them. I have a shit load of other things to do but am rushing to get the mount done so I can sort the half shafts. The engineer said he would get back to me on what is acceptable which is fine. I'll get Howat Engineering to sort so I know it will be acceptable. In other news I dropped off the front seats to be retrimmed. I was going to use original seats but the modernish buckets I have are super comfy. I also had a custom front radiator made for it which I havent taken out of the box yet. It will be fed with the original water pump suplimented with a davies craig ewp Ill put at the other end to help push the water around. I got the springs lowered by Aechers but I think it is a little too low. Might stop being a tight ass and invest in some adjustable coilovers. It's all happening!

Must. Not. Touch.

Yeah will pass it on. If it has be done by a certified machine shop I'll give you a yell and we can perhaps sort something out. Especially if it has to be splined.

Lovely little motor (especially with sidedrafts) but would require cutting the bulkhead. I popped over the LVV cert guys place for a gasbag yesterday and he said if I can avoid as much cutting of the firewall as possible that would be good. I think the only part I'll have to cut is the snout area for the VW box. But that is technically the gearbox tunnel so not a big a deal. The only question mark he has for me which he'll look into are the half shafts. I was going to cut the Imp and VW ones and weld them together with a collar over it. He said he'll let me know the best way I should do that.

So the subie EA18 fits nicely. Only mods required looks to be the air filter/carb arrangement and the oil filler tube. Thankfully the tube is mild steel so I can shorten it and face the correct direction rather easily. That inlet manifold needs a bit of a trim with all the extra lumps and bumps sticking out of it as well as I don't need all the vacuum ports and whatnot. Interestingly the original heater pipes on the EA18 are a similar diameter to the Imp front radiator tubing so I can still use that. But the diameter for the original outlets for the radiator are far larger. I'll have a think about it but perhaps having a radiator front and rear could be handy. I could also gut the subie water pump and just use the davies craig one I'll be installing shortly for the Imp engine. See how I go I guess. Gearbox will be a VW freeway flyer IRS box (3.8/0.82). I've already ordered that as well as an adapter for the subie to VW. I think the one main thing I'll need is a starter but I'll wait until I have the ring gear in hand to check what I have.

Correct. Installing the front mounted radiator with twin thermo fans and a davies craig water pump which deletes the thermostat. I have to convert to an alternator at the same time however to keep up with the new power demands.

It's time to banish this green stuff for good.

$343 all up. Happy with that. Now to go pick it up!

@cubastreet

Google suggests this:

Those instructions are pretty good. As long as it didnt throw an error code or you could pull the little globe you could ignore most of C1. Dashes are always fiddly to wire anyway. At least yours has great instructions.

Does the digital dash all work? If it works and you like it just terminate it at the fuse box and try and refresh individual wires to the right places. If it doesnt you could always change to a custom analog dash. Would be loads out there to choose from and you'd only ever do it once. The digital dash was prob why it was so hard to find an off the shelf loom. Thankfully being a small block chev you only need three wires or so to run it.

I could park two imps on that! More if they would start to be able to drive onto it.

Oh yeah Id gut that entire loom and start from scratch. With a loom that big I assumed efi/tbi or something. Take one day to gut it entirely. Then a full weekend running each one out one at a time. I prefer American Auto Wire as the wires are a lot softer than your typical Narva branded ones from Repco so you get them out of the way easier. Then you'd never have to worry about it again. I cant seem to find a specific one for 1983 so Id get something generic like this.

I was able to cut off the under-bonnet bracing which made it a little floppy but after the stamping is done I can weld in some box tubing to help out. I've coated it in acid to help keep it from rusting in the meantime. Sadly there was a thick layer of bog on it so it will need a bit of mucking around when it comes back to blend it back in. Dropping it off this weekend so I'll report back when done.

Being an electric motor I assume you could just flip a switch and make it go the other way. With the Thunderstruck control unit that is possible. I think the bigger issue would be battery physical storage. Unless the Leaf batteries can be pulled apart and repackaged or it could take aftermarket batteries it would be hard to fit.

Blimey that is tiny. Who's is that?

Wouldn't mind it if one would fit! If only you didn't sell that Nissan Leaf I didn't know I wanted Hopefully catching up with @cubastreet when he decides to stop holidaying to come up with a plan. I tried fitting the Honda V twin bike engine I had in the parts bin but it is too long. Something I've never had to worry about in my life

GET OUT

Lovely car! What is that loom for? Does it have TBI? I can't quite tell from the pic. I rewired my C20 in a weekend with an American Auto Wire kit. Boring but done and dusted and everything works.

Thanks for the heads up. Seems like a nice guy. For anybody who wants to know: $65 p/hr set up . Marking out , lay-out etc. usually between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 hours. then $3.oo per louver . Edit: More info Louvers are 75mm wide. Allow 29 mm from the opening of one louver to the opening of the next. Also allow 25mm minimum between rows . Allow 25mm on sides , front and rear for tooling , particularly if your leaving the bracing in place.

So this morning at about 5am I started on the engine removal process. Thankfully in an imp it isn't too hard. I have it held in by a couple bolts presently so it can just sit there for a few days so I'm not tripping over it every five seconds. Check out the forbidden caramel topping. So I'm not in this situation again I'm converting to a front mounted radiator. I've always hated the Imp water pump too so both are getting the boot. I have ordered a davies craig pump. Interestingly it was cheaper from Speed Science in NZ than it was from Davies Craig themselves. I still had to get the correct fittings from them still. Unlike Mr Fancy Pants with his pipes under the floor I'll be using the auxiliary rad pipes I already lost half the skin on my knuckles feeding through the bodywork cavities. Problem was that it was a proof of concept hose line I had laying around (it worked) and I should really replace them with new stuff. That will be the suckiest job that ever sucked. I've had to do it on three Imps now and all three jobs I remember clearly for how shit it was. Another job I wanted to do was prep and paint the parts I didn't get to paint. I'll start with the bonnet area as that is the grubbiest and also I need to get the grinder out due to a radiator going in there. Of which I am having a custom one build by A1 Cooling. Interesting to see how it comes out. I really need to sell this Imp but am approaching (likely past) the point of no return fiscally so I might as well do it properly so it can last another 60 years. The next thing on the agenda to sort out is to add louvres to the bonnet. I don't want to cut out the bottom part which I have done in the past as I want to angle the radiator with a slight forward lean so the hot air can escape out the top. There will be a lot of cutting and welding in there however. Might take the fuel tank out first however. Could get a little sparky.