dmulally’s 1965 Hillman Imp

[dmulally]

I think the first thing I need to try and rule out is electrical back feed. I have twin spal fans, a gearbox cooler fan, and a really cool Kenwood amp and I really can't recall how I installed any of it and if they even have relays or not.

I'll be putting the same amp in the Imp. What it does is do away with the head unit. It is bluetooth from my phone and is hidden tucked away under the dash. I thought about getting those retro looking head units but couldn't decide which one. This way I get to listen to sweet tunes without having a crap neon flashing abomination blinding me at night with the wrong time. 

It's the size of your hand. 

[dmulally]

Engine out. Now to refit the VW box so I can sort the shifter and measure up the half shafts. Which might be tricky with no engine in there so that may have to wait. 

[dmulally]

With the adapter plate re-machined Im pretty sure it is ready to go. There were quite a few odds and ends in the kit left over that I couldn't tell what they were for so I'm hoping I either didnt need them or they were from the wrong kit. 

It's all torqued up now anyway so the next time I'll know it's wrong is when I test drive it. 

Quite a few things will need to happen before then however. Such as cutting a hole in the floor for the box, sorting a shifter, and custom made half shafts. 

 

[dmulally]

So I finally got the engine mounted into the Imp with the freeway flyer gearbag. A lot of installing and uninstalling to see what works best where. As usually with these things it is a case of compromise and the least shit option which is to be expected. With the adapter plate and the VW being a bigger box I thought it would push the engine past the rear crossmember. Turns out that it's actually a shorter box and the engine was back towards the front by several inches. Therefore the carbs were hitting the firewall. Did not expect that one!

So I had to make up a new gearbox mount bracket that pushed it rearwards 50mm. It will make the hump under the seat easier to make and possibly the linkage. New one installed here with me holding up the old one. 

The one issue this cause was that the output shafts on the gearbox are now further back. Annoying but seeing as there was always an angle to them it isn't that big of a deal. Except now the half shafts foul the exhaust. They had to come off and Ill have to cut a bit of length out of them. 

So out the pipes came and I got to chopping off the ends of the half shafts to line them up. 

I lined them up as best I could and scribed them for the engineer. 

 

I scribed them at full CV range with the wheel side at suspension stock level so I assume the engineer will weld it in the middle. He is a clever guy and I didn't want to tell him how to do his job so I'm interested to see what he comes up with. 

I took them in at lunch and he'll get around to it when he can. He promised to tack them up and I'll double check they fit ok before he finalises it. 

[dmulally]

Thanks to @yoeddynz not copywriting his shifter set up I copied his.

Came out reasonably well I thought. The centre shaft bearing is a little sloppy but Ill see how it drives before replacing it with a rose joint. Maybe with the engine vibration it needs a little play. Ill have to confirm the shifting pattern when I get the half shafts back too. 

Really unhappy with how my welder is performing so before I do any more welding I need to purchase a new one. It'll do for this job however. I had a wire feed problem that I have fixed but it is temperamental. Sometimes it produces a nice weld and others it just blobs right up to the tip. Frustrating.

The shifter is a VW shaft slid down inside the stock Imp shifter and rosette welded in a few places as well as round the collar. 

Still need to make the cover for it that will fit under the seat yet but I'll get onto that asap. 

[dmulally]

After nearly three months my half shafts are done. Thankfully they fit really well and no binding with the full suspension travel. How he did it was to make a jig out of angle iron. The Imp end was a few mm smaller so he stepped the jig to compensate. Then notched a V into the ends of both and lots of welding to fill it up. He checked the balance and said they were fine. 

In the meantime I have installed the slave and bled it with the trusted broomstick method. On the hoist the gears shift fine and no crunching and I can even find reverse which is novel in this thing. I presently have the coolant bleeding itself and have remade the radiator mount. The bolts welded into the side for mounting it were flimsy junk so I had to come up with a new solution which seems ok but may hinder my chances of putting on an electric puller fan. 

I have a short list of works to finish before going to LVV but mostly bodywork and fine tuning. I'll see how it feels after the test drive which all being well should be this evening. Sadly I have to spend time sorting my C20 for the wof fails. I really need to find a new place. 3rd wof in a row I have failed on a ball joint that was fine the previous wof. The chances of three ball joints that are 60 years old failing one at a time every six months is a little disappointing for me. Especially as the replacement always feels worse to me but passes. Oh well. I have this year to get down to 2.5 wofs and I'm on a mission!

[dmulally]

Reminder for myself next time I wonder why it is taking off so slowly. 

[dmulally]

Went for a decent blat into town tonight. A few things to note before I forget. 

Cruises at 2200rpm at 100kph and has buckets of power upwards from that so the gearing is spot on. Maybe because Im used to a shitty old slow chevy but it feels like a rocket. 

Makes a weird noise for a second on startup. 

The sump is too low. Either I have to put in stock springs or modify the sump. @cubastreet got any spare sump pans?

The oil filler pipe is now hitting the firewall so I have to modify that again. 

Second is a bitch to find from 3rd but I'll get used to it. It has enough torque to take off in 4th but I'll leave the clutch alone. 

I might make the aux water pump booster linked to the ignition as I forgot to turn it on. 

It's criminal me having this car and living 10kms from a decent corner. It wants to corner. 

 

[dmulally]

If anybody is going to call @yoeddynz a cunt then I'd appreciate it if you put the word rad in front of it. 

His embarrassingly lame MS paint drawing dumbing it down to my level worked and I now have a proper shift pattern. Happy days. 

[dmulally]

Right then. Booked in for cert inspection in two weeks or so. This is the remaining list which I hope to cross off one item a day.

[dmulally]

First job ticked off. Welded up a box for the gearbox cover. The only thing it does is provide access to the selector uni grub screw. Even that's pointless if when taking the engine and box out I slide it backwards. If the engineer asks me to weld it in it wont be a big deal. Just a faff around with making sure it doesnt catch fire. 

I have to put the rear seat back in sans some springs in the middle. No biggy.