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Thread: Hillman Imp 1963-1976

  1. #1
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    Hillman Imp 1963-1976

    The Hillman Imp is a small economy car that was made by the Rootes Group and its successor Chrysler Europe from 1963 until 1976. Revealed on 3 May 1963, after much advance publicity, it was the first British mass-produced car with the engine block and cylinder head cast in aluminium.

    Being a direct competitor to the BMC's Mini, it used a space-saving rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout to allow as much luggage and passenger capacity as possible in both the rear and the front of the car. It used a unique opening rear hatch to allow luggage to be put into the back seat rest.

    It was the first mass-produced British car with the engine in the back and the first to use a diaphragm spring clutch. The baulk-ring synchromesh unit for the transaxle compensated for the speeds of gear and shaft before engagement, from which the Mini had suffered during its early production years.

    It incorporated many design features which were uncommon in cars until the late 1970s, such as a folding rear bench seat, automatic choke and gauges for temperature, voltage and oil pressure.

    This unorthodox small/light car was designed for the Rootes Group by Michael Parkes (who later became a Formula One driver) and Tim Fry. It was manufactured at the purpose-built Linwood plant in Scotland. As well as the Hillman marque, there was a series of variations, including an estate car (the Husky), a van and a coupé.

    The Imp gained a reputation as a successful rally car when Rosemary Smith won the Tulip Rally in 1965. That led the Rootes Group to produce a special rally conversion of the Imp under both the Hillman and Singer marques, known as the Imp Rallye. In 1966, after winning the Coupe des Dames, Smith was disqualified under a controversial ruling regarding the headlamps of her Imp. The Imp was also successful in touring car racing when Bill McGovern won the British Saloon Car Championship in 1970, 1971 and 1972.

    Considered ahead of its time, the Imp nevertheless suffered from reliability problems, which harmed its reputation and led to the Rootes Group being taken over by Chrysler Europe in 1967. The Imp continued in production until 1976, selling just under half a million units in 13 years.

    Design and development
    Known internally within the Rootes Groups as the APEX project, the Imp came about because of the fuel shortage caused by the Suez Crisis in 1956. Petrol was rationed in the UK, sales of the heavy cars for which Rootes was known had dramatically slumped, and there was a huge market for small economical cars with low fuel usage. The BMC's Mini had already taken advantage of the opportunity, with production starting in 1959. Although the project officially began in 1955, the market for small cars was soon recognised and it was evident that the project would evolve into Rootes' first small, economical car.

    Seeing an opportunity, Mike Parkes and Tim Fry offered to design the car: "Well, Mike Parkes and I were very good friends. So we went to the director of engineering, B. B. Winter, and said to him we could design you just the car we want. And he said: 'Alright, get on with it then!'". The early stages of development presented "The Slug", which had clear similarities to a bubble car. However, the Rootes design board were not satisfied with this approach, and ordered the design team to press forward. That led to the next stage of the Slug, which appeared more utilitarian with appropriate styling.

    Extensive road testing was carried out in Norway in winter conditions, East Africa in the height of summer and in Arctic conditions in Canada by a small team led by Ken Sharpe (Chief Development Engineer, Ryton).

    Mark I : 1963-1965
    The Hillman Imp was officially announced on 2 May 1963, when HRH Duke of Edinburgh was invited to open the factory in Linwood. After the opening, he then drove a silver Imp to Glasgow Airport. One of the first Imps produced is currently on display at the Glasgow Museum of Transport. Another early example from 1963 is at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, with the registration 1400 SC.

    Before and after its announcement, the Imp garnered significant attention from the motoring press. In 1962, the Small Car & Mini Owner magazine published an article titled "Enter the AJAX!", particularly noting the all-aluminium water-cooled rear engine. The same year, the Daily Express published an article titled "It's the new 'baby'", calling it "the first baby car ever built by the Rootes Group". In June 1963, the Motor Sport magazine commented on the press' reaction to the Imp who strongly favoured the Imp in terms of its engine, gearbox and competitive price; at launch, the standard model cost £508 1s 3d, while the deluxe version was £532 4s 7d.

    The name "Imp" was originally the name of an engine produced by Ailsa Craig Ltd, a manufacturer of marine engines. In 1962 the company was acquired by Warsop Fram Group, and all of Ailsa Craig Ltd's assets were up for sale. The Warsop Fram Group traded the Imp name to the Rootes Group in exchange for a new Humber Super Snipe motor car. The namesake was to emphasize its small-size, and to help it sell as the obvious competitor for the Mini.

    The water-cooled four-cylinder power unit was based on the Coventry Climax FWMA fire pump engine, featuring an all-aluminium alloy overhead camshaft, combined with a full-syncromesh aluminium transaxle. This combination was very advanced at the time. Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the BMC's Mini, had recently described the fitting of syncromesh on all forward gears as "impossible". Besides the engine's unique design, it was canted at a 45° angle to keep the center of gravity low and optimise road-holding.

    As reported in tests such as The Practical Car and Driver, rear-engined cars generally suffer from oversteer handling characteristics to some extent, and to counteract that as much as possible, the Imp has a semi-trailing arm independent rear suspension system. The relatively costly and sophisticated solution, atypical for small-car design at the time, was insisted upon by its designers after lengthy testing of a Chevrolet Corvair with swing axles. To attain balanced handling, the Imp actually used swing axle geometry at the front, but that initially led to too much understeer, and the camber was later reduced by lowering the pivot points.

    Gradually increasing in popularity in the UK, Mark I sales in 1963 were estimated at 33,000, and increased to 50,142 in 1964. However, Imp sales decreased in 1965 to 42,663. Reliability problems had quickly surfaced, mainly due to poor cooling of the rear engine, and the public image of the car was becoming negative. That was extremely worrying for the Rootes Group who were trying to compete with the Mini, production of which totalled 1,190,000 during the 1960s.

    The Mark I was introduced as a 2-door saloon, which appeared in two models; the Basic and De Luxe. In October 1964, a luxury edition was introduced, known as the Singer Chamois.

    Source: Wikipedia
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  2. #2
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    MoS, you've been busy! It's always a pleasure to click "New Posts" and to see you've been on a rampage in the Hideout again.

    Do you have any photos of racing Imps? I have a softspot for these little guys even though Rootes Group vehicles throw up all the warning flags: British-built and Chrysler flimsiness! While Fords and GMs have a something of a simple (read:cheap) ruggedness, Chryslers of that period and beyond simply do not in this American's eyes.
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13 View Post
    MoS, you've been busy! It's always a pleasure to click "New Posts" and to see you've been on a rampage in the Hideout again.

    Do you have any photos of racing Imps? I have a softspot for these little guys even though Rootes Group vehicles throw up all the warning flags: British-built and Chrysler flimsiness! While Fords and GMs have a something of a simple (read:cheap) ruggedness, Chryslers of that period and beyond simply do not in this American's eyes.
    Nice to read that, thank you! The Hide Out could use some updates in these silent times ;-)

    This is the only Imp picture I have alas. I haven't checked on Google though. Funny little car indeed.

  4. #4
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    Hillman Imp #2
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Revo View Post
    Hillman Imp #2
    Nice additions!

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