Lot Ended
Description
Bare shell restoration between 2018 and 2020 and carefully
used since; front disc brakes; only 38k miles indicated; super condition; a fun
little road car or an ideal base for a giant-slaying Historic race or rally
car
Every now and
again, a car comes along which deserves to be a lot more successful than it
proves, the Hillman Imp falling nobly into this ‘heroic failure’ category
for Rootes. Code-named Project Apex, it was to be the Rootes Group’s first small
car and they were determined to get it right, work beginning on the car in 1955
and continuing steadily until it was finally ready for launch in 1963 – which
was far too late as the equally brilliant Mini, launched in 1959, had by then
stolen all its thunder.
Despite having fine handling by virtue of its
all-independent suspension, an innovative opening rear screen, and a superb
rear-mounted, race-derived, all-alloy Coventry Climax engine mated to a
brilliant baulk-ring synchromesh transaxle that was far superior to the one
found in the Mini, it just didn’t catch the imagination of the public like
it’s Swinging Sixties rival and sales never came anywhere close to
those that Rootes had envisaged.
The press loved
it though: “The Imp can be hurled into corners at speeds which would be suicidal
with most saloons… The performance is astonishingly lively for an 875cc car and
bears comparison with many family saloons up to 1600cc… The gearchange is quite
certainly one of the best, if not the best we have ever
handled… If Rootes cannot sell 150,000 Imps a year, we shall eat our editorial
hat,” gushed The Motor in 1963.
We can only hope that
the hat tasted good because eat it they surely did – in 13 years only 440,000
Imps were sold before production finally ground to a halt in 1976. A shame, as
the Imp was a clever and bold design with an eminently tuneable high-revving
engine that made it a great success in competition, notably the 1965 Tulip Rally
in which the works Imps of Rosemary Smith and ‘Tiny’ Lewis finished first and
second overall. It still has a loyal following today and owners tend to hang on
to them for years.
First registered in June 1972,
this Hillman Imp Deluxe has had six owners to date, the first owner keeping it
right up until 2013, according to HPI, a period of 41 years. Sadly there is no
early history with the car, but the service section of the owner’s handbook has
one stamp which seems to be from September 1991 (the year is hard to read – see
last photo) when it was showing only 519 miles – make of that what you
will.
The fifth owner was a Guildford gent who
kept the car from 2017 – 2022 during which time he stripped it to a bare shell
and rebuilt it as a lockdown project. He then sold the car via an auction in
Surrey in September 2022, the mileage at this point being 37,751 which was said
by the auction house to be genuine. The engine and gearbox were also said to be
the original units fitted from new.
The auction
description also stated that the following work had been carried out: new front
inner and outer wheel arches; new inner and outer sills; colour change from red
to gunmetal metallic; all original glass and chrome; new interior fitted with
Ford Fiesta front seats; new grey carpets; new rubbers and tailgate seals; new
front and rear shock absorbers; front disc brake conversion with all new brake
hoses and master cylinders; new clutch and slave cylinders; Minilite alloy
wheels and new tyres; reconditioned radiator with electric fan, new water pump
and cooling hoses; alternator conversion; new exhaust
silencer.
Our vendor acquired the car at the
auction and in 2023 he had it professionally repainted in its original colour of
Firebrand Red (code 137). He also removed the Ford Fiesta seats and fitted
correct front and rear Hillman Imp seats.
Other
work carried out by the vendor includes: replacement front and rear coil
springs; new spark plugs; new fuel filter; gearbox oil change; fresh
anti-freeze; reconditioned water pump – all shown in invoices on file. Other
work not invoiced includes: new radiator; new battery; new fan belt; new
thermostat.
The vendor states that: “The car
starts from cold quickly and travelled over 120 miles in hot summer weather with
no issues whatsoever – a testament to the overhaul of the cooling system, pipes,
radiator, thermostat and water pump”.
Supplied
with two sets of keys, it also comes with a few recent invoices, the original
owner’s handbook and a highly detailed 300+ pages factory workshop
manual.
As you can see in the photos, this
low-mileage Imp looks to be in generally very good order throughout. It has been
starting promptly and running very nicely as we have moved it around on site,
with amazingly lively performance thanks to its minimal weight.
With independent suspension and a rear-mounted
engine, these Imps have tremendous traction and rev to 8,000rpm which has earned
them a reputation as proper ‘giant-slayers’ in all forms of Historic motor sport
from hill climbs, sprints and trials to grass track and circuit racing.
This freshly rejuvenated example looks like a
lot of fun at the modest guide price suggested.
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com