1965/67 Hillman Imp pick-up (lots of panels)

Cowl bolt hole probably the one that also led to the casting and stamping mounts being snapped off - Shame you were not doing this 12months ago as I threw out a couple of good cowls and fans. When the bolts seize into the water pump casting they can seize good.

And that interesting fan belt usually found on Myford lathes - I hope that the timing pointer was not actually used to set the timing.

The manual says fit it the other way up so it has the TDC stamped on it facing you. That way up the timing would be set 15-20 degrees out.

The pointer that way round sets everything about 25 degrees retarded.





Interesting that the DC are the same just the T inverts - Honest mistake?

That's the way it should have been from the start I.M.O. on the MR2 (similar layout but mid engined) its designed that way, the combination of roof spoiler & boot spoiler creates a low pressure area above the engine lid that sucks the air up from under the car, it's that powerful it can lift an unlatched engine at 40/50 mph.
There is a small electric cooling fan, but that only runs when at low speed (less than 5mph or stationary)

So not a great deal has been done on the Imp last few weeks but I did buy a big box of generator/water-pump fixtures and fittings.

Why?

Well my casting & plate are damaged and I'm not sure if I'll be going with alternator or dynamo and the whole lot was only £20 inc P&P so I thought I'd go for it and learn something along the way and have the option re the generator and/or whatever is correct for my car.

Also. The guy had listed a joblot of air-cleaners for ages and eventually I bid on them, thinking no-one else would, and missed out on the auction by a £ or so. And I don't have any airbox at all (other than the Sport type) so I decided I wasn't missing out on this one.

So the box arrived and I have, in addition to my original bits, 5 castings; 7 plates; 4 arms and a number of original fasteners plus a weird bit of shiny metal that someone added to theirs. A heat-shield perhaps.

I have got as far as dismantling the assembled ones, checking all the plates, castings and arms for numbers and differences and then put the assembled ones back together until I know what I have.

So far all the plates are identical apart from my original (which has no captive-nut) and one of the new ones. This has a spacer/collar pressed into the top hole. None of the others have this.

The castings show several different numbers but they don't indicate differences. I have 1/2; 2/1; 2/2; 3/2. 3 of the 6 have 1/2 on them and they are all different,

There are 2 different lengths of arms but within that the long arms have different length slots in them. And my original arm (alternator?) has a shallower bend than all the others.

So there's quite a lot going on there and it's very possible that that assemblies I have might have been tampered with before so I can't say for sure that a particular arm definitely goes with a particular bracket or plate.

There is one pair which definitely go together tho. The casting has a machine area that none of the others have and that goes with the plate that has the extra collar (mentioned above). This casting has the 3/2 on it and a couple of other minor differences but I think the 3/2 is of no actual consequence.



joblot of bits for £20. front



and back



3 lone plates from haul look identical to my (damaged) original


but mine doesn't have the captive-nut


all the same dimensionally



4 adjuster straps from the haul. only 2 are identical



straps from haul have much deeper profile than my one



four castings (front mounts) showing different numbers


7010044 1/2


7010044 2/1


7010044 2/2


7010044 3/2


all these castings have 7010044 1/2
but all differ




7010044 3/2 casting has these differences



7010044 3/2 casting with its plate (rear mount) and strap



plate for 7010044 3/2 casting has integral spacer



short part of spacer fits in machined area on casting


So I've studied the parts list in detail and posted some of these pics on Facebook Imp group and am still pretty confused. The chances of finding any of these NOS is almost zero so it's difficult to match any of them to the part numbers in the parts list.

There are drawings in the parts list but they aren't identical to the parts I'm seeing.

The parts list is also very confusing as it seems to dwell on certain parts being 'except Sport & Stiletto' and 'Sport & Stiletto' but afaik Sport/Stiletto models were fitted with dynamos like standard models so why would they need different fixtures? Were the dynamos perhaps slightly different on these models.

There are entries in the parts list for cars with alternator and it would seem that my 3/2 casting and its plate are for the alternator set-up but that's also puzzling as my car has an alternator but doesn't have these brackets.

Also the parts list shows that fro dynamo-equipped cars there was a separate spacer (either 0.5" or 1.6") for the position the alternator brackets have the integral one so it seems all cars needed one anyway.

Lastly the rear support-bracket (ie the non-pulley end) for the alternator doesn't show at all in the parts list but I have one and have also found a pic online of another which differs very slightly



no entries in parts list for alternator rear support-bracket but there are at least 2 types

So still no response from Bob's Affordable Classics and am rather down about that but, hey, maybe I won't have such a conscience about letting others down - myself. Certainly makes business easier by just ignoring anything you don't fancy....

Anyway. After looking for some time I got a suitable size telescopic bore-gauge to measure the Imp bores for wear.

I've no intentions of looking for oversize pistons or anything if they are worn but just out of interest I want to know what's what. I've also got a bottom-end gasket set.

So today I measured the bores in 6 places on each bore and wrote it all down. Then I quickly 'glaze-busted' one of the rusty bores to see if they were getting a lot bigger.

I've not analysed the data yet or compared it with tolerances but the good news is the honing doesn't seem to be ruining things and is taking away the rust spots



bottom-end gaskets




Lushington bore gauge



no size on the gauge but it covers the Imp bore size




current condition of bores



measuring



after very quick hone



comparison

What you need to compare is the bores to the pistons - Measure the piston at 90 to the gudgeon and then compare that to the figures you are getting to the bores - 1-2 thou is alright - 5-8 thou is getting pretty worn.

I believe Triumph Stag shims will fit.... And come in a greater range of thickness.

#standstobecorrected

OVIMOR