German power meets 60s British? This Husky is far from traditional - but the one behind it really is

[@allareasindex7984]

And somewhere in Germany there are a bunch of BMW motorcycles powered by Imp engines.

[@ppcmagazine]

🤣

[@colinblick8946]

Funny you should say that at Santa Pod some years ago , there was a guy running an Imp engine in his bike😂….. didn’t half shift as well 😎👌🏽👌🏽

[@oliabid-price4517]

There have been several Imp engined bikes over the decades. The Norimp is probably the most well known.

[@g8ymw]

@@oliabid-price4517 In the 70s, the number of sidecar racing outfits with imp engines

[@purehillmanimp]

Being able to cruise happily at motorway speeds and have the power on hand still is a great thing, and the Imp handles the extra power of the BMW engine wonderfully!

[@ldnwholesale8552]

Except the final drive will be painfully low. I have seen Imps with far better engines and transmissions. 13B rotary with Hewland, 4,4 Leyland and VW gearbox, 5 litre Ford on a 5 speedtransaxle of some sort.

[@purehillmanimp]

@@ldnwholesale8552 it’s the same as the Imp final drive because it’s the Imp transaxle, and the bike engine revs higher. I have a BMW converted Imp and despite being on lower profile tyres it sits fine at 80mph.

[@clivewilliams3661]

@@ldnwholesale8552 A scooby fits in the back with an uprated VW or Porsche G50 box or the reverse rotation cwp conversion for the scooby box.

[@clivewilliams3661]

@@purehillmanimp My bog standard 875 Imp engine would rev to 8,000rpm all day and competition units with just a block strengthening kit to 9,500-10,000. The Imp's final drive on 550mm rolling radius tyres will give 14.7mph/1000rpm in top so that at 75mph the unit is turning at 5,000rpm, which is well within its capabilities.

[@PeterWoodx]

Well, that's sold me on bike engine conversions! 😀

[@clivewilliams3661]

Solve the reverse gear problem (speak to Quaife) and it is doable but you won't be allowed to rally it.

[@aliwhitwell]

My dad had a 1966 Imp deluxe in maroon. I was 18 when he owned it and I used to borrow it all the time. I loved that little car and it was quite a nimble little thing.

[@Doms.BMW.IMP.Conversions]

Great video guys! Thanks so much for taking the time to film it.

[@ppcmagazine]

Thank you both for meeting up. It was a fun one 😎

[@kylereese4822]

@@ppcmagazine Imagine a 60kw battery and a Small Tesla Drive unit in one.... (A 50kw battery + Tesla Model 3 Motor gets a land rover past the 150 mile barrier)

[@Sharpey187]

@@kylereese4822 might aswell drive it with a remote control aswell, bloody overgrown RC cars running on batteries 🤦🏻‍♂️ internal combustion will always, ALWAYS! be better 👌🏻

[@mikadavies660]

Great fun.... keeping a classic on the road, whilst making it sound awesome 👌

[@Talltrees-u8u]

Can’t beat sitting down on a Friday with a cuppa and watching Practical Performance car👍 Never to old !

[@ppcmagazine]

🤩 Thank you for that. Makes it all worth it

[@chuckwoodchip1696]

My first car was a husky way back in 1973 loved that car. So wish I still had it. Great to see two fine examples still on the road.

[@maxflight777]

The Tartan , although "Golf"..is also a nod to Linwood ! Love it

[@patrickrooney5130]

I've had 3 imps back in the 70s. Loved them little cars. These 2 car's look fantastic. Good jub guys.

[@jjefferyworboys8138]

The Imp was a great little that never received the acclaim it deserved.

[@ppcmagazine]

Certainly was. Great cars and these two were brilliant examples

[@clivewilliams3661]

The problem with the Imp was that it was too advanced for its time and very staid dealer network. Few mechanics really understood it and few owners knew how to drive it, all that nonsense about having a paving slab in the front boot to make it stay on the road was a case in point..

[@stevewilliams2498]

Gear change didn't perform well. Rubber donuts were 🤔 interesting.

[@byronmills5952]

The gearchange in the Imp is switch like in good order.​@@stevewilliams2498

[@garethmcrae668]

​@@clivewilliams3661two bags of sand in the frunk was mandatory in the snow though.

[@touraneindanke]

I am totally into square design in cars. I drove Simca 1000 times 3 at the time. A Volvo 245 was always my dream car. I wasn’t aware of the existence of these at the time. I really REALLY like the looks of them. I would not have mined them being not the fastest.

[@yoeddynz]

Imps and and alternative engines are a match made in heaven. Especially bike engines :) The paint on that red husky is so deep and lush!!!

[@Ian-nt1qm]

I'm loving this ppc channel. I used to get the magazine every month back in the day, it was by far the best car mag and im really glad to see it on KZbin. I also race with James Winstanley now which is cool, I used to love his turbo'd e30 bmw. Please don't take this as criticism but I think the channel would get way more views if you "modernise" it slightly, maby some funky music and more arty shots of the cars from different angles.... for the youngsters. I'm subscribed either way and I'm looking forward to watching everything you put out, I just want to see my old friend ppc magazine get back on top where it belongs.

[@ppcmagazine]

Thanks for the comments. We appreciate it - and glad you're enjoying. We're always looking for ways to keep things moving forward and to stay relevant, expand our audience, etc. It's been encouraging so far. Hopefully we can keep on an upward trajectory!

[@malcolmcarter1726]

These are great. The first car I ever owned was a Hillman Imp Super. Later I also owned a slightly rarer model, a Singer Chamois. Both these had the 875cc Climax gasket popper lump. However I eventualy got hold of my 'Imp nirvana' in an Imp Rallye. This had the 998cc Coventry Climax engine, and went well. Imps handle real good. Especially with some weight in the trunk (up front) without this they can be prone to skipping. Ie, the front wheels losing traction. A bigger set of 13" or 14" rims sorts it if theyre heavy enough. These Huskys are terrific. They both look and sound epic. Keeping alive a great British car of the 60's. One that I think is way better than the Mini. Minis are great fun to drive, and Ive owned quite a few of them. But without a full roll cage they are total deathtraps. The Imp is a lot stronger up front. In accidents Ive been called to where an Imp was involved, I was always impressed by how robust they were. Great cars. And these two? Terrific work boys. I salute you.

[@johndoyle4723]

Thanks, keeping these models alive is great. Love the ingenuity of the UK modding scene, we have so many small engineering companies who keep these alive. Of course this is all the way up to Formula 1 with many world leading designers and engineers, just a pity we have lost a lot of our mainstream manufacturing.

[@clivewilliams3661]

Shed Engineering is alive and well and living in Britain. It is so well respected that it would be a brave and extremely fool hardy Govt to regulate it as in EU.

[@peterwardle572]

Did you enjoy this video???, well what a question, if it is an IMP or CLAN it must be great, or a Ginetta, or Davrian, or even a Probe, the Imp concept is the best, it will thrash a Mini any day, ask Bill McGovern in the George Bevan Imp.

[@ppcmagazine]

We enjoyed making it immensely - hopefully everyone enjoys watching it as much 😎

[@marklloyd2966]

first car i had was an imp loved it

[@fredericksaxton3991]

In the early 1970's I bought from a friend who had lost his licence a Singer Chamois that he had built for hill climbing and occasional road use. Stage 2 head, twin carbs, very wide wheels. it was fabulous to drive, went like hell 🙂. The only down side was letting it off-cam and having to drop 2 gears to get up again. It was like rowing a boat. Oh, never let off power when going round fast tight corner or you will end up facing the way you had just come from.. Great little car.

[@ppcmagazine]

Glad to jog some memories!

[@fredericksaxton3991]

@@ppcmagazine Thank you. I miss it actually. I ended up snapping the crank shaft in rush hour crawl in Portsmouth one afternoon. I revved the engine to move and it revved Very easily, did not feel right and glanced at the oil pressure guage to see the psi dropping to zero. 😞 Put in a std engine and it sold to a friend of the previous owner.

[@allareasindex7984]

Closed Captioning couldn’t figure out some of the words, but when there was nothing but engine sounds it said “music”! Got that right.

[@JamesPink-j2k]

I had the previous Husky as a first car, followed by a metallic red 998 Hartwell Stiletto (with a black vinyl roof, and then a standard dark blue saloon, lowered and tuned... Great fun!

[@motorcyclementor1785]

I remember the old Huskies, basically a two door Hilman Minx estate/van. I forgot that Imp estates were also called Huskies, Last week I saw a Fiat 500 ( original model) with a BMW flat twin ( 1200) fitted. Interesting to see projects where motorcycle engines are fitted.

[@peterbonnez]

Nice pair of Imps.

[@mnmszerviz]

Thankyou once again - you never fail to brighten my week :-)

[@ppcmagazine]

Glad to be of service 🎉

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Another fantastic video guys, the bike powered Husky sounds ace and looks spot on style wise.

[@iantobanter9546]

My uncle had a Husky van-zero purchase tax! Needed special Bluecol for its aluminium engine. Him and my dad fitted a bench rear seat so I could sit in the back and listen to them chastising the driver in the car in front for not going fast enough uphill, meaning we had to grind the gears here in hilly South Wales.

[@bryansmith1920]

one of my best mates from school in 1968, had a elder Brother, in "IT", So he was rolling innit, Had a Imp, BUT it had one of the first Turbos, don't ask cos I can't remember, But I remember he bought a Glass Fiber body kit, and made me a Petrolhead ever since, First time I had done a TON, @ 70yrs old I've given up my license, and SORN my Audi A3(Mapped as you do)took it for one last blast 124mph, nuff said to all my mates, never lived this long, Great Days

[@jaywalker3087]

When I worked in AnE and an old Paramedic told me about the terrible leg injuries in Imps when they crashed.. The low shelf at knee height to a lot of knee caps out😮😮

[@wackedoutdude]

I once seen a hill imp (sunbeam stiletto). With a vw camper gearbox and a subaru 2.2 engine. Looked amazing.

[@skanti-sp2qz]

Team Hartwell were the boys for Imp engines, memory thinks very high rpm and good power. As I teenager I lived for the monthly copy of CCC as did many others.

[@skanti-sp2qz]

Does anyone know what happened to Terry Grimwood of CCC fame ??

[@paulboyle6857]

There are one or two hillclimb Minis that use the BMW bike cylinder head which fits apparently without major modification to the "A" series engine.A full on race engine with this head would be giving north of 160bhp!

[@madmcadder4536]

Love the red one. There are some great conversions around for classic cars and the BMW engine fits just right.......I wonder if they have cured the understeer that the original had as standard?

[@r1273m]

Very interesting. However, I saw "Husky" and immediately thought of the old Hillman Husky which was a variant of the the MInx, and the van version, the Commer Cob. I suppose, thinking about it they were 1950's not 60's. Back in the 70's my next door neighbour had a Hillman Husky, it had an old side valve engine if I remember rightly. Which I don't do very often at my age!

[@Nite-owl]

Gotta love the Imp platform, but man that front wheel camber looks stupid in the extreme.

[@johnpark-jones4285]

My uncle had a Husky that he called the Smurf hearse.

[@James-ld2jc]

Both are great cars, would be happy with either

[@johns5781]

I had a hillman husky back in the early 80s as a first car colour was blue

[@Jack-bs6zb]

I had a sort of turquoise coloured example. Wish i’d kept it longer. Lots of space in a small car. Much underrated for some reason i never understood.

[@yoeddynz]

Also- very cool to see PPC back. Kevin Leaper did a feature on my rotary chevette many years ago. Was so cool to see it featured.

[@ppcmagazine]

Welcome back 😎

[@malcolm8938]

I've always fancied a bike engined imp. I REALLY want one now!

[@ppcmagazine]

Dom's your man if you need any advice 😁

[@colford8354]

I can sell you one Malcolm with a Honda Blackbird engine in the back. Dom does a great job with the BMW conversions in Imps and his Clan. 👌

[@gothicpagan.666]

That bike engine seems like a great idea. Less than quarter of the cost of doing a 100bhp imp unit. But sounds the same with out the rebuild costs that occur far to often.

[@TD16V]

Those wheels! They just suit it so well. Nice video guys.

[@parrotraiser6541]

The red one looks a bit odd from the front, though I can't say exactly why. I once helped my girlfriend upgrade her standard saloon by fitting most of the interior trim from the Singer fastback variant.

[@johnrockley9472]

Granada TV Rental ran Imp Husky 's as technicians company cars when I joined them in 1971. (YYE778H) We had removable panels to put over the side windows for business use so you could spot where the panels attached. Great little vehicles, bit of a problem if it was fully loaded and you had to add oil or coolant! Great turning circle but care needed as on full lock too much loud pedal the thing would go straight on! Happy days.

[@stevewilliams2498]

Best part of an Imp was the Coventry Climax engine. Take that out and what are you left with ? The old wives tale back in the day was that the Imp van could pull wheelies. Probably need a payload strategically placed ?

[@clangerbasher]

Fond memories of the van.

[@hespie1]

This is so good, just yesterday I found Dom's channel, very neat swap and a great engine. I owned a Sumbeam Imp in NZ in the early 80's, I fixed one crook piston and keep the 875 going for a while longer until she finally died! Do you have a link or contact for Dom?

[@maxflight777]

Dom and Andy...love;ly guys !

[@ImpManiac]

Enjoyed this video. Keep up the great work! Paul 😎

[@ppcmagazine]

Cheers Paul. Glad you enjoyed!

[@shaunw9270]

Both very nice examples .

[@imoovabull6042]

good onya guys. enjoy your rides.

[@davidgerrard8661]

Excellent stuff Bravo 😊

[@ppcmagazine]

Cheers David!

[@philiptidmarsh]

It would great to compare these with Mr Kitch's (Up n Down Vids) Imp 'Hilda' with the saxo engine

[@WorksopGimp]

I remember the Imp but neve seen one like this, some nice Imps to

[@Al-os2cg]

Lovely couple of cars.

[@neiljarvis8911]

Tartan interior fits with cars Scotish routes!

[@3goldfinger]

My first car was a Hilman Imp in 1968, I had to put sand bags in the front to stop it from going all over the place in strong headwind.😂

[@clivewilliams3661]

One thing that always concerns me about the BMW conversion is the absolutely awful inlet tract that must reduce power output from the stock offering. The mention of Rotoflex couplings doesn't identify whether they are the competition units as used on the Elan, as the standard ones simply won't handle the power. These days propshaft coupling donuts i.e. guibo joints are the cheaper and more desireable way to go. They can handle 4-5x what the BMW can put out. Also, the Red Imp appears to be running too much rubber/wheel width and negative camber that would limit the grip and handling.

[@radiogorgie626]

Only around half of the front tyres are in contact with the road. The toe-out also looks pretty big.

[@clivewilliams3661]

@@radiogorgie626 Both the negative camber and the toe are easily cured. For best handling the camber ought to be set to around 1.5 - 2 deg negative (tis looks like 3-4 deg) by either dropping the front pivot and/or adjusting the kingpin mounting. On any modded car there should be two adjustable tie rods as it only came with one and it should be adjusted to 3mm toe-in at ride height. The maximum wheel/tyre combo at the front should be 175/185 wdth of either 50 or 60% aspect on a 6" max rim and that is for a heavyweight car. Stretched tyres just show how badly you are informed and an 8" rim confirms it.

[@bryandickerson5365]

Fantastic! I wish Imps had been a thing here in the states. They’re both aweesome , but I would be especially overjoyed to have one with the BMW engine! Does Andy(?) have any of his conversions in America?

[@peter8084]

Lower the white one, would look so much better !

[@Android-vk8yh]

Love these! Love the sound used to work for telecom and it reminds me of those old vans. Could you put a triumph engine in it to keep it British or would you be able to squeeze a Honda k20 in there? Imagine the power 👍

[@callyboy5228]

Congratulations excellent .

[@philippayne6655]

I had a BMW K1200r bike and I believe the bhp was 163

[@57northphoto32]

Fantastic stuff 👍🏻

[@ppcmagazine]

Thanks 👍

[@Retrobeemer]

Always had a soft spot for Imps. Used to knock on a door in Maidstone that had a Singer Chamois Coupe abandoned on the drive but no-one ever answered the door or responded to my many notes. No mobiles or social media back then. Anywaym great pair of cars. *Wonder whatever happened to Will's UR Quattro?*

[@ppcmagazine]

It's still around! The present owner has it over at Retro Power not far from Leicester. They're featuring the build on their KZbin channel

[@GrahamFootBicycleLover]

Hi Dom, I new if it was an IMP feature you'd be involved.

[@eric-wb7gj]

TY 🙏

[@Avtovaz21057]

imps and shirgley, thats an amazing combination

[@gregorymcnear6474]

Brilliant 👏

[@Yorkyscott]

Brilliant conversion. There's a bloke, in NZ I think, whose put a goldwing flat 6 and Subaru transaxle in an imp

[@volt8684]

Yes its onhere

[@ppcmagazine]

Flight to NZ for us then..!

[@Yorkyscott]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5PdgayHqr9ngs0si=Ac12Qs07ZIB8A2TQ

[@oliabid-price4517]

Yoeddynz is who you mean. Imp club member who used to have a Datsun engine in it iirc.

[@Yorkyscott]

@@ppcmagazine kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5PdgayHqr9ngs0si=1yDd0r-FsDgWzdgv

[@bernardwarr4187]

Great video, great guys great information interesting cars! Great job

[@ppcmagazine]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@chrisweeks6973]

Having previously owned a side-valve Minx saloon and a Minx OHV estate, both of which were totally reliable, I had the misfortune to own a Hillman Imp van, bought new in 1969. It was without doubt the worst vehicle I ever owned. Potentially lethal on cold mornings due to almost zero pick-up from rest until the engine finally warmed - which took around 5 miles - the last straw was when the starter-ring dropped off the flywheel. It was repaired under warranty - no loaner car given - but by then I was completely disenchanted with it and got rid of it very soon afterwards. Its departure was totally unlamented, though the substantial financial loss certainly was.

[@fsmlittler]

The best content so far but where’s the in car? Great tracking shots but please give us more in car. Great footwear😂

[@ppcmagazine]

Noted! Will's now considering a social media account just for his footwear 🤣

[@volt8684]

I had a 998cc wills ringed front rad in 1976 was a blast till I rolled it and hit a telegraph pole end of impact and almost end of me.

[@clivewilliams3661]

I still have a wills ringed 998 sitting in the shed that I will put in my Clan one day. It requires a rebuild but I swapped the 998 out and put a 875 Sport in to compete on a road rally. Even with a cracked manifold and the fact that it wouldn't pull top gear cleanly (we had to stay in 3rd at 8,000rpm all night) we were according to the timecards, running around the top 10 and catching a stage prepped Escort on the twistys when a mistake caused us to roll. That's when I sold the shell and started to build the Clan, which unfortunately stalled due to family and business commitments. One day........

[@weaton25]

I have always liked the Hillman Imp/Husky and like the idea of upgrading the engine but slamming the bloody things down so low makes it look really bad the top half is fare to high if you are going to make it really low you need to go the whole hog and lower the roof down it just looks really stupid to me but its not my car so its your choice.

[@darcyphillips70]

Superb, both of them… S1000RR motor next 🤔🚀

[@ppcmagazine]

Bloody great aren't they :D

[@clivewilliams3661]

The BIG issue with bike engines is that although they have a gearbox, they don't have a reverse gear and the only conversions require the engine to be across the frame that causes a whole host of other issues. The one conversion that has a real attraction is a Scooby in the rear and according to my investigations it will fit the rear Imp engine bay. The gearbox would need to be a fully modded VW van one, Porsche G50 or a Scooby with the reverse rotation CWP. That then requires mods to the cross member and trailing arms which would be far less than the engineering required to convert the imp box to work with the BMW engine.

[@PaulBarber-v9e]

I remember when people put Imp engines in bikes

[@tadficuscactus]

A Honda Goldwing flat 6 could go well in one of those. 1800cc, plenty of torque and 100hp.

[@georgeday5901]

Who's your insurance ,did you have problems getting it insured ,I am talking about the red one with bmw power ?.

[@secretsquirrel6124]

So what is the road tax and mot implications?

[@oliabid-price4517]

No longer MOT exempt due to being a completely different type of engine.

[@stew8584]

The bike engine is a great upgrade and as said completely reversible.

[@KurtRauschmair]

SUPER !TOLLE AUTOS !!! GRÜSSE AUS BAYERN!! SERVUS!!☑☑☑

[@Mardy72]

That red one is the dog's bollocks

[@ppcmagazine]

Certainly is

[@Doms.BMW.IMP.Conversions]

Thanks mate

[@Mardy72]

@@Doms.BMW.IMP.Conversions nah, thank you for allowing us to see your creation. Dad's is fantastic as well, but yours is more my style 😏

[@bossbuick8615]

the negitive camber on the drivers front wheel really looks bad

[@chrisval78]

Your front negative camber looks silly !!!!

[@raymondo162]

a whole video - and you didn't mention how truly dreadful the standard front suspension was.

[@oliabid-price4517]

There's very little wrong with the front suspension on an Imp, it's the rear that does all the work. I've been competing in one for 25+ years...

[@dennismccarthy7032]

❤❤

[@lesklower7281]

I have seen many Hiilman lmp/Husky conversions to the BMW K series engine and l do remember when the BMW K series motor cycles came out also second they were so cheap much cheaper than the Japanese motorcycles that's in Australia but in Australia most British cars are selling really cheap even today but l did see a very nice complete Hillman Imp in reasonable condition sell for aud $9200 which surprised my in Australia classic British cars were popular in tge 1960s but so unreliable there are still many around but people don't daily drive them l had a couple of Hillman Gazzells and one Minx and l can't remember how many head gaskets l replaced on the alloy headed 1725 cc engine but on my 1997 Toyota Hilux that has done 437000 kilometres has the original motor with the original head gasket and it is a nickel iron block with an alloy cylinder head just proved Toyota's are far better built engines than British cars after all you can't buy a new Hillman but l still can buy a brand new Hilux and my Hilux is the best carburatored four cylinder vehicle l have ever owned the most dependent and reliable vehicle l have ever owned and when l bought it 5 years ago l never realised what an indestructible unbreakable and reliable ute l had ever bought and you do realise Toyota has been building vehicles longer than Rootes Group

[@volt8684]

And how many cars does Australia manufacture

[@lesklower7281]

@@volt8684 There is one vehicle manufacturer in Australia they build large 4X4 and 4X6 of road vehicles they build to order a very rare vehicle in Australia but they are around when ever l go to see our son partner and our grand daughter there is a OKA parked in the front yard its been sitting there for years also how many really good cars do Britain build none because they are all rubbish except for the Ariel Atom which uses a Honda engine

[@oliabid-price4517]

And was the hilux engine designed in the 1940's?

[@lesklower7281]

@@oliabid-price4517 No but R series started in the 1950s which developed into the 22R which is considered one of the most reliable engines ever made much more reliable than any British engine made or is still been made is there any British motor ever made or still made ever do 980000 kilometres because l have seen a generation five Toyota Hilux sell that had done 980000 kilometres and the seller have no trouble selling it and another thing is Toyota is not owned by some coglomate and the Bentley is owned by Volkswagen also Rolls Royce is owned by BMW and they are not known for there reliability neither are Volkswagen and Volkswagen built some good vehicles the type 1 type 2 type 3 and the Taro look it up

[@cmalc8]

Anyone remember the Stiletto ?

[@emeraldviking3637]

A baby hearse

[@Insolation1]

Goldwing engine sounds better

[@philco7044]

Superb 👍😎

[@Indigenous51]

Husky ? That’s not a Hillman Husky . My father had one in 64 . It didn’t look like either of those.

[@moyadapne968]

His was probably based on the Minx, Different horse.

[@oliabid-price4517]

That was the earlier incarnation of the Husky. Same name, same maker - different car.

[@petesguitar]

It was the Hillman imp Husky. the Husky designated the van or estate variant the Hillman Minx had a Husky version also.

[@byronmills5952]

The original Huskys were Minx based. When the Audax based Minx was phased out in 1966 to be replaced by the Arrow Minx and Hunter range there was no Husky or Van variant planned or produced. As Rootes had tooled up for a Commer Van variant of the Imp in 1965, when previous Husky production stopped in late 66 - the Imp based Husky came on tap in 1967. The Imp based Husky is a rare beast today - production ran for only 3 years with around 10000 being produced in that time,

[@GlenBoyle-w7v]

The original imp motors where a complete disaster.

[@garethmcrae668]

Head gasket was an issue on our big Scotland trip back in... hmm... 1979