The Hillman Imp: A Failed Vanguard

[@fionnd321]

Wake up babe, new Intergalactic Binman just dropped

[@bobertfw]

Didn’t you tell me the same when said by Ty posted.. “I’m up, I’m up babe!”

[@fluffytoaster2099]

lemme sleeeEEEEPPPP

[@penskepc2374]

Always a good sign when you see one of these comment on a channel you just found. 😂

[@WoodworkingforAnyone]

Dumb over played comment

[@OltsuSuomesta]

Your channel near-singlehandedly feeds my fetish for British cars

[@anusername8350]

There are much worse fetishi out there. But not many that are more frustrating and money consuming.

[@MoritzBertram]

@@anusername8350 fetishi?

[@benfarina6512]

@@anusername8350German cars?

[@BFB_tg]

Absolutely agree!! Everything is so sunk in a Mini and RR reviews that Binman is indeed gonzo trader for this goodies

[@AnimarchyHistory]

All hail the Hillman imp!

[@Caarajack]

Yet another fascinating tale how Brits managed to sabotage their promising car industry. Keep up the good work!

[@jonytube]

Leave it to the Brits to screw over the Brits.

[@DailyLifeSolution]

Government did it, not Britishmen.

[@Hartley_Hare]

@richardharrold9736 Exactly. We've done all of this to ourselves.

[@Hartley_Hare]

@richardharrold9736 It honestly baffles me. There's so much engineering talent alongside so much galloping idiocy that it's remarkable. In Stalin's Russia, they'd have been denounced as wreckers but it wasn't deliberate - it's well-intentioned and systematic bad decision-making. At every stage.

[@Hartley_Hare]

@richardharrold9736 That as well. They seemed to see buying one of their cars as some kind of privilege, open only to the very few. Not a great model for creating happy customers.

[@alarmedresponse]

British government try not to ruin your domestic industry challenge (impossible)

[@ryanjonathanmartin3933]

I mean, those were the guys who elected BoJo... it's their greatest talent

[@captaindreadnought212]

My dad has been a life long Mini fan (he's had 4 of them) but he told me recently that he did actually consider an Imp as his first car, I like to imagine that in some parallel universe he's a hardcore Imp fan

[@20chocsaday]

If only he had seen that gearbox. There was a cutaway box on display that demonstrated exactly how it worked. No oil necessary to let it turn very smoothly.

[@LordAzran_]

William Rootes single handedly passing up the Volkswagen Beetle and leading to the creation of the Porsche empire made me grimace so hard. Something I definetely didn't know. Great job Intergalactic Binman!

[@indigohammer5732]

My Dad worked as a spray painter in Linwood BMC Pressed Steel Div, painting Hillman Imp's. He said the bodies were hung on a constantly moving belt which passed by a team of painters who sprayed hot paint as they passed. Management, sped the line up, without notifying the workers which caused real problems. Someone stuck a large metal rod into the line, stopping all production. Management reset the line speed. My dad was given "Martindale Masks" to prevent the inhalation of paint. These were essentially, large sanitary towels that you would press against your mouth and nose with a soft metal "frame" which attached round your head. One was never enough so my Dad used three or four pads but would still finish the shift coughing up phlegm which was the colour applied that day. The Imp had a big asbestos mattress, colloquially called a "Tottie Scone", which was place in the engine compartment for sound and heat insulation. People who did this job weren't subject to the 1931 Asbestos Industry Regulations, so didn't get masks or routine x rays. Oh aye! Linwood went on strike due to someones lunch being cold.

[@Boskikker]

The cameo with Lazerpig was amazing would love to see him again in future videos!

[@Del_S]

I'm from Linwood and the car factory's shenanigans are still to this day legendary in the area. But at least in 2023 we have a Taco Bell and a Nandos so there's that. And the Tesco that replaced the old run down shopping centre has made it almost a decade without becoming a complete tip yet, though they kinda let half the plants they put in die so they might be working on it.

[@gavinsreid]

Fuckin mad Linwood has a taco bell innit? The only other town that has one around here is Irvine (from bad to possibly worse).

[@douglasmclaughlin4173]

I lived in Linwood as a boy of 15, in 1983. Worked in Irvine, too, much later. Never had a Taco Bell, though🫠

[@HardThrasher]

Ah the Imp...a beautiful little banger

[@apainintheaas]

Holy sh*t, it's Lazerpig! Didn't expect this crossover

[@InterSev]

Another banger video and an unexpected but very welcomed special guest feature. I remember James May's Cars of the People mini series talking about how the Allies rejected taking over the soon-to-be VW plant. Didn't know Rootes was one of the ones that said no. One of the most colossal facepalm moments of all time.

[@imadequate3376]

This channel should have more than 31k subs. Shout out to lazerpig for spotlighting this absolute gem

[@butchblaster7073]

Dude please keep making these. I really enjoy your style of editing and narration. A lot of car content is way too serious for my taste.

[@DailyLifeSolution]

The editing is no unique or different, but the narration is funny.

[@kiritanJ]

"A lot of car content is way too serious..." Really? Cough Jeremy Clarkson

[@kiritanJ]

Or was "I" too serious here? Hahaha

[@sorrymabbad]

Holy shut, this just solved one of my family's mysteries, which was "What car did my great-great-uncle imported from his time in Singapore?" Sharing this to my dad and the family chat, love your work mate, keep it up!

[@DAVEMUGF]

Having owned both I am certain that the Imp was the superior car. That engine was ridiculously good.

[@thatguyuk1]

My Mum had a imp, and loved it. She used to never struggle driving in the snow in her imp. My dad had the husky and they were both comfortable and spacious. I never knew that roots started from that building in Maidstone, its a marvellous bit of Art Deco.

[@nolanfoutz3472]

I love that lazer pig made a little cameo about Scotland

[@henrymorrison7891]

I swear these videos are better quality than most cars that came out of leyland

[@darraghmckenna9127]

Intergalactic Bin-man with LazerPig Cameo. It truly is a lovely day

[@IainShepherd1]

@13:01 when the name of my hometown popped up at this moment I got the biggest gut laugh I have ever had on KZbin. Came back just to see it again

[@saxon-mt5by]

I have owned both Mini and Imp; I would be delighted to have another Imp in my garage, but have no desire to ever sit in a Mini again. The Imp surpassed the Mini in just about every aspect, but could never catch up those lost four years which gave the Mini its head start in the market.

[@joeblow9657]

Love the Twitter diss and the description of Scotland. No wonder Lazerpig drinks so much. Also, for some reason I'm fascinated about British auto manufacturing history. If you're ever interested. I'd like to see a video about Canadian automakers.

[@EmyrDerfel]

I forget Canada had their own automotive brands because they all turned into local manufacturers for rebadged US brands.

[@joeblow9657]

@@EmyrDerfel So we haven't for over a century but we have had a lot of assembly plants and parts contractors in Canada.

[@EmyrDerfel]

@@joeblow9657 to be fair, its the same as what happened to Vauxhall, becoming rebadged Opel's, then more recently rebadged Peugeots.

[@expo4266]

One Patreon idea would be to offer full resolution images of the amazing thumbnails used on the videos. (and maybe another variant without the text) It'd probably end up being many people's wallpapers.

[@IntergalacticBinman]

I'd have to talk with Dix-Neuf about that, the thumbnails are ultimately theirs and I'm not comfortable making money from content that is made by someone else. They have put most of the thumbnails they've done for me on their twitter account, so go check them out!

[@kivi5586]

The LazerPig bit made me lay on the floor in tears while laughing my ass off

[@musewolfman]

Jesus fuck, the Stilleto looks amazing... I want one. Also, I think I may have said it on another video, but I absolutely love that you include album covers whenever you mention a year, and that you list all the songs you use in the chapters.

[@jordancohen5349]

What a great story, The beetle kicker at the end made me laugh

[@LolixLP]

The injection of funds from Chrysler was very fitting imagery.

[@nickbarton6022]

Superb. It seems that no matter how much I think I know about a car story or how many other documentaries I’ve watched, you always, without fail provide some new insights and information. Just brilliantly researched stuff, every time.

[@SamSilvercoin]

Each upload is a gift, bloody love an imp.

[@SamSilvercoin]

You did miss mention of the first DCT being in an imp! Crazy innovative gearbox.

[@RichardDzien]

Oh yes. The unexpected appearance of Lazerpig! I want all my history delivered by a drunk pig.... Seriously, he's awesome!

[@extrudatinoal]

I swear to god. When I saw the Rover video, after never seeing one. TWO V8 Rovers drove me a few days later. When the Facel video dropped, someone randomly popped up to talk about their ownership of one. I'm waiting to see a Imp within the next two weeks.

[@Megabob777]

I find the imp charming for some reason

[@jimnicholas7334]

I'm not a car guy, but the pig sent me here and I'm staying! Any cameos from said pig are absolutely welcomed but not needed for me to stick around ^^

[@Evolution_Kills]

This is my kind of weird car bullshit, and is right up there with RCR. Keep up the most excellent work my dude.

[@valiantdiesel1332]

Well, I want a Sunbeam Stiletto Coupe now, thanks Binman

[@chrisyboy219]

To be fair, Linwood was more or less a town that popped up out of a village to feed the local car industry. In those days it was regarded as a modern, clean, semi-decent place to live and full of hope for the future. Like most of Scotland has been, at one point or another. The brutalist architecture seen there was reminiscent of the car plant itself, and with the plant gone it just looks out of place. Most of it is a new Tesco now, and most of the car plant is an Asda and a McDonald's. PROGRESS! 😂

[@phillydelphia8760]

Cool points for the brief MF Doom interlude 👌

[@RedCruuve]

the only thing I know about the hillman imp is that my grandad owned one and managed to roll it over with him and my dad inside

[@jamespocelinko104]

The more I learn about British car history the more I understand the Top Gear/Grand Tour trio's distain for old British cars such as the Morris Marina and Austin Allegro.

[@wirebrushofenlightenment1545]

Brilliant choices of stock footage. I found myself pausing and going back so many times. And Lazerpig!

[@moochincrawdad]

You obviously have a talent for this kind of stuff - kudos! 😀

[@tylerroland1115]

Who knew Eminem's "Sicko Mode" had those lyrics. Another classic documentary shining a light on more than just a lesser-known economy car from days past

[@Vanquish.0909]

I ain't even into cars bro, but your vids are kinda getting me there. Awesome work as always.

[@girthquake1413]

TIME is the best ELO album Man, it's like god didn't want the UK to have a motoring industry sometimes

[@AtheistOrphan]

‘Just on the border of your waking mind……’

[@S0RGEx]

I know nothing about cars and honestly never really cared for them, but your videos are super interesting.

[@leecline5759]

Great video as always, great commentary and visuals. My only gripe is the Corvair dig. The Corvair as it came from the factory was a fine handling car for the era in America. The issue that everyone worrries about with the car came from people failing to maintain the trie pressure differential between the front and rear tires. Chevy chose that option over the anti-roll bar they later added because it was free and already in use by the VW Beetle and the Renault Dauphine. In 1962 added the alternate anti-roll bar solution that resolved the issue as an option, and it was a standard feature in 1964. In 1965 the Corvair got a face lift and a brand new Corvette-derived independent suspension to replace the swing axle design. That is all to say the Swing Axle in the Corvair was not nearly the issue Nader made it out to be. The Corvair was a innovative compact car for the time and it sucks that it was poisoned by a lawyer who didn't know what he was taking about. Alright, autistic rant over.

[@leecline5759]

@richardharrold9736 I don't like the Swing Axle, it's a bad design choice that did need bandaids to make it work right, and on top of that I prefer the 2nd generation's bodywork to the original. Neither of those facts make me hate the original, or make it the death trap Nader made it out to be. If it was anywhere as dangerous as he claimed it would have shown up in the NHTSA tests in the 70s.

[@Jo3man96]

My Dad had a mini and a Singer Chamios (rebadged slightly posher imp), as well as a minor in his younger days. It seems his abiding memory of the Chamios was that he kept having to stop to let it cool down and top up the radiator.

[@DominikMaslyk]

Up here in the Scottish Highlands the Imp has a cult following, I’ve seen a fair few in a couple of local car shows. I saw a Stiletto in a recent car show actually. I kinda want it tbh has that quirk factor like the 126

[@_me___]

Based new small channel with high production quality and effort moment

[@meatballboi5783]

Plz make a full SAAB video. I get sad eveytime I hear it’s name and I want something to make me fully cry again. Also there isn’t really that much good content and or documentaries about SAAB on the internet that arn’t quite boring. Thus I lay the task at your toes.

[@ConradNeill]

I, too, shed a tear if I hear the name SAAB. The Life and Death of SAAB by Regular Car Reviews is worth a watch, and it might fill the gap until Binman comes through with something.

[@Low760]

Regular car reviews did a 2hour video on it.

[@davidty2006]

SAAB, from cars to weapons of mass destruction.

[@freshtea228]

I found this channel when I was super stoned and now I get inspired to host Automation/BeamNG build challenges by these Videos. I love it!

[@AsbestosMuffins]

Paisley, the Gary Indiana of Britain

[@franciscooriolpena7140]

Another work of art by Binman!

[@theCharmingDeviant]

Another outstanding missive on automotive history, well worth the wait! Little did I know that the subject also needed more "Lazer Pig". I look forward to more. Keep up the fine work. Cheers from the other side of the pond.

[@sergep71]

It's a good day when Binman posts. Your narration (visual and spoken) aRe. UnPaRaLlEleD.

[@tinman7551]

I can’t believe you got a cameo from laser pig. Such a wonderful video, I’m really enjoying your channel. Keep up the great work..🥰👍🏻❤️

[@casiopeaman]

I am happy once more. Thank you Mr.BinMan.

[@ivankurnia6211]

Keep up the good work! I always wonder why there aren't any large volume British car makers around nowadays, turns out it's for a very good reason.

[@HardThrasher]

Paisley is....a place. I do not recommend it even if your alternate holiday option is Plymouth or Scunthorpe. Especially if, like me, you have had to stay at the Blythe Bridge hotel. I have been a sales rep for more than a quater of a century, have stayed in the Kings Cross Travelodge (with all the stains of previous customers using it by the hour), an actual brothel in Paris and a Milan hotel which featured a 'take a ticket' system for hookers in reception. Nothing was worse than Paisley. PS Scotland or Soviet Union is my new favourite parlor game

[@AnimarchyHistory]

Lest we not speak of the purgatory. The absolute desolation of the human spirit that is Great Yarmouth.

[@choirboyy]

Dude this soundtrack is full of bangers and that you use the little chapter feature for the list is great. Great work.

[@rkahler89]

You are easily one of my favorite people making videos about cars. Love the fusion of memes, your individual humor, car history and music.

[@-POISON-]

The Imp was such a cool car.

[@MartinMcAvoy]

I was curious about how popular the Imp was for rallying and found your video, IB. This it the first upload of yours that I have watched and I want to say how much I enjoyed your fun style. It is so much better than anything the tv could produce. Well done and I am looking forward to catching up with your other videos. 😀

[@jakekaywell5972]

Its a shame that the Imp ended up sidelined and forgotten about by most. It deserves a lot better than that. It was in every technical regard superior to BMC's Mini. It wasn't even close. Rear-engine, aluminum block, rear-wheel drive, diaphragm spring clutch, full instrument cluster, and a load of other mechanical goodies. Shame that the government forced Rootes Group to build a factory in an area where more people were used to making ships than they were cars.

[@nerd1000ify]

The beetle had an even worse starting point when it comes to overheating, what with the engine being air cooled. The Kombi, being heavy and draggy compared to a beetle, of course suffers much worse than the beetle itself.

[@nerd1000ify]

@richardharrold9736 they can blow head gaskets if they have them. If I recall correctly the VW flat 4 doesn't have head gaskets at all and instead relies on a close fit of the cylinder barrel into a recess in the head to form a seal. Overheating can still warp the cylinder heads and prevent sealing, but the car can keep running with a minor compression leak so you may not know about it. Really get it hot and you'll start melting rubber seals, cooking the oil into sludge and eventually seize the engine. I'd interpret the lack of overheating issues on the Beetle and Porsche as being a sign of particularly good ducting design rather than intrinsic superiority of air cooled engines in locations with poor cooling airflow.

[@nerd1000ify]

@richardharrold9736 yeah good design can go a long way. Even the beetle has its 'tin' arranged so that the used cooling air gets dumped into a fairly low pressure area behind the car for example. If you want another interesting example, check out how they did cooling on WW2 fighter planes. Some cooling installations actually generated net thrust at certain speeds!

[@Monstrous_Delta]

Nice video man. I found you through lazerpig's video calling out other creators and I'm happy he made a cameo in this one. Your content is a perfect fit for my car interest and form of humour. Love your videos man, I can hardly wait for the next one!

[@emberambr]

gods i want a Stiletto so badly now rly love your video btw!

[@EricDKaufman]

Lazerpig --> Hardthrasher --> You.... and I was looking for something to prove yourself.... Yeeaaaahhhhh you did that. I am going to spend the rest of the week reviewing your catalog. Hat Tip good sir!

[@tinman7551]

Absolutely brilliant as always 😂🥰👍🏻

[@alro2434]

Thanks! The UK automotive fuck ups are just amazing! Also, a big thanks for the LazerPig!

[@5t3v0esque]

Okay the scotland or soviet union segment has me ded.

[@TheOffertonhatter]

Loved the video. My Mother had both an upmarket Singer Chamois in the 60's and a Hillman Imp from 1973 until 1984. Even my sister's first car was an Imp. Genuinely, it was a brilliant car, suffering from the usual build quality issues of British cars, lest those built at Linwood, over the era. But in oh so many ways far superior to the Mini. The as mentioned handling and ride, the utterly brilliant Coventry Climax engine, the practicality was just that bit better, as not only you had the front boot, but the rear window opened up like a hatch to access the larger luggage space as well. And finally it's best bit, the turning circle was even better than the Mini. I am not dissing the Mini, as my Grandfather had one, and it is another epic small car. But the Imp just failed on two counts, one, the marketing and promotion to counter the "poor mans car", and the sheer awfulness of the Linwood build quality. Shame really.

[@angelsone-five7912]

Excellent video for us Imp fans. You are right about the Rootes building in Maidstone, experience shows that unused grade 2 listed buildings invariably succumb to "mysterious" fires in order to be replaced by grotty housing schemes that are much more lucrative.

[@Whatshisname346]

Always was an imp fan over the mini. It’s such a funky design and the engines and engineering were brilliant. I would like to say that there’s a lot of people on here giving 70s British cars a tough time. As someone who spent most of my childhood being driven in secondhand 70s cars from non British manufacturers; they all sucked from a quality point of view. We mostly ran fords and fiats and my resounding memory is being left on the side of the road with overheating problems, dodgy head gaskets, Smokey clutches etc. cars were basically past their prime by 60,000miles which simply isn’t the case for most stuff built after the 80s. And the Japanese stuff may have started every day and had good fit and finish but they too suffered from poor rust protection and terrible material quality. I recall a rental Nissan cherry which, although two years old at the time, sounded, drove and looked like the greatest s^%tbox invented. My only experience of British cars was in an Austin Princess, a rover P6 and a jag xk6. All were pretty good in comparison the anything else on the road bar the super expensive German stuff.

[@washingtoniaofficialyoutub4551]

I love your videos I find it very fun and Informational about car history thank you!

[@heavytube7890]

Really happy to see another video from you!

[@haaninpoju3583]

I have been periodically checking your channel for new videos and today it paid off! Keep up the great work!

[@dimreaper274]

Thanks

[@triggeh]

I've been hanging out for this, it did not disappoint

[@HerrIMorke]

I absolutely love your videos. That is all.

[@IstasPumaNevada]

Great video as usual! Thanks for all you put into these. Your channel deserves way more subscribers and I hope the algorithm catches up to you soon.

[@Dani11150]

The Linwood part brought me to my knees, truly a remarkable place

[@benkavin1473]

Somewhere in an alternate universe, intrasolar Garbagewoman is talking about the BMC Mini, the bizarro counterpart to the beloved Hillman Imp, with funky features such as tranverse mounted engines and no synchromesh first gear and wondering what could have been...

[@robinwaal-borrebaek6442]

I absolutely love your videos. The scripts are amazingly written and the subjects are super interesting. Keep up the great work man!

[@jonnnyren6245]

Wake up laddies the Intergalactic hooman has uploaded once again!!!!

[@johnmoncrieff3034]

The IMP was a superior vehicle to the MINI in many ways, but the most effective for the company was it made a small profit on every one even with the logistical nightmare of traveling the round trip of over 600 miles! whereas the MINI never made a profit on any vehicle for the first 9 years if not longer!

[@oohahitsanrccar1913]

The Stanceworks Hilman Imp is a thing of beauty. Definetly my fav British car ever!

[@Theover4000]

Man, I never knew anything about Hillman, what a fascinating history. Thank you for sharing o great binman. Also, Chevrolet Corvair my beloved.

[@marcusott2973]

Well that's a pleasant surprise. As I partly hail from Wolvo I'm very partial to Roots products.

[@DesertRat22225]

What a fun looking car, i wish there still existed rear engine RWD tiny little hatchs. Imagine how much fun a modern ford fiesta with the engine in the rear would be. ok maybe such a thing exists elsewhere but im a yank and all we have here is TRUCK

[@morten3465]

Lazerpig brought me here and I subscribed. Keep up the good work!

[@TheSimba1960]

Love your videos - just one point. The Coventry Climax engine was originally the pump. It was first used by John Cooper (he who began the tiny rear engined F3 racers) and then by Colin Chapman Lotus. The innovations with the engine by both teams helped Coventry Climax to update and improve their pumps.

[@innocentjoker3556]

I love your videos! Your editing and commentary style are awesome ^^ I hope you’re doing great

[@confusedcoco5947]

Drop everything! It's Binman time!

[@stevehill4615]

Interesting tale about the Imp and the Rootes group, as a kid in the 70's I remember watching rally cross on World of Sport and Imps always seeming to hold their own against minis and escorts.

[@asciiCAT]

chain of supply killed me

[@afrozen10-02]

And another banger from the intergalactic bin man himself. Thanks to Lazerpig for sending me here.

[@R4baDader]

TORY POPULISM MOMENT

[@HF7-AD]

11:32 Wait, is that why I've seen Hillman Imps in Uruguay!?

[@IntergalacticBinman]

Quite possibly! Unfortunately there's very little specific detail about the assembly in Uruguay, at least on the English side of the internet, but it is pretty widely agreed upon that some unassembled "kits" were exported to Uruguay and then assembled in a factory there.