The IMPact of poor choices - the Hillman Imp Story

The Imp is a car of contradictions. While it sported a cutting edge, aluminium engine with a motorsport pedigree, it was mounted at the back when the rest of the car industry was moving to front wheel drive. It was built in a brand-new facility with the latest machinery, but hundreds of miles away from its suppliers. This all produced a car that was modern, yet outdated. Why did Rootes Group, a car company with a long history of making conservative, reliable cars in the heart of the car producing Midlands, decide to make their first economy car near Glasgow?
Optional Extra video: • Hillman Imp - Optional...
Music: "Jazz Organ Trio Cool Blue" by Doug Maxwell / Media Right Productions from the KZbin audio library.
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Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Cr...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventr...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_25
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillman...
• Linwood in the 70s par...
• UK TV Program 2006 BBC...
www.motorsportmagazine.com/ar...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_An...
www.imps4ever.info
www.aronline.co.uk/concepts-a...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_R...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbeam...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysle...
#bigcar

[@peterread239]

The story of the Hillman Imp really sums up the story of the entire British car industry.

[@koro287]

Yes..whinging poms and strongmen unions payed for their own funeral, we had one,i coasted backwards into our newly build double garage as a 13yr old kid but forgot to close the door! The centre pillar came off worse,oh and my arse when the old man came home! LOL. love from NZ.

[@toyotaprius79]

@@koro287 Are these strongmen unions anything to be said about the union leaders taking action today?

[@koro287]

@@toyotaprius79 My first job was in spareparts and the union guys were all english and quite lazy, if you pick a fight with a bear you might come off second best is all.

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

@@toyotaprius79 nowhere near it. Maggie destroyed the power of the unions. In the 70s they were striking every 10 minutes for any reason. Just militant lazy bastards. Maggie starved then back in 👍👍👍👍

[@paulmchugh8695]

Yep hope could anyone look a design like that and think ? That’s good ? What AND THEN THEY BUILT A FACTORY TO MAKE IT WITH HUNDREDS OF GLASGOW DOCKERS ?

[@jonadams7608]

My Dad competed in the British Saloon Car Championships in 1972 with a Hillman Imp, winning the private entrants award that year. Really enjoyed the video, thank you

[@nothanksguy]

Mad melvyn is your old man? What a legend

[@jonadams7608]

@@nothanksguy yep that’s him! he really was a legend 😊

[@jonharnew]

Remember Bill McGovern in the George Bevan imp brilliant

[@jonadams7608]

@@jonharnew yes, a rival of my Dads, the Bevan imp was hard to beat! My Dad kept in contact with George Bevan for many years

[@andrew_koala2974]

There were a small number of HILLMAN IMP(s) in AUSTRALIA in the 1960s - and an interesting 'zippy' little car with its own unique sound/note Also it is HILLMAN and not Hillman Learn an understand the difference

[@charlesflint9048]

I had an Imp some years ago, and I loved driving it; the handling was superb. One night I was trying to outrun a Ford Granada behind me, I would lose them easily on the bends, but they would catch up on the straight. Then they put on their police lights and pulled me over, fortunately it was all very amicable.

[@brianmuhlingBUM]

What a great story, well told. The IMP was 4 or 5 years too late. If it had been launched in 1962 and all the bugs ironed out, it would have given the Mini 850 a run for the money. I have a 16mm colour film of the design and building of the IMP and shows the enormous amount of work that went into the design of the body and the motor. But I bought a Morris 850 in 1962, thank goodness!

[@MrOldhoot]

@@brianmuhlingBUM I had a Sunbeam Stiletto which I think I bought somewhere around 1969. It was an ex demo, light blue. I guess this was the luxury version of the Imp at the time, manufactured by Chrysler using the Coventry Climax engine. Whilst courting we used to go to the same pub most evenings and would often see a Ford Granada which would stop there as well. I remember one day at the start of our trip to the pub it turned out in front of us and he put his foot down. I put my foot down, although I could just about keep up I didn't have the power to overtake. I had a lot of problems with the head gasket which was forever blowing, in the end we used some gunk and stuck it down. I had it for about 4-5 years but got rid of it as it was getting costly due to various problems but I had a lot of fun in it, although it would have been fatal if one had a head on crash with so little in the front, plus a fuel tank! Oh yes, and the windscreen leaked like mad. Never did solve that one despite having a new screen fitted. I married my then girlfriend in 1972, just had our 50th. anniversary. We drove away from our wedding reception in that car for our honeymoon at our new house which only had a cold tap and some surface wired electric lights. Spent our honeymoon doing DIY. I don't recommend papering a ceiling together, it's a good way to test a marriage:)

[@brianmuhlingBUM]

@@MrOldhoot What a fantastic story, a good old memory from yesteryear. I loved going to the drive-in pictures on a hot night in the mini, wasn't too comfortable if you wanted a cuddle. Thanks for your story. Brian. Western Australia

[@harveycope-robinson3108]

@@brianmuhlingBUM 60mm trust me you

[@topcat4759]

@ Mr Old hoot my cousin used to own a Stilleto back in the early '80's. Do not think I ever seen another one after he sold it.

[@craigjones2878]

When Chrysler took over the Rootes group the Australian factory had ‘Rootes Australia’ in big letters atop the roof. Chrysler wanted to add their name to make it say ‘Chrysler Rootes Australia’ until it was explained to the Americans what that meant in the local vernacular.

[@patagualianmostly7437]

Ah! Nice one....

[@Dionysos640]

They do love a Dickens Cider, those Aussies

[@xijinpingsfavoritehemorrho1328]

Someone help me, what does root mean to aussies?

[@artistwithouttalent]

Would it have been inaccurate though?

[@michaelhall3818]

@@xijinpingsfavoritehemorrho1328 it means to have sex. For example the roof message would read Chrysler fu*ks Australia. Not a great marketing plan ;)

[@v1nando]

Worked on a building site during the summer school holidays in 1981 and my payment was a 1960’s white Hillman imp (£50). I learnt to drive in the imp and passed my test in 1982. I drove that car for another 2 years, sharing it with my Mother before eventually upgrading to a bigger engined car. The imp was great fun, steering wheel like a bus but handling was good…between the mini and the imp, the imp was more impressive for me💪🏻

[@garyneilson1833]

The engine from the Imp was still used into the late 1980's as the power unit for the Rapier missile system. It was used to power a generator to produce the 3 phase supply required.

[@stevencross9953]

Very easy to strip and recondition - 875 overhead cam - loved working on it.

[@LondonSteveLee]

Fire engine pumps too.

[@nalakprince6376]

I had 2 Imps and absolutely loved them. They were so easy to throw round corners and wave the front inside wheel in the air while doing so! My friend rallied an Imp with his brother and I spent many long nights working to get the car ready for its next Rally. I used to compete in Production Car Trials in an Imp as well...

[@49commander]

I think it was a product that had it been built close to Hillmans main production and engineering facilities could had the teething problems solved quickly and made a serious competitor to other small cars. It was a nice looking car and with Chryslers help could had been a winner for Hillman.

[@ciaranburke3243]

Despite all the disastrous decisions that destroyed this little car, overall it was very cool and interesting 👍

[@boomerhgt]

They were shite

[@MonicaandMervyn]

My dad had a forest green Hillman Imp. I remember as a kid going with him to pick it up. I also remember there was fear about the aluminum engine and head overheating (which never happened on our car), although the clutch would overheat in stop-start traffic. We loved that car, and my dream car as a student was a clan crusader.

[@islaws4589]

Yes I thought the Clan would have gotten a mention rather than the Probe as they were (still are!) highly regarded and a helluva lot prettier!

[@Graham_Langley]

Forest Green was what my '66 Super was. Same colour as British Racing Green according to rattle cans.

[@julianshepherd2038]

Green was dangerous. Could be mistaken for moss. Red was best.

[@gingernutpreacher]

Happen on our car as well

[@nolesy34]

Well good luck with your white supremacy goals but id keep wanting to join on the low my man

[@rotax636nut5]

Back in the early 70's I had a twin headlamp, coupe roof Sunbeam Stiletto with a tuned 998cc engine, there was twin Weber DCOE40 carbs, loud tubular exhaust manifold, hot cam, ported head etc and the car made nearly 100 bhp on Jon Mowatts rolling road in Basildon Essex when I got Jon to set the engine up. The rev limit was over 8K and with lowered suspension, upgraded brakes and wide wheels and painted Daytona yellow bodywork and with gloss black wheels the car looked brilliant and was seriously quick with it's light weight and 100 bhp and was an absolute riot to drive on the road with the most perfectly controllable oversteer you can imagine, I had so much fun with that little car you can't imagine! If only they came that way from the dealer Roots might have had a real hit on their hands like Ford did with their RS2000 cars

[@davidbewick9208]

My first car was an Imp. Tuned it over a year or so keeping the 875 rather than the 998. They could be sleeved out to 1140cc and Hartwell had a 998 at 118bhp. Mine drove well on the 875 with about 85bhp and a 4 speed jack knight box. One inch driveshafts and a special tool to change the doughnuts! Neg camber kit and triumph herald discs. Shocked many a so called sports car on the road.

[@ethelmini]

I don't think the RS2000 could be called a hit commercially. It might have helped a bit with the Escort's image generally.

[@dandare1001]

Great cars. good to hear people who've had similar experiences. People often overlook the cheaper cars, but they are brilliant to drive.

[@petercooper2387]

@@ethelmini The RS 1600 was the escort to go for with its Cosworth BDA engine.

[@patagualianmostly7437]

@@ethelmini If I recall correctly, even the Escort aficionados were not at all impressed with the RS2000...preferring the RS1600 (Peter Cooper confirms I now see.)(Sorry Peter, your comment was below when I replied to erhelmini)

[@robfinch3277]

I had my Imp in 1986 for commuting in South London. Best memories were in fresh heavy winter snow just breezing up the steep hill to Crystal Palace and leaving the rest of the cars slipping and sliding at the base. Weight of the engine over the drive wheels and a flat floor pan and the front just lifted up like a sled and the front wheels steered more like a steerable bob sleigh not touching the road surface!

[@wossisname4540]

Rather like a Beetle.

[@stpfs9281]

Railway sleeper land!

[@garfield2279]

I remember that hill, Anerley hill if remember correctly, we lived in Beckenham and my sister ran a pub In Brixton, going to visit meant going up Anerley hill, my dad had an old camper van that was down to first gear by the time we got near the top, I always got worried in case it didn’t make it.

[@replevideo6096]

Just like my Isetta bubble car. I took 2 mates to the pub on Christmas day after an overnight snowfall about 8 inches deep. We were the only car on the road. It steered just like your Imp with the front wheels off the ground like a steerable bob sleigh. I did own an Imp much later but never had deep snow to contend with.

[@davefish8107]

I had one and put a paving slab in the front to keep the front down

[@lesliecarter8322]

I had a Green Hillman Imp around 1967 in Australia. They were made by Rootes Group in Sydney. Great little car, I had it for 3 years before I wrote it off, a telegraph pole jumped out at me, lol.

[@robbiebob6267]

My late grandmother had one too in the 70's in Queensland... green, manual & i can remember it was a Smokey thing but reliable.... Ho yes... memories.

[@saxongreen78]

You were lucky to survive - all that was protecting you was a 12in spare wheel, some pressed tin, and the FUEL TANK!

[@jefferyepstein9210]

I found one of these 15 years ago in an abandoned garage in Hamilton Ohio. The garage was being torn down. I tried to get it but the new property owner was a jerk about it. I watched them drag it out with a backhoe and proceeded to destroy it and threw the pieces in a dumpster. It's the only one I've ever seen in my life.

[@BigCar2]

Sad.

[@jefferyepstein9210]

@@BigCar2 It was very sad. When I saw it I had no idea what it was and had to look it up on my phone. Someone cared enough to ship it from the other side of rhe world only to have some 400 pound douche destroy it.

[@Rapscallion2009]

You should have gone to him the following day exclaiming it was a rare, valuable classic and he was now a very wealthy man! - provided he still had the car.....oh....

[@MrManBuzz]

Should've told him it was rare and valuable the moment he destroyed it.

[@williamsporing1500]

Hamilton! Oh, forgot, you guys dropped the ! Lol My neck of the woods. That’s a shame about the little car. What jerks….

[@CGAT147]

My dad had a blue one.. apparently I called it the "broom broom'!! no doubt because of the noise the engine made. He said it had a great engine and could cruise at 70mph all day. I also remember our neighbour had a Stilletoe version.. posher version with more dials.. happy days. I can even remember the day we went and changed it for a Hillman Avenger in 1974... now that was a great car!

[@BoB-Dobbs_leaning-left]

I had a couple of Avengers, if I remember correctly, a 1275cc version and 1500 GT, they were like chalk and cheese. I really liked the GT, not so much the other one.

[@CGAT147]

We had a GT .. was the envy of the cortina L boys😅 after that my dad had fiat 131 racing … my fav dad car if all time… it was so much better than the Ford rubbish !

[@julianshepherd2038]

The IMP shook violently above 60mph

[@stirlingnougher8559]

My dad made the Hillman Stiletto in Australia. Only one hundred were made. He went by the pseudonym Jack Eiffeltower. I never saw one.

[@leoroverman4541]

My mum was a Rootes sales manageress in Kensington in the mid sixties and as a result we had a Hillman imp. I thought it was brilliant. I learned how to drive in one. I later drove the Mini, I'd take the imp in a heartbeat.

[@princesssolace4337]

I watched this car rip around Penang GP in late 70s till early 80s driven by part time drivers full time RAF pilots base in North Malaysia Butterworth airbase. It was awesome

[@colrhodes377]

My dad and grandad had Imps. I drove them many times and loved them. A hoot to drive!

[@projectno5]

i live quite near the old linwood factory and the hillman imp is still considered a cool car around here. dude in the workshop across the street has 3 of them and loves em.

[@Iain1962]

I learned to drive in my mum's Hillman Imp and then appropriated it when required, haha. It was a great wee car, great fun to drive on the winding Scottish roads.

[@mattbutler5095]

I currently own two hill man imps , and absolutely love it , I’ve never had so much fun in a car , I used mine daily for many years , as long as you keep up with the maintenance, that are great , thanks for the video mate , best of luck to everyone x

[@garrygreen4814]

You lucky bloke, i love those things

[@californiadreamin8423]

I still have a special drift , made as a “govie” job in a local works, for removal and refitting of the kingpin bushes which wore out regularly.

[@rafaelfiallo4123]

"Coventry Climax" is such a great name....it sounds like something a Connery era James Bond would give Ms. Moneypenny in a broom closet at MI6

[@BigCar2]

🤣

[@DL-ls5sy]

Lady Godiva on her horse

[@Romartus]

Coventry Climax. Have you met Pussy Galore?

[@rafaelfiallo4123]

@@Romartus Coventry Climaxshhh

[@SimonWallwork]

I was a schoolboy at Linwood High when the factory shut. It devastated the place and it never recovered- at least as of 2022. The Imp was a decent enough car, but relations between workers an management were never good. Stories of mass stealing were common, although I can't say how true they were. When Chrysler shut the place, the Unions thought they had prevailed- but the workers were on the buroo!

[@petesmitt]

for non-Scots reading this.. 'buroo' refers to the Labour Bureau, thus unemployment benefits.

[@ryanthompson2893]

I worked for Chrysler at their Belvedere, Illinois assembly in the 60s through the late 80s. Those were bad times for Chrysler, they had no business buying rootes in the 70s.

[@davidcolin6519]

It's really easy to blame the unions any time UK industry is mentioned. But you only need to look at this story to see how incredibly inept UK management was (and my experiences suggest that it was significantly WORSE in the 80s and 90s - I can't say beyond that as I left); one sensible decision, to build a small, economic car, followed by daft decision followed by daft decision followed by... guess what? a f**king mad decision. It doesn't take a genius to realise that having a rear engine was going to cause all sorts of packaging problems, and WHY? I get that the FIAT and Beetle had rear engines, but it's hardly as if that was the whole market, there were plenty of other cars with front engines. And it's all well and good to take the government money for building the plant, but if you don't have the skills, what really was the point? And then deliberately creating a division between workers in one plant vs another one... wtf thought THAT was a good idea? But the unions got the blame, not the terrible management, not the idiotic decisions, not the wasteful processes. Because that's not what our lords and masters want us to think, they want us to think that we're better off without anyone to fight for us... Yeah, that's worked out well for the UK, hasn't it?

[@P_RO_]

@@ryanthompson2893 In the US Chrysler had only the "muscle car" market keeping them in the red, and that was coming to an end by 1970 which everyone foretold. They knew Ford and GM were developing small economy cars and they thought the best way to compete there was to buy into someone already making such cars, which was probably a good idea seeing how badly the Pinto and Vega ended up. They simply chose the wrong place to put their money. TBH, at the time there was probably no company in Europe which would have been a good choice for the American market where the people expected automatic transmissions, A/C, less 'spartan' interiors, and a softer ride quality. And TBH, the American companies couldn't do what was needed either so they lost large chunks of money with only Ford and GM having the financial resources to survive their mistakes. In the meantime the Japanese car makers were learning how to give the world what it wanted.

[@inthezone4123]

@@davidcolin6519 Nicely said. That part of the story rarely gets told.

[@sandrafoxley735]

Singer Chamois JBH 635C decambered - would love to have it all over again. As long as you torqued to the book you never had a problem - first time I did the shims was 1.5 days second time I bought a micrometer and took two hours! Evidently 4 hours in the garage manual so doing well. Fantastic car - brilliant holding the corners and 80 in third gear-the only thing I could never shake off was the Ford Cortina - but those were the days when you could have fun......

[@dudleyhewett7211]

I have a 1970 Hillman Super Imp. I use it whenever the roads are dry and it’s great! Loads of fun, exempt from everything and very efficient. I love it!

[@robbflynn4325]

Great video. I recall a holiday back in the mid 70's, my sister and I were probably 8 and 9 and squashed in the back of our gold colored Imp sitting atop a suitcase or two. We were traveling in convoy with our uncle and aunt and their kids, they were fortunate to have a big Ford Granada. I recall the Imp really struggling up the hills on the M62, my uncle had to keep stopping to wait for us. The journey from Lancashire to Scarborough can be done in less than a couple of hours but I recall it taking us most of the day! Got to say the car had a lot of character. I now live in the US and I see them popping up for sale every now and again on specialist websites.

[@jeffb9903]

great story i live close to the m62 had a few imps and loved em .

[@kennedysingh3916]

I live in Jamaica which is hilly and the Imp do struggle on the hill.

[@iatsd]

My brother was running a business for most of the 90's and early 00's rebuilding New Zealand assembled Imp's and exporting them back to the UK and to Japan and the US. Made a good living at it, exporting ~15 cars a year. Funded his classic racing fix where he ran a race Imp, beating Minis constantly.

[@uhtred7860]

Its that where they all went? 😆 Haven't seen one in NZ for ages.

[@doraexplora9046]

Are you telling me the Imp was assembled in NZ? Were they Knock Down Kits by chance?

[@iatsd]

@@doraexplora9046 Yes, CKD kits. Assembled by Todd Motors in Wellington, I think.

[@doraexplora9046]

@@iatsd Australia Mini in those Knock Down kits up until 1964. I owned a 1961 English assembled Morris 850 Deluxe with a Turbo charged and heavily modified MK1 Cooper S motor under the bonnet, putting out 200+BHP at the wheels. I added a 5 speed G'box and a Quafe LSD in the mid 80's to it. Everything was hand built and modified by an engineer who worked for Qantas. Fastest and most mental car on the road, at the time.

[@uhtred7860]

@@iatsd Yeah, in Petone.

[@Oyasumi52]

I remember one of these way back in 1974 when I was looking for my first ever car I ever bought with my own savings. It was a green E reg used one in a dealer's lot. I was granted a test drive, but the first thing I had trouble with was getting it started as it sat on the forcourt for so long the battery went dead. A quick replacemnt later I was driving round town going through the gears, or should I say grinding through the gears because shifting it was like stirring a bucket of bricks (It obviously needed a replacement clutch). Needless to say I didn't buy it, but shortly later bought an H reg Ford Escort instead. I loved the Escort and was a little sad to have to trade it in for my first ever new car, a new R reg Fiesta later on. 😄

[@tomlee812]

Nostalgic. My best friend and I both had Singer Chamois. Really loved that car.. HUL 736C . Funny how you can always remember your early car number plates but struggle to remember your current one!. Nice video, thanks.

[@billholmes6639]

What a fantastic channel this is, so professionally done, bags of research and interesting footage - this should be on TV!!

[@BigCar2]

If you have the YT app on your TV, it can!

[@nadeemchaudhry6585]

Another brilliant video, thanks!! Never driven or been in an Imp, but always remember my dad's Hillman Hunter estate.

[@MindSump]

My Granddad was part of the management at Linwood, he had little good to say about the workers, as you'd imagine, and said that any car produced on a Friday or immediately before the lunch break was completely unsalable. There was also apparently instances of workers literally throwing spanners into the works because they wanted a break. Safe to say I did not hear a fair or balanced account of life at Linwood, so it's interesting to hear it fleshed out a little! There was a BBC documentary about it in about 2007, he was interviewed and his views had not mellowed with the passage of time.

[@G.5.B.H.M]

Militant weegies, who'd have thought it 🤔

[@martinking1341]

Thanks for the video. My late father in law was lead engineer at Rootes for the Imp engine and he once told me of the cylinder block quality issues. Apparently the supplier had previously only cast beer barrels and had no understanding of geometrical tolerances and the precision required for engine manufacture.

[@geoffcrumblin9850]

Beer barrels are not cast, better check your facts.

[@robharris5467]

The gap between cylinder and water jacket was only 1/4 inch or so. Easily eroded if anti corrosion additive wasn't sufficient. Too light in front and I added a 25kg bag of gravel to steady the ride. This after a neighbour's wife was killed when car went off road in a sidewind.

[@ruffby]

@@geoffcrumblin9850 I have definitely seen cast beer barrels. They do exist - though not so much these days. Now they are mostly rolled/pressed beer barrels.

[@johnfaulkner6776]

@@geoffcrumblin9850 aluminium beer kegs are though and that is what he probably meant.

[@blueteeth.spooker]

@@robharris5467 Ha! I was wondering how many comments I would have to read before coming across a mention of the weight-at-the-front issue! An Imp was my first car, and I often heard of people putting a bag of sand or a breeze block in the front to even things up. Sorry to hear about your neighbour's missus, awful.

[@johndoyle4723]

I was always a mini man. Sad end to all the famous UK marques, quality control, labour issues, management issues etc. I remember seeing my first Datsun Cherry and thought then this will conquer all the small cars.

[@philiptownsend4026]

I had a MK1 Imp when I Started work in 1971. It served me well, everything about the car worked well except that I had to change the clutch three times in a year, it was tiny and just wore out quickly, MK2 cars had a larger clutch. Second problem was the heater, it didn't work well at all. In winter I had to drive with the windows open and wear enormous coat hat scarf and gloves to avoid windows steaming up. The heater hoses passed through the sills and up to behind the dash, so long that hot water cooled before reaching the heater matrix, it improved slightly after I blew it through with garden hose. No it wasn't air locks. Later on in life I had a Mini and I have to say I thought the Imp was the better car, engine, transmission and suspension wise, it was also a true unitary car without those rust prone and heavy Mini subframes and proper coil springs and shockers.

[@Graham_Langley]

Had no problem with heater output on my '66 Super but things were vastly improved by fitting a blower/fan as the car didn't come with one. I used one intended IIRC for a Vauxhall Cresta that had the same mounting flange but a different output spigot, so the short original airbox flange was body-fillered onto the output at a slight angle needed to connect neatly to the trunking/hose.

[@philiptownsend4026]

@@Graham_Langley That sounds like a successful upgrade. My car had the original choke and throttle mechanisms, they worked as they should. I guess different owners had different problems, with me it was heater and clutch, everything else was fine. I liked the car particularly the opening rear window. It was an easy car to work on, clutch changes done on Saturday mornings before lunch, I compressed the rubber doughnuts with three jubilee clips joined together. Those parts were also used in Lotus Elan.

[@Graham_Langley]

@@philiptownsend4026 It was. Also made enough noise to use to warn pedestrians of your presence when the horn wasn't appropriate, as in the entrance to a car park I regularly used some 40 years ago. Clutches were done Sunday mornings in my case. Three bottle/screw jacks - transaxle, sump and exaust manifold - and push the car away. Putting the transaxle one on a bit of hardboard made alignment easier on putting it back in. Still got the donut compressors somewhere, made from a make any size clamp kit.

[@philiptownsend4026]

@@Graham_Langley yup almost exactly the same clutch change scenario as me. I made sure to keep the rear cross member fixing bolts clean and greased for easy removal next time. The job took very few tools and I would lay them out neatly in preparation. An easy DIY home mechanic job, how many modern cars could claim that?

[@terrylester1137]

Dead easy to remove engine and gearbox though so fast job - I had one!

[@macjim]

My uncle had one and when he visited us, the asked my dad to have a look at he car as his drivers side floor was damp. On looking under the car, he found the problem… there was no floor; it’s was only the mat/carpet that was stopping his feet from hitting the road! I kid you not

[@Vinnie101a]

That must have been the Fred Flintstone model.

[@nk53nxg]

All cars from that era rusted like a bastard.

[@LondonSteveLee]

That was normal for all cars back then - they would start rotting as soon as you got them out the showroom!

[@donaldasayers]

The engineering department at uni had an entire Imp drive train to hand; whenever they wanted to demonstrate a design fault like an inconvenient stress concentration or a wrong choice of material, they picked up a piece of Imp to demonstrate. Having invested in an expensive alloy casting plant to make the entire engine and gearbox casing out of cast alloy they went on to cast lots of brackets and other stuff out of alloy when a piece of bent steel would have been a better choice.

[@comethiburs2326]

@jerry calvert on sports cars.... or since alloy became cheap. it wasnt back in the time of the imp. one can only imagine a front wheel drive imp... could've worked rather well, the coventry engine being lighter and more refined than the bmc did. that and giving the thing a 1500cc to beat the cooper S.

[@donaldasayers]

@jerry calvert Yes it has, but you have to design them to take account of the different material properties which they failed to do.

[@20chocsaday]

University of Strathclyde had a cutaway gearbox in a corridor of the Engineering Department. All sorts of people could have reason to use that corridor. Very educational.

[@polentusmax6100]

For a engine at back, you need those lightweight alloys, even with a small engine, because a heavy one would make the car undrivable.

[@donaldasayers]

@@polentusmax6100 Nope, not the great clunky (cracked) brackets and fittings they cast in alloy instead of pressing out of steel.

[@robotronuk]

Drove an Imp this weekend just gone for the first time 34 years at the Drive Dads Car experience in Derbyshire. Though it seems very basic by modern standards it was a fun experience more akin to a giant go-kart and I have to say out of the three cars I drove (XJS and MG Maestro) it was the one that brought the biggest smile!

[@SeattleSoulFan]

One reason the Imp was rushed into production: the Linwood plant was located where it was to bring jobs to a depressed area. At some point they had announced that Imp production would start on a certain date, so they thought they had to keep their word.

[@nobodynoone2500]

Couldv'e had them paint and clean up the factory until it was ready. There are many ways to employ people. Paying a bit more in the short run to keep people fed and happy can reap great rewards when you have loyal workers in the long run.

[@hwica2753]

I had a Singer Chamois (fancy Imp) when I was at college. Great car except when the roads were wet. With the engine in the back there wasn't enough weight over the front wheels for good traction going around corners. Had to change the clutch twice, but the engine was so light I could pick it up and carry it. Sold it for £40 when I moved after college. Wish I had kept it in storage.

[@bruce6014]

My first car. It was of course, pretty rubbish. But like your first love, your first car is always somehow special and memorable.

[@robertlewis1965]

A buddy of mine had a 1957 Hillman Minx , backwards 4 speed on the column . He paid 50dollars for it in 1976 and used it as a daily driver in high school , he always left the keys in the ignition ! Once he came back and found it had been moved a few feet . Nobody could figure out the shift pattern .

[@johnfaulkner6776]

I passed my driving test on a column shift Hillman Minx!

[@stephenphillip5656]

My mother *loved* her 1973 Imp! Beyond a squeaky suspension bush (easily fixed) & a water leak into the cabin (not so easily fixed!) she didn't have any major problems with it. She only parted company with it in the mid 1980s as she inherited her cousin's Honda Civic.

[@mk1auditt480]

My gran used to have a hillman imp when she was young, because of the rear engine design it was very light on the front wheels which occasionally meant a loss of control. As she was from a farming family she always used to drive around with a bag of fertiliser under the bonnet to offset this problem

[@grandadians2362]

I loved my Imp. I remember one of the first things I did was paint a yellow Starsky and Hutch go faster stripe. I then proceded to fit a roof rack and loaded with a frame tent and a load of camping gear went on a tour of Europe through France, Belgium, Luxembourg. Switzerland and in to Italy ending up in Naples then it was off back into France and up into Andorra ending up south of Barcelona then back to Blighty. This was with the wife navigating and 2 kids crammed into the back. The only problem was a blowing exhaust which was temporarily fixed with a gun gum bandage. An amusing moment was coming out of Andorra into Spain when a grumpy spanish border guard insisted on me getting out of the car and opening the boot for inspection. The look on his face as he saw the engine and not the load of smuggled contraband he was hoping for was priceless. Like other comments I was a bit surprised no mention was made of the Clan Crusader which was always a dream car of mine.

[@pmacc3557]

Great story. What year was the roadtrip?

[@grandadians2362]

@@pmacc3557 I can't remember exactly but around 1973 or 1974.

[@pmacc3557]

@@grandadians2362 Wow, 3 or 4 years before i was hatched 😆 im livn in that area now so have done my bit of drivn also but not in an imp and im sure things were much nicer back then... great journey.

[@orchidhouse297]

I took my test on one of these. It was rally/race tuned and could''t use third gear in built up areas. It was incredibly fast. I failed on improper use of gears. The examiner had never been in a fast sports car.

[@stevemidgley1503]

I had both an imp and a mini and loved both for totally different reasons. To try and compare both would be like comparing apples to pears.

[@johnthompson1453]

Many, many years ago I had a 'race' with one in my 1969 Austin Mini 1000. The roads were wet and I was in the middle lane of 3, he was in the left hand lane. I was just in front when we came across a cyclist in his lane, he jinked to the right then promptly spun around. Fortunately he did not hit anything but he was very fast for a such a small car with a small engine.

[@PsSimRacer]

Thank you for this, I have a used toy corgi replica Hilman Imp from the 60’s. I was lucky to have my Dad to give me a version of its being while he was still alive. You sir have cleared up the whole picture with this detailed video. Thank you from South Africa 🇿🇦

[@warriorpoet9629]

Had one in the 80 s in London. Loved it. Never let me down, even when I accidentally filled it with diesel.

[@dandare1001]

Great work, Big Car. I have had a few Imps, and still have a modified Imp Californian. Great handling cars when lightly modified. The gearbox is still the best I have ever used. I can change gears so quickly that it sounds like like a motorbike or a modern dual clutch gearbox.

[@exceed5914]

Enjoyed this and brought back memories! My father bought a new metallic Aqua Marine Sunbeam Sports Imp in 1972, can still remember it’s reg EOX 277L. We were a family of 6 and I can remember the Summer Holiday trip to Devon from Birmingham where we spent 13 hours in the thing. It spent more time back in Coventry than our drive, replacement engine, replacement gearbox and assorted bodywork issues. After a year he and we had had enough and he changed it for a Hillman Hunter. My mother would never let him forget what a lemon and poor choice the Imp was!

[@sahhull]

My dad had a Hillman Huskey. I was a baby and used to sleep on a blanket on top of the engine cover... No pesky child seats in those days. How did so many of us survive?

[@williamfence566]

In the 70's my dad got one in response to the fuel crises. We didn't have it long and i remember it breaking down on a uk holiday trip to scotland. I think he said it wasn't that economical either as the tiny engine was always having to be worked hard.

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

Your dad was right. I never owned an Imp but I did have a Mini. Living in the heart of the Pennines where 12% gradients are normal, it was constantly in second gear and being revved, so 30mpg was the best you could hope for. Not great for an "economical" car.

[@nobodynoone2500]

Simple mistake. You just have to drive them downhill everywhere. Takes a bit of planning and m.c.escher'esque navigation but I assure you I once did it and only trifling amounts drugs were involved.

[@CarolSteele]

I loved my 1967 metallic blue Hillman Imp. A terrific car.

[@mattgreen9507]

My family had one, which we loved :-) Ours was from the 70s and proved reliable and handled well. We got an indicated 80 something mph our of it and it seemed to corner nicely... the only problem was hot starts, if I remember correctly and we had to press a button on the solenoid to get it to restart. Thanks for the great video, it brought back some good memories.

[@paulwlynch]

My Aunt had a Green Imp and I loved it as a wee lad . At the same time my Uncle had a purple Scimitar (it was the late 70s) and I am told I preferred the Imp as I could see out the back windows.. I still like the Imp but I think I'd prefer the Scimitar now..

[@ciaranchew]

A finally, Big Car I have been waiting so long for you to do the imp. I had four of these in my younger years and still miss them to this day (see my last one in my avatar picture) when I get home from work it's cuppa tea and feet up and absorb this and little Car extra. Thanks a million 🤗

[@BigCar2]

I held off for a while because of "The Car's The Star" video, but a lot of people asked for it. Hope you enjoy it!

[@russellclark5718]

My dad had a blue Hillman Imp in the early 70's in Rhodesia, after collecting me from school one day and on heading home in a split second we both noticed a wheel shooting off in front of us, my Dad said where the hell did that come from? Next thing we knew the front of the Hillman collapsed on its right hand wheel hub/axle...we walked the rest of the way home! Fond memories.

[@petermclelland278]

Learned to drive & passed my test at 17 in 1967 in a green Hillman Imp.Great car.

[@johang7498]

I always enjoy reading the comments here from people who once owned the car from the video and their experiences. Being 43 years old and not British, I rarely ever saw an imp, but its angular shape with subtle curves in to me looks more attractive than that of a mini. With its layout and engine, it must have been much fun to drive I think, especially the imp sport and the stylish stiletto. The conclusion I can come to then must be that the imp is probably the greatest missed opportunity in British car history, as its design had so much potential. A rear engine-layout wasn't that outdated either in 1963, if you consider that a year later Fiat and Skoda still launched new models with it.

[@arbjful]

And also the VW beetle had a flat rear engine

[@nkt1]

I'm 45 and I don't recall seeing all that many either, despite living in Scotland. I do remember that one of my primary school teachers had one in the early '80s. It looked so old-fashioned compared to the other cars in the staff car park.

[@dandare1001]

Yes it was sad that the Imp wasn't so successful. They had lots of quality problems from the factory. I heard a story that the engine block castings were affected by the water supply dropping every time the workers had their tea-breaks. We have had many missed opportunities in the British car industry. We built some of the most innovative and beautiful cars ever. Sadly we often had quality problems. I think we should have licenced everything to be built in Germany and Japan. They are usually better with production quality.

[@arbjful]

@@dandare1001 but it would no longer be British

[@johang7498]

@@dandare1001 There are examples of British cars that were solid and had a beautiful or innovative design I think, though perhaps not as much in the 1960s and 70s. Reading the comments regarding the more controversial British cars, it always seems to me like there was a 50/50-chance to get lucky and have a car with no real issues. Which of course is not really acceptable. On German cars: these days they aren't as good as they used to be anymore. Build quality may be ok, but I hear and read a lot about technical issues with them that usually are expensive to fix. I imagine that would have been different in 1960s/70s-Britain with technology being less complex (sometimes a little old-fashioned too). Anyway, I don't regard German cars as really superior anymore to British, French or Italian ones; maybe back in the day they were, but not in 2022.

[@martinsaunders2942]

Actually, they drove very well and were great fun. My brother and I had a modified one that we used for trials… it had excellent traction, and sprint racing… once the technique had been learned for driving a rear engine car, they cornered brilliantly.

[@Graham_Langley]

The technique was basically to throw it into a corner.

[@ivorjones6618]

yes they did i had one for autograss racing in the mid 70s was very good once you got used to the rear engine rear drive it was better than a mini i drove both

[@sambrooks7862]

My mate had an imp as his first car in about 1980, I loved it and as far as I remember he never had any problems with it in the years he had it and after he traded it in after owning it for about 3 years it was still running around for quite some time, an elderly lady bought it and she used to wave at my mate every time she saw him.

[@marienbad2]

I love your dry humour! Great video, I remember these from when I was little but didn't know much about them, so thanks for another interesting video.

[@maxkite4170]

I have owned two Hillman Imps (the second was bought by my father-in-law for my then wife). They were terrible. In no particular order: heating didn't work as the hot water had to travel the length of the car through rubber piping which clogged up; the water pump was huge - because the radiator fan blew air in the direction of travel, and consequently was very inefficient; the Hardy-Spicer (rubber donut) couplings were constantly failing, causing the half-shaft to flail and destroy the brake hydraulics; the linkage to the gearbox was sloppy, making engaging reverse nearly impossible; the front was so light that at 70mph it would lift, negating the steering (I had a couple of paving slabs in the TINY front boot); some sick bu66er put timing marks at TDC AND 180º which, until one knew about it, made timing the engine after repairs interesting; and the automatic choke never worked. I'm sure that I have forgotten some items in the mists of time.

[@davewilson4493]

My dad's first car was an Imp. Among other things, the paint on various body panels didn't match, a battery leak rapidly rusted through the battery support tray, and the rear suspension collapsed (luckily, that happened when it was being reversed very slowly into a parking space and ran over a brick). I remember dreading uphill drives because of how noisy it got in the back.

[@maxkite4170]

@@davewilson4493 I forgot the front shock absorbers. When they failed, you had to cut holes in the bodywork to get a socket to the mounting bolts.

[@davewilson4493]

@@maxkite4170 Just had a chat with my sister and mother. Mum remembered the time that all the electrics cut out while overtaking a Land Rover on the motorway, and the time that lots of honking behind caused my puzzled dad to stop to discover that smoke was pouring out of the engine compartment. Sister remembered "Will it start, or will I have to run to school?" being a common morning preoccupation. (I didn't, as my school then was only a few minutes away.) Apparently, it was the guy that replaced the dissolved battery tray that pointed out that the paint didn't match (it was a fairly subtle difference, and being bright yellow, it wasn't easy to spot subtle differences).

[@a.gordon.1385]

My aunt had an imp. She said it was prone to spontaneous outbursts of adverse handling. I think it may have been broken, or her driving!

[@Badjujubee]

The Imp had a very busy suspension. They would rotate super easy, which is great for rally but not so much for a daily driver for most people. You could make them dance like a dragonfly if you could move the weight around though 😆

[@NigelMorton]

I had a '67 Imp Californian. One of the tricks was to replace the radial tyres with cross-plies - the back end broke away sooner but very, very controllably. Don't ask me how I know. Another common and cheap tweak was to replace the points with much stronger ones from a Cooper S. It cured points bounce and was a cheap way of allowing the gem of an engine to rev to 8000 rpm. The rubbish carb meant that nothing except noise happened after 6000 though. I remember that operating the windscreen washers meant pushing a rubber bulb on the side of the instrument binnacle. Push hard to clean the top of the screen, push gently to clean the bottom. Automotive genius.

[@andrewdrabble8939]

I always wondered why the Imp had an opening rear window with it being rear wheel drive and having the boot at the front. Thank you for finally solving the mystery for me

[@gone547]

Had one in 73 in Singapore when I rode a Honda 750. Used the Imp as an umbrella during the Monsoon season. Actually it was a fun little car but used to overheat due to the extreme tropical climate and lack of maintenance. It was given to me by a departing colleague and only had about three months road tax left on it and which I did not renew. Found a fitting home when it was gutted, floor pan removed and the lightened shell space-framed and then fitted over an Elfin 600 F2 for track use. Wonder what happened to it. Oh, the memories. Those were the days.

[@petercooper2387]

I owned 3 Imps, one underwent a 998cc conversion by Ray Payne at Team Hartwell in Bournemouth. I never had any trouble with them and paid little attention to the 'Put a bag of cement in the boot/they overheat all the time/ they blow head gaskets brigade. There definitely were production problems at Linwood: the car was launched too soon - before it was properly sorted; some requirements of the alloy engine such as correct torqueing of head bolts and the necessity of using coolant containing inhibitor to prevent corrosion were not understood by a lot of owners thus causing some of the problems mentioned above. But I became a staunch supporter of this little car in competition and remember not only Bevan/McGovern but great drivers such as Alex Clacher, John Homewood, Melvyn Adams, Les Nash, Jeff Ward, Ray Payne and Ray Calcutt who swept all before them in the early 70's winning many special saloon car championships such as the 'Kent Messenger' 'Esso Uniflow' and 'Forward Trust.' I would recommend anyone who has a genuine interest in the Imp to obtain and study back numbers of 'Autosport' magazine for, say, 1973 to see just how successful this car was in motorsport.

[@howardosborne8647]

Agree with you,Peter. A friend of mine did the Rootes mechanics service training courses on maintaining the alloy Imp engines and he always highlighted the importance of correct type of coolant additive and proper head tightening. If those simple things were observed then the Imp engine was a very dependable unit.

[@Rtu776]

Well done. The car had a decent chance of success. Too bad Rootes didn't stay in Coventry to build it. A lot of issues would have been quickly resolved or avoided altogether.

[@geoffreylee5199]

They were forced to go to Scotland …

[@dainsmart6237]

@@geoffreylee5199 labour government destroy everything.

[@peteypops]

My metallic gold Imp took me and my two kids on many a camping trip. Great car, loved adjusting the valve clearances!

[@metalmick99]

What a great video, and it's wonderful reading the comments and stories below from those who have/had Imp(s) and especially, the things they did to them that today's regulators would have a conniption over. My sister (in Australia, where we emigrated to) had one and for the most part it was reliable and good to drive. A friend of mine had an Imp GT and had the engine "warmed" - I think with the twin Webers that Rotax 636n mentioned. I'm so glad I lived through an era where cars were a source of passion, fun, and excitement. not the anodyne conveyances they are today.

[@GSimpsonOAM]

I found an abandoned Imp Mk 2 in a quarry in the '90s. Got it going with little effort and commuted to work for a couple of years in it. A nice little car. I have also had a FIAT 850 sport that was sold in the same time period and also rear engined. The FIAT was prettier and went better but then it was the sport version...

[@croolis]

The 850 Sport was a really pretty car.

[@rob_in_stowmarket_uk]

I remember, distinctly, seeing the first example of an Imp in my local Rootes dealer showroom, at launch. The car was finished in Powder Blue, or similar, and the first thing I noticed was a jagged hole in the metal of the roof on the off-side, where it curved down to the windscreen, just above the A-pillar - about an inch long and three eighths of an inch wide - which clearly showed from a distance (like someone had drawn on the paint with a black ‘Sharpie’!). The edges of the metal were covered in paint, so the hole had obviously been present at the time of assembly… And this was the car ON DISPLAY 🥴‼️ No wonder hardly anyone bought it!

[@BOBXFILES2374a]

Like the Fiats built with Russian steel that started rusting in the showrooms......

[@stupitdog9686]

A fine example from the Scotts Workforce - Surely an Oxymoran?

[@oikovision3594]

It's a very informative video. I own a Hillman Imp (875cc) in Japan. It was not sold in Japan, so there is no information or parts. It's not fast at all, but it's great for driving around town alone. Summer in Japan is so hot that I don't feel like driving. haha

[@johnwilson6111]

My Mum had one of these in my early teen years. It was a great little car, really quick with its racing design engine.

[@paulstubbs7678]

My mum learned to drive in one of these, at the time they were doing roadwork's in our street, you had to turn into the neighbours ,then drive up the nature strip to access our house. Unfortunately mum found dad's instructions lacking, so after turning into the neighbours she put it into a tree. All low speed so not bad, but she panicked, missed the break pedal and instead floored the accelerator, essentially trying to make the car climb a rather large tree. Being rear engine'd made dad's backyard repairs much easier, a couple of large blocks of wood and a car jack soon had the front fairly well straightened out, way simpler than if the motor was up front, as that would probably have first involved pulling the fan out of the radiator!

[@paulconway670]

I learned to drive in an Imp... no frills... my vague recollection of it was it being a bit of a lightweight tank! Still... I passed my test in it :) I recall it was a bit to light at the front in the winter - my Dad put a big bag of sand in the boot for more grip at the front..!

[@Kysushanz]

I had a MkII 67 Imp and loved it! I could throw that little car into corners like it was on tracks; hooking the front inside wheel up. It was a pig on icy roads as the arse end would try to catch the front end. I did a really fast run from Dunedin to Wanaka in mid summer; the car was really hot! I pulled into a garage told him to fill it up, NO water. I went for a piss and when I got back the forecourt attendant was just finishing topping up the radiator!!!!! I went ape shit at him, turned on the engine and it immediately pumped water out the exhaust! After that I carried a head gasket set in the car, my tool kit, overalls and SWAFEGA. I got to the point where I could change the Head Gasket on the side of the road in 20 minutes! Yes, even in the dark! I got tired of the hassle and traded it in for a 67 HB Viva. Still miss the we Imp - great little car.

[@sineout9294]

Took mine up Skippers Canyon about 1974 and I don't think I would've liked to do it in anything else. Also have fond memories of drifting in the dry on the Otago Peninsula high road. One of the Imp's cheap design shortcomings was the sliding bush front suspension which was badly worn, letting the wheels play noticeably in every direction, by the time that car was reaching end of its life and ready for the wrecker. Didn't stop me hooning it around the wet leaves of the Dunedin Town Belt in winter. Great wee car.

[@Kysushanz]

@@sineout9294 Mate, me too - I loved heading out to Portobello early on a Sunday morning and really hooning it on the windy road. Many times I was looking at ending up in the harbour! But the wee Imp was just sooo much fun. I'd head back to town over the High Road. Yeah, Skippers was a bit of a nightmare in the late 60's/early 70's. I went hunting up there about 1970. Started off at Arrowtown and went up the Arrow River, branched at the [Soho Creek I think it was called] and went up over Mt Just and Advanced Peak, ending up in the upper Shotover. When on top of Mt Just I saw a storm coming in and so decided to get off the mountain so walked until abut 10pm to reach the Upper Shotover road then decided just to carry on walking and walk out. In those days the Upper Shotover road was just all Mica dust, no seal and the dust swirled all around you. But around 11pm a cockie came by in his beat up Landrover and asked me what the hell I was doing! I told him I was walking back out to the main road after being hunting in the hills. He told me to "hop in" and took me back to his farm where he put me up in a barn. In the morning his wife brought me out breakfast! Life was just so much simpler then; people cared for each-other. Nowadays, if you are seen carrying a firearm, you get visited by the entire bloody Police force!

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

Great vlog as always! I remember that car. All UK made car were gone after the oil crisis. Rover and Chrysler was selling in very small numbers. Anything UK GM became Opel. Ford UK became Ford Germany. Cortina I and II yes. III became Taunus IV became Granada. Funny story; my father always wanted a Jaguar. One day he had money to buy one. When he found out that you could not fit a set of golf clubs in trunk he bought a MB 500 SEL, a W126 from 1984. I miss that car! Sigh!

[@JohnWilliams-ld9xg]

First car I every owned. Bought it for £165 to learn to drive in. Passed my test, bought something newer and left the Imp to rust on my mum's driveway for nearly two years. Then one day, out of the blue, I was contacted by a "cherished" registration plate outfit, who offered to take the vehicle for £250. Decided to try for a cheeky £500, but happily to settled on £300.

[@Ralph2]

Well-sorted Imps and Minis are both extremely good to drive. Given enough power to reach 100mph with the right suspension and brakes there was little else in the 60's and 70's to match them on fast 'B' roads. I feel very lucky to have enjoyed owning several of both marques and hold them in equal high regard.

[@VictorGate]

Navigated for a friend in the Exeter Trial in a Sunbeam Imp. In the Lands End Trial a year later he ran a similar car but modified for trials, raised suspension, lower gearbox ratios etc. We did well getting an award and it was real fun. I drove part of the way back to the Midlands. Fantastic on twisting roads and up hills, but top speed poor. due to the low ratios.

[@christopherconard2831]

Every automotive historical video from the 70's, US or Europe. "The OPEC Embargo" "And then they went on strike". "Quality control was between rare and non existent."

[@SunShine-dk6rk]

Growing up in the 70s we had one of these in 1972,great car I remember playing with my Matchbox Rolamatic tank on the rear shelf which was ridged and bumpy,before that we had a Chamois and my aunt had the Chamois too ,we loved these lil cars,thanks for a great upload,wishing yourself,family,friends and fellow fan's health and happiness,as an old youngster I still luv the Hillman Imp on the Forza Horizon 4 game set in England.

[@samolevski1119]

Had a neighbour who was a shop steward at Linwood, and I remember my father poking fun at him for always going on strike. They thought they were indispensable

[@matthewbrown2037]

It's a sad story, that of the poor old Hillman Imp. It was a great idea and design, just badly executed. It was a cool looking car, (especially in California or Stiletto guise), with great handling and the all alloy, SOHC Coventry Climax engine was a fantastic little power plant, far more sophisticated than the A series. I'm not sure if I prefer it to the Mini, I'd have to drive an Imp to reach that decision. It's such a shame that in the strike ridden Great Britain at that time the poor car never stood a chance, especially when you add all the faults, design flaws and sabotage that came with it. You'd have thought the workers at the Linwood plant would have just been grateful for the employment, but instead they just end up helping to bring the entire factory to its knees in just 10 years. Putting an end to, not only Imp production, but to by far the biggest employer in an already heavily depressed area.

[@paphian2990]

Having owned both the Mini and the Imp, the Mini was the better car to drive. It was also much easier for the handyman owner to work on (we used to do that in those days). That aluminium Imp engine needed very careful handling.

[@DeanJuvenal]

Crass bad management and treating workers like scum was the downfall of most of the British car production industry. I fact, that Gentleman farmer attitude has led to the failure of so much UK production until the Japanese stepped in.

[@byronmills5952]

@@paphian2990 I've owned both too - much preferred the Imp in all aspects.

[@tautliners]

The imp was a great little car, so quiet and smooth to drive.

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

👍 Brilliant video, thanks. I have always liked these cars and thought it was a shame that a little more development may have resulted in better success. Never new about the Lady and Lord Imp!

[@antoniomonteiro3698]

My parents had one - from what I remember of what my mother remembered: it stopped on the first red light on the deliver day and had to be towed back to repair; it stopped the day after the warranty expired (or fully payed?) and never ran again. It was lots of fun: me and my brothers often kneel behind the back seat for small trips :)

[@darrenwilson8042]

My Dads 1st car was an Imp - in Harvest Gold. GFR208D - no idea why I have retained that information lol.

[@chucky2316]

Because they are our first cars. The beetle I grew up with red rod 588n

[@michaellangdon8347]

Loved the video. Seems to be a couple of similarities between the story of the imp, and that of the alfasud

[@BigCar2]

True.

[@ninonucaro8539]

@BigCar I will not repeat myself, but as car history lover, ex car seller etc. I must say, that the details in your history narrating are truly spot on, describing in few sentences the world that existed around yhe time the car reached the market are so well chosen, as so you get the true picture of what went on in those days. I love British car manufacturing history, if you dive deep enough, past the great businessmen that were responsable for the "good cars", you always find the bad apples that often produced nightmares that never went away in certain countries and their car manufacturing histories. The two biggest car manufacturers in official registered car brands(Britain ca. 430 and Italy ca. 370), have great stories of success, but also of the struggle of the car industry, managed by very often the same bad apples. GREAT VIEO.

[@lagrasta666]

I was born in 1970 in the island of Malta. When I was young my father used to take my brother and I every Sunday to an old RAF airbase and where car and motorbike races were performed by entusiasts. I remember very well Hillman Imps taking part in these races thrown in the midst of Mini Minors, Ford Escorts and Ford Capris, Fiats 600 Abarth and Simcas. Those were the good old days.

[@TheVintageApplianceEmporium]

Oh my GOD I want a "Lady Imp"! Gonna ask my husband nicely to get me one. I'll have a GnT ready for him when he gets home from work this evening XD

[@jimf671]

An immensely capable chassis with traction to eclipse most 4x4 of the time, powered by an incredible engine that shocked my Engines Chief Engineer boss when I gave him a lift home (1976 Caledonian) as I revved it to 8000rpm when overtaking! What you fail to mention is that the almost universal twin mistakes of three-star petrol and no antifreeze caused a ridiculous number of failures with the effects of user ignorance multiplied many many times by the much more dangerous motor trade ignorance. Five people plus luggage stuffed in every corner doing 75 down the motorway for 200+ miles gave me 44mpg. Once got a fridge and a cooker in an Imp while moving house. Tried to test Vauxhall's resin-based traction spray in snow-drifts but failed because I simply couldn't get the Imp stuck. At one stage, the Imp held all 22 (prod saloon and mod saloon x 11 circuits) British circuit lap records in its class.

[@nkt1]

"resin-based traction spray"? Is this related to GM's Liquid Tire Chain?

[@jimf671]

@@nkt1 That might have been the same sort of stuff. There have recently been Norwegian and Polish versions on sale. I think they are resin-based but I don't know if that is natural or artificial resin. They are supposed to increase traction by a factor of three which from a low starting point is not much. Normally fails because people do not have the patience to use it as directed!

[@jockellis]

Saw one at a church’s British car show a few weeks ago. Inside the engine compartment was a sticker which read: Roots Group; proudly turning owners into mechanics for over 60 years.

[@allanredford6070]

ho-ho, priceless lunacy.

[@gaufrid1956]

I remember having a die cast model of a Hillman Imp with opening doors and rear window and folding rear seat when I was a kid in Australia. Certainly quirky little cars!

[@TheChill001]

just shows that unions went from a good thing with actual good reasons in the early 1900's to a bunch of powerhungry people that simply could not stomach actually working to earn a living.

[@BigCar2]

There's been a long debate about whether it was the unions or the management that killed the British car industry. The sad fact was it was joint effort.

[@saxon-mt5by]

@@BigCar2 Aided and abetted by the Government!

[@fluidefluide1128]

A chap I knew in the 70s worked in BMC /BL management, he very quietly used to say that 90% of "union" disputes were engineered by management and consequently blamed on unions by the Tory supporting press, the intent being to get rid of staff and shut down plant.

[@TheChill001]

@Retired Bore you could say that, but on the other hand here in belgium...a LOT of people missed out on a very good severance package from Ford when they closed the factory in Genk simply because the unions pushed for more. It resulted in Ford rightfully deciding not to be generous and just give the most basic of severance packages as agreed in the contracts. A friend of mine who wasn't syndicated at the time got lucky and had a severance package which literally paid him for three years at full salary.

[@daviddillon172]

If only they had built it in Coventry. The Linwood work force also killed the Avenger and Sumbeam.

[@andrewfrancis3591]

My dad and I went to look at one of those Sunbeams. The door shuts were all out of line,. He put his hand into the front wheel arch to see if there was finish on the inside of the wings. His hand came out cut open, it was like a tin can lid.

[@LondonSteveLee]

Sweaty socks still sponging off the English to this very day.

[@Logies_right_hand]

@@LondonSteveLeeSweaty Socks have a strong history of quality engineering including shipbuilding and locomotives…..at one point 1/5th of the world’s ships were built on the Clyde. This is just down to poor management

[@Logies_right_hand]

@@LondonSteveLeeThe majority of England sponge from Scotland then…..only London and the South East perform better.

[@LondonSteveLee]

@@Logies_right_hand Rubbish - most of the profitable gas fields left are in ENGLISH waters - the North Sea runs down the east coast of England - don't make the mistake of associating "North Sea" income with Scotland. Due to the Barnet formula Scottish people are over subsidised - Welfare dependency in Scotland is higher than England.

[@rogerhale6895]

I had the Husky in late 70's, very useful as I was fitting out a boat at the time. My main memory is that it seemed to use as much oil as it did petrol, but it was fun to drive and reliable so long as I remembered to top up the oil regularly 😁

[@-POISON-]

Thank you for this video. I always had a soft spot for this little car. It was great to see all the special editions. Loved the California and Stiletto. Unfortunately, it was a victim of circumstance, otherwise, it could have been a great car.

[@nickwebb9290]

Really interesting, thanks. Reminded me of a friends car way back in the 70’s, the Singer Chamois (perhaps this is mentioned in your ‘extras’). We went for miles in that, a dark metallic green one. It could be reasonably nippy if pushed hard which he did quite often 😳 however that car made me grateful that I had a Mini Cooper

[@petergaskin1811]

That was the one I had. Lovely to drive, especially in the wet.