15 replies to this topic

[mab01uk]

Mini v Imp comparison from Popular Motoring 1974:

[86mayfair]

Very good!

My dad has rallied both and his opionion is that the Imp was a far superior car. He bored it out to 998 for the 1000cc class and the power band was from 6k to 10k rpm. It used to scream! When taken out to 998 it was over-square so the Bore was greater than the stroke meaning it used to just rev and revIt had a very light aluminium engine which many like to say was an old fire pump, but it was made by Coventry Climax which was a very successful racing engine manufacturer. The problem was that a lot of people didn't know how to work with aluminium which is what caused a lot of the reliability problems.

He thought that the Imp handled better with similar dimensions but it's rear engine and rear wheel drive configuration made it easier to drive quickly on stages.


You will often find that the 998 cc Imps used to be just as quick as 1275 Minis!

Edited by 86mayfair, 03 February 2013 - 07:49 PM.

[Tanya]

Practical Classics have just repeated the exercise in their current issue and used Speedy, our 1960 as the 'Mini'. However, the article favours the Imp over the Mini.
http://www.practicalclassics.co.uk/

[OfMini&Men]

My Autie owned both of these cars and she said the mini was far better with a small family than the imp and i don't think the turning circle is correct though.

[dow62]

The Robin (nice colour) was most likely as quick in a straight line,of course !

[mab01uk]

They used to give the racing Mini's a hard time in Special Saloons back in the 1970's.
Some interesting info here on Bill McGovern and the Bevan Imp:
http://www.imps4ever...aces/bevan.html

At the Crystal Palace Sprint last year, recreated.

[mab01uk]

The advanced for its time, lightweight all alloy SOHC Imp engine (ex-Coventry Climax) was fitted to the Mini's transverse fwd gearbox by several Mini racers in the 1960's and 70's due to its high reving ability and tuning potential in the 1 litre class. One of the most famous Mini racers to use this hybrid set-up was Ginger Marshall who had many successes racing a Mini Van/Traveller in the Modified Special Saloon class during the 1970's.

1970s Special Saloon car racing with almost unlimited mods allowed the Imp engine which was far more technically advanced than the old A series and could be tuned to give reliably more power hence the Mini-Imp engined hybrids. I spent many weekends at the circuits in the 70s watching Ginger Marshalls Mini-Imp challenge the Hillman Imps domination of the class. Eventually both the Minis and Imps developed into Maquire type space frames with fibreglass bodies and Ginger Marshall unfortunately put a Reliant Kitten body on his!

 

Also Monty Guildford's Mini-Imp 850:-

http://www.theminifo...mini/?p=3582323

 

Some more Mini-Imp details here:
http://www.startline...1/terrapin2.htm
Quote:
"At that time it was fitted with Allan's Imp engine / Mini gearbox conversion. "It was eminently suitable for hillclimbing where the car runs for just a few minutes, and usually not much more than a minute in anger. Allan had bolted a thick alloy plate onto the bottom of the Imp engine and then cut the gearbox away from a Mini engine. The plate formed a flange which bolted onto the the gearbox. This was fine for hillclimbing but was less than oil tight when we ran a race distance. However, "Ginger" Marshall had, during the 1980's run a Reliant Kitten special saloon with an Imp/Mini Hybrid."
"Ginger's brother was the mechanic and I spoke to him. They had had 5 special blocks cast which included the block itself and the adaptor to fit the Mini box. That gave a relatively reliable oil tight seal. As luck would have it, one of the people who had bought an engine from the Marshalls advertised it a week or two later in Autosport, so I bought it and fitted it, which solved a lot of problems."




^Imp engine on a Mini gearbox conversion in Metro subframe by Ian Carter/Shrigley Engineering.
See more under 'Current Projects' & scroll down for future 4WD Imp Project!
http://www.shrigleyengineering.co.uk/

Imp battles with Mini,Alfa,Lancia at Spa in hscc half hour race. 9,000rpm in top = 118mph going well for 998cc! (More videos on Shrigley Eng website).


As a road going engine however, early Imp Mk1 engines did have a reputation for blowing head gaskets, overheating and warping the alloy head, which it never fully lived down even in its improved later Mk2 form. I also remember bolting on plates to get rid of the excessive positive camber on front wheels of Mk1 Imps!

The Imp Engine in detail here:
http://www.imps4ever...ech/engine.html

Edited by mab01uk, 25 June 2019 - 09:47 PM.

[firstforward]

I think those mpg figures are wrong on a few counts for both cars.

[86mayfair]

That Bevan Imp is stunning!

[RawlinsGTR]

Sorry for poor quality photos, taken with my phone:









Simon.

[ChrisCityE]

As I posted on another forum:




I used to have a 1275cc Mini and a 998cc Imp.

The Imp engine was lightened, balanced, race cam etc and did 0-60 in 10.5 seconds. It was absolutely stunning and the handling was pretty good.

I bought it with an 875cc engine and it was so dull and gutless that I had to pay the £1800 for the race engine to fulfil my speedy side.

Mini did 0-60 in 11.5 seconds but handled far more precisely and I felt more confident in predicting what the car would do.

Overall, in standard 875 Imp vs 998 Mini spec the Mini wins, in 998 Imp vs. 1275 Mini spec I would say they are about even.


You could hear my Imp for a mile away, amazingly loud car.

[86mayfair]

You could hear my Imp for a mile away, amazingly loud car.

Yep!! My Dad's rally car had the common modification of an Aston Martin back box on the back. On one stage in Wales a bend was tighter than it looked on the map and he had to put the car very sideways to get round but he just clipped a tree the the exhaust and it came off. He said that he thought it had got a bit louder but couldn't really tell from inside his helmet, especially over the induction roar but what really gave it away was all the heads of spectators coming out of the trees looking for the source of the racket that was an imp at 9000rpm

[mab01uk]

Hillman Imp: The Development story:-
"The Hillman Imp was the Rootes Group’s great white hope to beat the Mini at its own game.
But as Keith Adams of AROnline explains, the project was riddled with setbacks and issues that stopped it achieving anywhere near its full potential.
Ultimately, the Imp was a victim of the oft-repeated mistake of launching a car before it had been fully developed. Reputations are hard earned and easily lost….."
The Full Story:-
https://www.aronline...rs/hillman/imp/