1972 Sunbeam Imp Sport

[bazzateer]

berendd said:

nice imp, but did those tiny rust patches made it fail MOT? my fiesta almost hasn't got any floorpans left and it passed...

Yeah they did, the front one was within 300mm of a suspension mount and the one on the sill was within 300mm of a seat belt mount. I take my kids out in my cars so safety stuff is more important to me.

[bazzateer]

Well, I've done a thousand or so miles in LNK since the MOT and last weekend I took him from London to the south coast to visit the family and to help out a fellow Imper. He'd won the Practical Classics comp to have a respray done by Kustom Kolors in Poole and needed picking up from Bournemouth BR stn to go to Christchurch and collect his newly painted Imp.
So I picked him up and here's a couple of photos:



Anyway, LNK's clutch had been slipping a bit on the way there and gradually got worse and worse. I eventually made it home to Finchley, London at 0200 on the Monday. LNK is now off the road until I can arrange for the new 930 Sport engine to be fitted when the clutch will be replaced too. A previous owner informs me that clutch has been in place over 20 years so i can't really grumble! ;D

[v8chevette]

Very nice looking Imps!!!!

Thought you may enjoy this link

www.john-sleath.com/portfolio4.htm#imp

[bazzateer]

Yeah, seen that before - super cool IMHO

[Marc]

Lovely looking Imp you've got there. I've always had a thing for them, but yours has really made me take notice.

Surprised I haven't seen it before in Finchley - I grew up there and my parents still live there. Will have to keep my eyes open!

[bazzateer]

It's kept off the road and I tend to drive away from Finchley then back again, so it's only on the road around Finchley for short runs! I have seen a red Coupe a couple of times in the area but never managed to speak to the owner - any ideas?

[bazzateer]

FAME AT LAST !!!

LNK is now a 'cover girl' ;D

[skamanfrank]

!! Jealous!

I really must send in a photo of FAF for impressions......

...Could do a before and after front and back!

[bazzateer]

On Saturday I dropped off the Alley cat style wheels (6x13) and new (budget) 185-60-13 tyres at BJV Engineering. They're going to chemically clean, repair and powder-coat the wheels in satin black. Then mount the tyres with new valves and balance all four. Should be ready by the weekend. They'll end up on LNK and the silver Sportpacks will go into storage for LYH.

[V8imp]

nice pic baz, the blues one,s gorgeous, pity the pub location is to be shut down now

[bazzateer]

Got my wheels back last week, only one pic but they all look like this one

[bazzateer]

Here's a (not very good) shot of the wheels in place

[bazzateer]

Another pic from the Ace (courtesy of Speedman), car is being fettled ready for a trip to the Netherlands in May.

[revracing]

Looking good Baz, really like the wheels :-D, whats have you got planned next for it

[bazzateer]

Still playing around with the cooling system. I have a new High Efficiency rad to go in and may revert to a standard water pump as I'm not convinced the electric one fitted can cope at high speed. Current head has a crack in it so I'm waiting for a new big valve head with R17 cam to be built up should be ready in a week or so.
New U/Js being fitted into a spare pair of half-shafts and a new set of Comp donuts ready to be fitted. May fit new rear suspension as well. All needs to be done by May as I'm off to the Nehterlands with it and my trailer tent.
Also just bought a set of Dunlop D1s to go on too.

[bazzateer]

Took the old rad out today and discovered that my radiator ducting had disappeared (may explain why it was running hotter than expected!). Also the alternator bracket has broken. Going to be busy tomorrow.

[bazzateer]

Fruits of today's labours, Radiator Scoop/duct. Joins have been sealed with roof and gutter sealant (stays soft and should stop any air leaking out). Stone guard is temporary. Ran out of time so not fitted it yet. I'll probably add a rubber lip once I've seen how low it sits. Nearly ran out of rivets too, just 3 left! :lol:

Back to work tomorrow so not sure when it will be fitted.

[Macoli]

Good work there! I hope that there's enough area on the duct so that it doesn't choke.

[bazzateer]

So do I! It's much the same as used ny other Impers so should be OK. It's fitted in the car now along with the fan and other bits. Just need to top up the water and run it up, check for leaks etc then go for a test run.

[mkickert]

I believe Corky Bell says that the minimum opening should be about 40% of the rad surface, if it's of any help now. Maybe you can make the opening wider?