12 Car Nav

by Jenny

This wasn't strictly an Impish adventure, but it was because of joining Woolbridge MC that we decided to try their 12 Car navigational rallies, but in our VW Golf.  That car rather than the Imp partly because we have at least a 1 1/2 hour drive to get to/from the start, and because it's winter!

These take place in the depths of Dorset/Devon/Somerset and involve tortuous routes down tiny lanes, about 50 miles which takes a couple of hours.  We had our first go at it last night, with me driving and Alex navigating, and succeeded in completing the whole thing without a single argument, which most people would think was an achievement in itself!  Not because we generally argue (we don't), but because it is the type of situation that could easily raise the blood pressure.

We were of course using the Beginner's instructions, and we also got 15 minutes before the start to look at them and start plotting them on the map.   They were good in that they involved lots of different types of instructions - spot heights, tulip diagrams, herringbones and directional. 

After all the rain we've had recently, and the fact that there is a lot of farmland around there, some of the roads were thick with mud and there were a couple of floods.  In one village we met some contractors with large tractors who seemed to be there solely to spread mud on the road, including one lump the size of a very large badger....  by the end of the route I was glad we'd done it in the Golf and not the Imp, it looked as though it had been offroading, and I'm not sure how well it would have fared in the couple of floods.

The route was designed for an average speed of 24 mph and part of the scoring takes into account how far away from this your speed is (faster or slower); there are time checks along the way as well as at the end.  Also there are code boards along the way with letters on which you have to record to show that you were there, these are normally placed in areas where you might easily cut off a corner or go the wrong way. 

Apparently we ended up 4th overall, but we're not sure yet whether that means out of everyone or just the beginners/novices; we will see when we get the full results.

So, all in all a good first go at navigational rallying!

Winter break

Now that we are in between hill climb seasons we've been looking towards next year. Alex thinks the 875 Sport engine should be able to go straight in without him having to take it apart which is good. He's been investigating the new carbs and reading up on them since we've never had Webers before. The Imp is certainly proving educational as well as fun! 

Alex has taken it up to Newbury for the weekend and reported that it's going well though still the odd tick-over issue. We're not going to worry too much about that though since we'll be changing the engine soon; we're just waiting for some info on the clutch and flywheel requirements.

On the 7th Nov we are doing our first navigation rally with Woolbridge Motor Club over in Dorset/Devon which is quite nerve wracking... We're not planning to use the Imp though, as we have a 2 hour drive just to get to the start!

Shopping!

By Jenny

Just back from a weekend's camping and shopping, not IN the Imp, but FOR the Imp. The final collection consisted of:

One Imp Sport engine 875cc
One standard spare engine 875cc
Twin Weber carburettors and manifold
Montecarlo springs front and rear
New handbrake cable
Brake kits
Replacement dash from which we can take a temp gauge. At the moment we just have The Light of Doom.

So that's a few things for us (well mostly Alex let's face it, while I'm studying) to work on while waiting for hillclimbs to resume in April!

XLB's biggest fan

Whenever we are working on XLB, Django's preferred spot is on the back seat and he will pester and get in the way until we relent!

Vehicle choices, and collecting engines

Sometimes friends ask us why we need to own a VW Transporter van, surely a normal car is sufficient? Mostly these are people who rarely travel further than 20 miles from home. Also, if any of them had owned a van themselves they would understand just how vital it is for:

• Filling with camping gear for a week in Scotland + large dog
• Being able to see over hedgerows, and the car in front in traffic jams
• Using to collect car engines, bonnets, and other sundry large items
• Room for a double sofa bed mattress for in-van sleeping
• Taking 3 months worth of garden rubbish to the tip
• Moving house

This weekend it will be collecting two Imp engines won on eBay for a bargain (one Imp Sport, one standard 875cc), as well as carrying gear for us to camp for a night in the Peak District, plus dog of course.

What do you mean, "camping? but it's October!"   We camped for 2 weeks in Scotland in November once; it rained for 12 out of 14 days, so I'm sure we'll manage...

Preparing for the winter project

Over the winter we plan to va-va-voom XLB a bit.  It would be lovely to be able to buy a ready re-built 998cc engine with all the bells and whistles but unfortunately our budget doesn't stretch to that, so instead we'll be putting bits together to do it ourselves (with a bit of help from some friends).

So we have a long watch list on eBay including a Sport engine and other bits and pieces, and will be talking to Malcolm Anderson about some other things.

Tonight we've won a front radiator + fan, although that is more of a long term plan.  Imps have a reputation for over-heating, though so far (touch wood) we've not had an issue; when we put a bigger engine in then the front radiator will be a good addition.

A trip to Goodwood

... no not competing!!

We drove the Imp to The Goodwood Revival and parked in the 'cars that get free tax' car park amongst a huge variety of vehicles from E-Types (popular) to Jensen CV8s (always fancied one), MGs, Minis, American monsters... oh and one Gilbern GT which we had a good look around!

Here are a few photos

Just a very small part of Car Park B

Of course we dressed appropriately

The highlight of the day for us was the St Mary's Trophy saloon car racing

Alex fell in love with this

How XLB got into hill climbing

by Jenny

Until a few months ago, ‘hill climbing’ to me had meant donning walking boots and setting off with the dog up a Scottish mountain. Now it has taken on a whole new meaning of donning a race suit and helmet and setting off in my Hillman Imp up a kilometre or so of tarmac.

My experience of competitive sports to date has been limited to yacht and dinghy racing, mainly because of my technical job in yacht handicapping. However, I have always enjoyed driving, and over the years both I and my husband Alex have hankered after taking part in historic rallying but were put off by the potential cost.  We then heard about speed hill climbing and realised that it was a great way to compete in motorsport on a limited budget.  A change in personal priorities a couple of years ago was the incentive to stop procrastinating, and so it was that at the age of 46 I became a speed hill climber.

Alex & I have had various classic cars over the years, including a Jaguar Mk2, Austin A35, Triumph Vitesse 6 and a Gilbern GT1800 which we still own.   We decided that our perfect car for hill climbing would be a Hillman Imp, so started looking in Sept 2011 and very soon found XLB 889G in Cornwall, a very original Imp Super with 32K on the clock for £1500.  At this point we discovered that low mileage doesn’t always equal less work, as after passing the MOT the car started rebelling once we were using it regularly!  Alex rebuilt the suspension and we got a new head gasket fitted as a precautionary measure; since then many hours have been spent fiddling with various settings and replacing ancilliaries in an effort to get the engine running reliably well.

In summer 2012 we spectated at two local hill climbs and in July it was time to enter my first event, the MG Car Club event at Wiscombe Park in September; followed 2 weeks later by the Woolbridge Motor Club event at Manor Farm, Charmouth.  At this stage we could only afford one set of gear and entries, so it was up to me to see what the Imp could do, while Alex was mechanic.

The month before the first event was spent getting and fitting new seats with headrests, and more tweaking of the engine as it still has a few running issues we couldn’t pin down.  I already knew that I wouldn’t be competitive in the A1 class (standard production ar up to 1400cc) but it didn’t matter – my aim was to enjoy myself, improve my personal best times, and not bend the car!

Camping at Wiscombe

After a 2.5 hour drive in the Imp down to Wiscombe on the Friday night, 8^th Sept dawned foggy but with the promise of sunshine.  I was pleased to ‘buddy up’ with the driver of the car in front of me, and we walked the hill together which was helpful.  Being in a paddock full of gorgeous MGs and derivatives, racing cars and obviously very experienced hill climbers could have been intimidating, but we have found without exception that hill climb people are some of the friendliest we have met.

My first practice run was slow! Over 80 seconds (the Minis do around 50-55); despite having walked the hill it looks very different from a driving seat, and I was finding my way. But when I got to the top I felt quite emotional that after all the anticipation of the last few months, I had actually DONE IT!!  After that I had a target to beat and was already planning where I could save time, and the sun had come out. By the 4^th run I’d got my time down to 70.8 and knew where I could save more next time. Not too bad for a first timer with an ancient, standard 875cc engine!

Some of our neighbours in the paddock at Wiscombe

Manor Farm is a totally different and much shorter course, and again we had a dry day. Unfortunately the car was running on kangaroo fuel, coughing and hesitating at inopportune moments, but it was an intermittent problem and we didn’t want to change things and risk making it worse!  This time I tried a different tactic for each run especially on gear changes, and ended up with a best time of 45.52 seconds.  I had entered the ‘Woolbridge class’ for beginners in a totally standard road car and was the only entrant in that class, so I took home a 1^st place award at the end of the day – a definite incentive for next year.

I’ve had lots of comments about the Imp and people saying how nice and original it looks, and how good it is to see a standard one competing. We do have plans to improve the performance over the winter, while staying in class A1 and keeping the car looking as standard as possible, which is important to us; it also has to also perform well as an everyday car.  

Alex will also be driving next year, we will be sharing the Imp; I’m really looking forward to the new season, and it will be a great incentive for me to get my times fast against his!  

Welcome to our new blog site

Welcome to our new blog.

On here we will regale you with tales of adventures in our 1968 Hillman Imp Super, both on the hill and off.

If you are a speed hill climber and compete in SW England, then we look forward to seeing you in the paddock!