41 replies to this topic

[mab01uk]

i am aware there are several reasons why this could be hard but lets think about this logically.


is the imps engine directly mounted to the rear axle? but the wheelbase looks the same as the mini and the size of all the components would suggest it could fit very nicly in the boot. i am deadly serious about starting this project but i think i will need some information from others first.

or if not could the block be converted to work FWD

The advanced for its time, lightweight all alloy SOHC Imp engine (ex-Coventry Climax) was fitted to the Mini's 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 hybred 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 hybreds. 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!

As a road going engine however, early Imp engines had 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.

Edited by mab01uk, 02 June 2010 - 07:42 AM.

[Stevee]

if your gonna stick an engine in the back stick a

Yam r1 Engine tuned up to the max you should get bout 300 bhp ish

in a mini you get pure front end lift and its just insanely quick

and if i remember right Yam r1 are 1300cc or 1600cc

[Robbie]

if your gonna stick an engine in the back stick a

Yam r1 Engine tuned up to the max you should get bout 300 bhp ish

in a mini you get pure front end lift and its just insanely quick

and if i remember right Yam r1 are 1300cc or 1600cc

Nope, only 998cc.

[Mattl]

Mate, as been said above the conversion offers you few if any benefits.

However i can follow your reasoning and if its what you want to do, then do it. Ignore what everyone else thinks. Life would be boring if everyone conformed to the same reasoning as everybody else.

MGF rear transplant would fit your reasoning and offer you some performance benefits though

[trafficface09]

Page 2 contains hope! ha ha theres an imp engine on ebay atm hey mab01uk thanks for that, very interesting.


The imp engine is mounted at an offset angle of say 45 degrees, why is this done? i would obviously want to mount it in the upright position.

actually all the transplants sound good. but every time i say stuff like this everyone thinks its madness and then there's ivas and insurence i gues i will do this in a few years time


sorry i have to

this is not madness this is Sparta!

[mab01uk]

The Imp engine was mounted at 45 degrees to save height under the Imps rear window parcel shelf area. All the race conversions of Imp engines sitting on a Mini gearbox that I have seen use an adaptor plate which sits also the engine upright like the original A series.

I think ex-racer Ginger Marshall is still around so would suggest you contact him for some photos and advice if you go ahead with this project.

Edited by mab01uk, 03 June 2010 - 07:53 AM.

[E-Tizzle]

i think that if everyone is saying it is madness - then just go ahead and do it.
prove them wrong. it will probably be quite hard but it will be the only one in the world ever!!!

as long as you dont get bored half way through and end up with 2 knackered cars. do it and put some pictures up

[ap0llo_*]

Why would you want an Imp engine in all seriousness? I had a Hillman Imp as my learner car, the engine was so sluggish It didn't take long for the instructor to ditch it and stick a 2l Ford Engine in. The A Series Engine is superior to any Impy.

Edited by ap0llo_*, 03 June 2010 - 11:37 PM.

[mini13]

never driven a decent imp then....

a std imp 875 is 40hp putting roughly it on par with a 998 mini, but the imp lump is cosiderably smoother and revier,

the 875 imp sports were around 55hp putting them on par with a 998 cooper,

the rare 998 rallye imps had circa 70 hp putting upt there with the 1071 cooper S,

tuned Imps are capable of 120 hp+ and over 10K rpm, and handle great too, perfectly capable of racing against 1400cc minis.

anyway I digress...

the imp lump sticks out quite a way behind the rear wheels, you'll need a 2-3 ft pod on the back of a mini to house it.


check this out, especially the lovely gt40 at 9 mins

http://www.youtube.c...feature=channel

Edited by mini13, 03 June 2010 - 10:26 PM.

[trafficface09]

again thank you. now can you see what i mean. the imp engine would offer a decent increase in performance and would be quite of interest at shows. scinse i intend to style my car in a W&p fashion with all manor of old style modifications i think the engine would be suitable. sufice to say i would rather front mount it but i will need more info on insurance for a 19 year old learner under say footman james.

i think if i was going to go ahead with this i would need help from a mini doc even if it was online pictures and diagrams

the imp engine has gone from ebay so im not sure how long i will have to wait for another but i realy want to do this,

im going to contact ginger marshal now. keep your eyes peeled. daves going imp powered!

edit: that engine sounds smexy!

Edited by trafficface09, 03 June 2010 - 11:33 PM.

[trafficface09]

wait how can i contact the ginger marshal... oh this is going to be hard isnt it

[mab01uk]

wait how can i contact the ginger marshal... oh this is going to be hard isnt it

Try asking on some of the motorsport forums which cover Special Saloon racing from the 1970's like this:
http://www.ten-tenth...d...2642&page=2

or you could ask Mini Miglia racer Peter Baldwin who used to race with him in that era. (Many on here will have used Peter Baldwins rolling road to set up their engines and Peter used to race a Mini with a Ford-BDA engine on a Mini gearbox..........).
http://www.wilshers-garages.com/

Edited by mab01uk, 04 June 2010 - 08:23 AM.

[tedmcedd]

never driven a decent imp then....

a std imp 875 is 40hp putting roughly it on par with a 998 mini, but the imp lump is cosiderably smoother and revier,

the 875 imp sports were around 55hp putting them on par with a 998 cooper,

the rare 998 rallye imps had circa 70 hp putting upt there with the 1071 cooper S,

i thought the sports were 998 and the standard imps 875... my dad has had loads of them...

i was thinking of getting one recently however he said that minis were better for long trips (driving to Uni) as said before they overheated badly and blew headgaskets....

i like the idea of the imp/mini engine! would be interesting to see some pictures.

[mab01uk]

Some more background 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."

A Reliant Kitten, for our younger readers of whom we have none, was a 3 wheel Reliant Robin with an extra wheel. Quite a clever concept really, and amazing that 4 wheels had never before occured to anybody. It was attractive for special saloons because it had a long wheelbase in a small car. But I digress.

"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."

[trafficface09]

wooo look at this

found pictures