The story so far and edited highlights....
Bought my Stiletto back in March from a trader in Cambridgeshire. Always liked Imps, my dad had two and I had one when I was a kid. Wanted a classic that was sensible in terms of running costs and petrol. Something that would keep up with modern day traffic and that was tax free. An Imp fitted the bill in all respects and so when I saw it on eBay, I made the call, did the miles, bought the car and had it delivered a week later....
Without major detail here are some of the trials and tribulations so far...
Two weeks after getting it it flooded the garage with petrol as the electic fuel pump had been wired permanently live via the coil. Fuel in every part of the engine. Oil and filter change, new underpants for me...
I had the steering rack, shocks (changed to Gaz, magic for the money!), brake hoses, front wheel cylinders and brake shoes all round changed at the garage prior to National Day...
Jobs I've managed myself in no particular order....
Sourced an original steering wheel from Germany, repainted and retrimmed it with a kit from eBay. Made up some thumbrests out of tin and covered them with leather he gave me free!
Stripped down the 28/36 Weber, cleaned out all the gunk and rebuilt it.
Replaced the awful Speedograph airfilter for a Ramflow one. Had to modify the baseplate as it blocked a couple of holes. Then I dropped a screw down the Weber and took an hour to get it back out with long nose pliars and Blu-tac. Bad memory that!
Changed both bumpers. A new one from Robin and a used front from Malcolm at National day as both were dented.
Replaced the standard wheels with Dunlop D1 replica's from JBW.
Restuffed the sun visors as they hung like witches tits from coathangers!
Sourced and fitted a new rev counter. Never again, trying to get the old one out of it's bezel so I could re-use it was no fun!
Replaced the cam cover with one that had the fuel pump aperature blocked off and put two cam cover gaskets on Hylomared together to stop oil leaking onto the manifold and slowly gassing me!
Put an electronic 45D4 dizzy on it I got from ebay. Had fun timing it up. Did the usual, get it close then go for a run with a spanner. Has improved the car no end as it was a pig from cold previously, despite new points, condenser and rotor arm.
Fixed the wiper motor at Imp National Day as the rack nut came off on the way over the mountain back from the Saturday run. How happy was I when it was only that!
Plus a good few other small jobs that you soon forget you've done....
Then came the biggy. Respray....
The paint and body were going in a few places. Front valance N/S, under the chromes below the rear windows on the wings, around the O/S rear lamp and a couple of bubbles on the arches. Basically every panel had a defect and it needed to be looked at, as left it would only get worse...
So... the long job of finding someone to repair it at the right money began. Now I've had cars sprayed in the past, just blow overs really. But I wanted something better, but not a Pebble Beach job. Just a nice job, to make me happy and the car look nice. Easy you would think....
In about 2 months I spoke to about 6 spray shops. Some weren't interested, some were majorly expensive and others didn't inspire confidence. I tried folks I knew from years back in the trade and even big bodyshops, nothing doing....Then I remembered a little place in Oldbury. He'd been there years and I saw his signs everytime I went to the tip. So I rang him thinking that he probably wouldn't be interested and it would save me the trip for a knockback. Anyway he asked me to drop down. He had a good look and said he would ring me. He'd done a good few classics in the past, had the right attitude, was approachable and was all over the car for half an hour. One bloke I went to gave me an instant price in 5 minutes without looking properly or pricing the paint up!
Anyway he rang, gave me a rough price and said he'd like another look. Took it down and spotted something I'd missed and we shook on a decent price. He wasn't any bother, car was ready 3-4 weeks later. Welded and painted and was exactly what I expected. Now I'm halfway through rustproofing it with Sika Guard. Speak as I find, he did a good job for the right money in-keeping with the value of the car and my expectations of what my budget would buy. So if you're in Brum or the Black Country and thinking about spraying an Imp give me a shout. You can take a look at mine over a cuppa and I'll give you his number if you like what he's done.
Anyway, enough waffle. Some photos.....
MOD EDIT - Business Advertisement removed.
One last thing! Some bits I need....
Hardboard cover for the wiper motor under the bonnet (mine is in two bits)
Pair of rear hatch stays for another car
A rear seat squab in black for the same car.
If you happen to have any of those, drop me a line at classiccapsule@btinternet.com
Finally, thanks for reading!
