The imp had some innovative features for its day, the 875cc engine was rear mounted and the rear window was actually a hatch so you could access the rear storage compartment created when the rear seats were folded down.
Quite nifty don't you think.
Just to be clear, mine was a 1963, and I did pay £150 for it, what I did not tell you was that it was 16 years old when I bought it.
It was a fun car, one of my mates had a similar vintage 850cc mini - we went many times down the A127 towards southend together, the Imp was more spacious and practical but the Mini was more fun to actually drive.
A minivan in jaunty yellow. A snip at fifty quid. The gear lever jumped out of third, so to this day I drive with one hand on the gearstick (even in my automatic.) It was burglar-friendly, since you could push the windows sideways & start it with a screwdriver. My so-called friends often took advantage of this.
My old Viva was so damp in the passenger footwell that mushrooms grew there. Never risked trying if they were edible though. Eventually sold it to a work colleague for £25 who used it for a few weeks before abandoning it. He hadn't told me of this and I got a notice from the police about abandoning an unlicensed vehicle. Fortunately, and rather bizarrely, I had given him a receipt for his £25 because he asked for one and had taken a copy and sent it to the police saying I was no longer the owner although I expect it must have still been registered in my name. Neither of us heard any more about it so never knew what happened. Perhaps the police broke it up and sold it for parts.
Had a problem with the harsh winter of the late 80's can't remember the exact year....when to start it, pulled the manual choke out and it came out, right out about 6ft of wire inside the car.....then the cable to the battery terminals snapped in the freezing cold....
After that it was a couple of Capri's a 1.6GL and a 2.0S
My first car was a 5 door renault 5 its was a nightmare in winter, with ice on the inside of the windscreen I had to scrape the inside and outside then it misted up when the heater got going
My Mam had a Renault 5, a model built to cater for the niche "Suicidal Masochist" demographic.
Brother Sledge, I think that beats everyone ;thumbsup A few weeks a Palestinian boy told me he failed his driving test recently but it was ok because he could drive his tractor
1959 Morris Minor - Bought it in 1968 & sold it in 1972.
A few weeks ago ( 40 + years later) the now owner tracks me down & rings up asking me if I want to buy it back! I was tempted & went & had a look at it but it was in such a poor state I resisted the temptation. If the guy had looked after it it would now be worth about 5 times what I sold it for in 1972.
Mini 1000 - Metal flake purple with a white stripe, and dunlop alloys. Had an octagonal wooden steering wheel. The guy who had done it up had put in a replacement custom dashboard. Looked really cool. Unfortunately for me, he had mixed up the choke cable with the heater control cable. In the winter months, I kept running out of petrol and was freezing cold - I just couldnt work it out, but I kept it a secret from my dad, as he was a Ford man, and said my car was a pile of rubbish. When I told him eventually about the problem when he came and rescued me for about the third time for running out, he popped the bonnet and sussed it out in under a minute. I had only been driving it for a year.......
Comments
Still loved it though
;lol
Quite nifty don't you think.
Just to be clear, mine was a 1963, and I did pay £150 for it, what I did not tell you was that it was 16 years old when I bought it.
It was a fun car, one of my mates had a similar vintage 850cc mini - we went many times down the A127 towards southend together, the Imp was more spacious and practical but the Mini was more fun to actually drive.
Thanks for posting the picture ;ok
Eventually sold it to a work colleague for £25 who used it for a few weeks before abandoning it. He hadn't told me of this and I got a notice from the police about abandoning an unlicensed vehicle. Fortunately, and rather bizarrely, I had given him a receipt for his £25 because he asked for one and had taken a copy and sent it to the police saying I was no longer the owner although I expect it must have still been registered in my name.
Neither of us heard any more about it so never knew what happened. Perhaps the police broke it up and sold it for parts.
Resprayed and nice new rims.....loved it.
Had a problem with the harsh winter of the late 80's can't remember the exact year....when to start it, pulled the manual choke out and it came out, right out about 6ft of wire inside the car.....then the cable to the battery terminals snapped in the freezing cold....
After that it was a couple of Capri's a 1.6GL and a 2.0S
If it was good enough for Del Boy, then it was good enough for me.
Never did get the one I really wanted, the 2.8i ;weep
I loved my Capri like I've loved very little else...
I wish I'd have known that Bruv, would have been interesting driving a tractor to school ;hmm
A few weeks ago ( 40 + years later) the now owner tracks me down & rings up asking me if I want to buy it back! I was tempted & went & had a look at it but it was in such a poor state I resisted the temptation. If the guy had looked after it it would now be worth about 5 times what I sold it for in 1972.