Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 15:21:11 -0500 (EST)
From: chris holden
Subject: clans
hi all,
i'm another new member to the list...
well, a couple of imp supers (with sport modified engines) are the only cars i've ever owned, and the last of those was nearly eight years ago !
however time moves on and i really must get myself a car again and my, by now, reasonable income has lead me to consider lotus elans & lancia fulvias amongst other things... but i just can't put those thoughts of imp madness out my mind !
anyway to my point, which is that a couple of clans are up for sale here in the uk at the moment and i thought they may be the solution to my problems : a nifty two seater sports car, all fibreglass, light as a feather AND an engine i can spanner with my eyes closed ! i guess i'm just asking for some thoughts or insight from anyone with experience of the clan before i take the plunge... it has to be said though, that for a car designed by ex-lotus employees it sure is an ugly little monster ! those guys certainly didn't see fit to take a bit of the lotus styling ethos with them when they left !
i might add, that i'm interested in doing some competitive racing in it to, but for a fifth of the price of a clan maybe a good old imp would be a better bet after all, heavier but certainly less breakable.
regards,
chris holden
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 04:07:15 -0500 (EST)
From: Nick Cleak
Subject: Re: clans
Chris Holden ,
I bought a rolling shell in 1987 , no engine , transaxle or interior and took 18 months to get it going , i painted it white instead of green , i made a mistake of taking all the paint off , there are 14 layers and it was done to a hight standard ,
I got the seats trimmed and made the rest of the trim panels myself . Put all my left-over IMP goodies on including a 998 cc R17 big valve head , and 2 x 40 DCOE weber carbs ..
I fitted a front radiator and it was on the road in 1989 , i did 65000 miles with no trouble , at 38 MPG . It has been off the road because i wanted to use my IMP again !
I am simplifying the wiring now ,
Yes , i would get one , it is great fun , there will be a few problems to sort out , windows , heater etc , but all parts are readily available from the CLAN owner's club , we have the moulds too , so body parts and whole shells are possible ...
it has to be said though, that for a car designed by ex-lotus
> employees it sure is an ugly little monster ! those guys certainly didn't
> see fit to take a bit of the lotus styling ethos with them when they left !
The front end is a litte "odd" but with the spoiler and lowered it grows on you !
I am happy with the rear , but only with the standard lights ..
> i might add, that i'm interested in doing some competitive racing in it to,
> but for a fifth of the price of a clan maybe a good old imp would be a
> better bet after all, heavier but certainly less breakable.
Clan's don't break , they are very strong , if you press the panels by hand, they don't move as in fibreglass cars with a separate chassis , the fibre glass is 10mm thick in places !
The shell being in two parts only is the main strength so it is all thick and no rattles !
The only weakness was where the rear crossmember bolts to the body , but they have all been fixed by now ...
Nick
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 08:47:52 -0500 (EST)
From: Chris Holden
Subject: Re: clans
Thanks for your feedback Nick,
>The front end is a litte "odd" but with the spoiler and lowered it grows on >you ! >I am happy with the rear , but only with the standard lights ..
yes, and to my shame, i've now just seen one for the first time in the flesh as it were, and it's actually pretty cute ! photos never seem to do it justice.
well, now i just have to decide between an original 1974 Clan, immaculately restored and powered by the 875 sport unit, or a rather tatty Irish Clan circa 1984, with a 998 unit, wills ringed head, r17 cam, lightened & balanced bottom end etc... Both are the same price, but obviously represent quite different propositions, though a little restoration & almost any engine rebuilding & tuning are within my abilities. Is there an insiders view as to the more desirable clan ?
For those of you impers on the list not familiar with the clan, imagine, if you can, your little car doing 0-60 mph in 7 and a half seconds ;-)
Chris
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 14:04:11 -0500 (EST)
From: Nick Cleak
Subject: Re: clans
Go for the immaculate one , restoration takes three times longer and costs three times as much as your estimate ! You can easily do the engine at a later date !
>For those of you impers on the list not familiar with the clan, imagine, if
>you can, your little car doing 0-60 mph in 7 and a half seconds ;-)
But also 38 MPG ...It's true !
or go for the Sunbeam 930 engine in Sport specification and you get over 50 Mpg ....
I get 47 in my heavy Imp with that motor fitted ...
Nick
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 14:31:12 -0500 (EST)
X-Authentication-Warning: one.astraweb.com: coollist set sender to imps@coollist.com using -f
To: imps@coollist.com
From: Gary and Carol Henderson Hi Nick
The Chrysler/Talbot Sumbeam was never sold in NZ in any form, so I have only ever seen one - it had 1600 Avenger-style motor but with a 40DCOE. The 930 is very rare - more 998s found their way here.
What makes the 930 cc more economical - what carb(s) did it use, and did it have water-heated manifold? I guess it had electronic ignition, but that shouldn't be much different to fully-maintained traditional Kettering system.
Just curious!
GAryH
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 13:53:11 -0500 (EST)
From: Gary Harding
Subject: RE: clans
Nick,
I have to agree with the economy possible with the standard Imp Sport engine. If driven carefully over 50 MPG is possible. But due to the tune of the needles in the Stromburgs if driven at or close to full throttle then economy takes a dive to less than 30 MPG. The good economy is due to the method used to tune the original Imp engine to achieve the Sport engine. Good breathing properties is good for high end performance and can be good for economy. This is not always the case as most engine tuners choose not to deliver the economy and instead opt for even more power.
Gary
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 16:31:38 -0500 (EST)
From: Nickcleak@aol.com
Subject: Re: clans
Hi Gary
Nice to meet again !
> I have to agree with the economy possible with the standard Imp
> Sport engine. If driven carefully over 50 MPG is possible.
I don't know ! If you drive below 60 mph economy suffers !
> But due to the
> tune of the needles in the Stromburgs if driven at or close to full
> throttle then economy takes a dive to less than 30 MPG.
I can honestly say that i have never got down to anywhere near 30 mpg in any Imp over the last 26 years ! There would be something seriously wrong if it got that low!
( Or a rally driver using it perhaps ! )
The turbo was always around 38 with 100mph most days !
The clan with Race head , 998 2 x 40 dcoe and R 17 always did 38 mpg too . Including 200 mile runs at 80 mph ...
The thing is you don't use anything like even half throttle cruising at 80 mph... I can cruise at 60 - 70 mph with 16 to 18" vacuum still on my gauge , at 60 mph it's just on 20 " ..if you are familiar with driving on a vacuum gauge ...
I recently did four concurrent runs to daventry , 110 miles each way X 4 . mostly at 70 - 80 mph , and at the other end sprints from one roundabout to another ...
i averaged the magic 50 Mpg ...
the fuel used was exactly the same on each run to withinn 200cc !
On my slower 50mph drive to work the car feels so economical but returns never more than 47 mpg .
It uses No oil at all between services , is this a record among Imp owners ?? ( services every 12 weeks with my mileage !)
> The good economy
> is due to the method used to tune the original Imp engine to achieve the
> Sport engine. Good breathing properties is good for high end performance
> and can be good for economy. This is not always the case as most engine
> tuners choose not to deliver the economy and instead opt for even more
> power.
The Imp Engine is very efficient , even today i doubt if there is an engine which gives better power /weight with less fuel used ... eg Nissan Micra , 16 v . 998cc 55 Bhp !
Now a mini i can understand using a lot of fuel when you need any power , as it is just an inefficient design ... A friend had a 1380 , he drove reasonably . 25 Mpg !
Regards ,
Nick