The Imp Site

The only Imp information I found on the web (before I decided to put Imps on the electronic highway myself) was a photograph of an Imp in a rally.
The Imp has been doing well in races and rallies, and it still is... The number of Imps engaged in competition today is surprising (not!). And it isn't just all in the U.K. either: the Imp is eg. quite popular in Finland.

Competitive Impers

Rallies

Results of the Works Imps (1964 - 1970).
Imps in rallies (post-Works) 1970 - ...
(Both files are very incomplete, of course).

• Rosemary Smith
• 'Tiny' Lewis
• Cowan, Andrew and Brian Coyle
• Colin Malkin
• David Pollard
• Robin Eyre-Maunsell
• etc.

• Malcolm Anderson
• Ron Beswick & Stuart Preacher won in 1974 the Cambrian Rally in a 998cc Hillman Imp PI - petrol injection.
• Andrew Bryson (Thailand) and Rodger Anders
• Andy Dawson
• Mike Hanna
• Markku Kuosmanen (Finland)
• Joop van Muylwijk, (Netherlands, 1972 - 1976)
• Brod & Carolyn Purdy (HRCR Championship Contender) - Hillman Imp 1969, 40th entry in Hughes Rally 2002 which they finishes in pos. 35
• Timo Saaristo started as a mechanic in the Finnish importers rally team 'Harman Hajyt'. These days he is doing Finnish historic rallies in an Imp, teaming up with his son Jussi.
• Bob Shearer & son - Hillman (Rallye?) Imp '65 (rebuilt 2000-2001)
  used to rally one in the '70s; won an award in 1973 on Hughes Rally in Kent in a Singer Chamois Sport
• Jack Salter
  Following the conversion of his 1967 Imp Californian into a rally car, Jack Salter chose to enter the 1986 Coronation Rally for historic cars in South Wales. In its most basic rally condition the car achieved a very creditable 47th overal and an excellent 4th in its class.
  A Lledo Vanguard model was made of the Cally.
• Kevin Smith
• Pauli Toivonen (Monte Carlo winner of '65) founded the Harman Hajyt rally team, which was most succesful in Finland during the 70s. They used only Imps. In the early 70s they won many championships (doing races as well as rallies). The team lasted only a few years; they built their last cars in '72.
• Owen Turner & Graham Raeburn - Hillman Imp, Comp.No. 48 at 2002 HRCR Historic Road Rally Championship (1st round: Gremlin Rally in Wales)
• Steven & Christopher Winter - Hillman Imp 1973 - entry no. 49 in Hughes Rally 2002, Class N2. They finishes 26th overall.

Heyndijk & Klarenbeek won the Group 2, class 1 Star Rallye of November 1970. A mud wrestling match with delightful stages. StAR: Foundation Automobile sports Rotterdam. Participants can choose their own route, as long as they check in at all the control posts (Gulf petrol stations) within a certain time.
Heyndijk & Govert de Jong in a Sunbeam Imp, Yperen June 1971, 12h. rally
Group 2: class 850-1000cc. They came second, behind an NSU. (slippery roads)

Historic Rallies

The UK rules are layed down by the RAC. Cars must have either an RAC Historic Vehicle identity form or a more detailed FIA document. The basis for the identity form are the Homologation Papers produced by Rootes for the Imp. These are essential, as they contain all the legal extras that can be added to the Imp. There are two homologations:

• one for Touring Cars up to 875 Sports Specification
• one for GT cars - 998 Imps.

Gordon Alexander & John Paterson

Alain Barbou (France)

Nigel Barnett & (Paul Marshall or Dennis Greenslade)

Sheila Ellis (Burnham-on-Sea, UK) used her 1968 Sunbeam Imp Sport to take part in the first Marlin Cars Jurassic Classic Car Run (29th June 1997), from Teignmouth through to Weymouth. 23 entrants.

Ian Fisher

Ernie Larton & Kevin Savage - Illuminations classic rally 1990 - 2nd overall - Hillman Imp (Road)

Mike Marsh and Martin Bristow

Adrian Oliver - visit the Revilo Racing site ! [interview]

Rob Pilcher & Roger Burkill came 3rd overall in the 1993 National Rally Britannia in their Hillman Rallye Imp (Stage)

Mike & Anthony Preston

Brad Purdy (RAFMSA) rallies a 1969 Hillman Super Imp. He entered the 1999 Historic Rally Car Register's (HRCR) Road Rally, Newcomers Championship.

Dave Rayner & Phil Smith
1995 Channon Dorset classic rally - 3rd overall - Hillman Rallye Imp (Road)
1995 Ilfracombe classic rally - 1st overall - Hillman Rallye Imp (Road)
1997 Classic Rally of the Vales - 3rd overall - Hillman Rallye Imp (Road)
They now compete very successfully on Historic rallies in a Sunbeam Tiger.

Ted Roberts & Rob Grainger - 1996 Tour of Anglesey historic rally - 3rd overall - Singer Chamois (Road)

Petteri Sappinen, Motul Historic Rally Trophy (Finland)

Aart van der Star / Pat Barrett, 1963 Sunbeam Imp - Langley, B.C. participated in 1997 in the BMW Seattle Classic Motorcar Rally.

Geoff Taylor & (Peter Joy or Mick Briggs)
N. Barnett, another Imper, won the class. (Taylor/Joy weren't elligible for a class award as they won the championship).

Billy Tobin & Noel Devlin
1992 West Cork Retro classic rally - 1st overall - Sunbeam Stiletto (Road)
1995 West Cork Retro classic rally - 3rd overall - Sunbeam Stiletto (Road)

Chris and Colin Valentine entered the Ilkley DMC Historic Road Rally of 12 September 1999 in Chris' 1965 Mk1 Imp (EAJ 257C). They won their Class against Elans, TRs, MGAs, etc... 150 miles of competitive motoring, approx 6 hours.
A Road Rally is usually on tarmac and can be entered with a road car. There is a lot of accurate navigation expected on the road and there are a few closed road stage bits. Entry is around £50+
EAJ 257C has now been immortalised in a Lledo limited edition, complete with registration number. ;-)

Circuit of Ireland, Historic Rally 1996
Class B1 was won by Derek & Christine Parling in their Sunbeam Stiletto. They had competition no. 213 and finished 9 overall.
Second in B1 were Philip Wylie & Gregory Lockwood in a Hillman Imp (comp.no. 218). They finished 11 overall.
In 1997, there were no Imp in the overall top 18.

Donegal Historic Rally 1996
16th: David Moore/Gary Moore in a Hillman Imp (comp.no. 22); Class C1, 3rd in class.

Horacio Passegi Torre, 1000 Millas Sport y Clasicos 1996 (Uruguay)

John Pilbeam (driver) and David Pilbeam (navigator) entered the 1997 AEM Classic Rally with a 998 Hillman Imp from 1967. (Category C: 1961 - 1990, up to 1300cc, car no. 109). 27 stages. They finished 34 overall (navigation), 5th in a class of 9.
They had entered the 1996 AEM, too (1967 Hillman Imp, 930cc), car no. 116 in class D. And so did Geoff Bailey & Brett Burvill (1967 Hillman Imp, 1040cc), car no. 56 in class D. John Brooksby & Don Barsden entered in a 1968 Sunbeam Stiletto (998cc), car no. 114, class D (1961 on, up to 1300cc).
These three teams made together Team Imp, which was 17 out of 20 teams. In class D Bailey/Burvill came second, Pilbeam/Pilbeam were fourth, brooksby/Barsden fifth out of eleven.
Navigation point: the Pilbeams were sixth, Bailey/Burvill 50th, the Stiletto 91st of 153.
By outright points: Bailey/Burvill, 42nd; Brooksby/Barsden, 69th; Pilbeam², 109th.
Total points: Bailey/Burvill, 25th; Pilbeam², 31st; Brooksby/Barsden, 50th.
Automotive Event Management (AEM)

National Rally Britannia 1997, Final Classification

Class B1
 7     1   114  Alistair Bell / Peter Horsburgh  Austin Mini Cooper    0:50:15
11     2   117  Nigel Barnet / Paul Marshal      Hillman Imp Califo    0:51:03
12     3   116  David Rayner / Phil Smith        Hillman Rallye Imp    0:52:31
19     5   131  John Holloway / Mike Matthews    Hillman Imp           0:58:31 

East Anglian Classic Historic Road Rally, 1997

This was a historic rally with both Regularity sections and stages.

Class B1
Pos.  CarNo  Total   Driver            Navigator          Car                  Ability
 1       9    2629   Peter Valentine   Tony Pettie        Austin Cooper S         E       HRCR/HRCR      No/No
 2       8    4591   Owen Turner       Andrew Dadswell    Hillman Imp             N       GBMC/GBMC      No/No
 3       7    5725   Fiona Duncan      Michael Turner     Hillman Imp             N       GBMC/GBMC      No/No
 4       6    7871   Jason Thompson    Hugh Thompson      Austin Mini Cooper     SE       HRCR/HRCR      No/No
 5       5   11013   James Turner      Simon Hawkins      Hillman Imp             N

Historic Rally Championships:

• HRCR Road Rally Championship (GB)
• Safety Devices Historic Challenge (GB)
• Motoring News Demon Tweeks
  Historic Championship (GB)
• FIA European Historic Trophy

Races

While the Rootes competition budget was devoted to rallying, the factory did support third-party teams on a small scale - officially only the Fraser team.

Teams:

• George Hartwell, also specialist car builders and tuning firm
• Alan Fraser
• George Bevan

Link:
The Imp Motorsport Gallery: all about spaceframe Imps

Historic races / Vintage races

Historic Racing Saloon Register launched a new series in January 1996: Alfred Blackmore or Alexander Forbes Historic Racing Saloon Championship.
Parcipants in Hillman Imps in 2001: Ron Parker; Adrian Oliver; Peter Upton, all in class E.

• Curt Bowland, U.S.
• Mike Dowsett
• Toivo Hämäläinen
• Reijo Halonen
• Murray Hart (New Zealand) built a 998 Imp to race in Pre-65
  He raced Imps in the 60s.
• The Hekker family (Dutch)
• Mike Lamplough (Hillman Imp) came 6th overal in 1987 in the Classic Saloon Car Club Championship Pre-65.
• John Lockwood
• Greg Masters
• Kevan McLurg (Hillman Imp) won class D and came 3rd overall in 1989 in the Classic Saloon Car Club Championship (CSCC) Pre-65.
  He planned to move into single seaters.
• Gary Nairado (Hillman Imp) was 3rd overall in the 1992 Post Historic Touring of CSCC.
• Adrian Oliver, Revilo Racing, has been racing an Imp since 1992 (class D winner 1996,1998,1999). Race Engineering by Martin Humphries.
  Building and Racing an Imp - how he built a race Imp from zero to Class winning saloon. (pictures, race dates, services, results)
  
• Viljo van Splunteren (The Netherlands)
• Hämäläinen Toivo drives a Sunbeam Stiletto (comp. #12) in the Historic Race Finland (HRF) Roadsport, class C.

Nisula Reijo drives a Hillman Imp Rallye (comp. #4) in the HRF Historic-Class Racecars, class D (periods E-F, up to 1300 cc).
Saaristo Jussi does the same in his Hillman Imp Rallye with comp. #9.
Reijo Halonen's Hillman Imp Rallye has comp. #81 (same class)

Tommi Leino finished 8th with his Sunbeam Imp in the Historic Grand Race of 18 August 2001 in the Race 1 Roadsport C with competition number 316. In the second race, the following day, he finished 5th.
In the same race, but in class SS1300 both Ilkka Jutila (#603) and Juhani Jaakkola (#601) participated with their Sunbeam Stilettos. They finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the first race and again in the second race.
Again the same race (oh for to live in Finland...) Jussi Saaristo (#71) took part in the Historic GT/ D class. He drove his 1971 998 Hillman Imp the first day to finish 3rd (behind two Abarths) and on the second day 4th (behind four Abarts). Kari Olkinuora in another 998 Hillman Imp (but of 1964) finished 5th in the first race. Reijo Halonen in his Hillman Imp Rallye did not finish in the first race.

Ice-Racing

The Finnish Ice-Racing Championship of 1995 was won by Ilkka Jutilas in his Stiletto.
Eleven Imps took part. Ilkaa Jutila won his 7th ice racing championship with his Citroën-engined Imp. Reijo was second with his Stiletto.

Trials

There are Production Car Trials (PCTs) and Classic Trials. There are also Auto tests, but an Imp might break a donut or differential over those. Classsics are rough (talk to Mark Chater), PCT's are gentler. The entry fee is maybe £15.

1973 Production Car Trials Championship (Mike Hinde) - Clan Crusader.
1993 Production Car Trials Championship (Bill Moffat) - Clan.

Caltex North Eastern Car Trial (Victoria, Australia), 1966
Up to 1100cc: 1st - Driver: Peter Janson; Nav.: Peter Davidson

Colin Valentine does PCTs like the Southern Autos PCT

Stuart Cairney

David Wright
Steve Court

If you would like to do speed events (sprints and hillclimbs), you will need to join a motor club that either promote them or are invited to them. In the UK, if you run your Imp in road legal state, safety regulations are not too demanding. (But with early Imps the front seats may not be latching in place, and this has to be sorted out.) The standard belts, seats etc. are fine, no roll cage or extinguisher is required. The idea is to keep this a sport. Many events you will be allowed to attend in your unmodified road car. You will need overalls and helmet (maybe £50-60 each) and a 'non-race National B' competition licence (£27). Entry fees are maybe £50-65 depending on venue. No-one runs a 1000cc class anymore. Likely class for an Imp would be 'Roadgoing under 1400cc'.

Hillclimbs

I have a video "Motorsport Moments; Hillclimbs", published by K.L. Speedvideo in 1992 which features a few Imps and Clans. It is the kind of video where not all goes right...

The Hill Climb at Longleat House (26-Sep-98): the Cashmores Imp attended and 15 Davrians, 12 of which were Imp powered. It was wet.

Imp Sprint '96: a hillclimb

Gerald Stanley/ Ray Stammers' G15

Norm Beechey

Joao Manuel Tavares

Philip Lomas used to hill climb in his very fast Clan Crusader
He also had a Californian he raced, sponsored by Mobile Windscreens. He raced it at Castle Combe 3rd August 1990. And he raced a space-frame Stiletto (comp.no.13) at Castle Combe on the Saturday of 1991 National Weekend. So did Ian Skinner in the other space-framed Stiletto (comp.no. 15) that visted the National Weekend.

Gary Bond (Coronation Rally with Neil Fraser as navigator; sprinting and hillclimbing).

Sprints

Ben Boult ran his 1040 Saracen Imp in Hillclimbs and Sprints. He participated at Weston and at Brighton (and where else ?). It was quick and it beat the Cosworth BDJ's (which cost some 12K).

Mark Chater converted his Davrian from Ford to Imp power (Sep 99), and then took it to Colerne for a sprint. (Colerne is an RAF airfield, where his motor club runs sprints). It is a very fast course of about 3000 yards (nearly 2km). Maybe 95% of the lap is done at full throttle.
One convoy lap to know the course, two runs in practice and two serious runs.
With his 998 Imp, he was thrown in with the Modified Production Sports Cars up to 1400cc. And the rest did have those 1400cc. He was fastest on the second half of the course, which has some very high speed corners.

A 998 Clan attended the Weston-super-Mare Sprint of 1983.

Autograss / Grasstrack racing

Roger Gill

Dave Payne used a Chamois during 1989 for autograss racing with the Mid Kent Autograss Club. He participated in class Production Cars up to 1000cc, so he was up against Minis and fiat 127s.

Rallycross

Roger Burn was the BTRDA Autocross Champion once (?) in the 70's. He drove a Clan.
Andrew Cowan and Colin Malkin
Peter Harper (Fraser Team)

Juhani Kynsilehto, Oulu (Northern Finland)
A kind of pioneer in the Imp's rallycross history: First Finn to drive a rallycross in a factory team.
He had been the Finnish motocross champion. In the late sixties he was employed by the Wihuri concern, the importer of Imps in Finland. No wonder this keen competitor with motocycles, rally and race cars got the privilege to drive the Imp's rallycross-specials for Chrysler U.K. in England. Then and while he had some cars visiting Finland too; one race/rally Imp by British register REG-3 was here about 1970. That one had 110 hp at some 10500rpm.   - [Kari Tossavainen, 4 Feb 2001]

Unknown Imp Calfornian driver enjoying himself. (Darcy's site)

Slalom

Paul Anderson, Norway.
Oslo Champion 1985. Imp, Sport engine, R15 cam.

Steig Hardeng, Norwegian Slalom Champion (class 1) 1990.
He drove Paul Anderson's 1969 Sunbeam 900. Paul himself ended up fifth. The championship was held in Sarpsborg in August 1990. The previous champion, Ivar Opås in a very special mini, was beaten.
Class 1 is for cars shorter than 4 meters.
Some specifications:

• rear negative camber
• widened Austin-Healey Sprite wheels
  with 185/60 x 13 Yokohama A008s
• suspension is rebuilt to a very hard Koni specification
  with hardened Monte Carlo rear springs and
  softened RAC front springs
• engine: 875cc, bored out to +60 thou
  R15 and twin Stromberg 125CD
  rear oil cooler
  large-bore Janspeed

Drag-races

Imp engines were used for drag-racing motorbikes. They gave amazing power, but the pistons only lasted the event.

Hot-rod races

Grahame Waite (in the late 70s)

One Imp competed in Scotland with moderate succes against the Escorts, circa 1974.

Master Builders

Malcolm Anderson
Ian Carter
Andy Chesman
Andy Dawson
Lynton Garage
Roger Nathan
Reg Patten
etc.

?

Alan Smith's double championship winning Imp powered Davrian Stiletto

Dutch Koni advert of 1976. (jpg, 111 Kb)

Leeds - RAC International Historic Rally 1996
Classification after Leg 1

OVERALL CLASS NUMBER                 CREW                         CLASS  TOTAL
  1     1     1  Jimmy McRae/Beatty Crawford    Porsche 911        G11  1:21:25
 12     1    41  Lee Matthews/Gary Matthews     Hillman Imp       TC11  1:43:46

James and Jenkins Coronation Rally, March 29th (1997 ?):

1) Clive Fidgeon/Cathy Fidgeon  Porsche 911   69mins 39 secs
7) John Morris/Peter Rust       Hillman Imp   74:32

Circuit of Ireland; Historic Rally 1996

General Classification - Final
Pos. Car #  Driver / Codriver  Make             Class   Class Pos.  Time
  9  213    Derek Parling / Christine Parling
                               Sunbeam Stiletto  B1       1         4:54:39
11   218    Philip Wylie / Gregory Lockwood
                               Hillman Imp       B1       2         5:07:26 

SpeedSport Design Clubmans Rally Championship
Hughes Historic Rally, 1st June 1997
final results
Historic Cars

No  Driver        Navigator         Car               Overall Pos   Class   Class Pos  Score
9   Ted Roberts   Rob Granger       Singer Chamois        7          B1         3       844
49  Wayne Ellett  Mark Wojtanowski  Sunbeam Stiletto     36          B3        NF        NF

No  Driver           Navigator        Car            Class  Posn  Score
27  Dave Williamson  Joan Williamson  Clan Crusader  C1        6   1345

Alan Conley in his works Clan (rallying?)