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| Car: |
Imp Californian |
| Class: |
Special Sallons up to 1000cc |
| Sponsor / Driver: |
Drambuie / Ian Forest |
| Body: |
Basically glassfibre with removable rear section from the centre of the roof line |
| Suspension: |
As standard Elden F. Ford with coil springs and dampers at each corner |
| Brakes: |
Discs all round |
| Wheels: |
9 inch front and 10 inch rear |
| Steering: |
Standard rack and pinion |
| Engine: |
998cc Chesman full race unit with estimated power output of 118bhp |
| Carburation: |
Experimenting with injection |
| Exhaust: |
TDC |
| Transmission: |
Hewland F3 five speed gearbox with Jack Knight LSD |
| Cooling: |
Front mounted radiator, rear mounted oil cooler |
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The Imp Site
Ian Forrest
He enjoyed a great deal of success racing Imps and Davrians in Scotland and the North of England between 1970 and 1987.
The winner of the Lombard Scottish Saloon Car Championship in 1976 was Ian Forest in his Imp Californian.
He bought the car in 1974 from Eric Patterson, who in turn had bought it from Eric Coyle. Ian got it chealy, because there were some basic things wrong with the steering and suspension. With his usual flair for spotting a problem and devising an answer, he managed to correct matters for about two bob (10 pence).
He had reasonable success with the car and in 1975 took the championship, retaining it in 1976.
The car has a full race Andy Chesman Imp engine which, during winter, Ian has turned round to improve the weight distribution. One of the side effects is that the gear lever is now on the right hand side for the Formula 3 five speed box. In the engine he has a Greetham GE3 camshaft, Chesman angled head, polished rods, a tuftrided crank, a modified oil pick-up and, as the engine has been raised to the vertical, a short sump. The usual Imp angled sump would scrape along the ground, so he has fitted a special one, which was originally a Chesman experimental unit. So far the experiment seems to be working.
The wheelbase is two inches greater than the standard car, making it seven feet. All suspension is as an Elden Formula Ford, The reason for all this innovation and hard work is that last year Ian lost his overall Saloon Car championship title, so is eager to gain revenge.
One advantage he has over many is that after winning the 1975 title his father approached Drambuie, the liquer makers (it's good, I can vouch) and they agreed to sponsor Ian. This year their contribution doubled, making the chances of retrieving the title a possibility.
When I asked him if he would go to single seaters he replied: "I would like to have a shot, but I think that after driving a Special Saloon like mine, Formula Ford would be a retrograde step, becuase they don't have slicks and the suchlike. You are driving something that is not going to handle as well. That leaves F3, but the cost and the travelling is prohibitive if you have to run a business as well."
Literature
AC/DC : is it an AC or was it an Imp? history of the Drambuie Imp. - Cars & Car Conversions 1992, February
Northern lights / John Brigden. - Cars and Car Conversions 1978, June. - p.47-49
John Brigden looks at four of the best drivers and cars in Scotland. A quarter of p.48-49 is on Ian Forrest.
Not Imp-related
He drove a BMW M3 in the 80s sponsored by Novaphone. He took the Mason for the boss of Novaphone, Bob Jamieson, to use as a novice's car.