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a lad i know has an imp with a mid mounted re turbo engine in it.

its quite a weapon

Not sure if it makes any difference whatsoever but I have just had a look at the Heritage Certificate that came with the car and it actually states that this is a December 1960 car and not a '61 as i'd previously thought. Build date was 20th December 1960, it was despatched to the dealer on the 22nd and was registered with the current registration plate in the following March.

Hi Thats a great surprise for the wife then , Im on Maidstone Drive, Where did you take it to for the smarten up out of interest .And the super is coming along nicely but slowly ive been rebuiding the shell over the last twelve months and now its complete again, paint next, have at look at the strip begins in our cars and projects thats me.

850 super deluxe wrote:Hi Thats a great surprise for the wife then , Im on Maidstone Drive, Where did you take it to for the smarten up out of interest .And the super is coming along nicely but slowly ive been rebuiding the shell over the last twelve months and now its complete again, paint next, have at look at the strip begins in our cars and projects thats me.

Same as you by the looks of it. Old Skool Mini's in Perry Barr. It's still there at the moment so you may well see it if you're popping over. I am expecting some photo's through (yesterday or today) although the weather back home might have scuppered that i think! I took it to them based on a magazine feature I saw on one of the cars they had recently restored.

Blimey you are pretty close to us then! Small world, eh? I will look forward to seeing your car at some point (after the wedding!)

This is Beauitful!!! What is it? I can't quite work it out but I want one

It's my 1970 Sunbeam Stiletto, the sporty variant of the Hillman Imp. Not many about these days, unfortunately. I'll add a few more pictures, one of which is from Longbridge (I did some work there following the demolition phase and couldn't resist taking some photo's). It should sit very nicely with the new Mk1 Austin Seven addition

I like it more than the IMP by a long shot!

Very pleased to hear that you like the Stiletto I actually have a second one current under restoration - awaiting paint.

Not sure whether this thread should now be moved over to a different section? Our Cars or something like that... anyway...

Here are a few photo's from OSM as received yesterday. Looks like they have done a brilliant job with freshening up the paintwork They reported zero bodywork issues whatsoever; always good to hear. I opted to retain the Old English Cream roof colour as i like the way it looks and having it is a part of the story of the car.

I have also ordered a set of interior door cards from Newton Commercial, as well as matching grey fleck rear bin liners and a replacement red carpet. The original seats are in excellent condition so I will be leaving those as they are, just requiring a thorough clean. I've also sourced a refurbished correct cream speedo and early pod as it had been changed to a later black oval unit, and have new dash liners also coming from Newton. Once the original door cards are out i will attempt to clean and refurbish them so they can be retained and put back into the car in the future.

The moustache has been rechromed as have the original bumpers, and i have sourced a pair of whiskers too. I will also be fitting the over-rider corner bars as i personally love the way they look. NOS Austin badge for the bonnet too.

The engine bay is being left untouched for the moment (until after the wedding) so any future engine work can be accompanied by bay painting whilst the engine is out.

The original headlining is very good and is undamaged; it is very messy though, and has orange staining in places. Will this clean up? I am reluctant to remove it and replace it really, but a new one would look much better. With all of the windows and interior currently out this is the ideal time to do it. Unsure.

Thanks again to the many forum members who have helped me with parts and advice so far

Cheers Martin.

Looking nice Martin, the orange on the headlining usually tends to be where the original glue that fixed the lining to the frame has bled through over the years, I would leave alone as the new Newton Linings although a brilliant match are a total bu**er to fix nicely.

Gray wrote:Looking nice Martin, the orange on the headlining usually tends to be where the original glue that fixed the lining to the frame has bled through over the years, I would leave alone as the new Newton Linings although a brilliant match are a total bu**er to fix nicely.

Is there a known way to clean it off?

Napalm!

dinglem wrote:

Gray wrote:Looking nice Martin, the orange on the headlining usually tends to be where the original glue that fixed the lining to the frame has bled through over the years,
I would leave alone as the new Newton Linings although a brilliant match are a total bu**er to fix nicely.

Is there a known way to clean it off?

Not to my knowledge, its coming through from the back, so it has mis coloured the vinyl .

Its the general opinion, that its genuine BMC/BL patina, only found in original cars so I will back Gray, and say leave as is

I have a 1978 lowmiler, with all original interior, it has Brown shades all around the edge of the roof lining.

This will be left as is, becourse it sits 100 % around all windows & the doors, and there is no way I will get it refitted so nice.

Gray wrote:Napalm!

Ha ha - and yes

JC T ONE wrote:Its the general opinion, that its genuine BMC/BL patina, only found in original cars so I will back Gray, and say leave as is

Yes, this does seem to make good sense. I will call up OSM tomorrow and have a chat with them about it and see what they think, and get some more photo's of the headlining as it currently stands and make the decision then.

Thanks for the input!

my red 62 morris headlining is as new but has horrendous glue staining

i agree with others,,although it annoys me,,it goes with the original patina of an unmolested original; interior very well

has anybody noticed the smell of a car with an original interior is so inviting and smells so "old" but in a nice way??

cars with full retrims smell of nothing or at the very best,,new vinyl

cant beat the smell of old vynide and old horse hair.

Exactly, the interior smell of my mini with its original fleck interior is part of the charm every time I take it for a ride.

Well I have spoken to OSM today and they have looked at the headlining for me; having listened to the advice given here we will be leaving the original in as it is completely intact I am pleased i asked the question on here now as i would have probably gone ahead and replaced it without thinking anything of it otherwise.

The other good news is that the J A Pearce wheels i wanted to add look and fit fine without arch extensions (although it is pretty marginal) so that is another massive relief as i would have been reluctant to alter the look and lines of the car. Some people won't be happy with the alloys even, but i know the lady who will be receiving it much prefers that look so it is the right way to go at the moment. At least the wheels can be put back to completely standard easily.

So hopefully the build-up will be ongoing from now and i will add some more pictures as and when, plus will also no doubt be back with more beginner-esq questions.

the pics you showed me of the wheels....

nice...

go for it buster

brook shaw wrote:the pics you showed me of the wheels....

nice...

go for it buster

Well there's a before shot of the wheels on page 1 on this thread, so i'll add a few more of them here following the refurb. The other refurbished set of JAP's on page 1 here are a 13inch set which will be going onto my next Imp.

Few more piccies for you from today

SNAP!!