IMP AUTOPSY ENGINE RISES FROM THE DEAD

Q sh(Ju{tf~'t
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be
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Editor Danny Hopkins has
been raiding the magazine
stand at the entrance to PC
Towers again. This month he
has relieved it of the following
worthy sister publications:
CLASSIC
CAR
WEEKLY
Sharing an
office with
Classic Car
Weekly has
immense
drawbacks.
If there
aren't at least ten classics
for sale inside the paper that
I would consider bankrupting
myself for, then I will be
massively surprised. Forget
the vagaries of eBay - this is
the way to buy and sell. CCW
is on sale every Wednesday.
CLASSIC
CAR
Classic Cars
has stuffed
its October
issue with a
MercedesSL
(R107) vs
Triumph Stag
and Jag XJ-S
shoot-out, a BMW 1500 Neue
Klasse,a large number of MG
Midgets, a Delahaye 135M
coupe by Saoutchik, a Jag
XJ220 on the NUrburgring,
a Maserati 3200GT and a TR4
engine. Which makes it
particularly readable.
STEAM
RAILWA
~yformer
magazine as
editor, and the
last word on all
matters]
steamy. The'
current issue
reports on the imminent
return of the Flying Scotsman
to steam on the main line,
has a list of all the autumn
steam galas, and features the
majesty of the American 'Big
Boy' locomotives, 70 years
after they were introduced.
• Go to www.greatmagazines.
co.uk to subscribe to these
titles ... and many more.
22 OCTOBER 2011 II PRACTICAL CLASSICS
IMP AUTOPSY ENGINE
RISES FROM THE DEAD
he Hillman Imp/Bond 875
giveaway lump used in
September's Engine Autopsy
feature will live again. PC reader
Paul Hargreaves from
Stockton-on-Tees plans to
rebuild it for his own Hillman Imp,
which recently suffered terminal
engine failure.
Paul was at the Imp Club's
National Rally at Ban~
sum me h~e
T
a misfire. 'I removed the plugs to
clean them and accidentally
dropped one of the metal end
terminals into the bore; says
Paul. 'A passer-by suggested it
would be OK to fire it up as the
metal was soft, but the engine
seized solid.'
The next morning, after being
relayed home by the AA, Paul
received his subscriber copy of
Practical Classics. 'Lo and
behold, there was the engine
autopsy. My twin boys Tom an
Will took great delight pointing
out which piece I'd dropped inengine, and my wife emailed
magazine. She felt sorry for ITf
Paul has owned his 19761rrfor 22 years and will be
rebuilding the engine over the
autumn with high compressio:
Imp pistons to replace the 10
compression Bond spec units
DECEMBER RALLY
PC MARINA
TO BRAVE
LEJOGR
M
ore than 50 crews have
signed up to take part in
this year's Land's End to John
o'Groats run, and PC is entering
its Marina rally car. But there are
still places available, if you fancy
having a go - the event can cater
for a maximum of 85 teams.
Organised by the Historic
Endurance Rallying Organisation,
the 17th outing takes place from
December 10 to 13 and covers
1500 gruelling miles.
Described as 'the toughest
classic car event in Europe',
LEJOGoffers drivers a unique
chance to pit your skills against
some of the toughest driving
roads as you race against the
clock to drive across Britain.
The format combines map
reading and plotting skills. Cars
built before 1983 are welcome
and it costs £2250 per vehicle to
enter. Visit www.heroevents.eu
or phone 01656 740275.
www.practicalclassiC5.1