Harry Hillman

[Neil]

Only gentle progress over the last few weeks with the wiring.

Whilst the dash maybe carbon I have tried to keep a retro feel to it.
I liked the idea of toggle switches but couldn’t find momentary toggle switches for the front and rear screen demist (wiil be activated by momentary switches and then switch off with a timer relay) so ended up with these illuminating button style switches with labels.

I thought I had finished with carbon fibre for now but I made a small button box to fit into the ashtray opening. Also the dashboard carbon fibre panel needed some strengthening (extra 3 layers on the back) to compensate for weakening with all the warning light holes inbetween the gauge holes.

making button box.jpg

button box.jpg

A bit annoying but I applied the switch label text before 2 coats of resin to then polish out, unfortunately I just polished through and rubbed off the ‘R’. As it is quite compact I will finish doing the wiring on the back of the switches before making brackets to fit the button box so it doesn’t obstruct anything.


To help with looking at wiring, made a mockup dash in ply whilst strengthening the proper one:

dash mockup.jpg

Final dash ready to wire up:

finished dash ready to wire up.jpg

[Neil]

Continuing with fitting out electrical stuff:

Bracket for the water pump and fan digital controller made up, took a few versions before getting something that worked.

digital controller bracket.jpg

My electrician has been a bit elusive so just went ahead and made up the bracket to hold the button box (shouldn’t interfere with the back end wiring which was why I initially delayed doing this until that was done). Just used two tabs with rivnuts and some structural adhesive to stick to the plastic dash panel.

Button box bracket.jpg

Fitting the fuse and relay box in the passenger foot well. I had some 4mm aluminium kicking about to make the mounting bracket. Where I needed to bend some tabs for fixing I cut/scored the aluminium to make the bends. This weakened the metal in these areas (especially with me tweaking the bend angle to get it right) so used some scraps of carbon fibre and structural adhesive again to strengthen.

Making fuse & relay box bracket.jpg

Fusebox positioning.jpg

I should have just tapped threads into the 4mm aluminium to secure the fuse box but ended up using rivnuts (and the accompanying mess with using forstner bits on existing holes to thin the aluminium sufficiently to fit the rivnuts) as I was originally thinking of using nuts on the back which of course I wouldn’t be able to access after fitting the fuse box.


The dash isn’t wired up but I couldn’t resist test fitting all the dash to see what it looked like, (and still need to 3d print the casing for the steering wheel stalks).

IMG_5138.jpeg

Test fit 2.jpg

Engine bay all wired up as well.

Engine bay wired up 1.jpg

engine bay wired up 2.jpg

Just need my electrician to turn up and finish the fuse box and relays and then can finally fire up the engine! …I’ve even got some Castrol Classic XL 20w/50 engine oil ready in eager anticipation.
Any recommendations on gearbox oil?

[Uncle Henry]

Whatever the brand you buy, it HAS to be GL4 spec, and nothing else.

All looking very impressive !

AG

[Neil]

Working to pop the doors back on.
Trimmed some weight off windows winders, combined weight before 1665g, after 1567g, not alot but all adds up.

window winders.jpeg

A couple of questions to those who know what you are doing:

So I'm unsure how to fit the door strap back on ?
Do I push the strap through from inside the door forcing it so that the 'wire' strips fastened to the door frame sit inside the bulged out section and then place the rubber in from the front side of the door?

door strap.jpg

On the carbon fibre front boot lid I made, currently I haven't made an inner skin along the front underside, Do I need to make this so it sits down on the bonnet rubber to keep the boot area dry?

[The Nun]

Check strap goes into its narrow slot from inside the door , you don't need to force it in place, insert it so the rivet hole end sticks out of the door, then close the door enough to be able to fit the rivet (or small bolt and nyloc nut) into the A post pillar connection and that's it. When you open the door fully it should click into place to hold the door at its full extent and disengage when you close the door.
Just make sure you fit the strap so it curves the correct way.
Make sure the rubber buffer on the check strap is in place and in good condition as this stops the door opening beyond its limit and the door edge can dent the front wing.
The check strap as you have it shown on you pictures is assembled correctly just insert it as you have it with rubber buffer fitted from inside the door, again make sure the strap curve is the correct way so it curves around the edge of the A post when the door is open. If you get it wrong it will foul so its obvious.

Screenshot_20240129_182511_Chrome.jpg

[Neil]

Thanks Peter
Very complicated! ... I can't believe I have asked such a simple thing (I vaguely remember when stripping it out and it initially stuck before popping out, so I thought I had to do something when refitting, but it was probably just gunged up with grease and dirt)

[Pog]

That dash is utter perfection, can you make one for me please

Pog

[Neil]

Can anyone help or know of someone that can help me finish my wiring loom?
I need the fuse (and relay) box and dashboard wired up.

All the wiring from front and back end of car already done and ready to connect to fusebox. I have all the bits and wiring to complete the work.

front wiring.jpg

rear wiring.jpg

I live in Woodbridge, Suffolk, but willing to travel.
Unfortunately my guy that has helped me to date has finally disappeared and calling around local classic car business' and mobile auto electricians no one can commit till later in the year. I don't mind waiting a while but it would be nice to be on the road this summer.

[John A Ross]

You have done most of the hard work, should not be hard to get someone to finish it off.

Would have been happy to do it but we are a bit far apart.

Only comment I would make is the battery laying the way it it.

As a rule wet based batteries, especially if they have pressure vents hate lying like that as there is very little space inside and the plates could be left with ends exposed. Seen even Gel batts seem to fail early. They should last forever almost but failurs in a year especially on UPS when laid on their side and so on.

I think Andy has his nicely tucked into the rear pockets

..

.

[The Nun]

At least youve got a Chrysler Imp which makes the wiring up so much quicker and simpler to the Rootes Imp where's every wire is separate with no push in multi plugs, shouldnt be very difficult or time consuming to finish now.

[John A Ross]

Not sure there is much standard there Peter, stalks changed, the dash has gone so its wire it all aup seperately

Complete custom loom with accessories,

Seeing the work that has been done I have no doubt he could finish up the wiring himself and do a great job of it.

Time for the lining paper across the garage floor, draw it out on floor and see where the wires cross and you can make it simpler

You can save a fair bit of up front wiring and heavier leads by mving some fuses and so on to the back, which is why I put all the ignition switching and back end relays / fuses in a seperate box at back.

.

[The Nun]

Yep do a layout, I find if you're not too familiar and the wiring loom looks like a spaghetti nightmare, treat it like a street map, that item needs to lead to that and do a simplified diagram of your own to follow. Presumably if you've already done some of it you've got a fair idea of what you're doing. Trying to work out what someone else has done or wants, which anyone taking it on will need to work out first, is another task on a task.

[Neil]

Thanks for the tips on how to proceed.

It’s gone too cold to continue out in the garage so have transferred to the dining table to work through the drawings,
…the Misses thinks it’s a marvellous idea!

dining table arangment.jpg

Making gentle progress . Getting my head around relays and the end circuits BUT I’m just not clear on the front end of the loom coming from the battery:

wiring from battery & ignition.jpg

Please feel free to comment on or correct the following statements:

16mm gauge cable from battery to starter motor and then in series onto alternator.
I will fit a megafuse or 100A circuit breaker near battery end

2mm2 wire from Cartek isolator to keyed ignition switch
(no need for a fuse in this circuit as the Cartek will act as the fuse tripping at 40A).

On the ignition switch, as there is a starter button operating off the IGN terminal, the ST terminal is not needed.

Not sure of the wiring from the ignition ACC terminal and how the +ve feed from the battery connect to the fusebox? …is it by a relay using the ACC as the trigger?

[John A Ross]

Neil

Use chunks of this as you need

https://www.hillmanimp.org/forum/restor ... post23514

[Neil]

John
You would not believe how may times I have referred to your drawing.
But today (I think) a few things have dropped into place in my head so re-drawing my master diagram with a bit more confidence and a tidy up!
Thanks

[John A Ross]

Glad my waffle was of use to someone and great to see the lining paper in use

If you were any closer I would have been happy to lend a hand but dodgy doodles best I can do at a distance

.

[The Nun]

The wife will be glad youre learning new skills good job she loves the idea you're working indoors, she has house rewire lined up next

[spares]

Do not ever put grease of any kind in an Imp steering rack!

An Imp rack is a kind of gear and requires EP80 = Extreme Pressure gear oil as you are told in the WSM141 workshop manual. You put it in your gearbox when you are doing a regular service, so keep 1/2 pint to one side for the rack, its not difficult.

Suggesting to use fancy Landy grease/ oil or whatever it's called leads people to use the cheaper standard grease because they think its OK which it definately is not! Landys are not Imps!

I re-build steering racks. The worst part is stripping and cleaning them. Any that have had grease inside usually have had water trapped inside and will be so corroded as to be useless.

Ask me how I know all of this, well I could have a rant about it all day long and I can tell you information on social media is not to be believed...

[Neil]

Thanks Bob for the info, that has been put on the to do list to correct.

Progressing with the electrics.
Dash now just about finished, will test the circuits in situ before putting the end connectors on just to be on the safe side.

Dash wired up.jpg

I must have spent a day trying to work out the wiring for the buttons but got there in the end.
All the switches have been wired to have a 2 stage lighting brightness. They are not connected to the lights but will come on in dim mode when switching on the ignition. Then if they are activated the brightness increase to indicate they are on. No problem with latching switches but with the momentary switches not so simple. What I am hoping works is the 2 momentary switches activate the front and rear screen heater via a timed relay, I will get the feed for the full brightness setting from the relay output to the screen so the button brightness should switch off when the relays switches off

Buttons illuminated.jpg

Button box wiring.jpg

Got a pair of funky number plate fixing bolts with a built in led light.

IMG_5237.jpg

[The Nun]

Might pose a possible problem there, as you aren't supposed to have white light showing on the rear, unless fully shrouded like the standard numberplate lights, unless they only come on when you're reversing only, like reversing lights? Those lights don't look shrouded enough to me?
When you take the car for its MOT I suppose the tester will say one way or the other.

[John A Ross]

Neil

I added an interlock to stop front/rear heated screen at same time as that is nearly a 40+ A load on its own.

Same idea as yourself, toggle on/toggle off and if no toggle off 10 minutes and it shuts itself off or if ignition turned off it resets (all the relay function)

Only difference is I made sure I only had one on at a time as likely I would have heater blower (4A) lights (10A) and ignition running at same time (6A) so you can fast exceed the battery capcity and stress the alternator if its just a standard 16/17ACR style as they start to cook usually 45A and above and the cheap rectifiers they use now dont like it

.

[Neil]

Imp wiring now finally done.

testing circuits.jpeg

I first of all did 2 updates of wiring layout with pen and paper, but as I kept making updates (basically fumbling along) I found it easier completing the wiring layout on a free to use program called drawio.com which my son found for me (it was handy as the drawings were online so he could easily access them and we could discuss whilst he’s away).
Don’t pay any attention to my wiring but here’s one of my layouts using drawio.

drawio .png

I have done a bit of belt and braces with the dash loom section as I have labelled all the wiring underneath the black wrap as well as my drawings so that should I need to open it up in the future when I forgotten what I have just done it will help me hone in on whatever I am after.

Dash loom.jpeg

A bit of a rookie error with the dash wiring loom, all finished and went to test fit the glove box and hadn’t allowed enough length on the wiring to clear the back of the glove box so a partial strip down of that section to rectify.

I have fitted the accident inertia switch to the fuel pump line under the dash but easily accessible to reset if required.

spagetti.jpeg

fusebox.jpeg

next to battery.jpeg

The bottom plastic panel of the dash and glovebox I have covered with the same mock alcantara that I used on the top of dash but with the foam backing removed (same as roof lining)

trims all covered ready to fit.jpeg

It was a bit annoying as my Davies Craig ewp LCD digital controller had a broken screen. Even though it was brand new they weren’t interested in replacing it as it was over 12 months since I purchased it so have begrudgingly bought a replacement. Once that is fitted I can close up and finish the dash.

[The Nun]

Not guaranteed for life then? Whoevers life that maybe.
But then I buy loads of things well in advance of needing them when doing a rebuild, so i know its there ready, no good leaving things until the last minute then it's all sold is it or doubled in price.
Of course that can also be undesirable in today's electronic era where things advance so fast by the time you come to use the item and its not right or doesn't work your item has become obsolete anyway so you can't get that part and you end up buying the lot again