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HillMan Motor Cars |
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Imp gear shiftThe neat little engine was mated to a neat little gearbox. When the engine was decided upon, the next thought was on the gearbox. It had to be amenable to the output of the lively engine. If the engine was to give its best, revolutions ought to be kept high and full use should be made of the gearbox. The box that had been in the prototype sofar just was not up to the job. It was decided to have one made especially for the Imp, tailored to fit in a fairly cramped compartment. Rootes hadn't designed a transaxle before, or a gearbox plus differential. November 1960 they hired Adrian West as Senior Transmission Engineer. He had traveled around the European continent on a scholarship studying gearbox design, visiting Renault, Fiat and Simca a.o. Adrian West set out to tackle the problems. He wanted to set a
new standard in gear shifting: speed and lightness would be
remarkable ! The design succeeded handsomely. All four gears have really
efficient baulk-ring synchromesh, and one can change down to any
gear at the maximum speed for that ratio without double
declutching or synchronizing the engine speed. Few car magazines
failed to sing its praise. It has a very nice, precise
shift, as quick and easy as one could wish for. The choice of
ratios is outstanding. With all the ratios indirect there is always a bit of transmission whine, even in top gear. The synchromesh ia powerful, but it isn't always easy to select first gear.
Final drive is to a transaxle and the standard gearing is such
that at 1,000 rpm in the highest gear the Imp does 15mph. |