Sunbeam Stiletto

[Golf Juliet Tango]

I haven't seen one for decades but this came past as I was clearing the garage of stuff (it has become chaotic and needs so much removed).

This was in lovely condition and I had a very short chat along the lines of "Lovely car, haven't seen one for ages, my father had one, I'm so glad you are enjoying it, will you be at the local classic car show..."

[Ivaan]

Was it a metallic blue one, with a black vinyl  roof and twin headlights...wish I still had mine.

[Mark w]

Mine ( my first car ) was green with black roof . Suffered a bit from the tin worm ( especially around the rear wheel arches ) and has to be held in third gear on the over run or it jumped in to neutral ( fixed during my ownership ) but overall fondly remembered .

Removing the engine was really easy if you had a milk crate .Push crate under engine to take the load , remove rear bumper and rear cross member , disconnect rubber driveline doughnuts pipes ,cables and wiring etc .Push car forward and theres all your engine and driveline ready to work on .The gearbox was so unreliable i must have removed it 4 or 5 times during my ownership !

 

 

[Golf Juliet Tango]

I would describe it as metallic turquoise with black vinyl roof.

My father's was metallic maroon with vinyl roof.

[Paul Mason]

As much as I appreciate both the Imp and the Stiletto and thinking they seem to have a wonderful character (though never driven one), I've always had a hankering for a Clan Crusader which I believe is the same underpinnings with a fibreglass body on top. As a child, my dad bought one, which was resplendent in what could only be described as turd brown (what were they thinking in the 70's??) but changed it to red and it was gorgeous. He took the profit rather than keeping it though, mores the pity

[john aston]

My Crusader was blue, chassis No 4 , OPT 440 J , and I had a 998 Rallye Imp engine - it was like a baby Elan but with early 911 handling. 

[Jonathan Kay]

http://www.imps.me.uk/images/Shows_2010/IMPTWENTYTEN/Cars%20at%20the%20show/ABL384J_Sunbeam-Stiletto_Imp2010.jpg

My mother's Stiletto was brown/ bronze with a black roof, same as above. Strange colour but it wasn't actually unpleasant in the flesh.

I put a lot of miles on it. Delightful and original little car. Felt precise and light, although I"m not sure that it was. And had the right amount of power. The dimming eyelids on the dashboard lights would be nice on a Seven.

This was the second second car in our family, following a Herald 13/60 and succeeded by a Mk IV Spitfire 1300, which I then owned for years. IIRC the shortlist was the Stiletto, a four seater Morgan and an MGB GT. A two-seater Alpine was also discussed but on checking the dates that must have been an alternative to the Herald.

Jonathan

PS: I imagine that in these parts everyone knows the connections to the original Elite and the original Elan...

[Nick Bassett]

That blue Imp estate behind your picture looks suspiciously like my old neighbours' car - they have owned it (still do) since 1972 and attend various car shows around Newbury/Oxford area.

[Domus]

My first car was an Imp, a 1970 model.  It was Bronze as in the pic above.  The official colour was Tangerine.  It suffered from, rust, cooling problems, headgasket failure, oil leaks a plenty, water ingress into footwells.

Good idea and design, rushed into production and built by people who didn't care.  Shame really.