Clunk

Soon after, I broke down on the Motorway at Ashton while taking the long way home from work to stop the overheating. I had to phone Karen's brother Steve who arrived in his TR7 and helped me push the Imp down the slip ramp to a garage forecourt - he helped me tow it back the next day.

The engine had crapped out, oil and water mixing, temperature getting the better of Aluminium. Ian Kenworthy said this would happen. The water loss over time and the high heat cycling had warped the head so much that it gave up the ghost.

I went and bought an engine for fifteen quid and over a period of three months during the spring of 1983 I put it in the car with a new clutch. When it was all back together again I drove it for a short while and decided to finally listen to the great IK, sold to the lowest bidder no doubt.

What I did during that time the Imp was off the road was unthinkable, in retrospect one of the silliest things in my checkered transport career.