DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Excellent work as always

Cheers Sladey.

Did a road trip to go visit my brother down the west coast, Hannah in convoy to deliver his corolla we'd replaced gearbox bearings in. Fantastic roads and pretty grand weather.

Before the trip I did a few wiring jobs. Added an aliexpress usb charging hub with voltmeter (that bit wasn't needed as my water pump controller screen shows voltage but hey ho) into the glove box, next to the phone slots I'd added. No more phones sliding about.



The main bush on the gear linkage shaft was open to the elements and goes dry. I found some old dust boots from some old rockshox mag 21s (1" stanctions.. ) that fitted perfectly once cut to length. I machined some slots in the bush ends so the boots had something to click into. Filled with silicone grease. The action is so much lighter and smoother now.



I covered the original Imp bush at the other end too. In time I'll sort some cover for the gearstick ball and socket.



I also added one of the remote operated led dimmer controls to the speedo and rev counter leds. I can dim them right down. I also set them to flash in a way that's sure to create issues for any potential thief who happens to have epilepsy.

So the road trip. Fun times. I took some pics. First time driving down the west coast in the Imp - roads I have always wanted to sample in it. Traffic was not too bad but plenty of storm damage road works going on. Had to get this shot..



Bugs a plenty..



My brothers pad. Shed house on bush block. Great place.



Hannahs building...



Hokitika fire engine needs work..



Greymouth garage needs tlc...



Hokitika know how to paint their buildings..



Brothers Datsun A12 engine needs paint.

And steel.

And wd40.





On the way back up the coast road the weather started out a bit cloudy..



But cleared up as we got further north. Brilliant roads. For a Sunday it was actually super quiet. Very few motorhomes to get stuck behind. Lots of motorbikes (I would)





Shared the driving with Hannah so I could snap pics out the window.





We kept a fuel log and I was recording each leg of the trip using Strava on my watch because the odometer on the new speedo reads about 9% to much. Checked and double checked the figures and once again I'm blown away with how economical this engine is. On one 140 km section we got a sub 5L/100km. Over the whole 850km it averaged at around 6l/100km. Cruising with other traffic, lots of passing slower cars and having some good fast blasts on the twisty sections. Buller gorge road between Murchison and Inangahua is sublime if you get a clear run. Anyway, super happy with the economy. I think the small frontal area, light weight, decent over-driven 5th gear and efficient fuel injection all help.

It still stinks with the windows down. On the gravel road to my brother's we got plenty of dust drawn in. I think the rear hatch outer seal needs replacing and this must be the culprit for the fumage entry. I'll look into it. Can try to confirm this theory by taping up the hatch.

Got home last night. Engine is a state- covered in dust. VW beetle/Porsche/other rear engined show cars must hate dusty roads. My Mandalorians hate it. Covers their windscreen..



Gave it a clean this morning. Much better

Nice update, great looking area and to have roads with s p a c e to drive in is doubly so.

Saw a YouTube of a VW classic Beetle with the Gold Wing engine in it in Japan I think.

And the next project is...?

Ahhhh yes that's the young fella in the states. I'd been conversing when him a few months ago. He'd seen one of my videos ages back and was inspired. His install uses the engine and transmission as stock, feeding into a polaris atv differntial. Much simpler but it ends up wtb an engine mounted alot further back and much higher. Not an ideal c.o.g.
It wouldn't even fit in my Imp as such without cutting out the parcel shelf.

Ahhh, that explains what I saw, that the engine was very visible!

I repeat, what is the next project!
You will be bored soon I think, lol.

I've not got any more car projects planned right now. Happy to continue refining this one plus I have yet to put it through the NZ equivalent of the UK svo - called certification here. Waiting on local certifer to confirm if he's going back into business. Please cross your fingers for me..

Our property is 11 acres and there's so many jobs we have to do to fix things up since the winter storms as well as more landscaping ideas. This car is a nice break from having to do those jobs but I cant keep avoiding them

Great write up and good to see it out and about. Any tweaks planned for the driving experience or is it pretty much how you want it (except for the dunes)?

And I don’t find early 911 engines get that dusty for some reason, must be better sealed.

5l per 100km. Very good. I'm glad you are enjoying the fruit of your work

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yoda wrote: ↑Tue Nov 11, 2025 7:37 am Great write up and good to see it out and about. Any tweaks planned for the driving experience or is it pretty much how you want it (except for the dunes)?

And I don’t find early 911 engines get that dusty for some reason, must be better sealed.

I'd still like to have stronger brakes. Probably fit discs onto the back - most likely calipers from a suitable Japanese donor car. The lack of servo assistance, as nice as the feel is, reminds one of the cars age. I might look for a suitable small servo and modify the underside of the tank to suit. Not keen on single circuit remote servos as many older English cars often had fitted.

I think the Hillman Imp sport rear engine cover with all its slots doesn't help with the dust. Luckily I wont be driving it on gravel roads very often - although I do find gravel roads super fun to hoon on and we have so many here.


@neilbardsley - yeah I'm amazed and very happy with the economy. Given I can easily keep up with modern traffic on any hill its much better than the original imps with the 875cc four.

Back in the day I think people used the front discs off Triumph Spitfires?
Early 911s are hard to stop too!
Most modern dual servo systems come off the brake pedal I think.
Remote dual cylinder with servo assist are quite large and expensive.

Maybe change the pads/ shoes first?

Retropower use the dual remote servos in some of their resto-mods but they are bulky so end up under the back seat.

Yeah I'd really want to avoid that for sure!!!
I remember my Mazda Rx3 coupe I had in the UK had a quite dinky servo. I'm sure there's a few options. Im happy to lose a couple of litres of fuel to have a servo in place.

The other option is a bias setup which is very commonly used for race Imps.

For what it’s worth, my “restomod” beetle has 986 boxster brakes all round on the original modest bore dual master cylinder. The pedal has a bit of progression (not rock hard) in a similar way to a servo assisted pedal. I don’t find myself looking for a servo.

As to the servo, I have a Bosch iBooster on my 914. It's a master cylinder with electric servo off a Tesla and needs no vacuum which is great if your engine is at the 'wrong' end of the car. Despite having CAN bus it does not need it to operate normally. Feels just like a normal vacuum, even has the pedal drop when the ignition switches on. It is a bit chunky but might be worth a look.

Regarding the dust in the engine bay, air cooled 911s do not suffer from this as the bay is sealed with the engine 'tin' and a rubber seal running all the way round. You could do something similar if you need any more little projects!

Thanks for the suggestions fellas. I have never heard of an electrically assisted brake system. Neat- I'll look into that.

@Bruce M - what size bore are you running in your system?