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I had to buy some second hand tyres for the Imp so it could be pulled around. The tyres it had were shot. The seller bought some second hand ones and I sent him the money with the first instalment. I decided to get a quote for some white wall tyres from Cokers.
They had an outlet here in Australia so I looked them up. Geeez does everybody think I’m part of the Gate’s family. I ended up buying them from Coker’s in the States for half the price they sell them here for -- Come on guys get your act together. I now know a heap of guys who will not buy from Coker’s here because they are just too expensive. They would not ship them to Australia because they had an outlet here so I had them sent to the seller who put them inside the Imp and they travelled to Oz that way. I bought the Firestone Vintage 820-15 3 1/2 inch wide whitewalls 4 ply Poly. I was allowed to bring in 12 tyres in total including the ones already on the Imp if I wanted to, as long as they were for the Imp. Now I have new whitewall tyres for her. That’s them at the owner’s home waiting to be put inside the Imp at the rear of this pic.
Australian Quarantine made it abundantly clear that the Imp MUST be as clean as possible when she arrives. With any vehicle coming into Australia, Quarantine have 4 choices to them;
- They can clear the vehicle without cleaning. This is extremely rare they told me and is usually reserved for brand new vehicles.
- They can demand that the Vehicle be cleaned by them at the owner’s cost. This was the option afforded to me.
- They can demand that the Vehicle be returned to where it came from. This is usually done if the vehicle is too dirty for them to clean thoroughly. I was told that if they estimate that a vehicle has more than about 5 kilos (10lbs) of dirt on it then they will order it to be sent back to where it came from.
- They can destroy the Vehicle if the owner refuses to send it back and the cost is borne by the owner. They will fumigate it and crush and melt it down.
Australian Quarantine regulations are very very strict and so they should be. Australia is free from many exotic diseases and such and we want to keep it that way. I didn’t have a problem with what they wanted. As I mentioned earlier I was expecting it.
Well all was going well and it was time to ship the Imp out of the cold weather of Washington State to the sunny shores of Sydney. I paid the final amount to the seller and asked if it could be detailed. He was good enough to find Sterling’s Detailers nearby and arranged for Dean to tow it there to be cleaned before the journey to Seattle. I still felt in my mind that the Imp would have to be cleaned when it arrived as I know how thorough they are and it was hard to imagine anyone getting it so clean that it passed the quarantine inspection here. I still wanted it cleaned before she left as it would also show Quarantine here that I at least did my best to have her conform.
Things were getting exciting now but I was still a long way off actually playing with her. Now for some pics of the Imp leaving the owners to be cleaned then it was off to Seattle.
Here’s Dean connecting her to the chain. Ready to load her onto his truck.
Dean hooked her up and pulled her through the winter cover for the owner’s car.
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Here she is passing through the cover. Seems like an honour guard seeing her off for the last time.
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Up onto the truck, secured and ready to go.
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Say cheese. She has no idea of the adventure she is about to be a part of. Don’t you just love that grin.
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It’s out of the driveway turn right and off to Sterling’s for a clean.
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Well here she is at Sterling’s for a minor "makeover".
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Another shot of the Imp at the Detailers.
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Here is a pic of the engine before cleaning. Notice the original fur covered Air Filter. You don’t read about these in any manuals. Apparently it warms the air during winter for easier starting.
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Engine shot after cleaning. Looks like the fur cover for the Air Filter cover did not survive the cleaning process. Maybe that’s way we don’t see them around these days.
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What an impressive rear end. No wonder Mikey liked it so much.
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This is Brian the previous owner saying his last goodbye. Apparently he bought the Imp from the guy who built his house. I am waiting for the history of the Imp to come my way.
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Well, Stirling’s did a great job cleaning the Imp and now it was time to head off to Seattle. The ship was leaving in a week and I was asked to get the vehicle to the packers well before the sailing time. What they didn’t tell me till she was about a week out of Sydney was that they were going to charge me for storage until the Imp was loaded. Nice one guys -- you should have told me, leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. Of course I had no option but to pay it as guess who had all the original documents -- yep they did. I was also slugged a Port Congestion Charge without being told about it either. I understand that this is a Government tax but no-one is able to or willing to explain it to me.
Dean stopped on the way to Seattle and took this shot -- I call it High Fins, High Mountain. I like the shot Dean but don’t give away your towing job to become a photographer. I have to thank Dean again for taking a whole bunch of pics for me so that I could document the movement of the Imp. He bought a disposable camera took the shots and left it in the Imp for me to develop -- Thanks Dean.
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