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First up is this fascinating combo of 1959 Hillman Minx with Mazda rotary power. Imagine it- your Minx screaming along at Wankel-approved RPMs while the jaws of onlookers drop in stunned amazement! Does it run? Er, well, not exactly. Was the swap done right, or is the engine held in with zip-ties and plumber's tape? Hey, for $500 you get what you pay for! All we can say is: rotary Minx, dude! This car could be made so freakin' fast that tales of your high-speed demise would be uttered in hushed, respectful tones by future generations of paramedics: Yeah, we was findin' body parts in three different counties, none of 'em bigger'n a pea!

While the Minx is an extreme longshot bet to actually get into driveable form, here's a project whose pitfalls and rewards are well-understood by most of us: a 1971 Ford LTD 4-door. Sure, the front end is probably shot (with a full turn-and-a-half of play in the steering wheel), and the interior is sure to be a nightmare of horsehair and vinyl decay byproducts, and the wiring has probably been hacked up into a fuse-popping logic puzzle. Yeah, and it's probably got a 400,000-mile Cleveland with the crappy 2-barrel heads and no compression in three cylinders. So what? Parts are pretty easy to get, and big Fords are cool!

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As the narrator of this Pathe newsreel tells it, the 1967 models were to be The Big Drive for the British auto manufacturing industry, because "exports must increase if the country is to pay its way." We see such hot-selling British success stories as the Singer Chamois Sport and the Hillman Hunter (which features booth babes dressed in fox-hunting gear), plus a nice assortment of non-British stuff. How about a '67 Ferrari 365P, with that bizarre 3-seater setup? Or a Saab Sonnet? Too bad about the country not paying its way, of course, but some nice cars nonetheless. – Murilee Martin

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British Steel: The 1962 London Motor Show [internal]

Perhaps inspired by Ford's sales of a few thousand California Special Mustangs here in the US of A, Hillman decided that slapping the name of Richard Nixon's home state on a fastback '67 Imp would somehow convince legions of British car buyers to part with 650 for the thing. Sadly, the Imp Californian lacked the hotter Sport engine used in the Super Imp, and sales were disappointing. I'm still trying to find more details on the '71 Manson Family Edition Imp. – Murilee Martin

Hillman Imp Californian [Imps4Ever]

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Ass-Engined Limey Snot Car: The Hillman Imp [internal]

Back in 1962, when it seemed the sun would never set on the British auto industry, the new '63 models were proudly displayed at the Earl's Court London Motor Show. All the usual suspects are here in this newsreel, from the Hillman Super Minx to the Lotus Elan, with plenty of science-fair-style cutaway vehicles showing their innards and car-show babes galore. – Murilee Martin

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Lotus's Master Plan: Three New Models in Five Years [internal]

The history of the Hillman Avenger is long, sordid and involves Chrysler, Peugeot and Volkswagen. And while some of the rally/saloon variants were pretty rad, the Avenger variant that simply cannot be fronted upon is the Uruguay-built Dodge 1500 pickup. Sadly, not much thought was given to the structural integrity of this South American truckcar and the vehicles apparently had a propensity toward chassis failure. Still, unlike its American cousin, the Rampage, the 1500 was at least driven by the correct wheels. We'd like to find one, beef it up, and add Plymouth Cricket bodywork and a 4G63 turbo, thus making it a Phantom Scamp GT. Would there be a more playatastic way to roll through Montevideo? We highly doubt it. – Davey G. Johnson

The Hillman Avenger

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More El Caminos [Internal]

While Bumbeck's feverishly searching for sub-$1000 post-apocalyptic project cars on Craigslist LA, I do the same on the San Francisco CL listings. This listing has been around for a while; I suspect the slightly-steep prices are subject to negotiation by now. So far I haven't called the guy, in spite of the fact that the cars are located within thrown-rod distance of me, because I keep telling myself — with decreasing conviction — that I can't take on some impossible-to-find-parts-for car project. But, in the name of all we hold holy, imagine having a '56 Ford Mainline with a 460 plucked out of a junked Continental! You could knock the ladies dead by saying "Wait here, dollface, I'll pick you up in my Mainline." Or a '47 DeSoto with suicide doors? Or, also in the name of all we hold holy, a '54 Hillman Minx? – Murilee Martin

26 Project Cars For Sale [craigslist]

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All This and More! A Very Special Craigslist Camaro [Internal]

Yes, people, we have here the car whose development shuffled Rootes into the arms of Chrysler, and eventually off to Peugeot to die. It's the Hillman Imp, a rear-engined British-designed, Scottish-built rear-engined econobox that never displaced more than a rear-mounted liter, had a reputation for fragility and having the engine in the rear, but found some success on the saloon-car racing circuit. We want one. Anyone got a spare Hayabusa mill laying about? We'll install it in the rear.

Hillman Imp [Rootes-Chrysler, UK]

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Winds of Change: The Talbotcamino! [Internal]