Imps at the Dene Rally

20th & 21st June 2026

Imps and steam tractors! What a great mix. The rally is a long-standing event here in the heart of Hampshire, just south of Alton.

Friday evening 20th June

Evening entertainment for the exhibitors was included in the entry and tonight we have a quiz, to take seriously, or not.
Against some very strong competition (supportive commentators usually say that) the Impers came first! Pete collected our winning prize, four boxes of three bottles of beer from the Pots Brewery.

The day ahead of the main event many Impers arrived to set up. A sharp arrival was useful as the camping space was filling up. This is a popular event.

Saturday 20th June

Surrounded by hundreds of old tractors, many of which are old steamies, our eight Imps are proudly on display in the centre area of the main field.

Many scaled sizes of traction engines steam alongside larger imposing exhibits.

When Daniel’s plan is to swap his gearbox out, in the field, Tim lends a hand.

The grassy field is not ideal, especially when keeping hold of the various bolts and clips.

With the engine and transaxle out together, Daniel checks the thrust bearing on the clutch. He has a roller bearing fitted; worth checking while the engine is out.

Having swapped bits, checked and topped up oil in the gearbox, next is getting the set back in the car. Tricky when working on a flat concrete workshop – but on a grassy field, well, not easy at all.

This event is clearly focussed on providing visitors with an active experience with displays in steam, tractors and cars driving around the display route, and heritage cars brought in to be shown off.

Daniel “just in time” managed to finish the engine installation and join in with the parade and chat with the commentator.

Just after 12 midday on Saturday we were waved in to join the Parade lap and presentation in the main arena. Each of us were interviewed – what a chance to promote the Imp. Each of the cars had their own unique story.

Back in the field Daniel finished his engine installation, including putting water in the system!

And so far it’s only Saturday afternoon!

Taking part in this event has been great and so, assuming the rally invites us again, we should put the date in the Club’s event calendar for 2027.

Next up in today’s schedule is a display of most of the big (and little) steamies. And they whistled for effect too – all at the same time!

The road building crew’s demonstration on rock crushing with their belt-driven crusher was impressive. Maybe they could add a bit of tarmac goo and use a bit of that to fill in some of the road potholes.

Back in the main field, it’s time for Pete to work on his Imp Van. New window rubber for the rear window is the focus, with a second pair of hands by Tim.

New rubbers for most windows, for most Imp variants are available from Club Spares.

By way of “testing” the exchanged gearbox Daniel took part in the short time trial between cones and parking bay. Clutch and gearbox (at least reverse, first and second) worked okay.

Curious, of course (wouldn’t you be?…), Daniel and Tim had a look inside the end of the gearbox which had developed a bad grumble and grinding noise. And they found that the bearing at the forward end here of the input shaft was, well, “slack”. The race had mostly disintegrated. No wonder the oil was black when they drained it in to a clear bottle.

As Saturday closed we had a group BBQ, enjoyed some chat in the gazebo, and then sat out in the evening sun with some live music. The night will be short; not because we’ll be up late but it’s the Summer Solstice.

And that’s it for a very full fun day. The sun sets on the band playing, the bar open and, the atmosphere still filled with wonderful little traction engines in steam.

Until tomorrow…

Sunday 21st June

10am sharp all the old non-steamy tractors were mustered to the display arena. Some vehicles date back to the 1950’s and are still in good running order.

The heat today rose well above 30°C so the Imp group rested in the club gazebo most of the day.

Bikes galore took a turn around the display area, several laps managed before the presentation lineup.

Next up the classic cars have their time on display. We managed to keep together today and lined up on the front row.

When the commentator interviewed Daniel, the transaxle swap was a point of interest again and Daniel made the most of the publicity about our Imps.

Pete, with his 1969 Hillman Imp Van with Roots Dealer livery details, won the event’s Best Classic Car award. He was invited back to the parade circuit to receive his trophy.

That’s it for this year here at the Dene Rally. If you are interested in joining in next year watch out for news and plans for 2027.

Thank you to the organisers, all volunteers, for their support during the event.