The future of motoring purchased

[Alexg]

After scouting off and on for 6 months for a reasonably priced, sensibly local Sinclair C5, I bagged an ebay listed example up in south London. An hours trip up the M20/M25 in the Allegro and I met the seller to collect. A nice old chap met me, showed it working and how I should operate and helped me load it in, a tight squeeze. It only just fit, on it's side, so images in my head of it slipping from the tailgate like Thunderbird 4 were quickly scuppered.

 

 

 

 

Annoyingly on arrival at home I realised I'd left a box of extra C5 bits at the blokes house!

 

The guy ran the car on a normal car battery wired into the original key lid, buy this wasn't included. A nose about the C5 forum suggested that the question of battery options was a matter of constant disagreement with many rewiring and choosing modern options for maximum range - some of these nutters use these on a daily basis for commuting and such! I just wanted it for fun so my favoured option was to keep things original. So using a guide from the forum I purchased an 038 size battery as the dimensions are almost that of the original C5 battery . A couple of terminal adapters purchased from halfords were perfect and a small bit of drilling allowed the whole thing to slot together pleasingly well. A bit of jigging about should improve too...

 

 

Oh, and here is the beauty, excuse the crappy pics.it was getting dark, and they were taken on my phone...

 

 

 

 

 

So, it was ready for my first ride.... a quick pedal to get moving before pushing the button and away it went. HA, it's hilarious, but my word I felt like a berk. I was only a quick blezz about the garages where it's stored, enough to know it went and steered ok with noisy and poor braking. That was that, the piss poor whether has scuppered plans of getting it out for a proper go. Can't wait to have a good whizz about though.

 

Condition wise, there are a few scratches and such, but nothing too bad, and I expect a bit of hot water and Cif will have it looking ace. Stickers, wheel trims are all there too. Interestingly it's the only shite vehicle I've bought that my mates actually genuinely think is cool... I'm not sure how I feel about that.

 

 

 

 

[oman5]

collecting a c5 in an orange allegro estate. it doesn't get any better than this! bloody great stuff.

[trigger]

That's seriously cool! 

[seacow]

Love it always fancied one!

[ShiteRider]

That's definitely a nomination for the 2015 calender. Well done you sir.

[vulgalour]

That's it.  Autoshite is over.  Nothing can out-Autoshite this.

[HillmanImp]

Thats brilliant. Did you get this to make the missus realise what a fantastic form of transport the Allegro is?

 

how old do you have to be to drive these on the road? Do you need insurance?

 

Kid from my village got one of these in the late 80s. Used it a couple of times but had the piss ripped out of him so much i don't think he kept it long.

[Twiggy]

Brilliant - absolutely brilliant !

[londonm]

Like your sound system on Allegro passenger seat, you can rest it on your shoulder as you tear about on your C5. I saw someone in one of these negotiate Kings Cross back in the day, they must have needed their head checking.

[eddyramrod]

I remember seeing one of these on Christmas Eve 1985, well into the evening.  It was sticking out of the hatchback of a Rover SD1.  I was following it down the Formby Bypass in my first Granada...

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

That's definitely a nomination for the 2015 calender. Well done you sir.

 

Hell, if he posts four more photos we can just print the calendar now and call it a day. 

[rml2345]

You have just won the entire of Autoshite.

Well done sir!

[Brent_Crude]

I read the first 3 lines of this and thought this was some elaborate, far-fetched tale, but this actually has happened and you deserve whatever the Autoshite equivalent of a Knighthood is. I can only imagine the bewildered look on the faces of the motorists you passed on the way back in your treasure of an Allegro with your hi-tech cargo aboard - I wish I'd seen it myself.

 

 

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[Lord Sterling]

SIK! I've always wanted to have a go in these Sinclair C5s just to see what they are like. One of these days I'd love to buy one, just to have one like.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Here's one I spotted locally in May 2012. 

 

[Richard]

That's great, and it shows what an amazing load lugger the Allegro is.

 

 

how old do you have to be to drive these on the road? Do you need insurance?

 

No paperwork required, that was the big selling point. I don't think there was any age restriction either. These weren't cheap, over £400 IIRC, probably why they didn't take off.

[londonm]

Here's one I spotted locally in May 2012. 

 

c5spot.jpg

What's that bloke doing though? Or who is he doing?

[Partridge]

This is pretty damn good. A Sinclair C5 inside and Allegro. That should be a new rank.

What's that bloke doing though? Or who is he doing?

Having a not very subtle wank by the look of it.

[Jim Bell]

Can you fit modern super long life batteries and press it into daily service?

[Sloth in a bowl]

Having a not very subtle wank by the look of it.

I assumed he was praying that the battery would get him home.

[Bren]

I remember seeing one of these on Christmas Eve 1985, well into the evening.  It was sticking out of the hatchback of a Rover SD1.  I was following it down the Formby Bypass in my first Granada...

Maybe some kind of escape pod?

 

I remember seeing sir Clive demonstrating one of these on Breakfast TV when I was about 12 - I also remember thinking he looked a complete twat sat in it, and that surely there were better ways of trying to impress Selina Scott.

 

Maybe the next big thing for scene tax?

[saucedoctor]

^it won't rust if you sand it down, though! A big fat man that I know has two of these, one of which is mintola and works. Pity he can't get in it! I must ask him for some photos of them. He runs a pro computer shop, and they were in the window of his old premises for a while.

[RedSparrow]

THIS IS AMAZING.

 

Make some videos of it running please!

[jonny69]

Loving the fact that until 2010 these remained the best selling electric vehicle, selling something like 17,000 units! They're always described as a commercial disaster but I had no idea so many where made!

 

(Still, I suppose that only made £6million while the factory cost about £12million...)

[brickwall]

Convert to 24V = win?

[Station]

How much can you expect to pay for one of these in working condition (like yours)?

[cyruspower]

Congratulations indeed.  This has entirely convinced me to increase my level of Autoshitting by at least 700%.

 

A lad from school had a ZX80, a ZX81, a Spectrum, an FTV1 AND a Sinclair C5.  His Dad must have worked for them or something.  Either way he was a lucky bastard.  Sadly for him his Dad wouldn't let him use it on the road the miserable git, so he couldn't roll in to the school playground and look as cool as hell (or a possibly a complete bell end).....

 

I'd always worry I'd look a bit like Davros in a C5.  I want one.

[seacow]

I remember after Sinclair went bust Comet had these on the shelves for under £200 but my old man couldn't be persuaded!!

[Skizzer]

Superb.  

 

Am otherwise completely lost for words.

[Alexg]

Thanks for the enthusiasm folks!

 

How much can you expect to pay for one of these in working condition (like yours)?

 

I paid £360, my max late bid on an ebay auction. It's about the right price for a running model in good condition, so whilst it isn't a bargain, the fact it was within reasonable travelling distance meant I was happy to pay it.

 

With a bit of fiddling I've managed to wiggle things enough to get the C5 into the boot on all 3 wheels, meaning less damage and no need to remove battery during transit. I'll try and get some proper pictures on Sunday but the weather looks scabby as hell.