Project Dollywobbler's Invacar - Ongoing

[Joey spud]

 

You can still get handle bars on motability cars

[Joey spud]

 

They're a bugger to pilot as the dinked wing shows.

[3VOM]

I see this as no more than a thinly disguised attempt to win a few autotests next season.

[5speedracer]

That's the sort of thing. The 'no animals' bit used to make me laugh as a child picturing in my head a cow sauntering down the motorway slip-road and upon reading the sign turning around and flouncing off in a huff.

 

I was a slightly odd child.

In the same vein, "heavy plant crossing".

Triffid perhaps ?

 

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[richardthestag]

No date fixed yet. If we can't tie something up in the next few weeks, I'll forgo the Autotest, hire a van and go and drag at least the 'good' one back home.

 

Anyway, more pics! I might get this one framed.

 

DESIRABLE.

 

what's in the bag on the floor? does it help with chronic understeer?

[richardmorris]

It says rock salt. Just to aid rusting!

[dollywobbler]

I did wonder if it was ballast. I suspect it was just dumped in there to keep it dry. Though the rear window is missing, so that's not ideal...

[Ben_O]

were they very expensive?

 

I can't imagine what sort of price you would put on something like this.

It's rare and interesting but not exactly desirable or straightforward to get roadworthy.

 

Good luck with them though, I shall be following with interest

 

Ben

[dollywobbler]

They were not very expensive. Come on, it's me!

[mercrocker]

Talking of price, weren't these costed out (by somebody like Car magazine) as being the equivalent of at least an adapted Mini Clubman?    There was a huge amount of campaigning against them on safety and value-for-taxpayer grounds - Stirling Moss strikes me as having been involved from memory.....

[Mr_Bo11ox]

My Mrs loves these, I reckon they're her dream car. If you get it fettled I'll bring her to shitefest so she can have a dream drive! Mind you if that happens we might be looking for one for sale afterwards.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Talking of price, weren't these costed out (by somebody like Car magazine) as being the equivalent of at least an adapted Mini Clubman?    There was a huge amount of campaigning against them on safety and value-for-taxpayer grounds - Stirling Moss strikes me as having been involved from memory.....

http://autoshite.com/topic/5867-ac-invacar/

It was Graham Hill. Found this thread on here from 7 years ago where it was discussed and DW says he has always wanted one, well now he has two

[plasticvandan]

Minter's can fetch up to £5k at auction, general run of the mill price for a runner is between 1-2k.

Even in around 1994,The Invalid vehicle service spent £3.5 million keeping the fleet on the road.Tax and insurance was paid for,and a contribution towards fuel.Thery all got a rigorous service every 12 months.

[Cheggers]

I remember seeing these around London while I was growing up, but never realised they had those weird forward sliding doors

 

 

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[Timewaster]

 

[dollywobbler]

Brilliant!

[oldcars]

The chap kicks the front tyre everytime he goes near one. 

[Skizzer]

Blimey, and I thought my blue plastic car was a left-field purchase. Great work DW, can’t wait for progress. Love the HubNut video too.

[Louise2cv]

I defo remember seeing them in the wild.

[Volksy]

My Mrs loves these, I reckon they're her dream car. If you get it fettled I'll bring her to shitefest so she can have a dream drive! Mind you if that happens we might be buying one from you afterwards.

 

FTFY

[Junkman]

I often wonder why everything that is intended for use by disabled people is carefully designed to make them look like complete retards.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I often wonder why everything that is intended for use by disabled people is carefully designed to make them look like complete retards.

I think the advent of adapted run of the mill cars has done a lot to improve equality.

 

It's bad enough being disabled, but forcing you to run around in something that appears to me to be intentionally designed to stand out for all the wrong reasons....

 

Same design philosophy for the gWizz then? Save the planet* but only if You want to look like a fucking twat.

 

Good save though DW, I would run around in one purely because they are a bit different and therefore interesting. Same reason I would own a gWizz.....

 

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[dollywobbler]

Yes, they were quite limiting in several ways. One, they're single-seater, so you shouldn't be taking anyone with you wherever you go. Secondly, they attracted some frankly horrific attention that a normal car would not. One  YouTube commenter admitted regularly lifting up an Invacar with his mates and hiding it around the corner. Yeah, pick on the disabled! Nice work! Oh, and call them spastics or cripples while you're at it.

 

We may still live in worrying times, but I think we have thankfully developed a rather more inclusive view of those with whose who are disabled.

[plasticvandan]

Let's remember here,these cars were issued free,for life.free tax,free insurance,fuel allowance.They were regarded by the dhss as being no different to a prosthetic limb,they were a means of mobility.They were all the same colour for cheapness,and although today's attitude is different,being able to easily identify one,being driven by someone who couldn't use their legs and had limited movement in one arm,and had little driving experience, was seen as a good thing back then.

[Guest Hooli]

 One  YouTube commenter admitted regularly lifting up an Invacar with his mates and hiding it around the corner.

 

The wuss, we did that with a real mini once..

 

Well moved it down three steps into the middle of a pedestrian area.

[loserone]

My father confessed over lunch today that he once hitchhiked back home to Newcastle from Bangor, and did a non insubstantial portion of the journey hiding below the window line in one of these.

 

DW, thanks for being the trigger to getting that story out of him!

[dollywobbler]

Love the anecdotes that these cars generate. One YouTube comment is from someone who remembered someone selling monkey nuts out of one of these at football matches. I don't know why, but I love that.

[timolloyd]

I'd love to have met the civil servants in charge of this program by 2000. If I've understood the history correctly they'd have still been allocating budgets for repairs and maintenance and managing other people responsible for the upkeep of these things. Must have been one of the more bizarre parts of Whitehall or Leeds (where the Dept of Health is also based) to work in.

[Joey spud]

There was also a comment on You Tube about a lad getting rides in one of these and saying there was plenty of room on the floor for him to sit as the driver had lost his legs on the Railways years earlier.

 

My neighbour back in the early 80's mercilessly thrashed one of these around,not sure how he qualified for it as he could drive a manual Escort no problem and worked as a Crane Operator in the then still open Chatham Dockyard.

[Timewaster]

It has been bugging me for 24 hours now, but there was an old fella in the town with an invacar and he had his name on a number plate in the back window, for the life of me I couldn't remember it...

 

It just came to me, Tony!

 

I think he gave up driving and he used to hoss around town in a wheelchair propelled by two long hand levers he pushed and pulled. I swear he went faster in the chair than in the invacar.