Project Dollywobbler's Invacar - Ongoing

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Weren't banded wheels banned?

Have these got banned banded wheels?

[tooSavvy]

^^^ nah, m8

 

You've confused houses wivv pools being banded wivv houses wivvOUT pools....

 

Refer to local authority m8, dooyaa

 

 

TS

[Zelandeth]

I thought these were banned from Wales?

 

Anyway. how much better does that look for a wash? I'd be absolutely thrilled if it just needed a battery, but regardless it's hardly a complex engine if it needs bits.

 

I think with that and the Lexus, it would be a challenge for anyone to own two more opposite cars.

 

I tried!  Citroen Xantia Activa (the one with the fully self levelling suspension setup) on one side, Lada Riva on the other side of the driveway.

[bunglebus]

I always found Invacars fascinating, there were a couple buzzing around Brentwood when I was growing up. As I have an unhealthy interest in oddball cars, especially ones with the engine in the wrong place, these really float my boat.

I'm pleased some have survived despite the government trying to have them all disposed of, maybe it was just cheaper to leave them in a field - but maybe a few people didn't want to see them removed from existence altogether.

 

This fine pair from before the design was standardised used to reside at the Stondon Motor Museum - but as it closed the day I visited I've no idea where they ended up.

 

DSC_0094_zpsuyjc4ybm by me, on Flickr

[John F]

Didn't Princess Anne own one of these?

 

BTW much kudos to Hagerty for footing the collection bill

[martc]

Looking forward to watching ITV on a boring Sunday afternoon and seeing the Invacar parked by the sidelines of a mid season second division football match.

 

[eddyramrod]

I think with that and the Lexus, it would be a challenge for anyone to own two more opposite cars.

 

When I had my 1979 Cadillac I also had a one-litre Metro, does that count?  I replaced the Metro with a Lada Riva 1300 too.  (The Proton belonged to MrsR.)

[Pillock]

Aye, that's a contender!

Bonus points for arranging them in size order, like Russian Dolls

[eddyramrod]

Until this afternoon Joloke had a yellow Mustang and a lease Golf, so she's probably in with a shout too   (She's sold the Mustang now).

[Saabnut]

My collection includes a Chevrolet Astro 4.3 V6, Bentley T2 Turbo 6.8 V8 Turbo, Cobra 427 (7 litre V8) and an original Fiat 500

[binhoker668]

Absolute belter of a thread fella.  Watching with great enthusiasm! 

[Mrs6C]

TWC?

 

Twll more like

FTFY

[Mrs6C]

Seriously, though, I think DW has done a very good thing in (and fine job of) rescuing this pair of plastic characters. I look forward to following their restoration and hopefully a return of at least one to the road.

[wuvvum]

My collection includes a Chevrolet Astro 4.3 V6, Bentley T2 Turbo 6.8 V8 Turbo, Cobra 427 (7 litre V8) and an original Fiat 500

Yeah, but you don't count.  If you own every single car in the world then it's guaranteed you're going to have the two extremes.

[Lankytim]

I remember racing one of these down the Coventry Road in Birmingham in my Mk2 Escort 1.1 and it kicked my ass. These things aren’t slow when driven well!

 

I also remember seeing one locally to my parents, also in Brum which regularly had two elderly passengers squashed inside complete with a pair of crutches pressed against the side window.

[dollywobbler]

Left some oil in the bores over the weekend, in the hope it might allow the engine to free up. Nope. Still won't go beyond a certain point.

 

If we return to this pic...

 

You will see a nut-shape on the fan. I'm turning it on that, so the good point about that is that drive is transferred to the crank via the ancient belts, which grip about as well as an oil-soaked trapeze artist. It means that (hopefully!) whatever is stopping it isn't being whacked with a huge amount of force.

 

So, what could it be? On 2CVs, they can de-coke themselves when left sitting, which means lumps of coke prevent the piston reaching top dead centre. But, it could also be that a valve has stuck open. I guess if the camshaft was left sitting for 14 years pushing a valve open, that valve might well get stuck where it is.

 

I'm not sure what to do about this. I guess get the rocker covers off next, and that'll soon tell me whether the valves are where they should be. Main issue is time. I'm a week away from a major deadline, so spare time is at a premium. Frustrating, as I just want to get cracking! Curse these dark evenings. And the rain. And the cold.

 

On the plus side, I have some tyres on their way, so the next job will be to get the wheels off, free up the brakes, get the new tyres fitted and then I can roll it into the garage. I'm hoping the 2CV will fit too...

[panhard65]

Pretty unlikely I know but the Maserati I had used sodium filled valves which have a habit of corroding the valve heads and dropping off. Pull the rocker covers off and see whats happening.

[3VOM]

Time for that borescope review you were always, cough, planning to publish, cough, sponsors willing.

[dollywobbler]

Time for that borescope review you were always, cough, planning to publish, cough, sponsors willing.

 

I would quite like one of those. It would be useful for poking into huge piles of crap to see whether that missing pair of pliers is hiding at the bottom of it. Far more fun that tidying up.

[Sigmund Fraud]

I don't think I would bother assessing that engine's health in situ. It's been in a bloody field for decades, man !

 

Take it out, get it on your workbench, strip, assess, clean, reassemble. Then reinstall and go for a test drive !

[Louise2cv]

Do you have a kitchen table? Back bedroom?

 

Bet it isn't held in by many nuts and bolts...

[Slartibartfast]

 

 

Do you have a kitchen table? Back bedroom?

 

Bet it isn't held in by any nuts and bolts...

FTFY

[John F]

Yep - pulling the engine out will also give you access to whatever subframe, wiring, brake lines, etc. that it's currently obscuring.

[Kiltox]

I have one of those handheld inspection cameras kicking about if you want to borrow it?

[beko1987]

Yep - pulling the engine out will also give you access to whatever's left of the subframe, wiring, brake lines, etc. that it's currently obscuring.

FTFY...

 

Engine looks like a one man job to lift out, and I enjoyed the last 'from my workbench' video you did!

[D Spares & Tyres]

^^^ nah, m8

You've confused houses wivv pools being banded wivv houses wivvOUT pools....

Refer to local authority m8, dooyaa TS

If you had a bunch of these outside you would probably end up in a lower band due to you lowering the property values

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Excellent recovery and saviour antics DW - kudos. Although a part of me is slightly worried you may have/had a stored Invacar filter search on t'bay.......

Get the engine out fella - a video of that, along with bench rebuild and new racing series venture will have the sponsors pounding on the door

[dollywobbler]

Like many, I completely missed the Ebay advert, which was absolutely hopeless. It was a pic of one Invacar and a one-line description to say the ad was for a field full of them. For a grand. Oh, and phone because the seller doesn't do email - which immediately puts off about 99% of Ebay folk I reckon. A friend tipped me off about it, as he was planning to have one or two himself. He pulled out, which left me with the pair he had picked - one of the best and one of the worst.

 

The spares car has a tax disc from 1999, so it's my suspicion it had already been taken off the road. It does look like it has already been raided for spares.

 

Interestingly, both cars are registered as having 9999cc engines...

[trigger]

What, like this one?

 

 

[dollywobbler]

I think that highlights the difficulty here. It'd be good fun to do, but might end up looking a bit shit. The roof just bolts on though, so a convertible is pretty easy, if not very Wales-proof...