Project Dollywobbler's Invacar - Ongoing

[Eddie Honda]

I've got one here that works okay. Could do with a way of petrol proofing it to go exploring inside tanks.

[PhilA]

Is there any method of bright flashlight and mirrors that would let you see into it while it's in situ?

[warren t claim]

Could you not get a couple more of these, take them to an old quarry and make the next Hubnut video some sort of special needs version of the Banana Splits?

[plasticvandan]

I guess the thing to do is think logical, it would have been running when parked up,so what can happen after being stood.It turns over almost all the way,so I would be thinking a drive mechanism, belt or something is stopping it.Of course it could be a stuck valve, if the valve covers are easy enough to get off I would liberally soak the stems in plusgas/diesel etc,maybe a bit of blowtorch action

[dollywobbler]

Shouldn't be hard to get the valve covers off. The clutches do seem a weak point though, so I'll start soaking all the engine mount bolts in penetrating oil anyway...

[DeeJay]

All this talk of endoscopes, you know you are going to take (at the least) the head off the beast anyway.

[dollywobbler]

I've ordered one, but I'm wondering if I should prioritise work today really. Have a deadline on Tuesday and this project has already eaten up many days.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I've ordered one, but I'm wondering if I should prioritise work today really. Have a deadline on Tuesday and this project has already eaten up many days.

Unfortunately that's life....But if it's any encouragement the fact you've managed to get them BOTH to Wales, tidied your garage AND managed to get one of the invacars indoors - that's a huge achievement and more than I've managed in the past 6 months!!

 

Sent from my SM-A510F using Tapatalk

[twosmoke300]

Hate to say it but my experience with borescopes is pretty poor. The main problem is light - inside a cylinder is pitch black and even with an led on the camera you can't see sod all . They are ok for reading part numbers off an awkward starter motor etc but inside bores and in through sump plugs etc they are pish

[brownnova]

This truly is a fine project... it's taken me a looong time to read through all the thread (having kept up to date via the book of faces so far) but it shows how awesome Autoshite is that these have met with a) such enthusiasm and b ) a couple of folk who actually know loads about them!!!

 

Superb.

[dollywobbler]

Forgot this photo of the amazing tow car. Sure, something with a lot more power and a torque converter would have been a far better choice, but the Nippa won due to accessible tow points and tiny size.

[bigstraight6]

This truly is a fine project... it's taken me a looong time to read through all the thread (having kept up to date via the book of faces so far) but it shows how awesome Autoshite is that these have met with a) such enthusiasm and b ) a couple of folk who actually know loads about them!!!

Superb.

I agree entirely, I’m really enjoying this thread and much respect to dollywobbler for saving this vehicle, I honestly thought that all these were destroyed during the infamous cull as I seem to recall at the time the authorities responsible were very zealous about carry it out.

[dollywobbler]

I'm meant to be working, but here's a quick photo I took while in the garage earlier. 

 

That's the fire extinguisher and oil jug that came with the car. 

[richardmorris]

Forgot this photo of the amazing tow car. Sure, something with a lot more power and a torque converter would have been a far better choice, but the Nippa won due to accessible tow points and tiny size.

Another calendar shot!

[Louise2cv]

I can't find a way to say this without it sounding like a dig, which it's not, so I am going to risk offending you hoping you know me well enough to avoid that outcome!

 

I understand you have a deadline and real life to get on with, so does that mean the current plan is getting it going and drivable with the least amount of work?

 

The wash has definitely made it look like this is a much easier prospect than I first thought, although obviously how clean the body looks is quite a different thing to the oily bits.

 

Is the plan at some point for a full restoration? A more fluid rolling restoration? Or get it going and maintain as is? Or is there not even a plan for after festival of the unexceptional yet?

[dollywobbler]

OMG YUV UFFENDED ME AND I THOUGHT YOU WERE MI FREND UR SAYIN IM A SLAKKER!

 

Which roughly translates as, I'm never one to fully restore anything. It just isn't what I do. Look at the 2CV as a prime example of that. I did what was necessary to get her back on the road, and not a fat lot else. While she's had two major body rebuilds (and a cosmetic overhaul right in the middle), I've have never gone all meticulous with the running gear. I don't see the point. To me, bodywork is best done in one big lump, because otherwise things just fall apart. Mechanically, I don't see the point in replacing stuff that's doing a decent-enough job. 

 

But, I'm not fussed about cosmetics either, because cosmetic perfection is so expensive and hard to achieve, and so easily lost. There are already several really well restored Invacars out there, with shiny engine bits and such like. This will not be one of them. I want it to still look like a daily driver, just taken from the previous owner.

 

I have no idea beyond FOTU, beyond a vague stupid desire to drive somewhere that'll make Buckinghamshire look like a walk in the park. Problem is, with one seat, it'd be a lonely trip...

[DodgeRover]

Are you sure it's just not in gear?

[Louise2cv]

Tbh, I was hoping for a maintenance plan rather than a restoration. It looks clean enough anyway and I think it has more charm if it stay looking as it might have done when it came off the road in the 90s rather than how it rolled out of the factory in the 70s.

[dollywobbler]

Are you sure it's just not in gear?

 

Pretty sure. I've got both wheels off the ground now. If I move the lever forwards or backwards, there are slightly different noises from the transmission area than when it is in neutral. No more progress on this until Wednesday, after my print deadline. At least, that's what I keep telling myself, forgetting that the Lexus needs a service, the Nippa needs a service, the Honda needs a service, the Lexus needs an auxiliary belt tensioner replacing and there's a HUGE list of stuff I'm meant to be doing to the 2CV.

 

Which means tomorrow, I'll probably be trying to get the spares car to run.

[mat_the_cat]

I have no idea beyond FOTU, beyond a vague stupid desire to drive somewhere that'll make Buckinghamshire look like a walk in the park. Problem is, with one seat, it'd be a lonely trip...

 

Le Mans? Now that wold be epic! And we could have quite probably the strangest convoy down from Wales.

[DodgeRover]

Follow Hannibals route over the alps towing a fibreglass elephant?

[puddlethumper]

I'd put a Nurburgring sticker on it, or better still, go there with it.

But that's my humour. Or lack off.

[Yoss]

Am I the only one who really wants to study the door mechanism in great detail?

[dollywobbler]

Am I the only one who really wants to study the door mechanism in great detail?

 

It's fantastically flimsy. The door handle operates at both ends of the door, so it falls open on that straight bar you can see. Then there are rollers inside the door, and I think underneath (haven't studied that bit yet) so the door can slide forward. On the spares car, the straight bars are missing, so when you open the door, it just tries to fall off...

[DeeJay]

That's advanced engineering. Door forms a ramp for easy wheelchair access.

[purplebargeken]

I always thought the handlebars folded up and moved out of the way.

 

I was just a kid at the time mind.

[dollywobbler]

I always thought the handlebars folded up and moved out of the way.

 

I was just a kid at the time mind.

They did build them to any specific requirements, so that's entirely possible. Some had steering wheels, some had more of a tiller. Handlebars apparently the best as they're more responsive.

[PhilA]

So.. steering is fairly straightforward, the handlebars twist around a pivot at the top of the bar with an action similar to that of a motor bike from what I can see, throttle again straightforward, twist grip? Brakes how? Push forward or down on the entire assembly?

 

Rest of the controls look to be pretty vanilla and/or labeled (switches and the like).

 

Phil

[plasticvandan]

 

[jonathan_dyane]

Looks pretty stable