Project Dollywobbler's Invacar - Ongoing

[egg]

Wobbler's sheer persistence (bloody mindedness?!) with this project has had a pretty good return on investment I think. And, is pretty much the definition of blokes messing about in sheds* making the world a better place.

 

Now, to do the same with the Fox!

[dollywobbler]

She's not bad in the dark. Main issue generally is rearward visibility. One external mirror, one internal, both crap

Huge pillars next to your head remove any over-the-shoulder view.

 

Headlamps aren't bad, but it's telling that the voltmeter reckons 11.8v with the headlamps on, which I think is pure voltage drop. I doubt the headlamps themselves are seeing much more than 10v.

[Zelandeth]

The fact that the wiring is very old school and that everything goes through the "not so great" switches won't be helping the at bulb voltage any.

 

Reckon that a direct (fused) battery feed to relays in the front service compartment for the headlights might be in the future for mine.

 

A mod familiar to many Citroen XM or Xantia owners...

[Noel Tidybeard]

led h4 bulbs in some mini replacement light units= much visibility & less loom smoke wastage

[LightBulbFun]

Mods I require a Dislike button....

 

LEDs are naff in general let alone in a vintage car *shudder*

[dollywobbler]

NEC Report.

 

Thursday began full of cheer, because I had not yet driven the Invacar.

 

The indicator switch fell apart in Rhayader after only about ten miles. I pushed it together, but it kept on falling apart at times. I pushed on and met up with an old friend.

 

That involved climbing Clee Hill. At 15mph. The views were worth it though.

 

Then things just got more boring really, save a lively drive through the centre of Birmingham. Motorways were avoided at all costs, but idiots appear everywhere. I almost got sideswiped by a twat in a Golf.

 

But, I made it to the NEC, and parked up in Hall 1. That's the posh hall. We were opposite the Aston Martin Works, next to the Maserati club and also had a Porsche 911 opposite. TWC fitted right in.

 

Here's a video of me arriving and failing to take a short cut.

https://twitter.com/aohereng/status/1060539046227779584

 

Then TWC met lots of people.

 

She attracted a ridiculous amount of attention. You could barely walk past her on Saturday such was the crowd! My voice is utterly shot.

 

Sunday night meant escape, mostly from the embarrassment of failing to turn the ignition on at Horn Time...

 

I went for easy dinner.

 

I stopped locally. This is just one reason.

 

I love the changing leaves. Chatted to a couple of chaps in their eighties about TWC at this Garden Centre.

 

I stopped off at Holden Classic & Vintage on the way home, in a bid to sort out the indicators. They didn't have the right stalk in stock, but I managed to fix the old one. They let me tinker indoors, next to an ex-works Sunbeam Tiger!

 

We eventually reached Wales.

 

On the Elan Valley Mountain Road, I hit a storm and had to take critical action to save two boxes of HubNut calendars!

 

Water was pouring in through the side windows. Then there was hail. Then gales. That was fun...

 

Thankfully, home was reached a short time later. Exhausted. 

 

What an amazing trip though. Exactly one year ago, this car still sat on death row in a field, where it had been for 14 years. Talk about a turnaround in fortunes! Might not be prepared to go for another adventure for a wee while though...

[LightBulbFun]

Congrats TWC & DW for getting there and back the event sounds like much fun  I look forward to seeing the video on the trip and event

 

hows the new Belt and pulley setup doing? managed to crack 70 yet? now the drive train losses have been reduced* 

[busmansholiday]

Brilliant, just love what you've done, especially as my grandfather had one after his WWI injuries left him partly paralysed.

[dollywobbler]

Congrats TWC & DW for getting there and back the event sounds like much fun I look forward to seeing the video on the trip and event

 

hows the new Belt and pulley setup doing? managed to crack 70 yet? now the drive train losses have been reduced*

She was badly affected by the extra weight, especially with two boxes of calendars. No more than 60 today. I'm not convinced everything is as happy as it could be.

[timolloyd]

You legend. It’s great to see this getting the attention it deserves at NEC.

[dollywobbler]

Indeed. Here she is getting plenty of attention, as well as coverage of the journey there and back.

 

I'm really not convinced that the Invacar makes an ideal long-distance vehicle.

[LightBulbFun]

Indeed. Here she is getting plenty of attention, as well as coverage of the journey there and back.

 

I'm really not convinced that the Invacar makes an ideal long-distance vehicle.

 

oohh video time! 30 minutes long too! time to stick a microwave dinner in the microwave for breakfast and enjoy 

[dollywobbler]

People considered me mad for driving it there, but trailering is not always safer...

 

Sadly, that seemed to happen after the show. 

[LightBulbFun]

Ohh shit, what happened there?

 

but I was thinking that, I noticed lots of people where trailering cars to and from the show

 

but the Autoshite crowed proudly drives their exhibits to and from the show suffering leaky windows and broken alternators (in the case of triggers marina)

[dozeydustman]

Time to put the kettle on, make a cuppa tea, then watch the nation's world's favourite 3-wheeler methinks.

[LightBulbFun]

Just finished watching the video it was Awesome bonus very green piano/photo montage too FTW (and a long haired bearded man making dodgy hand pumping motions, trying and failing to get a liquid splattered all over a windscreen Ooh err...)

 

44/45Mpg sounds almost vaguely economical too, more excuses I can use against people who look at me funny when I say I want to get an invacar 

 

 

(you should get a head mounted cam of some sort like what RCR uses it would be cool to see a first person TWC view )

[dollywobbler]

You might like this one...

 

Contains beardcam! I need a better beardcam solution.

[LightBulbFun]

indeed I saw that when it was uploaded

 

Pretty sure at this point iv broken youtubes algorithms with the wildly different videos I watch and the fact that it tries so hard to recommend invacar videos to me but iv seen pretty much every invacar related video on youtube  , so it has a hart attack as it has nothing new to recommend to me  (computers+lightbulbs+music+invacar=one very confused youtube recommendation list) 

[Saabnut]

TWC reminds me of an old cartoon in Punch magazine (remember that?). A bloke is trying to sell an open Austin 7 to somebody who appears less than keen, and is saying "What's it like on hills? Down 'em in a jiffy!"

[inconsistant]

 

 

 

I was nice meeting you Mr DW, and finally putting a person to the name. Invacar was definitely the best car in the posh hall. The posh hall is a very serious hall.

[LightBulbFun]

I noticed TWC had one of those info "about this mac car" A4 info sheets stuck on her side window did anyone grab a picture of that? im curious what it says

[LightBulbFun]

More invacar at the beeb https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3cswsgb this one is an audio only feature but much longer then the video feature they did, if only it too had video as I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it

 

have to say it does annoy me a bit is that they dont mention the Model 70 much despite using one as an example of an invacar, from what I understand the model 70 was a substantial "upgrade" compared to previous invalid carriages.

 

(we have people getting upset about all cyclists getting tarred with the same brush, meanwhile im getting all upset about all invacars being tarred with the same brush, first world autoshite problems?   )

[plasticvandan]

Invacar is a brand name if you want to be pedantic,there were a plethora of makers,AC,Invacar,Tippen,Barrett,Argson,Harper,Carter,Nelco,Trilox,Harding,Vernons etc

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

If a car can't be driven to a show, it's not worth owning.

[dollywobbler]

Mine hasn't moved since I got back home, until today! Went for a short oil-warming run - enough hooning to get everything nice and toasty but not so far that the gusting breeze was too much of an issue. 

 

On the drive back, there was an occasional horrid shriek. Turns out it was the speedo cable. It got very bad today, and it took me a long while to work out what it was. It was definitely coming from in front of me, and it definitely didn't do it when not moving. Then it became continuous. Then I noticed the wobbly needle. Cable off, a few drops of grease, back on, 60mph hoon, sorted!

 

Washer pump appears to be knackered though, and all my 2CV ones are also broken. Bah. Squeezy bottle will have to suffice for a little longer.

[Noel Tidybeard]

golly it looks like its about £15 for a mini type pump or £32 for the type in TWC

[dollywobbler]

I'm tempted to just wire a squeezy bottle in...

[Zelandeth]

I'm tempted to just wire a squeezy bottle in...

 

Suitably period looking push button in place, generic 12V washer pump under the dash...job done?

 

Sadly I've only got one good washer pump and it's attached to the car that's being fixed.  Got several broken ones though of three different types.  Looks like it's a control that came under the "whatever we got cheap this week" heading.

[LightBulbFun]

 Looks like it's a control that came under the "whatever we got cheap this week" heading.

 

would that not also include squeezy bottles? 

 

on a more serious note would it be possible to rebuild the broken hand pumps? 

[Zelandeth]

would that not also include squeezy bottles? 

 

on a more serious note would it be possible to rebuild the broken hand pumps? 

 

Some types yes.  It's just a rubber bellows or diaphragm in a tin cylinder.  The tricky bit is that it's usually very difficult to get them apart without totally destroying them as they're secured by stamping the end, folding the back of the housing over the backplate.

 

They were cheap, disposable items back in the day so not worth making serviceable.  Plus they're pretty unbreakable - they weren't designed thinking about the rubber perishing after 40+ years.