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LightBulbFun's Invacar & general ramble thread, index on page 1, survivors lists on Pages 24/134 & AdgeCutler's Invacar Mk12 Restoration from Page 186 onwards, still harping on...


LightBulbFun

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prob not suited to a council flat then unless you can rent a workshop too

 

well one of my neighbours has owned this Rover SD1 since before I was even born, I dont think I have ever seen it move from its parking spot in the 18 years I have been alive (although it must since it does get MOTed etc) but from time to time I do hear/see (and smell mmm petrol :) ) him working on it tools out bonnet up in the parking space you see it pictured in.

 

which has basically been my plan If i ended up with an invacar, to just park it up in the dead end thats part of this block of flats, and work on it when I can... (although I dont know how that would work with SORN etc since I think the dead end is still technically a public highway)

 

post-25614-0-59954200-1534335004_thumb.jpg

 

I have actually been meaning to ask the guy about this car, im curious about its history :) (I plan to catch him next time he works on it, as I imagine a Random 18 year old kid knocking on your door enquiring about your vintage sports car may come across a bit wrong...)

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If you’ve got a bad back last thing you want is a 20 year old Citroen. Bad backs and mending cars don’t make happy bed fellows. Not too sure Council will be happy with impromptu classic car restorations going on in the communal car park though.

 

Providing insurance isn’t a killer something like a medium sized automatic shouldn’t be too expensive to buy, nobody wants old Mondeo or Vectra automatics cause the tax is dear and they aren’t too clever on fuel. Use this to your advantage and you could pick one up for £500 or so.

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….CX would be even softer and more comfortable, but they are becoming pricey. The description of "magic carpet ride" is well deserved.

 

OT, but Citroen missed a trick by not marketing their cars as perfect for sufferers of lower back/spinal problems. The CX was also definitely around when the Motability scheme was launched, and so was the GSA. BX and Xantia might also have been appropriate for Motability.

 

….. PSA's bloody hopeless approach to legacy parts supply would put me off using one as a daily.....

 

Alternatively you can pay through the nose for parts from CX-Basis in Germany. Their business model is basically buy up all the old parts stock, then resell it at four or five times the price.  :evil:

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To be honest, having not thought about it beforehand, yes...the best thing you can do is jump through the necessary hoops to get into the Motability scheme. That way you don't have to worry about the costs of tax, insurance or maintenance.

 

Having your own wheels then makes the chances of being able to relocate to somewhere more of your own choosing a heck of a lot better as you're less reliant on public transport links.

 

Motability will (or at least did a few years back) provide some funding towards driving tuition as well, their aim of course being to get you mobile and independent. So that's another reason to work on getting your foot in the door.

 

I'd honestly give them a call and ask what the steps you need to go through are. I got in touch with them a few times when we were trying to get my late father his first Motability car, and they were always really helpful. While it was a bit of a battle to actually get onto the scheme, once we'd got the car it was as simple as you could ask for. They just handled everything, only times we heard from them were when a service or vehicle changeover was due.

 

For all it's a great place in a lot of ways from what I've seen and heard, London sucks as a place to live if you're at the bottom of the "social tree" for want of a better term. Given how cutthroat the demand for space is, you're also much more likely to find somewhere with at least a dedicated parking spot outside London I'd think.

 

I wouldn't even bother looking at online quotes for insurance at your age, best bet is probably to find an actual broker and either drop by their office or give them a ring. Much more likely to get sense out of them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

For realz??? Fantastic!

Can't wait to hear how this panned out...

 

 

Since you've managed one impossible find, d'you fancy having a crack at sourcing a rhd Renault 14 for MattJY, since you must be wearing your lucky pants today?

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/32406-renault-14-madness/page-1

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alright now that im feeling a little bit less broken and enjoying a nice hot chocolate

 

full write up time! (and 100th post woo! LOL)

 

for those with a sharp eye will have spotted Zels Camper just in the corner there, because sadly thats not my Invacar.

 

on thursday I did the public transport dance and made my way to Zels places and had absolute blast of a time :) 100% worth the crippling back pain

 

he picked up from the train station in the camper so I had no excuse to go "which of these many cars is the one picking me up" LOL

 

I have to say I like the vans high up seating position twas very nice (it was actually my first time riding in a van) (Sadly I seemed to have neglected to grab any pictures of the van whoops)

 

then we got to his place, and had much fun looking at his various collections (we both have Lighting and Computing hobbies)

 

then we went for the ride in the Lada, which again was im pretty sure my first ride in a Lada :) It was pretty nice, sure if you open the window at high speed you cant hear yourself think but I live in London im used to that from riding the London underground  :mrgreen: I did find it slightly amusing how the dash indicator light has just 1 bulb behind it making it look like you have your hazards on all the time 

 

Lada

 

post-25614-0-12022100-1535130415_thumb.jpg

 

post-25614-0-74608000-1535133002_thumb.jpg

 

once we got back from the drive it was time to pull Zels invacar out from its hiding hole :)

 

it really was quite something to see an invacar in real life after 15 years since i last saw one

 

and it was so awesome to be able to sit in one and I even got to rev the engine a little bit  :mrgreen: while of course I did not get a chance to drive the invacar, im pleased to report from just sitting inside it was surprisingly comfortable and the driving position felt good, prolly mostly in part thanks to the Xantia seat Zel had fitted, which is what ill prolly do now if I manage to find an invacar of my own :)

 

steering "wheel" shot FTW

 

post-25614-0-04564000-1535131302_thumb.jpg

 

had a bit of a grin when Zel said something along the lines of "im pretty sure I solved the smokey startup issue" *turns it over* massive cloud of smoke out the exhaust for a couple seconds, the engine idles and runs really well tho (I also came to the sudden realisation that technically yes an invacar does have a "hood scoop"  :mrgreen: )

 

post-25614-0-14113500-1535131534_thumb.jpg

 

heres a picture of Zel backing it out of the garage (it has no brake lines atm so that was fun LOL)

 

post-25614-0-04642600-1535131494_thumb.jpg

 

and heres an obligatory engine shot 

 

post-25614-0-75625500-1535131836_thumb.jpg

 

eventually after much fan-girling and geeking out from me over the invacar we put the invacar back into the garage and went for a ride in the Xantia

 

and let me tell ya the the hype is real, the way it corners fucks with your head, and I mean that literally like the fluids in your ear cannel its the first time I ever felt "dizzy" when riding in a vehicle of any kind  :mrgreen: (I was not in danger of throwing up tho dont worry LOL)

 

its fun to think that the same company made both the 2CV and the Xantia Activa literally complete opposites suspension wise

 

after the run in the Xantia was done, we popped the bonnets of the fleet and I had a good time just poking around and asking various questions (mostly "whats this" or "whats that do" :) )

 

heres an engine bay shot of the Lada

 

post-25614-0-13378600-1535133205_thumb.jpg

 

heres a shot of the Lada and Xantia together, is it me or if you squint your eyes and hit your head, the Xantia front kinda looks like that of a Rover SD1?

 

post-25614-0-15818100-1535134426_thumb.jpg

 

eventually it was time to go home and so I had one final ride in the camper van where we saw a Rover 100 (that looked slightly riced) with its front end on the ground...

 

so yeah I had an awesome time, it was very cool to see the invacar and the rest of the fleet in person and Zel was an awesome host

I defiantly plan to swing by another time :)

 

(we also got up to much computer and lightbulb related shenanigans which I can post about if anyone wishes to see that)

 

and the search for an invacar continues LOL

 

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Oh, trust me, the startup smoke is nowhere like what it used to be like. Think old, worn out Gardner diesel from stone cold. It's now just the brief puff on startup that I'd expect from an engine like from this era.

 

Getting it out of the garage isn't half as unnerving as getting it back in. The drive slopes uphill so out is easy... getting back in with just enough throttle to get over the threshold but not so much as to wind up embedded in the back wall is a fine art. I really should stick a brick or something in the place I want the front wheel to stop...or just finish fixing the damn brakes.

 

Plenty of room for a bit of a shot of the Invacar around the yard I'm sure once it's got brakes.

 

Didn't realise you'd never really been out in a van before. Will have to get out of town in it a bit next time so you can get a better feel for the sort of loping gait it gets into on the open road, she's not at her best in MK, much more in its element on the open road, where the old coach analogy definitely is more evident in the ride at speed.

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Excellent. Well done Zel. Nice to see TPM now has the luxury of a roof over its head!

 

I know of a great many Invacars in need of restoration. Sadly, they seem to be owned by only a few people, and none seem keen to part with any of them. 

 

a well lit roof may I add :) ( so much fluorescent lighting it can take out the RCD on switch off :)  the current in an inductor cannot instantly change etc etc)

 

if anything "sensible" does show up invacar wise do let me know please :) as I want one more then ever now  :mrgreen: (from talking with Zel it seems like most of the invacars in the field where past it sadly :(  )

 

 

Oh, trust me, the startup smoke is nowhere like what it used to be like. Think old, worn out Gardner diesel from stone cold. It's now just the brief puff on startup that I'd expect from an engine like from this era.

 

Getting it out of the garage isn't half as unnerving as getting it back in. The drive slopes uphill so out is easy... getting back in with just enough throttle to get over the threshold but not so much as to wind up embedded in the back wall is a fine art. I really should stick a brick or something in the place I want the front wheel to stop...or just finish fixing the damn brakes.

 

Plenty of room for a bit of a shot of the Invacar around the yard I'm sure once it's got brakes.

 

Didn't realise you'd never really been out in a van before. Will have to get out of town in it a bit next time so you can get a better feel for the sort of loping gait it gets into on the open road, she's not at her best in MK, much more in its element on the open road, where the old coach analogy definitely is more evident in the ride at speed.

 

Yeah I had never been in any sort of van until you showed up :)

 

the last car this household had was a 1982 Volvo that finally gave up the ghost with 300K on the clock, when I was 18 months old, so up until this visit my exposure to cars in person, had been fairly limited

 

(the only classic car I spent any sort of time in where 2 Citroen DSs a family friend owned one after the other, as a Lighting enthusiast the Yellow moving headlights where super cool, and for some reason I had it in my head that the car may of been able to float on water thanks to its ability to raise its ride hight, go figure that one out. keep in mind I was 6 or so at the time LOL he then got what I think was a Citroen BX?...)

 

my mum did buy a 2006 Renault megane in 2013 in an emergency situation (because I couldn't walk), but we did not have that for long and it was an utter POS, its the only car where I saw the inside side of the windscreen ice over. that was fun once it started to melt... also had a fun one with an indicator, threw up a blown bulb so mum replaced the bulb and that was that fixed, she then gave gave me the old bulb, a good Quality Philips bulb from 2006 probably original to the car, I stuck it across a 9V battery where it happily lit up... its the only part of the car we (I) still have :mrgreen: )

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also had a fun one with an indicator, threw up a blown bulb so mum replaced the bulb and that was that fixed, she then gave gave me the old bulb, a good Quality Philips bulb from 2006 probably original to the car, I stuck it across a 9V battery where it happily lit up... its the only part of the car we (I) still have :mrgreen: )

 

That's brilliant :mrgreen:

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Woo! invacar update! (didn't think I would be posting this so soon)

 

the Photographer got back to me with some more details finally woo!

 

sadly he does not have a reg plate of any kind however he recalls it being behind "mother studios" (hackney wick) which is Just outside of fish island which means I was looking in the wrong place when I went out last time.... (as originally he said it was by an art studio in fish island so thats where I went too in my first expedition)

 

at least I know where its not and thats hopefully why I cant find it  :mrgreen:

 

I have been franticly panning around on google maps etc once more trying to locate the damn thing sadly with little success still iv sent some more questions off to the Photographer before I attempt another "expedition" and utterly wreck my back up once more...

 

(I Found mother studios no problem but behind it is just some parking spaces so I asked in one of my messages if it was always like that or not, im still awaiting a reply on that)

I literally just got the message from the photogapher 40 miniutes ago I was just about to hit the hay (iv been awake for 20 hours or so) but now im buzzing like a madman  :mrgreen:

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Yeah I have been looking around on google earth, I should ask the photographer if it was by the canal

 

I also managed to find me a "time machine"  :mrgreen: it turns out the Desktop version of Google Earth has an option to go back in time (it goes as far back as September 1999 then suddenly to December 1945 im guessing they where aerial shots taken by some poor sod in a plane rather then satellite Photos...)

 

sadly I have not been able to spot the invacar still, however it looks like behind mother studios in 2009 was a car park still so I dont think the invacar was ever there specifically... (the quality of the satellite imagery is of course not the best)

 

ah well the search continues :)

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Woo! provisional driving licence arrived in the post just a few minutes ago :)

 

thats step 1 of hitting the road done

 

all thats left now is Learn how to drive

 

pass the test and get a full licence

 

and finally, find me an invacar :mrgreen:

 

(also props to the DVLA, they turned my application around pretty quickly especially as monday was a bank holiday)

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Little bit of a status update for those following this thread

 

for those wondering how the PIP appointment went

 

well they actually did see my this time on the 3rd, only for me to be told that ill get the results in 4-6 weeks...

 

so yeah theres that

 

tomorrow I had some stuff planned but that got put off for now at the last moment, so iv been thinking what to do tomorrow. (tis my birthday tomorrow so im hoping to treat my self somehow :) )

 

iv been thinking of going to look for the invacar again with the new location data on hand (assuming its acurate this time) so just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this or anything to add or whatnot? :)

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decided to put off going looking for the invacar a second time until I have someone to tag along with me as I like company (plus if something happens to my back I dont want to be left stranded by a potentially very broken invacar as ironic as that would be :mrgreen: )

 

but my sister called me today (happy birthday etc) and naturally we, well I got talking about invacars and my sister was franticly googling to keep up with my yapping when she came across this gumtree listing

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/car-replacement-parts/1973-ac-invacar-for-full-restoration-/1255030097

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/car-replacement-parts/1973-ac-invacar-for-full-restoration-/1251247584

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/car-replacement-parts/1973-ac-invacar-for-full-restoration-/1263502076

 

there obviously all the same invacar just listed again and again

 

and I had come across this one before, but it got me thinking this time, what actually happened to this invacar? did it sell? it still shows up on the DVLA site as un-taxed since 81 and no MOT/SORN stuff...

 

I would be very interesting to know what happened to it :)

 

im also curious what the deal is with this invacar http://www.motorbase.com/vehicle/profile/invacar-ac/picture.php?p=1895040565

 

the reg plate and DVLA info does not match up with a Model 70 at all, did someone ring an invacar?!

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