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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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in other invacar news this very interesting 1960s spot was posted on the microcar world FB page https://www.facebook.com/groups/950689934973969/permalink/3086153661427575/

106010478_279780606709332_4926732617951968181_n.thumb.jpg.19011cabd47be46175dcbf5b13c19346.jpg

very interesting because its an Invacar Mk12 with Mk12 no suffix non glass side windows but has the later large rear window

 

as seen here the very first Mk12's had a smaller rear window and non glass side windows 

image.thumb.png.6e993c1201dbb1ade95c7a1d2ac374cb.png

its said that the Mk12A introduced glass side windows, and I had sort of assumed that with that the larger rear window was introduced as well, but clearly thats not the case!

I do know from the second shot/car, that at least in Jan 1961 (as thats when xxxUPU was first issued) they still had the original setup and supposedly Mk12A was introduced in April 1962, so clearly the combo of large rear window but non glass side windows was not around for long

(assuming the Mk12A introduction date is accurate)

have to say I do prefer the atheistic of the smaller rear window and rounded corners of the non glass side windows, but I know the larger rear window and glass side windows are much more practical!

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On 6/14/2020 at 7:11 PM, LightBulbFun said:

continuing the exciting/interesting Model 70 news, @st185cs shared with me just now this rather interesting letter he found with a NOS Front Coil-over he has in his personal spares stash

image.thumb.png.7d2d11aab1c072600cfb5afdd96c56ce.png

its very interesting to me, because It answers a few questions I had

in that my research showed me that, although most Model 70's today have Adjustable spax's fitted all round (including REV AFAIK!) that the Model 70 would have originally equipped with armstrong shocks all round, indicating the Spax's would have been a later in life fitment 

so I had wondered what exactly was the deal there, being adjustable, where they preset from the factory/DHSS Stores, or did the AR have to adjust them to spec before fitting them?

It would be interesting to see the same letter for the rear spax shocks, but we have not come across one yet sadly

the box for the coil-over as well as having the DHSS Store No on it STY197 has what looks to be the spax part number? on it

image.thumb.png.2af0106cccfa2db6d5204a9527155fff.png

I wonder if spax has any info on these Model 70 shocks still? :) it would also be interesting to hear if anyone familiar with Spax shocks has anything to say on it all :) 

continuing the shocks stuff @st185cs has just managed to unearth the same paperwork but for the rear shocks this time :) 

443DC2F1-D7DD-47E2-BF9D-F44DED5EE0AD.jpeg

its interesting to see that the rears are set to 7 clicks clockwise compared to 5 clicks clockwise of the front shock

obviously they are not the same type so its not going to be directly comparable but its still interesting to see :) and makes sense the rears would be firmer then the front as the rear is where most of the weight is

I wonder @st185cs do you happen to have the box of one of the rear spax shocks may have come in? would be interesting to see what its Spax part number is (well at least I assume on the front shocks in my quoted post that "G81AZ-EK" is the spax PN for them, along with the STY number of course which I know is the DHSS Store No/PN for them)

as a side note its interesting to note that STY228 is not actually listed in my Parts list but is listed in the index sheet at the end go figure!

its also interesting to note that it has the same 5 Dec 1991 date as the letter for the rear shocks which further makes me think that is when Spax shocks where introduced, and helps gives me some rough idea of when REV (and other Model 70's) was last fettled because she is fitted with Spax shocks all round IIRC! :) 

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4 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

That is the Spax number though the format has now changed somewhat.  It is normally stamped on the unit, at the bottom near the adjuster, not always easy to read  with the unit in place. 

ah cool, good to know ill have to keep an eye out for it :) 

do you know if the PNs are decodable into anything or are they just randomly assigned digits/letters?

 

as I type this up a picture of the box has arrived from @st185cs :) 

3614BF74-E979-4539-9498-42BCF7906467.jpeg

and its interesting to note how it is only 1 digit off from the front shock, so they are obviously part of the same series or created together or something such if that makes sense! :) (I do notice the EK is missing off the end of the part number rear shocks, I wonder if thats because the front is a shock+spring unit ie a complete coil-over unit, where as on the rear suspension the shocks and springs are separate parts so the rear shocks would just be rear shocks no springs)

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That is the adjuster.  The numbers can be decoded up to a point, but I'm not too familiar with that early format.  The G means gas filled which most are.   I don't know the suffix letters. a different system is now used but as you guessed they do indicate things like whether it has a spring seat. 

I don't think I have the catalogue now unfortunately.  IIRC  the number was frequently 1 digit apart for front and rear on the same vehicle but it wasn't entirely logical.   There was almost no interchangeability between vehicles (at least officially) they all had dedicated part numbers.   

There was and presumably still is a standard range of competition car dampers in a range of sizes, which would be the place to start for equivalents.    Not cheap tho.

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just got off the phone with the chap who owns the NI Model 70, he does not do the internet (but has others to do that for him :)

was nice chatting, he was very thankful for the workshop manual I forwarded to him via his friend on facebook, so happy to hear that got to him and I was able to help out there!

and had a good general chat about his Model 70, where/how he found it and what it needs, and he also mentioned of other Model 70's he knows of which is very exciting! he said he knows a chap who was heavily involved with them back in the day (sounds like an Ex AR guy to me), and has 2 one thats been restored and one in need of restoration and supposedly said chap also helped restore WOI654 (the Ulster car) but sadly he does not know the registrations of these 2 Invalid vehicles (I assume they are Model 70's but ya never know!) hopefully he can get them at some point :) he also mentioned how someone told him they knew of an Invacar stuck in a ditch somewhere, but details where vague and we both said, for all we know it could just be a blue reliant robin! but will be interesting to know more about that one!

 

one of the things that came to mind during the phone call is id like to once REV and Dolly are on the road and in good fettle etc is to go through the remaining parts in the parts stash and distribute them as needed to help as many Model 70's out there as possible :) 

I have had quite a few people (relatively speaking) ask me about parts etc, but obviously im dont want to just give away parts from my parts stash without knowing what REV and Dolly need from it first!

another thing id like to do, is just go through them and try and note down as many manufacturers part numbers as possible and figure out what other vehicles used said part etc so we dont have to be so reliant on Model 70 specific part stashes etc

for example recently I have had Brian (Owner of the ex Q car MPH759P) and the NI guy today ask me about brake shoes, but I dont actually know what their part number is or what other vehicles used them, it seems like although similar they are not the same as Mini brake shoes apparently, so im curious exactly what they are from!

although while typing this I had just remembered this very handy PDF @egg shared a good while back! 

https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/94895fc8/files/uploaded/GIRLING VEHICLE APPLICATIONS. AC. ABARTH. ALFA. ASTON MARTIN%2C AUSTIN. HEALEY. BARRETT%2C BOND%2C CLAN%2C DAIMLER%2C ELVA. 1960-85.pdf

image.thumb.png.13b84a8603944ec39f440ee542e5f4ae.png

so that solves the brake shoes issue at least :) 

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3 minutes ago, plasticvandan said:

Number one rule of owning a rare classic car,keep all spares.

while yeah its good to have a goods spares stash and as mentioned I dont want to do anything before I know REV and Dolly are well sorted and obviously I would like to keep some stuff on hand should anything break etc!

I also would like to help as many invalid vehicle owners out there as I can, so if I end up with surplus of some part that someone else needs to get on their invalid vehicle on the road then id like to be able to help that person out :) im not just in this for myself!

 

and also as mentioned id also like to just try and ID where parts come from and what other vehicles they are shared with, what might seem like a very rare Model 70 part might actually be a really common part just under another mfg's part number etc!

that way we can be less reliant on spares stashes and just say "oh yeah you need part number so and so" like with the brake shoes above or before that when Brian needed a brake light switch for his Model 70, I figured out what its actual lucas part number was so he was able to order one up no problem (lucas 34619A for those wondering!) without having to raid anyones parts stash :) 

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13 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

Herald/Spitfire rears, also Marina and some Escorts.

ah cool thats good to know! I was wondering what they where shared with :)  I did google GBB45774CF but only came across a couple scant mentions of spitfire's

im guessing they may be listed under different part numbers these days? (especially as I imagine manufacturers other then girling probably made/make compatible shoes etc and others may be listed under say Triumphs own PN system etc!)

 I did google Spitfire rear brake shoes and they seem to match and are look to be relatively plentiful so thats good! :) 

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14 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

im guessing they may be listed under different part numbers these days?

I think you'll find that classic parts suppliers like Moss and Rimmers use a mixture, but mostly the car manufacturer's numbers.  IMO a decent parts list with sources and equivalents is about the most useful thing you can do if you want to keep the cars running.

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2 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

I think you'll find that classic parts suppliers like Moss and Rimmers use a mixture, but mostly the car manufacturer's numbers.  IMO a decent parts list with sources and equivalents is about the most useful thing you can do if you want to keep the cars running.

yeah thats exactly what id like to do for as many parts as possible, :) sadly although the Model 70 is the literal definition of a parts bin car, it seems like the parts that are in the most demand are the few that are unique like exhausts fuel tanks and body work

41 minutes ago, bobdisk said:

Page 22 has Tippen "Invalid Carriage"  info.

https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/94895fc8/files/uploaded/GIRLING VEHICLE APPLICATIONS. RENAULT. RILEY. SAAB%2C STANDARD. SUNBEAM%2C TVR%2C TRIUMPH%2C TURNER%2C 1960-1980.pdf

There must be another PDF that covers between E and R, but I cant find it as yet.

Oh very cool find! I did go looking for the sheets that may contain Invacar but yeah couldn't find anything, but I dont think I ever thought to go look for Tippen, but did make me wonder what other IC's are listed and how obscure it would go, and at least Barret is listed as well :) 1959 and onwards would imply Barret Midget

image.thumb.png.eeed937b4e4e63e0f6a4f0eb9ec8a081.png

given even barret is listed Invacar (and the others like Stanley/harper as well) must surely be listed somewhere!

I wonder if the Invacar section has the Model 70 listed there as well or not :) 

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2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

clearly the Invacar section is in complete as from the Mk12c and onwards there was a front brake fitted! 

also strangely cant find anything for Stanley/Harper, which is peculiar given they where much more prominent then the likes of Barret who is listed, barret catered to a very niche market for the Ministry (making invalid vehicles specifically designed for very short people)

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5 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

I think you'll find that classic parts suppliers like Moss and Rimmers use a mixture, but mostly the car manufacturer's numbers.  IMO a decent parts list with sources and equivalents is about the most useful thing you can do if you want to keep the cars running.

It's a sport in itself; alternative parts lists were a big part of running a scimitar when the old man had one.

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5 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Not sure about "useful", it was in the way and had to be shifted!

one of the lights was robbed off the trailer board to help* diagnose the CX was it not? :) 

besides not long to the FoD open week, so not long until its gaffer taped to the rear of a moped (or the JingLing!) and filled with various members of @catsinthewelder's family :mrgreen:

Autoshite chariot racing maybe? LOL

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4 hours ago, bobdisk said:

indeed I have but I appreciate the heads up :) my driving instructor has been unusually quiet tho and has not responded to any of my texts recently I hope all is ok!

 

On 6/25/2020 at 9:01 PM, LightBulbFun said:

got this email earlier this evening :) 

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nice to know when Lessons will/can restart, hopefully my driving school/instructor follow suit, and im happy they are allowing a bit of breathing space between lessons restarting and tests restarting

should hopefully give me enough time to figure out what I want to do exactly!

heres the link from the email https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-lessons-theory-tests-and-driving-tests-to-restart-in-england

 

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1 hour ago, LightBulbFun said:

indeed I have but I appreciate the heads up :) my driving instructor has been unusually quiet tho and has not responded to any of my texts recently I hope all is ok!

 

 

Sack the fella off. Seriously. There are blatantly better, more effective driving instructors out there who will save you money and stress in the long run. 

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1 minute ago, Dick Van Diesel said:

Sack the fella off. Seriously. There are blatantly better, more effective driving instructors out there who will save you money and stress in the long run. 

Yeah the thought has very much been on mind, but id like some communication from/with him before I do anything too drastic, if I dont hear anything in the next few days ill probably contact BSM directly and see if they can give him a poke or know whats up

generally he responds to text messages pretty promptly so I just wonder if something has happened or is my phone eating his responses or something silly! 

his calendar is showing slots available on my BSM login thingy but again I dont want to book any lessons without prior communication given the whole situation etc

im a firm believer in good communication :) 

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