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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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3 hours ago, ETCHY said:

I quite agree. I've no time for anyone who bad mouths another persons interests it's a sad way to be. As somebody who's always tended to favour the non run of the mill, how narrow minded people can be is quite bizarre.

Nothing wrong with Invacars IMHO. I also admire them for what they achieved (mobilizing the Disabled). a feat they achieved rather well.

Personally if there was Lamborghini & an Invacar parked side by side i'd be more interested in the Invacar :)

 

Seconded

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11 hours ago, ETCHY said:

how narrow minded people can be is quite bizarre.

yeah, one of the things that has always perplexed me a bit, and has recently come back up a little bit with me being "invited" to the AS discord

was just how many fellow shitters asked me why when it came to me and Invacars or why I want/got one

this is autoshite do I really need to explain myself? LOL I was also further perplexed with their arguments against me getting an Invacar

which where, well true, against me getting any car not just a Model 70 LOL, for example like mentioning how at some point I will be forced  to work on it in some not very nice conditions, but thats true for any car new or old, and a Model 70 is pretty easy to work in the scheme of things, I could do much worse like getting something french LOL

 

I think a big problem is people for various reasons just cant look at the Model 70 objectively and assess it as a car in its own right, they always see it as "just" an Invacar, if that makes any sense

"that thing Dorris from number 4 drove at 20mph everywhere back in the 80s" and probably not helped with how they/people knew the vehicles growing up and the not very nice things they where called/known by

 

ah well I best shut up before I turn this into a massive debate like the early days of this thread, its just something I wanted to get off my chest, it just all struck me as very much non autoshite LOL

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had lesson 45 today :) 

pleased to report my instructor said this one was one of the best in a long time and that if I can keep it up and improve on it on Friday my next lesson I should be well on my way for the test on Tuesday :) (today was the last lesson before the cut off point to change the date of the test if needed)

for the first part I did some satnav following as it had been a while since I done that and it will be part of the, which went pretty well, (the fun of trying to actually listen to what its saying while also paying proper attention to the road LOL), then just some general driving around and then we did one last new manoeuvre (if you can call it that!) which was the emergency stop, that was fun LOL and went well (theres really not much to it!)

so yeah, next lesson is on Friday :) (and then the test after that!)

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thanks to the very kind services of @cort1977 I have been able to add a fluorescent tube to the collection I have wanted for many years now :)

in-fact I got 12 of them! what these are, are pretty much the pinnacle of the 8ft fluorescent tube, full power 125W (not the more common 100W energy saving type) but equipped with modern Triphosphor phosphor in place of the old Halophosphor phosphor which boosts efficiency/light output a lot and improves colour rendering too at the same time, all while being made by Philips who made some of the best T12 tubes of this time until they sadly stopped mass production of them for the EU market in the late 2000's

image.thumb.png.12694435d706f17d8000f37a9de26c2a.png

(for those curious it was made in Feburary 2002, I was actually quite surprised to see they where British made, by this point in time, most other sizes had moved production to Poland, which where still very good tubes, but I did not realise that they where still making them in the UK, but thinking about it, I dont think they ever made any 8ft tubes in Poland, so would have had to have been made in the UK, in Philip's Factory in hamilton scotland :)

as explained very well here http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Documents/FL Phosphors.htm the Triphosphor tube especially so in T12 form, was/is a lot pricier compared to its Halophosphor counter parts

so even tho these where some of the best tubes you could buy, comparatively few of these tubes where made/bought by people making them very rare today, 

I would have been happy with any Full Power 125W 8ft Triphosphor tube (although id prefer a Thorn/GE or Philips one, Sylvania made them too and for a good while after everyone else stopped making them but had electrodes of much poorer quality so had very short lives sadly)

but im very happy to get a Philips one because as mentioned they where the best of this specific bunch :) 

I can tell its a Triphosphor tube because of the /84 in the order code which stands for 840, which is the colour code, 8 for a Colour rendering index of 80-90 and a colour temperature of 4000K (Cool white) and this tells me its a Triphosphor tube

(philips at this time only marked their Triphosphor tubes with this now standard colour coding system, their Halophosphor tubes where still only marked with the old British standard colour codes back when the tube was made, for example a Halophosphor Cool white tube would be /33 or in todays code 640, 60-70 CRI 4000K)

another check you can do for a Triphosphor tube is shine it with a blacklight/UV-A light source a Halophosphor tube is only stimulated by the UV-C light from its internal discharge, but a Halophosphor tube will glow from an external UV-A source

as you can see here where I have blacklight tube just poking into shot, the Philips tube up top, and a regular white halophosphor tube in the middle :) 

image.thumb.png.f172b4afc2381e53a6ff20b004411039.png

 

all in all as you can tell im very happy to get these and am very thankful to Cort1977 for collecting them and bringing them down to me :) 

(I had spotted them on ebay but they where all the way up in scotland and weren't exactly going to fit into REV even if she was road worthy, but Cort1977 happened to be going from Scotland to London with a van, and very kindly picked them em up for me and brought em to me :) )

hopefully Ill be able to grab a shot of all 12 of them together, currently figuring out just where the hell im going to put them LOL, found space for 1 but figuring out the other 11 still LOL (I think I can put the other 11 where the 1st is but I need to clear that space out some more first and my back is knackered just from carrying these 12 upstairs and putting this 1 tube into place LOL)

and hopefully of course I hope to grab a lit picture at some point :) I sadly dont have any 8ft fixtures in the collection currently, (am hoping/trying to change at some point) but I do have some control gear for them, so if I can find enough wire for it, I should be able to setup a quick test bed for them :)

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just noticed today marks 50 years since the first Model 70's hit the road in ministry service, with the 20 user trial prototypes BPE21H-BPE40H being registered on the 29th of July 1970 :) 

interestingly it would be almost another full year until the first production cars would show up with the first of the GPD781J-GPD830J block being registered on the 2nd July 1971 

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11 minutes ago, JeeExEll said:

exSCZnU.jpg

shares a registration with a block of Invacar Mk12's KPU101J-KPU200J, one of which survives today KPU147J, :) (and is technically up for sale If anyones interested LOL)

fitting given the page number this post is on :) 

but I have no good pictures of it sadly I dont think

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Lesson 46 was had today the last lesson before the test!

did not quite go as well as I would have like but it went alright otherwise, at the end my instructor did not comment either which way with regards to the up coming test or how this lesson went, just told me what to bring for the test and then we parted ways

so make of/take that how you will LOL

it is interesting how my lessons goes up and down like that if it makes sense, id like to know why but I think its just down to a number of always varying variables sadly, from down to how well I sleep, to how my back is doing and just what traffic is on the road that day etc

(it also does not help that my instructor is good for the most part, but he can get frustrated quite quickly and although he then calms down just as quickly it still puts me in not such a good state of mind so to speak which does not help with the remainder of the lesson)

 

hopefully the actual test goes well LOL which is on Tuesday, (there will be a mini lesson just before it to go over the final things like the show me tell me questions etc, test is at 2:36 so he is coming here at 1:06, so gives us an hour and a half to go over the final things and actually get to the test centre)

 

side note, im glad his car has air conditioning LOL

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6 hours ago, bobdisk said:

 Surfing the web, I came across this site this site

http://www.n-a-s-p.co.uk/nasp-and-the-dvsa-qa-1707/4594992815

http://www.n-a-s-p.co.uk/about-us/4589216312

(ADI = Approved Driving Instructor)

LBF  you might be interested

ah cool appreciate the links :) , yeah I have heard about the whole ADI thing etc

 

on a related note my sister showed up for a visit yesterday, had a good talk about my driving lessons (she went through a similar thing a few years back now)

pretty much came to the conclusion that most of yall  probably came to about a million years ago

that I was/am being too nice and have been invalidating myself too much and probably should have gone to another instructor a good while back

ah well, as above I have my test coming up on Tuesday if I pass then great its no longer an issue LOL

but if I dont I think I will finally go searching for someone else and hope I get better results!

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^ This. Try and stay calm and collected in your test. The instructor has entered you for it which he wouldn't have done if he didn't think you could pass. If you make mistakes (we all do), take a deep breath and drive on. I was convinced I'd failed mine due to hesitation, but it was just a minor tick. I'm so glad I kept my shit together and didn't let it put me off. 

Oh, get to bed early and get some decent sleep in beforehand ?.

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51 minutes ago, Dick Van Diesel said:

^ This. Try and stay calm and collected in your test. The instructor has entered you for it which he wouldn't have done if he didn't think you could pass. If you make mistakes (we all do), take a deep breath and drive on. I was convinced I'd failed mine due to hesitation, but it was just a minor tick. I'm so glad I kept my shit together and didn't let it put me off. 

Oh, get to bed early and get some decent sleep in beforehand ?.

Yeah, and  during the test I wont have my instructor with me with the risk of him getting frustrated at me and putting me in a bad state of mind

 

yeah I am a little bit worried on the hesitation thing, but at the same time also not that worried about it if that makes any sense at all?

becuase im pretty sure its just my instructor complains at me about me being slow just because he just naturally operates that bit quicker then I naturally do, but im pretty sure my driving/speed is fine otherwise

 

the only thing is I dont have no other view point on how my driving is so to speak, as I have said I do wish I could have gone for a drive with a fellow shitter or such

to find out if it was a case of "oh nah your driving is fine! just ignore your instructor with regard to that" or "oh yeah your driving is horrible no wonder he gets frustrated"

 

the only thing is I dont know if London examiners are also like him or not in regards to speed etc LOL

I just have to hope I get a good and understanding examiner!

28 minutes ago, egg said:

Yeah, good luck m8, I almost flunked mine at the first roundabout in bloody Canterbury, but survived and had the maximum allowed amount of minor faults at the time! So keep going as Dick suggests!

thanks yeah, there are a couple big nasty roundabouts on the test route, lets hope I dont fluff em up LOL

(as a side note self cancelling indicators are really annoying LOL)

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1 hour ago, 500tops said:

oh very cool thanks for the heads up :) I had not spotted that myself have uploaded the pictures here for safe keeping, 

made for a very interesting read I never knew the tippen delta officially came in different colours! im curious what mandarin red looks like, it might finally explain all the Red Tippen delta's in NZ!

its also very cool to see some official specifications like the unladen weight

im pretty sure its for of a Tippen Delta Mk3/4 although the change from Mk3/4 to Mk5 is said to be what they describe as the Deluxe model so go figure! (the change from Mk3 to Mk4 was simply the change from a Villiers 9E to an 11E engine)

(although it may be that the tippen delta was finally incremented from Mk4 to Mk5 when those deluxe features became standard feature on request of the DHSS)

56228384_s-l1600(13)copy5.thumb.jpg.478e9deed821d545a3728d2fff708a1c.jpg

1145909423_s-l1600(14)copy3.thumb.jpg.0fa727725d0e648ddcda70960f3de0bb.jpg

 

2005752191_s-l1600(15)copy2.thumb.jpg.6017f1d2ad5ad3145995fc9d8ed2ff41.jpg

if we assume 1960 (right in the middle of the date range for this mark of tippen delta) then it would have cost £7200 in today money or there abouts

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XDU 995 was issued in the first half of 1959 according to https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/registrations/reg-letters.htm so your dating is pretty good. A battleship grey Delta sounds awful, an ugly car in a horrible colour that looks like primer, but I wonder what a BRG one would be like. The standard model must have been really basic given the 'luxuries' you got for your extra tenner on the Deluxe.

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13 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

XDU 995 was issued in the first half of 1959 according to https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/registrations/reg-letters.htm so your dating is pretty good. A battleship grey Delta sounds awful, an ugly car in a horrible colour that looks like primer, but I wonder what a BRG one would be like. The standard model must have been really basic given the 'luxuries' you got for your extra tenner on the Deluxe.

Yeah gr8 urban camouflage tho! LOL and yeah same it amused me that BRG was an option, found literally on everything back then it seemed! :) 

this is probably as close as we will get to a BRG Tippen Delta these days (tho I think even the darker shade of green on this delta is a bit too light for BRG, although I think asking a classic car forum what shade BRG is may be a good way to start an argument! LOL but who knows what shade Tippen used!)

https://www.shannons.com.au/auctions/2011-shannons-melbourne-spring-classic-auction/K3SE1DA7S17BD471/

 

image.thumb.png.1e3837176ade6b9211fa7afe59f5b860.png

 

I do know the deluxe features did eventually become standard when the Ministry updated their standard specifications to include sliding glass windows and external door handles 

 

 

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6 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

Yeah, and  during the test I wont have my instructor with me with the risk of him getting frustrated at me and putting me in a bad state of mind

 

yeah I am a little bit worried on the hesitation thing, but at the same time also not that worried about it if that makes any sense at all?

becuase im pretty sure its just my instructor complains at me about me being slow just because he just naturally operates that bit quicker then I naturally do, but im pretty sure my driving/speed is fine otherwise

 

the only thing is I dont have no other view point on how my driving is so to speak, as I have said I do wish I could have gone for a drive with a fellow shitter or such

to find out if it was a case of "oh nah your driving is fine! just ignore your instructor with regard to that" or "oh yeah your driving is horrible no wonder he gets frustrated"

 

the only thing is I dont know if London examiners are also like him or not in regards to speed etc LOL

I just have to hope I get a good and understanding examiner!

thanks yeah, there are a couple big nasty roundabouts on the test route, lets hope I dont fluff em up LOL

(as a side note self cancelling indicators are really annoying LOL)

Something just came to mind from my maths teacher - remain cool, calm and collected. Don’t panic is also apt.

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2 minutes ago, cort1977 said:

Good luck in your test, if you can drive in London you can drive anywhere.

thanks :)

yeah thats one thing I tell people/myself 

that I gotta remind myself im doing this in London, there are experienced drivers who have been on the road for 30 years who refuse to drive into/in London LOL

so I should cut myself some slack LOL

 

the test centre is in Wanstead for those wondering, its amusing as apparently it has the lowest of first time pass rate, but then when I looked into it a bit deeper at all the other test centres in London none of them where any better LOL

it was all like "33.3 33.4 and 33.5 percent" LOL

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11 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

ETXg0Ux.jpg

'Sort of' development RS3100s in the summer of 1973 with spoilers, ducktails, and unique-spec 4-spoke RS alloys. One car has the GT-spec fishbowl headlights. The Mk2 was due out in Feb 74.

XWC was actually Roger Clark's GXL used in early July 73 Avon Tour of Britain.

RS3100 production was Sept to Nov 73, only around 250ish made, amazing for such a well-known car.

Apparently loads of desirable RS Escort and Capri parts such as ducktails 'went missing' from Ford stores. Must have been a bit awkward with one of those stuffed inside your jacket or down your trousers.

h80l5ZK.jpg

pdxEIUq.jpg

There are a few pics around of white AOO 685L in the first pic above, a factory RS3100GXL with sliding steel sunroof and the GXL side mouldings.

AOO685L shares a registration series with an unusually short block of Invacar Model 70's AOO314L-AOO363L :) 

48309127452_e3e78422b7_h.jpg

only 50 cars big, have wondered why, that whole "area" is weird the block before it is fine (ATW701L-ATW800L a normal 100 cars block) then theres AOO314L-AOO363L only 50 cars big, then theres BEV701L-BEV774L a weird 74 cars big and then BPU901L-BPU935L which is 35 cars big, then after that is NEV201M-NEV300M back to a normal 100 cars

I think what happened there was something "random" happened to mess up the blocks, but it then got compounded by the suffix change right around the corner (suffix changes always forced a short block for both AC and Invacar)

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15 minutes ago, mitsisigma01 said:

Good luck with your test ??

Is there a way of finding out what used to have the reg number RBP695 doesn't show up on .Gov site. 

Cheers

thanks :) 

RBP695 sadly does not show up on my end either so its likely been inactive since the early 80s or before

I can say that RBPxxx would have first been first issued in April 1954 in West Sussex

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12 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

....test centre is in Wanstead for those wondering, its amusing as apparently it has the lowest of first time pass rate, but then when I looked into it a bit deeper at all the other test centres in London none of them where any better LOL

it was all like "33.3 33.4 and 33.5 percent" LOL

Times and pass rates must have changed since I did the test in May 1989.

Friend of mine did the test on the same day as me. He chose Barnet; I went to Mill Hill (which was known to have a high pass rate). I passed; he failed!

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