invacar 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]

1 hour ago, 500tops said:

Have you tried to track down anyone who worked at the factory? There must be a couple of people out there that either supplied the parts or built these things? It would be nice to get some kind of record, whether that be photographic or verbal. 

aye I have plans to do so  (I do know of a couple people who are still alive and worked at the factory)

i'm just waiting on a couple things before I execute said plans

main thing is first getting my foot in the door at the ICR

that way I can say "Hello etc etc i'm an enthusiast of Invacars and part of the ICR, and I was wondering etc etc"

it would give me a bit more of an "official" legup if that makes sense, so i'm waiting for that to get sorted out before I start firing off emails left right and center

15 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

^ Whs. 

LBF, without wanting to sound like a bellend, I can't help mentioning:

Where = location of something- WHERE did he go? 

Were = past tense of 'are'- they WERE sat in an Invacar. 

#teacherpedantmodenowoff 

haha, im happy thats all you picked up on!

i've always had difficulty with my spelling and such things

thank fuck for spell checker! and while I have enhanced spell checker in chrome turned on which helps with such differences like you mentioned, it does not always catch them sadly

it's also when I want to type the word "were" or "where" and when I think to myself "ok how is it spelt again?"and whichever comes to me first is generally what gets typed out!

my spelling has gotten much better in the past 5 years or so, but there was a time when it was truly awful where spellchecker just could not handle it, be glad you were not around to see that! LOL

(for those who have spoken to me over some form of instant message know how my spelling is without correction, as with instant messaging it takes me too long to have to try and correct every word I get wrong)

[Mrs6C]

Where there is a designation as a Model 57, 64, 70 and so on,. was that designation applied because some event in the design>build>launch process of that model was achieved in that particular year?

[LightBulbFun]

16 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

Where there is a designation as a Model 57, 64, 70 and so on,. was that designation applied because some event in the design>build>launch process of that model was achieved in that particular year?

nah I think it was more or less just issued in sequence  

heres a handy guide from the back of stuarts small book

(there are some gaps in the numberings I do wonder what "happened" to those exactly)

a couple additional notes/corrections

the "Electric AC Acedes" is actually just "AC Model 64", it was never officially called an Acedes AFAIK, but it is common to call them such

this book was written before Stuart had seen the Chassis plate of a Model 64

and there was also an AC Acedes Mk14A  (and it turns out  no reference to anything older than an AC Acedes Mk4 has been found, its currently thought that Mk1-3 where versions of the AC All weather Tricycle, but sadly mentioned details on this sort of thing are thin on the ground)

[Mrs6C]

Stuart's book looks interesting. Where can a copy be obtained?

[LightBulbFun]

10 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

Stuart's book looks interesting. Where can a copy be obtained?

heres an amazon link, (tho looks like they have a 1-3 month lead time for some reason!) but im sure it will be avlable from other book sellers as well  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-British-Invalid-Carriage-1850/dp/0984598383 (I think @egg got his locally)

its stuarts small book, so just gives a pretty brief overview on things, but its a handy reference to have on hand

Stuart has a Big Book coming out at some point, thats goes into much more detail on everything, im very much looking forward to that one coming out  

[egg]

Yep, that's right LBF, any book shop can order a book from an ISBN - and it is a 'print to order' book. While I get my fair share of brown Amazon packages, I do try and support local shops from time to time.

[Six-cylinder]

I avoid Amazon at all costs because they charged me for prime when I did not even know I had it and would not give me my money back. Recently I tried to buy something and again while watching out not to get into Prime they did me. This time I cancelled during the trail period and was not charged but I cancelled the order as I cannot use a company that conducts business with this kind of trickery.

Anyway back on subject I have now ordered the book for Mrs6C off E bay for £9.09 with delivery due Sat 2nd Nov.

[mk2_craig]

This apparently was up for auction today, Hobbs Parker Ashford so I am told. Thought of potential interest anyway. 
 

 

[LightBulbFun]

16 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

This apparently was up for auction today, Hobbs Parker Ashford so I am told. Thought of potential interest anyway. 
 

 

ah very cool  thanks for the tip off 

a Petrol Argson De luxe nice  most surviving Argson's are electric models

interesting to see Bicycle type controls, its the first time I have seen them on a villiers machine I think!

pretty much everything Pre Model 70 was some sort of tiller control

do you know who it sold to and for how much?

still shows up on the DVLA as well which is nice  

 

found it on the website at least! https://www.hobbsparker.co.uk/car-auctions/auction-dates/catalogue/lot/?departmentId&saleTypeId=49&auctionId=452032&lotId=15580452

[LightBulbFun]

18 minutes ago, Skizzer said:

(At the risk of feeding the everything-is-about-Invacars monster ?) That looks like a Leyland parts bin clock, shared with the XJ-S no less:

haha

Cool to have it identified finally as although various people have suggested where its from I don't think anyone quite figured it out

although it looks like the one in the XJ-S (as somewhat expected because Jaaaag) is of a higher "trim level" then the one in my Invacar, as although it has the mould line for it, mine has no white stripe as seen in this picture here (although the question still stands then, what car would of it been out of exactly!)

or if it had the white stripe its since faded away, although I don't think it had one, as TJN352R is also fitted with the same clock and which also lacks the white trim stripe 

(TJN352R was used by Marion Webb from 1979 to 2004 (it was the last Model 70 in DHSS service), who was married to Dennis webb who owned my Invacar between 1985 and 2000, who must of fitted a clock to his wife's car the same time he fitted one to his own )

its a fun little thing that "connects" the 2 Model 70s still

[Mrs6C]

Your clock is made by Kienzle:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kienzle_Uhren

It's the same as this one:
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/JAGUAR-KIENZLE-N-L-XJ-6-12-SERIES-3-2-DASH-TIME-CLOCK-OR-A-CLASSIC-CAR/233376003379?hash=item36564b3533:g:UuIAAOSwcf1drcMW

Kienzle made car clocks for many manufacturers and many years!
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-1968/46/kienzle-car-clocks-0
 

[LightBulbFun]

21 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

Your clock is made by Kienzle:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kienzle_Uhren

It's the same as this one:
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/JAGUAR-KIENZLE-N-L-XJ-6-12-SERIES-3-2-DASH-TIME-CLOCK-OR-A-CLASSIC-CAR/233376003379?hash=item36564b3533:g:UuIAAOSwcf1drcMW

Kienzle made car clocks for many manufacturers and many years!
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-1968/46/kienzle-car-clocks-0
 

ah very cool, that motor magazine article was a very interesting read  

happy to know what the current draw is! I noticed that it runs continuously in REV even with the ignition off and I was wondering how much current it was drawing, but at 200 Microamps thats sweet FA so it should not be a problem for battery drain  

(so the clock really is from/used in a Jag,.. "2 Door Convertible designed by AC fastest in its class, upgraded with components from Jaguar"  )

[Mrs6C]

REV's clock still works, too!

[LightBulbFun]

Just now, Mrs6C said:

REV's clock still works, too!

Yes  someone at the FoD said that it was surprisingly accurate to current time

which was a bit surprising as at that point in time I had not touched it yet! (had it been sitting for 15 years just ticking away?! I would of thought the battery would of long been disconnected, until John filmed the video of REV moving of course)

 

as a side note there's something a bit surreal about sitting in a car on your own just listening to the clock ticking away...

[Mrs6C]

One or other of our cars - Jay the BMW 735i I think - has a series of automated damper flaps in the heater/ventilation system. When the ignition is switched off, there is a lull of about a minute and then they all start to set themselves to rest, one by one. It is odd to hear all the gentle thuds and whispers as they do their thing until all are at rest.

[LightBulbFun]

this is a Woop! on 2 front, its a G Reg AC invalid vehicle that still shows up on the DVLA, and 2 its of an AC Acedes Mk14  

 

WPD607G, the Model 70 on false plates aside, interestingly I only have ever seen one G Reg AC invalid vehicle which is this period picture of an AC Acedes Mk14 

(its amusing because I Know of 3 different Pictures of 3 different Mk14's all on E Regs, which is amusing when you consider the E reg suffix was only from January to July 1967)

and sadly of the 3 known surviving AC Acedes Mk14',s its unknown what their chassis/reg numbers are, and until now we did not know of any Mk14s surviving or not surviving  that still showed up on the DVLA

so we dont actually know what the chassis number format of an AC Acedes Mk14 looks like

by having my HPI man run WPK129G (and anymore I come across im still going through the block) for me it should give us a clue  

it should also help us further identify what WPD607G would of been off of originally (I have a feeling it is off a Mk14, since WPD-G is relatively close to WPK-G)

(as a side note I did have a look around the TPD-F reg for any that still showed up there, as I know there is a block there from TPD924F pictured at heywood, but as I thought none show up anymore, F Reg is just too old for any invalid vehicle blocks to show up on the DVLA checker still sadly outside of 1 or 2 exceptions)

[LightBulbFun]

Welp so much for going through the rest of the WPK-G block! LOL

[Zelandeth]

One of my earliest memories in a car is waiting in the car while my parents did the shopping (like you'd be able to do that now!) and listening to the gentle *shuff...shuff...shuff...* of the clock in our Nova.

The Saab had all the flaps etc vacuum operated too, so they would reset to "all closed" positions over the course of about 15 minutes after stopping the engine.

The clock in the van seems totally silent surprisingly.  Well, the one in the dash anyway...the one in the back is a noisy sod.

[egg]

Same here, my parents used to leave me in our MK2 Escort, and I liked listening to the gentle clock tick!

[Faker]

On 10/25/2019 at 12:59 PM, LightBulbFun said:

this does remind me, any update on this one @Faker

im still very intrigued by it  

Yeah I kind of forgot to follow this up.... I've been speaking with the fella. Must get up and see him.

[LightBulbFun]

21 minutes ago, Faker said:

Yeah I kind of forgot to follow this up.... I've been speaking with the fella. Must get up and see him.

I figured such sadly, hence the reminder  

for whatever reason, if it involves Invacars,

trying to get info from anyone suddenly becomes a PITA and takes 300 years LOL

for example I asked @dollywobbler for the engine number of TWCs original engine (the one where the Dizzy broke) and a clear picture of the chassis number plate/Lube chart

to do with some early Model 70 research I have been trying to do (as TWCs original engine is of an early type with a cartridge style oil filter rather then a spin on oil filter)

I first asked on March 27, and im still waiting! and now he has gone off to NZ, so I imagine ill be waiting another 6 months sadly...

 

(which I find a bit amusing because as is well documented, trying to speak to Simon or Stuart of the ICR is a PITA for anyone, except for me, where im able to get ahold of them pretty well  )

[martc]

[LightBulbFun]

as I thought WPK129G is the only one out of the block to show up, I think the block is WPK50G-WPK249G/WPK51G-WPK250G (it's a bit hard to tell as the first car to show up before WPK129G is WPK43G and the first after is WPK256G, so it's hard to tell if its 50-249 or 51-250, but we know the block is defo 200 cars)

ill wait for my HPI man to see the Invacar Mk12 list I have sent him first before I throw more Reg numbers at him! but it will be interesting to see what WPK129G comes back as

 

sadly my driving instructor has asked if he could reschedule my Monday lesson to tuesday, which I agreed to since I dont want to be a PITA about things here

but I would really like to have lessons twice a week which sadly has not been happening so far, so i'll talk to him when I see him, see if we can work things out  (and ill see if I could block book in his diary, the way it works with BSM is you buy hours then book the lessons separately, and while I think I may be able to block book online, I rather do it in person with him so I dont cause any inconveniences)

(luckily for me at least, my "diary" is very flexible, so pretty much anytime works for me, its always a little amusing when someone asks me about something and says "so what time works best for you" and I respond with "whatever works best for you!" that always throws people for a loop for some reason!)

[LightBulbFun]

had my 3rd lesson today

I think it went well, im getting more confidant I think  

(still pretty nervous tho!)

today we went up to 3rd gear and 20Mph!, and did the whole shifting from 1st to 2nd to 3rd then back to 2nd for a turn thing  

but yeah im getting better at pulling out of junctions etc, tho my turning right into a minor needs work as Im cutting across the road a bit (I just keep thinking that if i dont turn the wheel when I do that ill overshoot, but I need to get it in my head that no i wont overshoot)

but yeah I think it went well overall  

next lesson is on friday hopefully!

 

(saw a Tesla Model 3 which was pretty neat, I really need to pap some of the chod that's in that square too its quite impressive!)

[Zelandeth]

6 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

(saw a Tesla Model 3 which was pretty neat, I really need to pap some of the chod that's in that square too its quite impressive!)

Nice, not seen one in the wild yet.  Had a sit in one in the showroom in The Centre here, but not seen one out and about yet...

Do wonder quite what you'd need to do to blag a test drive...

[LightBulbFun]

17 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Nice, not seen one in the wild yet.  Had a sit in one in the showroom in The Centre here, but not seen one out and about yet...

Do wonder quite what you'd need to do to blag a test drive...

aye its quite an interest contrast of cars in that square!

it was parked up so hopefully it lives where I saw it and I can grab a picture of it next time   (it was predictably on a 69 plate)

Morris Minor down one street, Late 70s Fiat van down another, and Tesla Model 3 right at the dead end we started from!

(plus some assorted moderns, and im pretty sure at least 1 Volvo brick from the 90s on a personalised plate)

I was thinking to myself as I drove by the minor for the 10th time, how I wish I was learning to drive in the minor, rather than the 69 plate Pug 308 im currently learning to drive in

I do look forward to having another go of some  cars like the lada etc where the things you touch is actually connected to the things they control! now that I have had some more general experience  

[quicksilver]

Have you seen this? Invacar-related content in a Jalopnik article trying to identify Crazy Vaclav's 'put it in H' car from The Simpsons! https://jalopnik.com/lets-really-figure-out-what-that-put-it-in-h-car-from-1825057867

Sadly they have their Harpers and Invacars muddled up but interesting nonetheless. My own theory is that it was a design for an improved Model 71 Invacar that was sold to the Eastern Bloc when the DHSS stopped the invalid vehicle scheme

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

Have you seen this? Invacar-related content in a Jalopnik article trying to identify Crazy Vaclav's 'put it in H' car from The Simpsons! https://jalopnik.com/lets-really-figure-out-what-that-put-it-in-h-car-from-1825057867

Sadly they have their Harpers and Invacars muddled up but interesting nonetheless. My own theory is that it was a design for an improved Model 71 Invacar that was sold to the Eastern Bloc when the DHSS stopped the invalid vehicle scheme

haha yeah I have seen that  

I find it surprising that no one has made the MG connection with the hood ornament, I could of sworn that back in the 1930s that MG used a flying insect of some kind as its radiator ornament, and doing some quick googling shows that to be the case I think  

I have @1970mgb to thank for telling me about the hood ornament a few years ago  

 

the very first Soviet invalidka's where actually 3 wheelers  (I get shades of AC all weather Tricycle from it)

 

 

its funny you mention "Model 71" its interesting to note that supposedly the Model 70 was originally going to have different body work, but "time ran out" so they just lumped the body of the Model 67 over the chassis

(resulting in a fun little Q car that goes way faster and handles better then it looks/anyone expects!  ) 

I do wonder if time had not run out, if that the body work for the Model 70 would of looked like the Prototype AC Town cars or not

(assuming the story of the body work is actually true, I would like to verify it for myself, or at least see the sources it comes from!)

speaking of I finally got a rear facing picture of one, I don't think I had seen the rear of one before, as somewhat expected but interesting to note, the Model 70 exhaust  

(as mentioned previously its thought that these AC Town cars where built on the Model 70 platform/chassis, although just how much is Model 70 is unknown sadly)

and just as a refresher here it is from the front (its interesting to note that the later 2 Prototypes OPK110L and VPA167M had round normal style headlights)

I have my own things that I wonder about

like I do wonder if the Model 67 body was designed with a view to put it something better, with the Model 67 just being a "stop gap" until the Model 70 came along

a bit like the SRT Class of London buses   http://www.countrybus.org/STL/SRT.htm

especially as the Model 67 was in production for only 4 years until the Model 70 came along

and keeping in mind that by 1967 Prototype 5 of the Model 70 already existed, 1967 is when the Model 67 was launched, so by which the Model 70 was already well into the development stage, by the time of the Model 67

(although sadly I dont know anything about the gestation period of the Model 67)

and keep in mind this is just my own thoughts!

 

shown here is said 1967 Prototype Model 70 (note the Dual doors!)

(also slight correction from my earlier posts about this Model 70, apparently P5 which is what is pictured above was Both Fitted first with an industrial engine then a Fiat 500 engine, and was apparently quite lethal around the corners because it was still on the narrow Model 67 track! and then P6 was the first to be fitted with a Steyr puch engine and looked more or less like a Production Model 70 with widened track etc)

 

while I know quite a bit about the Model 70 development, there are so many details that are not quite known or are from 20 years ago so memories are now hazy

id love to find the source of the prototype info and scoop it for info directly  

(hell id like a picture of Prototype 5 that does not look like its been through a photocopier set to loop!)

 

I sadly cant find the name of the 2 Books, but apparently in the 1970s someone did write a couple books on the invalid carriage

apparently its where the exact production number figure of 5928 comes from for the production figure of the Model 67, and where a lot of pictures on the virtual gaz website originate from

but sadly when I googled the name of the books I could not find much, would love to get those 2 Books and read them thoroughly  

[somewhatfoolish]

What's the name of these books?

[LightBulbFun]

28 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

What's the name of these books?

took some intense sleuthing but

"Fred Nailer & Michael Lawrence's Brief Pictorial history of the invalid tricycle, 1976 & 1985 editions"