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]

48 minutes ago, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

Posted on facebook today/

very cool! do you have direct links to either of the posts?  

NPD39 is a Petrol Stanley Argson thats been doing the rounds for sometime, I first posted it the thread in 2019 when It showed up for sale on car and classic, it then later showed up on ebay a couple years later

On 12/07/2021 at 13:21, LightBulbFun said:

On 15/09/2019 at 15:32, LightBulbFun said:

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1155136

a Petrol Argson!  

I think iv seen this one before number plate rings a bell, but I cant confirm

sadly reg turns up nothing on the DVLA checker but it would be very interesting to try and V62 this one! (Just how far back to those dusty old pre DVLC records go? ) 

 

Looks like NPD39 is up for sale again, on ebay this time!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194237804428

 

also came across this cool picture of a Vernon Invalid car

https://www.facebook.com/groups/123243264448778/posts/670894656350300/

 

so I wonder if its moved again!

 

FJG371 is a Fitt Continental, a very curious machine, but one with no known survives sadly, the George Fitt Continental was pretty much the last new design of tradition petrol open invalid carriage to be penned before the bodied machines came to be

 

speaking of old school invalid carriages I came across these 2 photos

from here

https://www.facebook.com/christopher.whelan.336/posts/pfbid0mLeYmR3FFJZ86xJJ88yorqGdXQGPs8Ba2VNU3vUsP1mqvturLBnzS7XAj4s8iZyAl

the Electric Harper Mk1 is quite notable as XPL434 makes it a really early one, given that the last Stanley Argson known to survive is XPD805, I almost wonder if there was some overlap in production

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

No direct link to the posts, I'll have a look later if I can find more information.

[egg]

13 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

from here

is that the same bloke in both pictures?

[LightBulbFun]

4 hours ago, The Old Bloke Next Door said:

No direct link to the posts, I'll have a look later if I can find more information.

thanks that would be appreciated  

13 minutes ago, egg said:

is that the same bloke in both pictures?

indeed it is according to the facebook post

[LightBulbFun]

just unearthed this fun PDF

https://www.smmt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/V355-June-2012.pdf

which contains a very nifty list of a majority* of the DVLA Body, Colour and wheel plan codes I have rambled on about in the past

(*but not all! most notably I noticed Body code 08 is missing from the list, which is Invalid Vehicle, (aka invalid carriage) so I have to wonder what other codes are, missing from the list just because its so obscure or just last used 300 years ago)

this basicly tells you exactly what you can write down on a vehicle registration form and have it properly show up as (a lot of people dont realise that theres a fair bit variety! I remember when I first found out that Pantechnicon was a valid and coded body type!)

 

also handily answers a question for me, in that I wondered if you could pre-fill in the coded sections if you knew the codes and indeed looks like you can

which is very handy   

[AdgeCutler]

Here we go, another update for those interested in the life of Brian.

 

[egg]

Brilliant stuff. Very pleased to see this, herding(?) geese with an Invacar. 

[LightBulbFun]

4 hours ago, AdgeCutler said:

Here we go, another update for those interested in the life of Brian.

 

thats bloody awesome! 

I think its the first modern video I have seen of a Villiers Invacar on the move! as you say Brian sounds very smooth and seems to go pretty well!

so close to returning to the road, its really awesome! 

 

just as a side note, has the chain-case and gearbox been suitably filled with their required oils? just mentioning it as it seems like one of those things that could be overlooked in all the excitement of getting everything back together

so I am just playing it safe by asking!

[egg]

50-60 years of progress??

[LightBulbFun]

19 minutes ago, egg said:

50-60 years of progress??

hah thats a fun comparison/photo montage, both about 8 Horse power! (well 8.6 in the Mk12 ) 

although the Mk12 can go significantly quicker than the Ami can, there aint many situations where you can say a Mk12 goes much quicker then something but this is one!

top speed of the Ami 28Mph, top speed of the Mk12, about 45-50Mph!

also the Mk12 legal on motorways where the Ami is not!

so an Invacar Mk12 is much better suited* for that M25 commute into Central London (ULEZ exempt, and small enough to squeeze between all the bollards FTW)

[LightBulbFun]

14 minutes ago, Blake's Den said:

Interesting article about the Turner Ranger and also the Elswick Envoy in the August 2022 edition of Classic Tractor. The article is a chat with Tony Turner formerly of Turner Engineering Ltd. I've learnt some things that I didn't know!

What's the Elswick Envoy connection? Elswick Group took over Turner Engineering Ltd and built the Envoys in the same factory as where the Rangers were built.

 

I have a phrase for that "invariably inevitably invacar"  (or more Invalid car in this case)

or my other favourite coined by @wuvvum

"Chodwin's law" 

[skoda_fan]

A propos of nothing, but this seems like the right thread to leave this. Seen at the Broyle Country Show in East Sussex today.

[Blake's Den]

11 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

I have a phrase for that "invariably inevitably invacar"  (or more Invalid car in this case)

or my other favourite coined by @wuvvum

"Chodwin's law" 

They wanted to call it the InvaShrew!

[Sheefag]

57 minutes ago, skoda_fan said:

A propos of nothing, but this seems like the right thread to leave this. Seen at the Broyle Country Show in East Sussex today.

Saw something very similar only minutes ago on 'Talking Pictures', 'The Long Arm'.

https://www.reelstreets.com/films/long-arm-the-2/

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, skoda_fan said:

A propos of nothing, but this seems like the right thread to leave this. Seen at the Broyle Country Show in East Sussex today.

Oh very cool! JPE789C was the very last Villiers Machine in ministry service, managing to survive right until the end in 2003

On 13/05/2020 at 17:16, LightBulbFun said:

JPE789C, AC Acedes Mk11 (Model 57), Date of first registration 23 June 1965, current status with the Bentley Wildfowl Museum, untaxed since 2 July 2003, Date of last V5C (logbook) issued 7 July 2003, notable for being the last Villers powered invalid vehicle in Ministry service

 

I have not "seen it" for a long time now, so its cool to see it again!, not sure I have seen it from the rear before! those Model 70 rear lights look funky on it LOL

its also notably the wrong shade of blue for an AC Acedes Model 57!

[LightBulbFun]

33 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/347081964272967

Calling, @LightBulbFun,

very fitting that something like that should show up! as I just received this in the post a couple days ago  

Simon has finally got Stuarts small book on Mobility Scooters out the door! 

I was going to wait to post about it when I had a link I could post for anyone interested in buying a copy, but it would be remiss of me not to post about it now!

(it can be found on Amazon etc, but theres no buy button yet!)

 

hopefully with this out the door at long last, the Big book on invalid carriages can finally make some headway to being published  

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Sheefag said:

Saw something very similar only minutes ago on 'Talking Pictures', 'The Long Arm'.

https://www.reelstreets.com/films/long-arm-the-2/

thats an AC petite  more closely related to an AC All Weather Tricycle (Model 43) (by way of the Buckland runabout) then it is an AC Acedes (Model 57) despite outward appearances

[egg]

On 26/06/2022 at 15:58, LightBulbFun said:

hah thats a fun comparison/photo montage, both about 8 Horse power! (well 8.6 in the Mk12 ) 

thinking about it a better comparison is the Twizzy, similar top speed....and.....doors optional 😂

[captain_70s]

Seen on the Classic Car Scrapyard Finds page...

[Jimbob McGregor]

Hi @LightBulbFun.  You’ve in the past dug out some very useful info on a tractor for @loseroneand myself. 
Would you consider looking into this registration number for me and I’d make a donation to the Invacar and AS funds?

Photo of reg plate below. Vehicle is long gone but we suspect it might be a Land Rover.

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Jimbob McGregor said:

Hi @LightBulbFun.  You’ve in the past dug out some very useful info on a tractor for @loseroneand myself. 
Would you consider looking into this registration number for me and I’d make a donation to the Invacar and AS funds?

Photo of reg plate below. Vehicle is long gone but we suspect it might be a Land Rover.

Sadly whatever that was attached to did not survive long enough to stay on the DVLA main system (or did not get computerised in the first place) so I am limited in what I can tell you, other than it came off the Road sometime before 1983

from what I can tell from just the mark itself, MEO-K is Barrow-in-Furness issue October 1971-April 1972, and going by the vehicles around this reg mark that do show up, id say this one was registered around January 1972

hope what little info I have been able to provide is of some use!

[LightBulbFun]

2 hours ago, captain_70s said:

Seen on the Classic Car Scrapyard Finds page...

cool! sadly its a private group, but I appreciate the heads up

but I think its the same one as from these 2 instagram posts

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYvrCf7ooJn/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYvrkMMoSII/

I really hope he does not turn it into a buggy as per the posts suggest! its far too rare for that, in that,

its one of the Ex Oddingley cars so it has a known chassis number/ID, which makes it very rare!

if he wanted a Mk12 to turn into a buggy (which would still be a shame) he would be much better off with one of the Trysull cars which sadly have no known ID (unless we can find a chassis stamped chassis number, but no one have been able to find that for a Villiers machine so far sadly)

[Jimbob McGregor]

@LightBulbFunthanks so much for checking it out. Shame it’s missed ‘the system’ . Unless any photographs come out of the woodwork then it’s probably game over for finding what this was.

PM me some details and I’ll send you some shekels.

[LightBulbFun]

18 minutes ago, Jimbob McGregor said:

@LightBulbFunthanks so much for checking it out. Shame it’s missed ‘the system’ . Unless any photographs come out of the woodwork then it’s probably game over for finding what this was.

PM me some details and I’ll send you some shekels.

no problems! 

not quite game over tho! as a last ditch effort if you really need/want to find out some more details on the vehicle that plate was from, then luckily for you the Barrow archives have vehicle records

only a card index however, so im not 100% sure how much detail will be there beyond the Vehicle make model and chassis number, but it may be worth a shout

so might be worth saving your Shekels for the archvist! (and besides when I get no result it thankfully does not cost me any credits! but I appreciate the thought!)

[loserone]

That sounds like a task to send @eddyramrod on!

[egg]

4 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

I really hope he does not turn it into a buggy as per the posts suggest! its far too rare for that, in that,

looks pretty saveable. What generation of MK12 is that LBF?

[LightBulbFun]

44 minutes ago, egg said:

looks pretty saveable. What generation of MK12 is that LBF?

tis an Invacar Mk12E  

its one of the 5 Mk12's found at Oddingley (there where 4 12E's which have all been sold, and a 12D that Big al is keeping for his personal collection)

so I imagine its in a pretty bad way sadly, but very much worth saving on account of its known ID

(Oddingley is where @AdgeCutler's KPU147J and @adam1db's KPL139P came from for reference)

[AdgeCutler]

5 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

I really hope he does not turn it into a buggy as per the posts suggest!

That really would be a shame. Although the other cars were quite knackered they were actually in slightly better condition than "Brian". I picked him because he was the only one with any type of history even if that was only a couple of remnants of service dockets. It was from these dockets his name came, the man he was issued to and also the mechanic were named Brian.

[LightBulbFun]

57 minutes ago, AdgeCutler said:

That really would be a shame. Although the other cars were quite knackered they were actually in slightly better condition than "Brian". I picked him because he was the only one with any type of history even if that was only a couple of remnants of service dockets. It was from these dockets his name came, the man he was issued to and also the mechanic were named Brian.

curiously there was another Mk12E user by the name of Brain at Oddingley, what are the chances of that!  one of the things Stuart found at the house there was a Mk12E Handbook with "Brian Davies, Redditch 6th May 1976" on the back

unless that "Brian Davies" is the mechanic your referring to?

I know of John Thorne who serviced Brian Horne's Invacar Mk12E (KPU147J) and who worked with @plasticvandan's grandfather, but im not aware of a mechanic from there called Brian, but I know theres a lot that I have yet to find out!

[Crackers]

8 hours ago, Jimbob McGregor said:

might be a Land Rover

The style of plate is right, but the shape isn't, unless it was a Range Rover.

AFAIK, every* Series 3 was fitted with a square rear plate on either the left or right of the tailgate. I honestly don't recall ever seeing a standard one with a normal rectangular rear plate. 

 

*hangs up anorak, gets back in box*