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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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21 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/109418819125/posts/10162265619069126/

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this was pretty awesome to see! "ALB761A" or Alba as its known by its owner :), is on the move! the first Model 67 to join the very exclusive ranks of road worthy Villiers machine! and its first time I Have ever seen a surviving Model 67 move under its own power :) 

Goodwood themselves even tweeted about it!

https://twitter.com/GoodwoodRRC/status/1576515259476623360

but as is sadly typical they got most of their facts wrong! obviously as is well known on here by now, Invacar had nothing to do with AC at all (not until the Mk12E/Model 70 at least) and I am curious where they pulled the date of 1960 from! AC Started supplying the AC All weather Tricycle Model 43 en-mass to the Ministry 10 years earlier then that in 1950!

The same with one of their YT videos. They got a lot of facts incorrect. I wish I could refind it.

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3 hours ago, timolloyd said:

hah very cool! its interesting how its been painted with silver/grey bumpers almost looks Mini-ish at first in that regard, and with how its all a bit rounded around the sides

not the first time he has captured an Invalid Vehicle, he caught a suspected Harding Rideinease in "The Contraption" :) 

image.png

https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-l-s-lowry/collection-figures/artwork-the-contraption-signed-print

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1 hour ago, LightBulbFun said:

hah very cool! its interesting how its been painted with silver/grey bumpers almost looks Mini-ish at first in that regard, and with how its all a bit rounded around the sides

It looks to me as if there is another one, also facing away from the viewer, parked to the rear of the first one. The other one, to me, is reminiscent of a Tippen Delta convertible.

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17 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

It looks to me as if there is another one, also facing away from the viewer, parked to the rear of the first one. The other one, to me, is reminiscent of a Tippen Delta convertible.

Yeah I was thinking that as well looks like there might be something resembling a Tippen Delta ahead of it :) 

I have also been wondering what exactly the forefront vehicle is, the news article mentions dates of 1959 and 1961 

the closet match I can find that fits all the data points I have is an Invacar Mk11,

I think the Metal bodied Invacars where the only full bodied invalid vehicles to have actual chrome bumpers, and of those only the Mk11 had a rectangular rear number plate with stand out rear fins

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although the rear lights are depicted quite differently in the painting,

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On 01/10/2021 at 00:48, LightBulbFun said:

I have seen Invacars/Model 70's show up as a lot of things on the Motor insurance Database, including one of my personal favourites

 image.png

but I cant say I have ever had one show as "DUMP CODE MODIFIED CARS" which is what REV is showing as LOL the dump code part almost sounds like its crashed part of the database or something LOL

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ill see what it shows up after I wake up when I go to sleep, just incase its the database still configuring itself or something

but if its not sorted itself out I think ill make a call to bike sure and see if I can get it sorted

which is always fun, as you have to really nail into them to them that when you say "Model 70" you dont mean Model: 70 you mean Model: Model 70 LOL, that "Model" is part of the Model name! LOL

(a lot of people dont realise this so you end up with Model 70's showing up as "AC 70" or "INVACAR 70" or just "70")

curiously after this years renewal she is showing up properly again! I did make sure to mention the Motor Insurance Database naming anonymity but the guy on the other end sorting out my renewal  at the time, but he said that was not something he could do, he was just there for renewals 

1934184452_Screenshot2022-10-05at14_21_21.png.25c5a7ba484a31fcf45703e85a2b125c.png

but I wonder if he was able to sort it in the end! I know they/someone there is able to, because when I first insured REV back in March 2020, I did call them back to get the name corrected (at first she was showing up as an "INVACARE" LOL)

please to see all is showing up as it should once again, well ignoring the missing space between Invacar and Model LOL (I know the MID is just cosmetic and has no real effect on anything but still I do like to make sure everything is correct where I can!)

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Tis like Buses they all come along at once! Another Model 70 has shown up for sale! (I do have to wonder if the port hole car "selling" for £LOL has brought them out of the woodwork...)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134264350173

s-l1600-37.thumb.jpg.dcb4cf4d7367021faeadaa891ac2c9dc.jpg

I have dropped the seller message so hopefully I can figure out which it is and assist the seller in any Model 70 matters :) 

those Mini Traveller rear lights make me wonder if its this car...

ac-invacar-model-70-microcar-bubble_360_6ca6433bfefb0ace18d43d44adfe25fa (1).jpg

(although the eBay car has both of its lights mounted a bit low down where as the Welsh driveway, blue wheeled car only has 1 mounted lower down)

On 26/06/2021 at 20:19, LightBulbFun said:

been doing some internet sleuthing and uncovered a few neat pictures of a couple Model 70's I knew about but had few details on :) 

 

first of all is a couple more pictures of this Model 70 which I came across a while back on an web auction archive site

ac-invacar-model-70-microcar-bubble_360_6ca6433bfefb0ace18d43d44adfe25fa (1).jpg

and I think @dollywobbler will enjoy the picture! (especially since said Model 70 was apparently unearthed on a driveway somewhere in wales)

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with the poor front missing in the way it is, it looks like a Giant mini comtesse LOL, it was given its nose back thankfully! (It was clearly cut off cleanly I wonder if that was for recovery purposes or done for some other reason) sadly what became of it afterwards and what its ID is are sadly unknown

199649487_490438142212144_94268919197972438_n.thumb.jpg.6e2062540caf66e79d216ac120678124.jpg

 

also on eBay are a couple Villiers Carburettors suitable for use on Villiers Invalid vehicles should anyone be needing one or a spare! :) ( @AdgeCutler and @Mrs6C!)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175437147526

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403921381742

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41 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

Tis like Buses they all come along at once! Another Model 70 has shown up for sale! (I do have to wonder if the port hole car "selling" for £LOL has brought them out of the woodwork...)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134264350173

s-l1600-37.thumb.jpg.dcb4cf4d7367021faeadaa891ac2c9dc.jpg

I have dropped the seller message so hopefully I can figure out which it is and assist the seller in any Model 70 matters :) 

those Mini Traveller rear lights make me wonder if its this car...

ac-invacar-model-70-microcar-bubble_360_6ca6433bfefb0ace18d43d44adfe25fa (1).jpg

(although the eBay car has both of its lights mounted a bit low down where as the Welsh driveway, blue wheeled car only has 1 mounted lower down)

also on eBay are a couple Villiers Carburettors suitable for use on Villiers Invalid vehicles should anyone be needing one or a spare! :) ( @AdgeCutler and @Mrs6C!)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175437147526

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403921381742

I’m ok for carb parts I hope but thanks for the heads up Dez.

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On 10/5/2022 at 12:47 PM, LightBulbFun said:

I have also been wondering what exactly the forefront vehicle is, the news article mentions dates of 1959 and 1961

I'm in no doubt that it's a model 67, with the split air vent on the engine cover

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Does this mean you could more conclusively date these paintings than the Lowry experts?

 

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20 minutes ago, barrett said:

I'm in no doubt that it's a model 67, with the split air vent on the engine cover

1820019855_Screenshot2022-10-06at18_42_11.thumb.png.d827e830ed3111ef94af0583abe12a9a.png

Does this mean you could more conclusively date these paintings than the Lowry experts?

 

thats an interesting thought! 

as you say I immediately went "oh thats a Model 67!" as you say the split rear engine vent is a big giveaway, and matches much better with the rear lights

ac5.thumb.jpg.fa1b05f770bdde80c377e471e06bbaeb.jpg

but then I thought to myself "when where these drawn" to remove any confirmation bias and checked the article which gave the dates of 1959 and 1961, which I just assumed where what dates Lowry himself wrote on the paintings somewhere

 

but if those dates actually have no firm basis in reality, and just experts trying to guess, then indeed as you say, I would say that that its an AC Model 67 before I would say its an Invacar Mk11

 

another thing worth noting is that both Vehicles are painted the same colour, and of course the Model 67 and Tippen Delta where the same colour

BUT, so was the Invacar Mk11 and Tippen Delta Mk1, both of which where dark blue (well I dont know if they where identical, but close enough that in a rough drawing as above I could see the artist using the same colour)

however they are definitely painted a more lighter shade of blue then what id expect someone to paint an Invacar Mk11/Tippen Delta Mk1 as, so as you say my first thought was indeed "Ooh a Model 67!" 

 

8 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

That photo must be a bit later than 1961 though, judging by the fashions. 

 

5 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Early 60s I reckon. The fashion looks decidedly restrained compared to the style and colours of the mid to late 60s. 

for what its worth the first AC Model 67's rolled off the production line in around May-June 1967 (RPA451E-RPA550E was the very first block from what I can find so far)

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12 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

That photo must be a bit later than 1961 though, judging by the fashions. 

 

3 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

Flares like that, I initially thought 1967.

wait you say Photo? if your referring to @barrett's picture specifically 

thats from here  https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_774465-AC-Invacar-Model-67-1970.html

I THINK its APH76H from the APH51H-APH250H block :) 

(its defo a car from the APH-H block thats for sure)

 

but he was just posting it as an example of the rear end of a Model 67, in reference to a painting posted on the previous page :) 

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On 26/06/2022 at 21:17, LightBulbFun said:

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

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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 :) 

very pleased to report that this is now actually buyable! from the ICR's website :)

https://www.invalidcarriageregister.org/portfolio/50-years-mobility-scooters

a lovely little book giving a nice history of the early days of Mobility scooters and giving a nice list all the different ones throughout the ages!

and this will hopefully lead the way to the big book!

On 23/09/2022 at 20:31, LightBulbFun said:

and most bizarrely for some reason at some point the hydraulics for the front brake had been disconnected and replaced with a cable operated by its own lever on the handle bars! 

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also had the chance to speak to the owner of the Private expat a bit more, and it turns out the front hydraulic brake had NOT been disconnected, he simply thought it had been at first but had a better look at things and realised it was still all there! the addition of a front handbrake is still very curious mind!

I almost wonder if it was added as a way to temporarily hold the machine, while the driver went to pull the main handbrake, if they where unable to hold the handle bars down while doing so?

say if the owner had difficulty raising her arm in a speedy manner, maybe she would park up, hold the car with the lever on the right with her right hand and then use her other hand to pull the main handbrake, but I notice both the hand lever and handbrake pull are on the same side so its not likely to be that (unless the owner had 2 right arms?!)

its also amusing to see as when I first found out that the brake hardware on all 3 wheels was identical a few years back, with the front assembly still having hand brake parts, I did muse to myself and wonder if someone could make a Model 70 with a hand brake that acted on all 3 wheels, and in this case thats kinda whats going on here!

sadly little is known about the Lady who owned it and took it to the US with her and if the hand lever was a factory adaptation or something fitted after it moved to the states

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speaking of Model 70 oddities and differences, the chap above was wondering where he could source some replacement wing mirrors from, and I remember @Six-cylinder mentioning there where 2 different head sizes, so I decided to look into a bit deeper when I came across this web page (I knew they where Desmo wing mirrors, but I never knew much beyond that)

https://minorpartsofoxford.co.uk/desmo-wing-mirror/

and very interestingly it also mentioned that there where 2 different arm lengths as well and this got me wondering, what do Model 70's have? and it seems to be* a right miss match! obviously exhasibated by the long life these vehicles had and probably adaptions to a specific users needs

and in fact While REV and Dolly both have 2 wing mirrors REV has a long pair while Dolly has a short pair!

_MG_6324.jpg

I wonder if this explains why I dont have any vision/blind spot/mirror problems but @dollywobbler does? as its worth noting that TWC has a short arm mirror fitted (and so does TPA but she has a different seat as well)

 

 

*most Model 70's until an unknown point in time (1975 or 76-ish?) seemed to have shipped from the factory with a plastic version of the short arm Desmo mirror, but it seems like these quite quickly got replaced with Metal ones in service, as I understand they where very fragile, and often broken hence being very rare today

im also still researching to determine if how many Mirrors fitted to a Model 70 was something done at the factory according to the first users need or if they all shipped with 1 and where tweaked after the fact, and if how many mirrors the default was changed over time or not (for example most later Model 70's do have 2 mirrors, but @AdgeCutler's final contract Model 70 only has 1 but who knows if thats how it started out life as or not!)

0F1EB2F3-833C-4447-AE46-2AFB7CB1BC7B.jpeg

(you can also see nicely the plastic Desmo Mirror on Brian :)

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The double track glass rubber has become the next challenge. After a lot of searching  for track of 18mm width as per original I drew a blank and the best I could come up with was 20.5mm which didn’t even fit in the freshly made channel and so another search through various shed clutter began. Eventually I found the right components to fashion a gauge to enable me to shave down the track while clamped in the vice. I did at first try to slice off a slither with a Stanley blade but found a much better solution was to use a belt sander which left a near perfect finish and was much more controlled. The track now sits snuggly in the channel and should allow the windows to slide smoothly.

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this is really exciting I was just doing my usual daily DVLA checks, checking in on all the "in progress" DVLA cases im helping out with 

when I noticed at long last GIG4834 is now showing up on the DVLA 1st party checker with a fresh V5 issued! Woo!

screencapture-vehicleenquiry-service-gov-uk-VehicleFound-2022-10-08-01_43_37.thumb.png.6c0f1146917a30e4446592ec1e1c2ae5.png

this is very exciting to see because the whole GIG Saga has been a right cluster-fuck, so I am very pleased to see some positive progress like this!

tomorrow ill message each of the Model 70 owners involved in this about this good news, and hopefully see which one of them its ended up registered too! 

 

its very exciting too because this is an NI vehicle that had been inactive since before the 2014 database merge thus was hidden from the DVLA 1st party checker, so its very awesome to have confirmation that they can indeed be brought back to life :) (for those unaware, vehicles which had been computerised onto NI's 1986 DVA system, but where not active during the 2014 merge, where for some-reason set to to not show up on the DVLA first party checker, but they do still very much have the records and can be found via 3rd party tools)

its also very interesting to see the 2015 tax due date as the last activity I had seen on GIG's record otherwise was in 2009, so I wonder if GIG really was taxed till 2015 or if this is a place holder date

like how when you register a vehicle with the DVLA without taxing it, it gets a 1998 Tax due date (as thats when the last major DVLA computer system overhaul happened)

hopefully in time ill be able to help the owner of UOI8850 get the V5 for it and then we will really see whats what (since I KNOW that vehicle has been off the road since 1991!)

(as GIG was DVLA hidden there was no way to pull her tax due date until now, the tax due date is something you can only get from the DVLA 1st party checker)

 

perhaps one of the reasons that inactive NI vehicles are hidden is because the DVLA was not able to merge all the data and stuff like the taxation status was lost, and so they hide them not as to give erroneous results?

all in all quite exciting!

 

 

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@dollywobbler how do you feel like a Road trip to Vienna in TWC for a 762cc upgrade? :) (sounds a fair bit cheaper then a 720cc 2CV big barrel upgrade! maybe you can fix TWC's original engine, plop that back into TWC and take TWC's current 1976 Engine and plop it into Elly? :mrgreen: )

image.thumb.png.fe8cff048ffa9892982591d56ab79d6e.png

also indeed the chap with VAV1L showed up, so of course I Badgered him with questions about it all :) 

heres a picture from the gearbox end showing hows its been adapted to the original box

image.thumb.png.981500659d99cc8f26a00d009e0b7199.png

and he posted a video of it running! but sadly nothing of it on the move

https://www.facebook.com/groups/109418819125/posts/10162276723584126/?comment_id=10162276981329126&reply_comment_id=10162277149639126

he did confirm as speculated that the top speed has suffered because the diesel simply does not rev like a Steyr puch does/can! but that he does get very good milage at least! although sadly he has never actually measured it

and he confirmed that its a 2 cylinder jobby (but that he was originally eying up a 3 cylinder one so maybe thats where I got the idea of it being a 3 pot?)

been very cool to finally get the details on this one! :) 

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one for those interested in my DVLA/DVSA ramblings

I noticed a little while back that the DVSA's MOT checker had a bit of a "revamp" (not a fan of the new looks IMHO LOL)

and apart from introducing a bug that meant non coded vehicles get their make repeated twice LOL

image.thumb.png.88ed4fe774325ed54ac7f17175ef0b37.png

they did finally sort one thing out in that for a long time when you would look up a HGV/PSV it would only spit out the MOT results and thats it none of the vehicle data would be available at all and for test location it would also just say not available at this time

well looks like not only did they fix the vehicle data being missing for HGV/PSV's, it seems you can even see the test location now, even without the V5's 11 digit number! :) note this is ONLY for PSV's' and HGV's but great for any bus or lorry enthusiast trying to keep track of a machine! :) 

screencapture-check-mot-service-gov-uk-results-2022-10-09-12_48_54.thumb.png.939dbe80673e7079f06a79b36f46d83c.png screencapture-check-mot-service-gov-uk-results-2022-10-09-12_53_30.thumb.png.5c1e1822eb3c0b9028ccb241b4586763.png

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7 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

From 'British road scenes 1955=1995'

May be an image of 1 person and outdoors

hah very cool! not a picture I had seen before :)

I did a bit of digging and found quite a high rez version of the picture!

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eec50_ca5f2afd440241ce90a5515e0f3c597a~mv2_d_3508_2349_s_2.jpg

but sadly the grain size of the actual film seems to be too large to resolve the mark on the Model 70, its a pretty early one being on white on black plates (from Before the 1st of Jan 1973)

image.png.99e1ec95d4384ceb49d56787d8fc4573.png

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Keep meaning to post about this!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284988877304

yeah its another trailer made from the arse end of an AC Model 57/64!

s-l1600-38.thumb.jpg.ac07236a0a29acfb7516fba52939810d.jpg

the interesting thing about it for me is the 12 inch wheels it has look to have a more rounded profile then later 12 inch ministry wheels, not something I have noticed before! 

 

 

1 hour ago, DVee8 said:

I don't have enough life left in me to scroll back through, so has this come back yet?

if your talking about REV, she is still away at University with Red5 :) 

 

 

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