Jump to content

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

Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, Out Run said:

Someone mobile and  local will be able to razz a patch on that.

 

1 hour ago, red5 said:

@LOL...

It's a downpipe chap, not a silencer or a connecting pipe. It needs  sleeve welding, replacing or at bare minimum a tin can peeled to take the heat and velocity (of exhaust gas)  in the state it is. 

Think of it as an cast exhaust manifold if you will, then realise no-one is ' jumping on ' you for blah blah etc etc but actually offering feasible, practical or needed solutions. 

Wether you like it or not, it needs proper time and expertise for certain areas - I'd suggest braking and exhaust are those areas.  Take it as you will, but none of the advice that you see as getting at you is actually that - it's seems it's not what you want to hear (all been there 😬 ) so it's a dig. 

It's not. Get help, get involved , get it moved, get a garage, get it to wherever but get it done right. It's an achievement to get it to this stage, don't unintentionally fudge it up now with well-intentioned half baked efforts.

 

sadly I dont think its weldable, the whole thing is very rusty and thin in that area, I dont think theres any good metal to weld too, but im obviously not experienced in the matter of welding exhausts, just does not look all that good to me/from having a poke 

1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:


This, 100%.
 

Plenty of people have made very valid suggestions, offered valuable advice etc and it needs to be taken seriously. 

When I said don’t start bodging, what I meant in my head was to do it properly - if the car isn’t being used until it’s been overhauled in the brake area - why spend extra cash on a temp bandage that won’t even properly temp fix it? Hold fire, any cash you’re blowing on odds and sods from Amazon could be put towards recommissioning it properly. 

I still stand by what I’ve said before - this car is basically a barn find which has had some very basic work done and then put on the road.

I applaud you for wanting to get involved but I’m genuinely concerned for the safety of you as the driver as well as anyone from pedestrians to other drivers you may come into contact with if anything goes wrong - brakes, steering etc could all end in disaster.

This car needs to be assessed and recommissioned by either a very competent enthusiast or a garage. It’s simply not enough for you to attempt to jack it up and try and get the drums off yourself to ‘inspect’ it.

I’m sure you’ll ignore my suggestions but I seriously would just hold fire and make a proper plan. I don’t want to put you off DIY’ing as it’s what AS is all about, I think it’s a great thing you want to try and do things but I think before you attempt anything, it needs a professional going over and then perhaps you can DIY the routine maintenance if things like working area and disabilities restrict you?

 

you are entirely right the best thing for REV is to have her properly assessed and recommissioned, I am not denying that one bit

it is the entire reason she was taken up to Adams!

but its just landed me in the situation I am in now and I dont know anyone else willing to do the work, if someone I trusted and knew what they where doing offered to recommission REV for me for for a suitable exchange of moneys id have their fucking arm off LOL

 

the odds and sods im getting from amazon is because unlike most people here, im having to start from scratch, in that I dont have 30 years worth of  bits and bobs and what have you that most people have accumulated since they where tinkering on their Dads car Age 6

I come from a car-less household in Central London, so I have had to start from the ground up sadly, so I dont have the things people have lying around normally like zip ties and sand paper (of which I bought some a couple months ago but you get the idea hopefully)

hence all the odds and sods I have been getting, and if you go back through this thread you will see I have been slowly doing this for a while now, like with the Metrinch toolset I got back in 2020 etc, because ill need stuff like a good socket set for keeping on top of routine maintenance as well as any bigger jobs

and the Exhaust bandage was literally £3.30 so I figured is worth a punt  :) 

1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:

I think it’s a great thing you want to try and do things but I think before you attempt anything, it needs a professional going over and then perhaps you can DIY the routine maintenance if things like working area and disabilities restrict you?

as I have mentioned a few times now thats always been the plan! I knew that doing major stuff like brake work was beyond me

so the plan was to have her fixed away from home one way or another and then when she is ready brought home for me to start using her, where id keep on top the routine stuff and hopefully in time find a suitable garage should anything major need doing or I find myself unable to do some of the routine stuff

(on which I did manage to get ahold of the neighbour with the SD1, turns out he just does his own work on the Rover when he has time and could not recommend any garages sadly)

as I think I have said a few times, I never intended for her to come home in this state, this was far from the plan

but thats what happened sadly and so im having to work with the situation at hand

so I find it frustrating that people think, that I dont want to do it or listen to their advise, but I cant just magic a shite friendly garage next door for me to give her too sadly

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

…do the work, if someone I trusted and knew what they where doing offered to recommission REV for me for for a suitable exchange of moneys id have their fucking arm off LOL..

For pete’s sake, how many times does @red5 have to offer?!  He works in a university, teaching people to fix cars professionally in a workshop so well equipped that any dealer master tech in the country could only dream of having access to, and has repeatedly offered to get it sorted for you properly and at a reasonable cost.

Rather than messing about buying stuff you don’t need, get it transported up to him and take advantage of his kind offer 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, NorthernMonkey said:

For pete’s sake, how many times does @red5 have to offer?!  He works in a university, teaching people to fix cars professionally in a workshop so well equipped that any dealer master tech in the country could only dream of having access to, and has repeatedly offered to get it sorted for you properly and at a reasonable cost.

Rather than messing about buying stuff you don’t need, get it transported up to him and take advantage of his kind offer 🙂

fair point! that one is on me I saw his comments on that and even gave it a like, but it kind of got buried in everything else!  

On 27/12/2021 at 17:02, red5 said:

Yes, I would if it can be brought to workshop. 

 

On 29/12/2021 at 17:27, red5 said:

As I said previously, no problem with three wheels, ancient bodges etc, if it's here. 

but obviously im a little bit apprehensive of having a repeat of what happened with Adam basically 

its easy to say "sure ill take that on" and then once it arrives the reality of what you have agreed to/got yourself into dawns on you (which I think is sadly what happened with Adam)

and obviously theres the cost of transporting her there and back your about 135 miles away from me, and im not sure how much a round transport trip might cost does @worldofceri operate  in this general area? :) 

if @red5 you genuinely are serious about getting involved with my hot mess LOL, then ill drop you a PM to discuss things further? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you've got a scrap of common sense or any nous at all about the 'wind potentially changing direction' in this thread, make this the last time you mention Adam.

From what I can gather, he's a bloke with a full time job who's gone above and beyond for you and put a lot of time, effort and his own money into this car, only to have his reputation trashed by you on a daily basis with a side offering of a torrent of ingratitude.

I'm impressed at the man's level of restraint and maturity in not replying, it runs far ahead and above mine.

Stop playing the victim and stop making a bonfire out of goodwill, it's a rare commodity which may just get even rarer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Sheefag said:

If you've got a scrap of common sense or any nous at all about the 'wind potentially changing direction' in this thread, make this the last time you mention Adam.

From what I can gather, he's a bloke with a full time job who's gone above and beyond for you and put a lot of time, effort and his own money into this car, only to have his reputation trashed by you on a daily basis with a side offering of a torrent of ingratitude.

I'm impressed at the man's level of restraint and maturity in not replying, it runs far ahead and above mine.

Stop playing the victim and stop making a bonfire out of goodwill, it's a rare commodity which may just get even rarer.

when I mentioned him in the above comment it was not to "trash his reputation" but to actually try and explain that im sure he did not intend for me to end up in this stranded situation and that he had good intentions/plans,

but that perhaps simply REV was just a bit more work then he realised, and such I was explaining that id like to avoid anyone else getting caught out like that, if that is indeed the case of what happened

when REV arrived I tried to avoid mentioning what he had not done* instead focusing on the fact that he had fitted her with a new battery and that all her lights where now working because of the electrical work he did, because making him look bad is exactly what im not trying to do here, but people here directly asked what was and was not done, so I had no choice but to mention all the things that where not done

again as I said earlier, it makes me feel really awkward and puts me in a really difficult spot, as again I really do appreciate the work he did do on REV and as I said previously I just wish I had been better informed what REV's actual condition was in so I could have had her taken elsewhere and avoided this whole mess

 

*the only exception to this from before this all kicked off was when she first arrived and I discovered her engine was massively overfull with oil, however I was utterly terrified and panicky that REV's engine had been irreparably damaged from it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

... does @worldofceri operate  in this general area? :) 

Yes, I operate anywhere and everywhere, although never at the same time.

More than happy to give you a quote.  Feel free to pm me some details.  Can't help feeling your better option would be to find someone who can do the work locally to you but, if you know the costs you're in a better position to make a decision on that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20220102_091720.thumb.jpg.bf5e6ef2e1efa477d2dde81d867bbf46.jpg20220102_091636.thumb.jpg.212ea3d2f2e4546d7e455a1cb3589889.jpg

20220102_091644.thumb.jpg.261f36e86f78bf8ab14ce82b1847a855.jpg

Just remembered that I've got a valuable* first edition of the 'Book of the Car' in the book tat collection.  It's got some Invacar information in, attached, circa 1970.  You may have already seen it!  

*It's not valuable, although I'd counsel you to get a copy and read it, Dez, as it's not a bad primer for those interested in seventies stuff.  Don't be tempted by the bodywork section, though, it's a comprehensive guide to the absolute worst in chicken wire and filler bodging.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can’t help feeling life was so much more pleasant when these things were nothing more than an unpleasant memory from the 70’s , like casual tv racism and white dogshit. I’m sure outside of Autoshite  most of the population are still blissfully unaware that 2 or 3 of these death traps have somehow  managed to infect our streets again.

My suggestion would be some sort of  conversion therapy , you know, the sort of thing American Bible Bashers use for their gay off-spring.  Alternatively, some aversion therapy  using electricity generated by the woeful little “ engine”  in the nasty little plastic bread bin itself. 
This solution may even be available on the NHS , making it much more cost effective  than messing around trying to fix the unfixable in the gutter.

For the other two that are still running and owned by people , who quite frankly, should know better, I suggest some sort of destruction derby , this could be monetised by DW and a cut of the T-shirt sales given to Zealandeth as compensation. 
The other one sitting in a field in Buckingham could be discreetly and “ accidentally “ squashed by a JCB.

I do hope this has been a useful addition to this seemingly never ending miseryfest .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@LightBulbFun I can’t do much more than echo some of the sentiments already said. I do this with all the best will and intentions and is not meant to be pissing on your fireworks but more a reality check. Draw a line in the sand and start afresh.

You’ve had a massively kind offer from red5 to get REV up to roadworthiness. Seriously look into the costs of transporting the car there and potentially picking it up yourself on completion; I honestly don’t think you’ll get any better offers. I’m sure red5 will post on here if he doesn’t contact you directly with updates if you take up his generosity. Negotiate with him what he’d charge for the work.

If you manage to fix the brakes at the side of the road you’ll still have an unroadworthy car because of the exhaust. You’re still a novice driver so your license is more vulnerable to penalty than someone who’s driven 5 years; if you get pulled because of a faulty exhaust they’ll look over the rest of the car and see what else isn’t up to standard. As I said earlier in the thread MoT exemption is not an excuse for bring unroadworthy.

Renting a garage from the local council or even privately shouldn’t be expensive and will give you a sheltered and (hopefully) dry place to work on and store REV when you need to. Working under a car at the side of the road in the pissing rain and short days is fun for nobody. You may also find your insurance goes down if the garage can be secured and the car stored there when not in use. You will also have somewhere to store a jack and stands and if you can lay down cardboard and carpet to insulate and soak up any oil spills.

If REV is just left at the side of the road with no improvements or signs of use I feel it will attract negative attention, either as an abandoned vehicle sticker or from vandals neither of which I want to see happen to you,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, dozeydustman said:

You’ve had a massively kind offer from red5 to get REV up to roadworthiness. Seriously look into the costs of transporting the car there and potentially picking it up yourself on completion; I honestly don’t think you’ll get any better offers. I’m sure red5 will post on here if he doesn’t contact you directly with updates if you take up his generosity. Negotiate with him what he’d charge for the work.

indeed as per my post above im more then happy to work with @red5 on something, just waiting for him to confirm that he indeed is sure he wants to get involved and then ill fire off a PM and hopefully work things out :) 

 

I think its best id have her transported back down, as you say I am still a novice driver, and I have not driven REV much on the open road, so I think trying to drive the 135 miles back from @red5 would probably not be the best idea!

my plan is once she is usable, is to start small, doing local chippy and shopping runs and the such like and work my way up from there (like collecting lightbulbs and other shite from across London), until im confidant enough in myself and confident in REV's reliability to then try for a trip FoD and back :) 

(and then once I am able to do that I should be hopefully confident enough to do trips anywhere)

 

34 minutes ago, dozeydustman said:

Renting a garage from the local council or even privately shouldn’t be expensive and will give you a sheltered and (hopefully) dry place to work on and store REV when you need to. Working under a car at the side of the road in the pissing rain and short days is fun for nobody. You may also find your insurance goes down if the garage can be secured and the car stored there when not in use. You will also have somewhere to store a jack and stands and if you can lay down cardboard and carpet to insulate and soak up any oil spills.

while I would love a garage, sadly a Garage around here is £700-£1000 a year https://hackney.gov.uk/rent-a-garage

which is just something I cant afford, and I dont know what garage they might offer me, if its too far away then I face the problem of not being able to physically get to it

its bad enough that any time I want to do some work on her I have to go up and down a 3 story building with no lift!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having a car transported to someone relatively far away... I would only choose that option if the plan (and budget) is to do extensive repairwork and preventive maintenance all at once.  If it's only to have the brakes and exhaust sorted, I'd rather find a local garage to do it (if I would be in a situation in which I wouldn't be able to do it myself). What often happens with a car that sat unused for a long time, is that gradually flaws will occur once it start getting driven again.  You don't want to get in a situation where you go through the trouble and money of having your car transported somewhere, having a couple of things sorted, and then getting it back to find that there's still plenty more that needs attention.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, lanciamatt said:

Lbf , what area of the big smoke do you live in . I'll look at some garage reviews for you and see if I can recommend any local , let's try get get ball rolling .

im in the E2 area of hackney :) 

3 hours ago, Missy Charm said:

20220102_091720.thumb.jpg.bf5e6ef2e1efa477d2dde81d867bbf46.jpg20220102_091636.thumb.jpg.212ea3d2f2e4546d7e455a1cb3589889.jpg

20220102_091644.thumb.jpg.261f36e86f78bf8ab14ce82b1847a855.jpg

Just remembered that I've got a valuable* first edition of the 'Book of the Car' in the book tat collection.  It's got some Invacar information in, attached, circa 1970.  You may have already seen it!  

*It's not valuable, although I'd counsel you to get a copy and read it, Dez, as it's not a bad primer for those interested in seventies stuff.  Don't be tempted by the bodywork section, though, it's a comprehensive guide to the absolute worst in chicken wire and filler bodging.  

Ah cool! I had seen it before, but only a close up of the invalid tricycle sections, https://autoshite.com/topic/32723-lightbulbfuns-invacar-general-ramble-thread-index-on-page-1-survivors-lists-on-pages-24134-adgecutlers-invacar-mk12-restoration-from-page-186-onwards-chips-got/page/195/?tab=comments#comment-2277691

but I had not seen the other sections mentioning the grants/funds, driving lessons and garages so thats neat to see :) 

 

the drawing itself is quite the oddball its an AC Acedes, Model 67, but its a weird amalgamation of an Mk14/14A and a Mk15, id love to know what its story is, was the guy drawing it using pictures featuring both Mk14's and Mk15's or was he using a Mk15 prototype or such?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, D.E said:

Having a car transported to someone relatively far away... I would only choose that option if the plan (and budget) is to do extensive repairwork and preventive maintenance all at once.  If it's only to have the brakes and exhaust sorted, I'd rather find a local garage to do it (if I would be in a situation in which I wouldn't be able to do it myself). What often happens with a car that sat unused for a long time, is that gradually flaws will occur once it start getting driven again.  You don't want to get in a situation where you go through the trouble and money of having your car transported somewhere, having a couple of things sorted, and then getting it back to find that there's still plenty more that needs attention.

 

The problem is the car was only partly recommissioned. I would put money on it needing more than brakes and an exhaust to be of an acceptable standard of road worthiness.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, Out Run said:

A grand a year for a garage is alright. These are all things that need to be factored into old car ownership.

 

8 minutes ago, reb said:

I wish my unit was only a grand a year!

Cheapest one I can find where I live in the deepest south is £120pcm at a very minimum. Those prices lbf put up are very reasonable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, dozeydustman said:

 

Cheapest one I can find where I live in the deepest south is £120pcm at a very minimum. Those prices lbf put up are very reasonable.

I think my council lockup is just over a grand a year, which I find to be most reasonable. It's only really big enough for a small hatchback, but I'm sure it would be plenty big enough for an invacar. It's really a small part of the cost of owning cars.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone mentioned just buying a normal small hatchback and getting rid of this thing? It's not a suitable vehicle for daily use, its a curio, an anachronism, no more, you can't really use it to travel to get a job as it won't be in any way reliable, you don't have the skills to fix it, you are a new driver and trying to drive this (if it ever runs) will not do you any favours and will make you a target for all the wankers who will cut you up on purpose and try and run you off the road (which London is full of them), I also agree with Sheefag's comments above re mentioning Adam, you need to take some responsibility for this yourself, how you ever thought you'd be able to drag it out of a field and start using after a bit of free minor fettling is beyond me and this thread just continues to run on and on and on.

Seriously, get rid, stop relying on others and just buy a normal old shitter and all the problems you are facing will go away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Jazoli said:

Has anyone mentioned just buying a normal small hatchback and getting rid of this thing? It's not a suitable vehicle for daily use, its a curio, an anachronism, no more, you can't really use it to travel to get a job as it won't be in any way reliable, you don't have the skills to fix it, you are a new driver and trying to drive this (if it ever runs) will not do you any favours and will make you a target for all the wankers who will cut you up on purpose and try and run you off the road (which London is full of them), I also agree with Sheefag's comments above re mentioning Adam, you need to take some responsibility for this yourself, how you ever thought you'd be able to drag it out of a field and start using after a bit of free minor fettling is beyond me and this thread just continues to run on and on and on.

Seriously, get rid, stop relying on others and just buy a normal old shitter and all the problems you are facing will go away.

Begone with your common sense

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, SRi05 said:

Begone with your common sense

I must admit that rocking up in it to a job interview probably wouldn't create a good impression, especially if the boss ever had disabled family.

These things are never going to be more than a specialist nice interest vehicle so it's not as if they'll ever rocket in value, you MAY be able to make a few quid hiring it out to film makers who need to create a period correct 70s/80s street scene, if only Fred Transit was still here, so if you sold it you could always buy another back when you've got a more sound financial footing. If you love REV then set her free and if she comes back to you...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What about Red5s offer to get the college students to sort it out, im sure it could be shifted as a back load for one of the transport people on here at a reasonable cost, it might take a while but at least you would know things were being done right?

Even as a static film prop it's worth decent daily money and they will usually collect and deliver as well as covering the insurance, obviously up and drivable would be more appealing to potential casting agents.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, DodgeRover said:

 

Even as a static film prop it's worth decent daily money and they will usually collect and deliver as well as covering the insurance, obviously up and drivable would be more appealing to potential casting agents.

 

Gotta be an essential prop for any football film set in the early 80s?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...