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]

I agree with the others who say get a licence & drive a normal car for a bit first. It's hard enough to drive in that thar Lundan in a normal car, let alone something people while just try to force out the way etc.

 

oh im very much planning to get some (hopefully lots) experience driving a normal car first, but it probably wont be my own car

 

(you cant take driving lesions/tests in an invacar for one, as hilarious as that would be to turn up to the centre in an invacar  )

 

but as for owning a normal car myself, I sadly dont think I could afford 2 cars with the way my current life situation is

 

(Im just barely scraping enough together to save up for 1...)

[Guest Hooli]

As others have said, I can't see you getting classic insurance due to your age & lack of a 'normal' car. I'd look into that if I was you, no point with all the planning if it can't happen.

[LightBulbFun]

well if I cant get classic insurance in my name im hoping i can get my mum on it, and then me as a named driver or something like that

 

iv not looked into the fine details of it, (iv never insured a car before, its all new territory to me )

 

but if all else fails I could try normal insurance, if nothing else to watch their computer implode as it tries to compute what iv just asked it to calculate an insurance quote on

 

im hoping i can figure something out, but first I have to get over the first hurdle of actually finding a model 70 then we will worry about the rest of the hurdles when after iv tackled the first

[LightBulbFun]

I'm withdrawing from this thread as to be frank if is the most ludicrous pipe dream I have ever come across.

 

is that not what the ethos of autoshite is?

 

im sorry and saddened that you feel that way, especially as you are one of the few people here that have deep knowledge of invalid carriages, and you have helped me a lot of times over the past almost year now with my various questions and enquires....

 

 

let it be known that I do appreciate what you have helped me with so far

[mk2_craig]

To be fair - the people suggesting you cut your teeth on something conventional are doing so with the best of intentions. It seems to me that a £1000 Invacar is likely to be a total pile of shite wanting extensive recommissioning, and then how reliable do you think it'll be? You can't just ring up the DHSS saying it's caught fire again - you'll need a half decent slush fund or income for running repairs and hard to find parts.

 

Plenty of cheap, low mileage ex Sid and Doris small automatics out there with good parts availability if you don't go for something too old, by which I mean about 25 years or so. I bet my great uncles 05 plate Suzuki Ignis would probably be well within that price bracket nowadays.

[LightBulbFun]

To be fair - the people suggesting you cut your teeth on something conventional are doing so with the best of intentions. It seems to me that a £1000 Invacar is likely to be a total pile of shite wanting extensive recommissioning, and then how reliable do you think it'll be? You can't just ring up the DHSS saying it's caught fire again - you'll need a half decent slush fund or income for running repairs and hard to find parts.

 

Plenty of cheap, low mileage ex Sid and Doris small automatics out there with good parts availability if you don't go for something too old, by which I mean about 25 years or so. I bet my great uncles 05 plate Suzuki Ignis would probably be well within that price bracket nowadays.

 

 

thats why im hoping I can wrangle a rent discount or such so I have more money to put into the slush fund

 

but it is worth noting, there are much worse cars to cut your teeth on than a invacar

 

from what I have seen from both DW and Zels postings/videos, and invacar is pretty easy to work on all things considered,

 

(look at when the transmission in TWC shredded her drive belt and then DW/Mrs DW got her repaired on the roadside, how many cars could you repair the transmission on at the side of the road like that?    )

 

as for parts availability, luckily the Model 70 is the literal definition of parts bin special (production kit cars as i like to call em), so from what I have seen parts availability is too bad because of that

 

as for reliability, im not planning on touring the country in it exactly, im mostly planning to use it for what it was intended for, and from what i have seen, they do seem to be fairly reliable in general, I think TWC shredding her belt after the pulley fiasco was the only time she properly broke down on DW

 

im not saying invacars are Volvo levels of strong and reliable, but I dont think they are any worse then anything else from the time (and there are plenty of people running around in 1950s-1970s cars as dailies on here)

 

(so to be honest my main worry about servicing at the moment, is the fact that I dont have any tools for such, but thats a pretty easy thing to solve, trip to the nearest motor factors or such)

 

obviously id like to find one that runs and drives etc, because I do recognise that I dont have the facilities (or the back!) to go pulling engines n such

[SiC]

An Invacar would be something I'd be interested having a go driving one day. Would I ever want to own one? No, I think I'd get bored.

 

See the great thing about driving is being able to go out and explore the world at your own pace. Being able to go where you want, when you want. Not just by yourself, but with others too. Also part of the fun is the experience and excitement of driving. You can get this just as much from a Suzuki Alto as you can a Ferrari 458. I mean look at Kiltox. He has a Porsche, BMW and a povo spec, cheap little Citroen. Which one is he driving the most at the moment? The little Citroen.

 

This is thing with the Invacar. You can't go far in them (ignore DW, he's nuts and loves a challenge), they don't handle very well and you can't go travel with anyone else. Once the novelty had worn off, you're better off travelling by other means.

 

Where as if you had a 4 wheeled car, you could do so much more. Go places, see people, do things. Plus experience the fun of driving.

 

Now I'm not saying don't have a dream of getting an Invacar. Certainly not. There is nothing wrong with having a dream, parking it and coming back to it later in life. Hell, I really wanted a MGB or a Spitfire when I was 18/19 but couldn't relistically afford one. Fast forward 11 years I could afford both to buy and run an MGB. Hopefully sometime in the future I'll be able to get a Spitfire too.

[Guest Hooli]

Hell, I really wanted a MGB or a Spitfire when I was 18/19 but couldn't relistically afford one. Fast forward 11 years I could afford both to buy and run an MGB.

 

Really? has it used a tank of fuel yet?

[LightBulbFun]

dont get me wrong, I very much do want to own other vehicles alongside an Invacar Model 70 (its hard work resisting those raffles   )

 

but given my 50 shades of fucked up life situation, I really dont know if my life situation is going to improve,

 

the situation here is very depressing, I dont have any local people I can go visit, zel is the closest friend I have and I am very grateful for him being there for me in my time of need

 

the invacar is one of the last things I have left so to speak, the one thing left that I think I have any chance at, the one thing that my shitty and depressing life has not taken from me

 

at least Id like to think so

 

(gosh I bet I sound like a fucking lunatic to you all)

[mrbenn]

The issue of getting a driving licence is a valid point and worth raising.

The idea of getting something like a K11 Micra to get some driving experience is worthy of consideration. Would be a nice, easy car to learn in and get some miles under the belt so to speak.

But an Invacar being a pipe dream? I'm not so sure on that. Surely, someone like LBF is pretty much the "original" target market?

We all need something to aspire to and work towards to get us through the days and nights, I certainly do. And, for what it's worth, I think he'll get an Invacar. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but at some point.

A lad I went to school with wanted a Triumph GT6 as his first car. A 6 cylinder engined rear wheel drive classic car. You know what? He got one, and it was his only car for a good while. Used every day inc breakdowns, constant battles against rust, an ignition system that only worked on Tuesdays etc etc

Much later, another lad wanted a Morris Minor as his forst foray into motoring. He got one, used it every day in the rain, snow, salt. And good on him. Another lad got a Hillman Imp. Same scenario, daily driver. Both insured under classic policies as an only car, not garaged.

[SiC]

Really? has it used a tank of fuel yet?

This was kinda my point that got a bit lost in my ramble.

 

Back when I was 18/19 I really wanted an MGB. I sucked in as much information as I could at the time - buying books, reading up online and going to shows/museums.

 

Now I've got one, it's turned out to be a garage ornament that's costing me money in insurance, garage rent and something to worry about it. I even drove past the garage yesterday to double check the lock was still on the garage and it was undisturbed.

 

Lightbulbfun totally could get an Invacar in the not too distant future. However I fear, as from my own experience, he'll essentially end up with same as me - a car park ornament. Something costing him money, worry about it getting vandalised or stolen and not really able to use it.

 

Lightbulbfun, you seem an utterly nice guy with absolutely loads of great enthusiasm. I'd hate you to be smashed to smitherans by something happening to it or not being able to use it.

 

Did you say you've got your provisional licence now? Why not find a local driving instructor and go for a lesson? You could easily afford for a single lesson right now and you don't need insurance/anything else apart from your provisional.

 

There is absolutely no shame or anything wrong this thread becoming "Lightbulbfun learns to drive" then "Lightbulbfun gets a car", etc.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

LBF, would you not be entitled to a disability car? I don't have a clue to the ins and outs of them, but based on the fact you can't work and struggle to walk iirc, I'd have thought you'd be a prime candidate? Also, do you have any family members who could help out with applications and general support?

 

As for funding of the Invacar, I suggested several pages ago that you looked into crowd funding. You clearly have plenty of time on your hands, and there are plenty of people out there who willingly put hands into pockets if a case is presented right. It wouldn't work on here, on social media could, and I think, would. Here's a link to a justgiving page creator: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/create

That would rheoretically enable you to buy a half-decent example as a plaything. I can't see a tatty project is going to cut it, especially as (as you openly share) you receive some sort of disability payments from the powers that be. It'd just take one snotty neighbour to make a phone call that you were scrabbling around on the ground fixing your car again, whilst receiving disability payments to screw things right up.

Ultimately, people are on your side. This forum largely comprises an astonishingly tolerant and caring bunch of people, who look out for others whom they've often never even met.

Chin up, but take some advice in the meantime!

[LightBulbFun]

as mentioned a couple times in this thread I do have a plan to get some driving experience, I even have magnetic L plates sitting just across the room from here

 

(although I think the back of a Navajo 208D is made of ally, we will gloss over that for now  )

 

 

I wish I could get a second more "sensible" modern car and I very much do appreciate your concerns about me

 

but I sadly dont see any way of being able to get one afford to run that, and be on the prowl for an invacar

 

I only see myself as being able to cater to/afford/look after 1 car, so im closing the invacar as thats the 1 car I really am passionate about

 

(I really dont see it becoming a ornament, especially as it would be my only car, so I would be forced to use it so to speak   )

 

as for the disability car, you would think id be prime candidate, but this is the government we are talking about here and according to them im not....

 

im on ESA, but the car stuff is part of PIP, iv tried to get PIP and failed, I do plan to try again at some point.

[LightBulbFun]

I also do want to say I really do appreciate all the advice given

 

and hopefully it comes across it as such

 

I dont want to appear to the well meaning people like im shooting down the advice left right and centre with "yeah whatever"

 

so hopefully im not not coming across as such

[GrumpyCat]

small good (I think) update from the government side of things

 

I got this letter in the post from the ESA people, im not sure if it means I have got ESA proper or not?

 

 

here is page 1

 

Image from iOS (44).png

 

here is page 2

 

Image from iOS (45).jpg

 

and here is page 3

 

Image from iOS (46).jpg

 

i dont know if this means they have accepted my ESA clam proper and I no longer have to keep feeding them fit note or?

 

also not sure if the money thing is weekly or bi weekly, as it stands currently I get £115.80 every 2 weeks which works out to £57.90 every week (if I was payed weekly) my friend recons they are telling me how much ill be getting on a weekly bassis so that means my allowance aint going down at least right?

 

I am glad I have the housing letter at least as I think I should be able to wave that at the council and get a rent discount of some kind

 

(it is worth noting my current fit note ends in march, and that takes affect from the 9th of april but one of my mates said thats also when the finical new year starts)

if anyone knows what this letter means exactly please let me know!

 

(as ever government stuff is about as clear as mud to me LOL)

I believe it's just a computer generated letter advising of the increase in benefit allowances, which takes place annually in April. ESA is not actually increasing, but you get a letter anyway, because DWP.

[LightBulbFun]

I believe it's just a computer generated letter advising of the increase in benefit allowances, which takes place annually in April. ESA is not actually increasing, but you get a letter anyway, because DWP.

 

thanks

 

tallies up with what my mum said "its just a computerised/fill in the template thing that everyone gets around this time"

 

and that still no update on wether im properly on ESA or not. (I still have not fully understood all that, im on ESA via a sick note but they wanted me to come for an assessment a while back, im still not 100% sure what the assessment was for, is it for them to decide if i should be on ESA permanently without having to feeding them sick notes from the GP?)

 

but hey at least we got the council rent thingy out of it so its not a complete waste of trees

[egg]

Have you tried the moneysavingexpert benefits calculator?

 

https://moneysavingexpert.entitledto.co.uk/home/start

 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/benefits-check/

[LightBulbFun]

just had a quick look at that, looks like it wants my postcode so ill have think about it before throwing my postcode around

 

but thanks for the links

 

on the invacar front 

 

pretty sure most people have seen this picture of the 2 Model 70s with a US collector

 

 

well I came across this picture on the RUMCar forums of the same collector and the same Model 70 while it was still in the UK (one on the right in the above picture)

 

 

http://rumcars.org/forum/index.php?topic=1096.15

 

(this was the thread where I thought there was a Model 67 and C5 together but i was clearly mistaken, but there is a C5 there  )

 

 

 

BTW for those wondering about the invalid carriage pictures I post, I only post the ones that I think contain something interesting/different or if its of an invacar picture from say 2012 long after the 2003 happened (ie an obvious surviver), but theres no information with the picture

 

so of course im interested what happened to that invacar what its details etc

 

I dont just post pictures here of EVERY random invacar I come across (say if i come across a picture from the 1980s of a Random Model 70 on the street somewhere sure its fun for me to look at but unless theres something specifically odd about it, i wont post it here because I do understand not everyone wants invacars shoved in their face )

[LightBulbFun]

heres a quesiton for anyone still left reading this thread 

 

after watching RCRs latest review which was of a motorcycle

 

it got me wondering, why do Model 70s have the whole push handle bars down to brake thing rather then a simple motorbike style brake lever?

 

(especially given the fact the push down handle bars have the flaw of not letting you easily rest your arms)

[mrbenn]

Good question. A brake lever would probably require two arms, perhaps with the push down braking system it could be driven with one arm? Just a guess, and seems less plausible the more I think about it...

[SiC]

I guess also that there is a good chance someone disabled may have lost an arm and so wearing a prosthetic. Especially war veterans that quite a few these went to.

[LightBulbFun]

I guess also that there is a good chance someone disabled may have lost an arm and so wearing a prosthetic. Especially war veterans that quite a few these went to.

 

thats a very good point

 

I was going to respond to MrBenn that a brake level could still be used by 1 hand (as it would be 1 level for all 3 brakes I imagine)

 

but your right, it would not work for someone with a prosthetic limb/hand

 

(although one could argue you could still operate a break lever with the hand you use for the throttle, like riding a motorcycle I imagine?)

 

edit: im thinking it might be also for the people who might be able to operate say twist grip throttle but cant stretch their fingers to reach a brake lever

 

the push down thing is defenontly much "easier" to do (just push bluntly anywhere on the handle bars) then a small brake lever

[Asimo]

I think it would just be a function of how little force is available with a squeeze of the fingers combined with the small distance that such a force can be applied over. Maybe 1.5 " travel at 10 lbs or so?

Compare that with arms pushing down + forward + a bit of self-servo effect. 30lbs and 6" travel maybe?

 

Remember the vehicle is designed to be used by the less able so operating forces would be assumed to be on the low side.

[somewhatfoolish]

It's to cater for people with compromised grip strength I suspect; I dare say a brake lever system could perhaps be reverse-engineered with a bike master cylinder, something that wasn't really available off the shelf when the 70 was introduced.

[LightBulbFun]

how did motorcycle brakes work back then? where they all purely mechanical/cable operated and you just had to squeeze really hard on the lever? 

 

im also just wondering about it all

 

since one of the things I am a little worried about is not being able to rest my arms on the handle bars if they tire while driving , but if it is a problem, im sure there are ways to work around it, like fitting a stiffer return spring or retrofitting a motorcycle style brake lever or even just a regular foot pedal LOL

[dollywobbler]

I can tell you now, it is an issue. I really should try and engineer up a solution rather than propping my leg under my left wrist...

[LightBulbFun]

I can tell you now, it is an issue. I really should try and engineer up a solution rather than propping my leg under my left wrist...

 

hence my worry about it

 

it will be interesting to see how you go about sorting it, I imagine an easy first thing to try would be to fit a stiffer return spring? although it would mean you would have to push harder to brake

 

(I guess it depends how much of the travel in the handle bars is actual useful braking and the rest is just wheel lock up invacar sliding...)

[mrbenn]

I can tell you now, it is an issue. I really should try and engineer up a solution rather than propping my leg under my left wrist...

 

Ideally before the National MicroCar rally! Which, incidentally, sounds a blast. Wonder how welcome an early(ish) Smart would be....

[LightBulbFun]

I think the official rules on the whole microcar thing is if its 600cc or under or something like that im not 100% sure on the details, im sure DW may be able to fill in the missing details

 

which if im reading wikipedia some smart cars where

[dollywobbler]

Ideally before the National MicroCar rally! Which, incidentally, sounds a blast. Wonder how welcome an early(ish) Smart would be....

 

There are two mindsets. One is that the definition of a microcar is so tightly defined that it excludes pretty much anything they made more than six of and it must be utterly, utterly terrible. Then there's an increasing mindset to actually making the scene survive, in which case larger cars are welcome. My 2CV is quite a bit bigger than a Smart...