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 can't remember any buses , but It was a land mark , it might jog my memory . It was a long thin yard right on the junction stacked high with invacars .

 

 

here we go took a bit of browsing through DWs thread but unearthed the photo  (looks like theres 2 AC Model 57s and 1 Invacar Mk12 hiding behind the top most AC Model 57 )

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rtw501/18591984470

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

^ That’s a cracking photo.

 

Edit: Looks like LYF104 is still with us.

 

[LightBulbFun]

Indeed  (Just replaced the Photo in my post with a high rez version after extracting it from flicker)

 

I came across this rather cool photo of  RTL1163 (LYF104) at speed (as also a London Bus enthusiast I found the photo of it and the invalid carriages together very cool, and also very cool that it survived)

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/benbeaver95/46052867402/

 

edit: heres its history from ians bus stop

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

^ Looks like it only survived by the skin of its teeth.

[LightBulbFun]

Found a bunch more information on "TLX322" the AC Model 70 in Sweden (I still dont know its UK reg sadly)

 

http://hem.bredband.net/b484873/WOODIES/sverker.htm

 

if you scroll down a bit, he says he traded/got it from a museum in England of all places and trailered it back

 

I didn't realise you could get things from museums! wonder which one it came from

 

(he seems to have quite the collection of vehicles )

[Louise2cv]

 

Spotted_0785.jpg

 

nearly 10 years ago now, but I wonder if there still there?

Isn't that the place off the A55 at Llandudno?

 

If so I believe they are long gone.

 

ETA J19, Llandudno Junction

[LightBulbFun]

Isn't that the place off the A55 at Llandudno?

 

If so I believe they are long gone.

 

ETA J19, Llandudno Junction

 

ah thats a shame, I wonder if they where saved by someone? (looks like they where all lined up at some sort of scrap yard so I imagine it was death row for them sadly)

 

I cant find em in google earth (set to 2009), but im not very good at that sort of stuff evidently!

 

(I think im in the right place, it looks like the right kind of place tho with lots of cars lined up etc )

 

Thanks for the info

[coalnotdole]

Looks like here:

 

 

Dave

[Louise2cv]

That's the one.

[LightBulbFun]

Thanks

 

I did a bit of sleuthing and I think this is them in 2006

 

(I really wish the resolution was higher)

 

 

going to street view in my browser offers me an option to go back to 2011, where there not there

 

so looks like they vanished between 2009-2011...

[Amishtat]

Having had a browse through this thread (I support your passion although I don't share it) this may be a stupid question but why do so many of the Invacars you've posted photos of have Essex registrations?

[LightBulbFun]

Having had a browse through this thread (I support your passion although I don't share it) this may be a stupid question but why do so many of the Invacars you've posted photos of have Essex registrations?

 

 

I need to learn how to read regs like you guys do!

 

(I know obviously how to tell the age, and I know some of the other letters tell you where a car was first registered but i aint yet memorised it)

 

I THINK its to do with the fact, all the Invacar ones where made in Essex, its Thundersley Invacar after all

 

but im not 100% sure (since I dont know the registration procedure these went through when new, ie: was it done at the factory or once they where delivered to their DHSS depot?)

 

it would be curious to know where all the AC made ones iv posted where registered at (like TPA621M for example  )

[dollywobbler]

Yup. Many were Essex made.

[LightBulbFun]

quick bit of a googling and it looks like

 

Wikipidia has a nice handy chart here

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom#1963_to_1982

[Amishtat]

That's what I figured (hence Thundersley), it seems to be that a lot of the survivors, or at least the ones I've seen here seem to be Essex registered (OO, EV, PU, WC, TW, VW, HK)

[LightBulbFun]

the one im not sure about is where the AC manufactured Model 70s where made

 

I remember 1 location being given but then someone saying they moved from there before the Model 70 entered production

 

(actually IIRC the VIN? Plates contain some info lets pull TPAs up)

 

 

here we go , themes ditton surrey, which lines up with the reg plates of the few AC examples iv posted here

[Amishtat]

I believe PA is Surrey so you could be on to something there

[LightBulbFun]

while on the subject of reg plates and invacars

 

I read on the RUMCar forums the youngest is a Model 70 built out of spare parts in 1980, in northern Ireland

 

I wonder what the reg is on that (hell im curious what the VIN plate says in the cabin, since it wont of technically been made by Invacar!)

 

(I wonder if its the one in the NI museum I posted about a few pages back)

 

 

http://rumcars.org/forum/index.php?topic=4716.msg37854#msg37854

 

Id love to have a chat with Stuart (and go through the 300+ photos)

 

seeing as he was the head of the ICR and instrumental in it all, he could probably answer all my many questions no problem and I imagine he would have some stories to tell

[mrbenn]

Is Stuart the chap that used to run the register before the current guy took over?

[Cavcraft]

That's the one.

 

Pretty sure Kev From Wales (Retro-Rides) knows the people who own, or owned, that place.

[LightBulbFun]

Is Stuart the chap that used to run the register before the current guy took over?

 

I believe so

 

sadly from what DW has mentioned here n there, its quite hard to make contact with the various invalid carriage savvy people, with email being slow and far between

 

iv been on a bit of a binge checking all the invalid carriage reg plates in this thread (it seems all Model 70s and most invalid carriages where registered where they where built)

 

 

and It got me thinking about this one again, at first I just thought "ahh someone prolly did a ringing to get it back on the road like OYP595"

 

but looking at it a bit closer, its Reg plate lines up with other AC made Model 70s and all its details check out on the DVLA, so genuinely wonder whats that Model 70s story? the only thing that does not check out, (apart from it colour which someone could of resprayed at some point)

 

is its date of registration/manufacture, AFAIK production of the Model 70 did not start until 1971, but this Model 70 comes back as 1968...

 

 

 

also did you know there was a band by the name of "Collapsed lung" who made a song called "Thundersley Invacar"   (I THINK the lyrics are about someone driving one but i cant quite tell)

 

 

(also dont know if it was intentional or not but at around 2:25 into the song it sounds like the belts slipping on TWC LOL)

[LightBulbFun]

heres one I thought I posted about before but going through this thread I dont think I have

 

so here we go

 

does anyone know what happened to this Model 70?

 

 

 

I found it here http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/20301/abandoned?page=48&scrollTo=664114

 

 

 

the sadly now guest user says it has no engine, but it would be good to know what became of it or if its still there (sadly no location info is given)

 

(even if it really does have no engine and is entirely shagged/unsuitable for me, the body work looks to be in relatively good shape, so would be useful for oli or such )

 

and in the end I am just curious about it (as i am when i came across any Model 70 that i dont know about  )

 

edit: also came across this rather amusing picture while sluething around retro rides for invacar content

 

 

I think this Model 70 is the same one dressed up as a dragster that you can see a few pages back

 

http://forum.retro-rides.org/post/774661/thread

[1970mgb]

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.

 

Out of curiosity, what is it that makes your particular MGB a garage ornament?

 

From everything I've seen, it looks to be in great shape and run perfectly. The photos you've shown of it running show a car that starts easily and idles great.

 

Do you not enjoy driving it? If so, why keep it?

 

Are you afraid of it breaking down? Parts are plentiful and cheap, and the cars are easy and cheap to fix.

 

Heck, I posted a video the other night of starting mine up at 20ºF. I hadn't driven it in a few weeks(wet, salty roads are the only thing that REALLY scares me-I usually make it a point to drive it to work once a week or so, if not go out for another cruise) so once it was warm I figured "why not?" 10:30 at night, I hopped in and took a ~30 minute drive. I didn't go too far from home, but figured with the roads dry I might as well make one of my usual loops.

 

There's nothing inherently unreliable in a B that's well sorted, or I should say very few things you can't see coming that will leave you stranded(and a spare set of the common things that WOULD leave you stranded doesn't take up much room in the boot or behind the seat, and can be changed on the side of the road). I've not driven mine a lot, but I've probably put ~10,000 miles on it in 3 1/2 years of ownership, and I know the car well enough now that it tells me when something isn't right...

 

My girlfriend lives 4 hours(~250 miles) away, and I've never driven it to see her but I most likely will this spring. I always find that a nice hour long drive at 70mph+ seems to leave the car running better than it was before the drive, and there's no reason why if it will go an hour, it won't go 4 hours.

[LightBulbFun]

http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/207975/1973-model-invacar-returning-dead

 

"Posted 19 hours ago"

 

(yes I really do pass my time constantly monitoring the internet for all things Model 70.... what do you mean I should seek help?! )

 

also love the nod Zel gave to to the DC3 with this: "The whole car is essentially 400kgs of bits out of a whole plethora of parts bins from around the world flying in close formation. " 

 

 

on the note of Retro rides, does anyone here have any thoughts of the forum? not really checked it out much, just wondering if its worth posting a Model 70 wanted post there

 

or if I will just get lynched LOL

 

(I always enjoy peoples reactions to seeing an invacar on the internet esp if comes with plenty of tales from the past )

[pompei]

Which model had the Steyr Puch engine?

[LightBulbFun]

Which model had the Steyr Puch engine?

 

Just the Model 70

 

which looks like this

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

supposedly they where going to use Fiat engines in the Model 70 but Fiat supposedly pulled out of supplying units due to them needing them all for the Fiat 126 which was coming into production at that point

 

so AC (they where the one who designed the model 70) went to steyr puch for engines

 

 

 

 

I imagine they went to puch partly because AC had probably already done all the work on the Model 70 to fit the fiat engine, and the steyr puch engine is a pretty much drop in replacement

 

one thing I am curious about is if the Prototype Model 70 with the fiat engine, had flared wheel arches and widened wheel base or not, because the Fiat engine is an inline 2 IIRC where as the puch engine is a Flat 2 which may of forced them to widen the wheel base due to the wider engine

 

the reason this is a thing im curious about is because the Model 70s body is based off of the one from the Model 67, the only major difference body wise is the Model 70 having the flared wheel arches

 

 

(drive-train wise however the Model 67 is VERY different from the Model 70, with the Model 67 having the normal for the time 197cc villiers 2 stroke engine and 4 speed manual gearbox, compared to the Model 70,s 493cc Steyr puch Flat twin 4 stroke, and CVT automatic transmission)

[Mrcento]

It seems Invacars, like a lot of classics now, are very "cliquey" to get hold of.

 

By that i mean, nigh on impossible to buy, yet are changing hands on a near weekly basis. Mostly unadvertised, through word of mouth, even in clubs, if you don't already have the vehicle, you aren't really in the inner circle so don't get offered the chance of what's available.

 

Trying to sell a car right now, i totally understand the lack of desire to advertise anything and sell to people they know/friends of friends 4 times removed to save the hassle, but it's just frustrating when you're trying to find something, search everywhere for months, post wanted ads absolutely everywhere and keep seeing exactly what you're after getting posted as "look what i just bought!"

[egg]

I agree Mr C. And I believe that may be one of LBF's biggest barriers, maybe even more than money in the end.

[dollywobbler]

I'm not convinced they are changing hands at all. I sadly think a great number of survivors are just sitting around either awaiting a restoration that'll never happen, or just yet more sitting around. A shame.

[Mrcento]

I agree Mr C. And I believe that may be one of LBF's biggest barriers, maybe even more than money in the end.

 

It is, i've no doubt at all. Once rarer cars are in "the circle"  (of an owners clique) they don't get out "the circle" and the only way anyone gets in "the circle" is if they already have the car.... So join "the circle" and that car then stays there too..... Anyone who comes in wanting the car, ignored in the hope they go away.

 

Even happening to more mundane "classics".... i've been keeping an eye out for a B3 Passat estate for well over a year (My dad had a red TDI estate in the late 90's, so i guess it's a sentimental thing to some extent), i've posted everywhere, been on every forum imaginable, dropped wanted ads.... There's been 3 come up for sale in all that time (none what i was looking for, mostly modded to death examples), replies to Ads? zero. Amount of unadvertised cars that were exactly what i wanted be posted as "i just bought this"? About 12.

 

Worst of all, some of the cars are apparently being sold for way less than i'd have happily paid.