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]

14 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Hope it wasn't one of my colleagues driving the bus, a few went down to London to help out a couple of months back ?

LOL it was Route 394 if you want to check LOL

I found it particularly amusing/ironic since the 394 terminates at homerton hospital LOL

 

on a more serious note, its bad enough just driving a regular ol car in London, I really do have a new found respect for those who drive buses and lorries in/into/through London

(just something I wanted to say when ya mentioned having to take a tri-axle coach into London but failed to get round to it at the time)

[Eyersey1234]

1 hour ago, LightBulbFun said:

LOL it was Route 394 if you want to check LOL

I found it particularly amusing/ironic since the 394 terminates at homerton hospital LOL

 

on a more serious note, its bad enough just driving a regular ol car in London, I really do have a new found respect for those who drive buses and lorries in/into/through London

(just something I wanted to say when ya mentioned having to take a tri-axle coach into London but failed to get round to it at the time)

No wasn't one of my workmates it's HCT that runs it not Go Ahead. Regarding taking a coach into London you get used to it, though it was very nerve-wracking the first time I went in on my own lol

[Eyersey1234]

Just been watching @dollywobbler's latest video on TWC. How much luggage space is there in a Model 70?

[LightBulbFun]

14 hours ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Just been watching @dollywobbler's latest video on TWC. How much luggage space is there in a Model 70?

officially there was just a parcel shelf behind the drivers seat, plus space on the nearside to stow a folding wheel chair

but theres also quite a bit of space in the footwell to stow things especially on machines, without any pedals or such  

 

interestingly it does look like a roof rack? was a thing for them at some point as seen on this period shot of a (reverse control) Model 67, but sadly I dont know the details on it, its not listed in my DHSS Spare parts list, so I dont think it was an official item/modification, but the roof rack does look to be made to specifically fit the roof of the Model 67 (and in extension the Model 70)

supposedly Derry preston cobb's Model 70 also had a roof rack, but i dont know if it was the same type as above or a different design sadly I have not yet seen a picture of his Model 70 yet, I have only had said Model 70 described to me

[keef]

Seen this one? - https://m.facebook.com/groups/5951341217?view=permalink&id=10156688692811218

[LightBulbFun]

5 hours ago, keef said:

Seen this one? - https://m.facebook.com/groups/5951341217?view=permalink&id=10156688692811218

ah yeah but it had been a good year or two since I had  

nice AC All weather tricycle  (yeah id like to see you take one of those thorugh the weather @dollywobbler took TWC through LOL)

[bobdisk]

5 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

nice AC All weather tricycle  (yeah id like to see you take one of those thorugh the weather @dollywobbler took TWC through LOL)

Even with no window in the right door!  ?

[ETCHY]

LBF go to this thread on here-  Scotoshiters (And fans of 90's chod pics)

There's some Invacars on page 2 ?

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, ETCHY said:

LBF go to this thread on here-  Scotoshiters (And fans of 90's chod pics)

There's some Invacars on page 2 ?

Ah I appreciate  the heads up  

2 hours ago, ETCHY said:

Cool pics, ta for that.

Somebody tell LBF that on page 2 there are Invacars 

 

2 hours ago, Yoss said:

We could tag him but I bet we don't need to. He will have sensed you typing the word Invacar. I give it ten minutes. 

I was thinking more of Hendy and all those mk5 (?) Escorts and wondering if they've still got their dealer plates on. 

but as is becoming a bit of a cliche, (tho please dont get me wrong I very much do still appreciate that people look out for me )  I have seen the photos before,

the main street scene photo was actually quite a monumental find me for me back then when I was still finding the the Last of the Model 70 blocks  

(its also why in @captain_70s's thread I said that his 1990's street scene picture needed an Invacar because for whatever reason a good majority of the 1990's Invacar pictures  I have seen are from Scotland  )

 

On 02/05/2019 at 12:41, LightBulbFun said:

edit:

 

 

 

YAY I found another S reg series to bash into the DVLA! (the Reg is XEV95S in that picture)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/aqualite/4988661991/in/photolist-8AQcpD-ahB51Q-bNCMTP-4rwUNK-oVPYSs-Cgfom-xtjw55-8iCw3d-df7a2v-4cvgKD-hqjss6-df7azF-h5ryE2-846Xqa-qmokzh-bG61eF-xcw43Q-Wx1r53-7CPmeJ-ahyiD4-9diKJh-df7aV4-289cvGj-e3hm4E-KRb5BK-WcHu6j-8wHMJF-df7aBs-oD1A1s-ajVWrx-NHtTK2-Ky2aii-9PL9rv-qeebGy-29MAxB5-adntsj-GjLTuA-56jgYa-28gXAPU-27RzFuV-RFnW82-7WmfLe-ceg3ph-NxBWsg-qz4Kjn-8qaJoe-28ofSN3-avsAMK-bxHyTj-5HPvyW

(I had come across the picture before but in low rez form where I could just make out the Invacar was an S reg one, but not the rest of the registration, im very happy to have found another S reg block to look up and hopefully fill in the gaps of Final Model 70 production  )

 

 

 

On 02/05/2019 at 14:12, LightBulbFun said:

ok so this was all very exciting

 

the XEV block starts at XEV49S all the way to XEV116S from what I can tell

and, it jumps off from where the WVW-S block ended  (which up until now was the latest invacar registration series I knew of)

and guess what VES108S is part of the XEV-S block

since XEV86S is 8918, and VES108S is 8920, and guess what XEV88S is on... a white 1993 Isuzu LOL, just as  I thought someone had stolen VES108S's plate, (the rest of the XEV-S block being invacars of course)

 

 

also WOO848S is actually XEV87S, well if you remember back WOO848S came back as 8919, which does not fit in with any of the WOO-S invacars, sadly XEV87S which is what I suspect WOO848S is actually, has not been taxed since 1985, so I cant look it up for its Chassis number to verify it (I do wonder is WOO848S really XEV87S, or did someone make a typo somewhere and WOO848S, really is WOO848S?)

 

also XEV71S has its revenue weight actually listed on the online checker not seen that before, (all other Model 70's just say "Not available" despite it being on the V5) its also interesting to see its down as 413Kg rather then 410Kg, I wonder if its a Typo or if it really did go up for newer Model 70s, I have asked Fraser what the V5 for VES108S says hopefully he will get back to me on it

 

 

 

XEV116S is 8948, So close to 8955 which is SOI7570 the NI Invacar Model 70

 

 

speaking of research just finished talking with Stuart on Facebook, have some fun things to talk about once I have had some food etc (its why I did not immediately respond to the scotshite stuff right away because I was busy talking invacars elsewhere ) 

[LightBulbFun]

so stuart popped back online after one of his sabbaticals that he takes from online activities from time to time, this time it was for 3 months rather then 3 weeks LOL

so we had quite a good lengthy discussion about stuff as this time there was quite the back log (as instructed by him in the past I always keep posting my findings even when he goes quiet throughout these periods as he does enjoy checking in to see how things are going here and there, and I assume he makes notes of anything interesting etc)

 

 

first off the batt he very kindly showed me the photos he had of Derry Preston Cobbs Model 70 and the roof rack is not the same type as pictured on that Model 67 on the previous page

sadly I cant share the photos here as they are for his big book, but derry's Model 70 has some really interesting modifications, hinges doors and its 2 tone like an early Invacar Mk12 but inverted (so dark coloured roof and light coloured body) just to name a couple  

sadly I dont know what colour it is exactly as the pictures are all in black and white, it also most curiously has what looks like a towing eye in the same place as the prototype cars, but its very much a "production car" Derry's Model 70 as mentioned before being TTW581K (in-fact the block after that is the TWC-K block!) it even has a Ministry chassis number!

   

we also talked a bit about the Invacar Mk6's built under licence by Vernon industries, turns out they are quite the mystery  in their own right

in that a nice bit of info is known about them as to how they came to be etc , but no actual pictures are known to exist of them sadly, and its unknown if they where badged Vernon at all or or if they where still badged as Invacar 

Stuart did mention that it seems like some of the Later ones where fitted 125cc BSA Bantam engines rather then the usual villiers engine as he has a handbook that curiously says vernon-invacar "For Invacar fitted with 123cc BSA Bantam Engine" (not sure if 123cc is a typo or if thats what it actually says)

so gives us at least one thing to look out for  

and its sadly not known how/where they where registered (however Stuart says he has not seen any Cheshire registered Invacar Mk6's so he thinks they where still registered by Invacar just built by vernon)

 

we also talked about the Invacar Mk12's and thanks to some photos provided by Stuart I was able deduce that the large window was likely introduced during the Mk12 non suffix's production and deduce that it was introduced sometime between January 1961 and June 1961 or there abouts  

all in all it was nice to talk all things invacars once more with him  and theres still quite a bit to discuss still  

 

 

[LightBulbFun]

on a separate note

I think I finally have the last peace of the NI Model 70's puzzle worked out, (been meaning to write this up for a while and figured now after I have also run it by Stuart would be a good time to do so  )

in that I always wondered why they existed, why they where NI registered in the first place, especially when no NI registered invalid vehicles (Model 70's or otherwise) can be found before 1975

 

but a while ago it finally hit me

England computerised itself in October 1974 with the formation of the DVLC

but NI only computerised its version of the DVLC in the Mid 1980s!

 

 

 

see before 1974, if you had a vehicle you registered it and you got a "buff" logbook, and this was the same in the UK and NI and you could take this anywhere within the UK and NI and all was fine and dandy

but come 1974 when the DVLC computerised and the V5 was introduced, now you could take a buff logbook from anywhere and turn into a V5

but you could not take a V5 and turn it back into a buff logbook

suddenly you can see how this would not work if you took a car to NI, which was still on the buff logbook system

so, you would have to registered  it with a local office in NI and get a Buff logbook with a NI registration mark

 

so after 1974, the Model 70's destined for NI, could not be UK registered as the systems where incompatible from that point onwards so the Ministry would have been forced to dispatch the cars to the in NI unregistered where it would be registered there in NI under the buff logbook scheme that was still on going there

and this explains as above why there where no NI registered Ministry invalid vehicles before 1974, because before 1974, everything was on more or less the same buff logbook system so the say 10 Invacar Mk12's destined for NI, could be registered in Essex like the rest from that batch and simply the buff logbooks went with them to them NI as per any vehicle being sent anywhere else in the UK at the time

and this also explains how LOI6831 came to exist on England V5 system because simply when it somehow made its way to to England they clearly just gave its Buff Logbook to the DVLC for computerisation into a V5, exactly like what @Six-cylinder did with his NI car back in the early 80s and just like what you did with any car still on a buff logbook back then

 

it would be interesting to hear what peoples thoughts on it are especially @quicksilver and @Datsuncog hopefully it makes sense

it makes sense to me and stuart at least

(im also curious since NI computerised itself much later than England what was the cut off point in NI for handing in a buff logbook to get a V5?)

[Datsuncog]

Sounds a plausible theory, dude - the buff log books are a bit before my time, but that makes perfect sense as to why the DVLA and DVLNI systems became incompatible post-1974.

With the Northern Ireland government having collapsed in 1972 (yes, NI used to have its own Parliament and Prime Minister), and The Troubles ramping up further, I can see why computerising car registrations might not have been a priority at the time...

It's possible that NI's car records were meant  to transfer over to a computerised system at the same time, but in early 1974 the responsibility for car registrations was passed to the newly-created Department of the Environment. Now, DoE was set up under the Sunningdale Agreement, which was meant to restore a functioning system of governance for NI.

However, there was political and paramilitary opposition to Sunningdale, culminating in the Ulster Workers' Council Strike in May 1974 which paralysed the country with rolling electricity blackouts, barricades and a State of Emergency being declared amid increased bombings and murders - which ultimately crashed the whole process, and paving the way for 23 years of Direct Rule.

So it's quite possible that amid all this turmoil,  the NI Civil Service simply lacked the capacity, facilities and/or funding to computerise their records at the same time as GB did. Their remit at this time was simply to 'keep the lights on' - and in 1974, even that became impossible.

So, the computerisation didn't take place until October 1986, when is when I think the green V5 log books came in.

It makes sense that the NI-bound Model 70s were sent across the Irish Sea unregistered, and then simply allocated a local NI registration as required - rather than be included in one of the block registrations done at the factories on behalf of the DHSS, which would immediately need to be transferred onto another registration system.

[LightBulbFun]

22 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Sounds a plausible theory, dude - the buff log books are a bit before my time, but that makes perfect sense as to why the DVLA and DVLNI systems became incompatible post-1974.

With the Northern Ireland government having collapsed in 1972 (yes, NI used to have its own Parliament and Prime Minister), and The Troubles ramping up further, I can see why computerising car registrations might not have been a priority at the time...

It's possible that NI's car records were meant  to transfer over to a computerised system at the same time, but in early 1974 the responsibility for car registrations was passed to the newly-created Department of the Environment. Now, DoE was set up under the Sunningdale Agreement, which was meant to restore a functioning system of governance for NI.

However, there was political and paramilitary opposition to Sunningdale, culminating in the Ulster Workers' Council Strike in May 1974 which paralysed the country with rolling electricity blackouts, barricades and a State of Emergency being declared amid increased bombings and murders - which ultimately crashed the whole process, and paving the way for 23 years of Direct Rule.

So it's quite possible that amid all this turmoil,  the NI Civil Service simply lacked the capacity, facilities and/or funding to computerise their records at the same time as GB did. Their remit at this time was simply to 'keep the lights on' - and in 1974, even that became impossible.

So, the computerisation didn't take place until October 1986, when is when I think the green V5 log books came in.

It makes sense that the NI-bound Model 70s were sent across the Irish Sea unregistered, and then simply allocated a local NI registration as required - rather than be included in one of the block registrations done at the factories on behalf of the DHSS, which would immediately need to be transferred onto another registration system.

interesting stuff  happy to hear it sounds plausible to you as well

indeed according to the wikipedias NI did move from council offices to VROs in 1974 like England, did, but unlike England which moved to a new (computerised) system at the same time,  in NI they obviously still used the same buff logbook system just under a different jurisdiction and only computerised in 1986 like you say

 and yeah it makes sense they had other things to worry about back then!

 

 

as a side note I seem to recall finding a picture of an Early NI V5 and it actually had a section on it talking about computerisation sadly it was not a very good photo, and im not sure if I posted it in this thread or kept in the ebay tat thread where i found it so I cant quite recall what it said

but I found it quite interesting as the english V5's did not make any mention of the computerisation process, the closest clue you got was the whole "Number of keepers since such and such date" thing since the keeper counts did not always get transferred over when going from a buff logbook to a V5, so they would put a special note in the V5 saying that the Keeper count only goes back to a certain date, that date usually being when that vehicle was computerised)

sadly I cant find that picture or any picture of an old NI V5 currently but ill keep searching (its something Stuart might actually have on hand, as he has been heavily researching how car registrations where done in the past etc long before I have, when I mentioned my conclusion to the NI thing to him, I think it was a bit of a *smacks forehead* "Oh yeah!" moment for him  )

 

 

its amusing, I have learnt more about the history etc of Northern Ireland through/via my Model 70/invalid vehicle research then I ever did at school etc  

 

 

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Andyrew said:

not a problem. Bang a post up in your thread what you need and I'll see what i can do. 

Awesome its much appreciated  im not sure how much can be done on REV sadly given where she is currently and the current situation, so im not sure if its worth getting oil to do an oil change etc just yet, unless people think otherwise?  

 

but I know for sure im going to want of a pair of H4 7 inch head lamp kits (with integrated side light) and bulbs if they dont come with bulbs, to replace the knackered head lamps currently fitted,

(I recently got a can of contact cleaner for some other projects so ill throw that in my backpack and hopefully some more of REV's electrical bits can be persuaded to work ) 

and its probably worth picking up some spark plugs, so ill take 4 of these

On 22/08/2019 at 16:06, Andyrew said:

5110 b7hs ngk plugs £1.20 each +vat

(REV does run etc, but I have no idea when she was last serviced, so I would eventually like to do a full service on her, I did change the air filter when I got her, but I still want/need to do an oil change for both the engine, and drive line and change the spark plugs etc)

 

on a related note @Mrs6C informed me a while back that you very kindly took REV's fuel tank away to be looked at, do you know what the status is of that?  

(I imagine getting REV moving under her own power once more would make things like engine servicing much easier etc ) 

 

and as above im not sure if we will be able to do anything with REV's brakes or not

but I think its probably not a bad idea to get the stuff in for when it is possible to do so?

I THINK its 3/16th, hopefully @Zelandeth who has renewed the brakes on TPA could chime in on what I might need pipe and fittings wise to do the same for REV  (and by extension Dolly)

(I recall ya said its sold in rolls of 25ft which I think is plenty for a Model 70 but always worth checking and im not sure which fittings are needed exactly so hopefully Zel can chime in on that, and then I can just buy from you whatever is recommend)

if nothing else heres some info on the brakes from the parts manual if it helps! pretty sure its all normal girling stuff 

 

 

if anyone else has any recommendations of anything I should pick up so to speak do let me know  

(you dont happen do long lengths of throttle cable/outers and twist grips do you?  )

[Andyrew]

I seem to recall the prices from our supplier was a bit high for a pair of headlights and eBay may be a better bet price wise. 

Plugs nice and easy.  Oil I seem to recall was 20w50? We do posh classic and generic brand stuff. I'd probably go with the cheaper stuff as a change after a short period to give it a flush out wouldn't be a bad thing as id suspect the oil in there now to be past it's best/ sludged up and probably has a bit of fuel in it.

Brake pipe not a problem. Copper or kunifer? both avalible one cheaper than other obviously.  

Regarding the tank I took it too my man, and he deemed it repairable but it was mighty costly at around 200 + quid as it would require a new lower half and sides, it's heavily pitted and any small repair would only be temporary untill another hole appears elsewhere. 

I'll have a think and see if I can find another more cost effective solution. 

 

[Zelandeth]

Oil recommendation on the spec plate is straight 30W if my memory serves me.

Brake lines are standard 3/16" as I recall and I think I've still got a bunch of unions.  The ones on TPA were really decent quality and I only needed to replace a couple that had previously been rounded off.  Most came off looking like new and were just reused.

The headlights I got were around £20 from eBay, I just searched for 7" H4 Headlight set and grabbed the first one which looked reasonably appropriate and definitely had the sidelight lamp holder.   DO NOTE that you will either need to get a new headlamp bowl to accommodate said sidelight or to cut a notch out of the bowl for it to fit into.  That's what I did as there was no way the screws holding the bowls in the wing were coming out without being drilled out.  Plus the kits with new bowls were like £75 which seemed a little excessive for a bit of thin pressed steel.  I just nibbled away a bit with a pair of side cutters, but a Dremel or similar would give a far tidier finish - not that you can see it.  You also may need to extend the ground conductor - I had to in one light but the other was plenty long enough.

I'd stick any old oil that's an appropriate weight in, run the car properly up to temperature then plan on dropping the pickup strainer and cleaning it out.  You'll want to do this again once she's done a few miles on the road too as I found it wasn't until then that the worst of the gunk was flushed out.  Just make sure to keep a close eye on the oil light on the first few runs once she's on the road.

Note there is apparently a drain on the bottom of the oil filter housing so you can change the filter without making a mess.  I wish I'd read that four changes ago...

My custom ally tank was £300 all in, but please do note that when I was in touch with them about something else a while back they did warn that due to Brexit that their raw material costs have increased quite substantially recently (this was pre COVID too) so to expect a bit of a jump compared to the prices I'd been given for previous work.

[LightBulbFun]

good to know on the head lamp front I assume this is the ebay listing ya Found Zel?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264451088148

have stuck it on the watch list  was thinking if @Mrs6C is up for it, she could purchase a set for me (or 2 sets one for REV one For dolly?) and ill send the monies over, as while I have no problem buying them myself it just seems a bit superfluous for me to buy em have em arrive here and then have to take em up to the FoD or the parts stash etc

 

1 hour ago, Andyrew said:

Plugs nice and easy.  Oil I seem to recall was 20w50? We do posh classic and generic brand stuff. I'd probably go with the cheaper stuff as a change after a short period to give it a flush out wouldn't be a bad thing as id suspect the oil in there now to be past it's best/ sludged up and probably has a bit of fuel in it.

yeah Oil is good ol 20w50 should be fine according to the lube chart  , and yeah thats what i was thinking too just some generic stuff for the first few miles to flush any gunk out, im just not sure if I should get some now or later, but I guess I may as well get some now, I dont think it has a shelf life!, and @Mrs6C or @Six-cylinder can use it if they need it for something If we dont get round to using it on REV/Dolly etc  

51 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Note there is apparently a drain on the bottom of the oil filter housing so you can change the filter without making a mess.  I wish I'd read that four changes ago...

yeah theres also a magnetic pickup by the oil filter as well  

1 hour ago, Andyrew said:

Brake pipe not a problem. Copper or kunifer? both avalible one cheaper than other obviously.  

probably kunifer as thats whats specified in the workshop manual unless theres a good reason to go otherwise? pretty new to this sort of stuff  

 

51 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

My custom ally tank was £300 all in, but please do note that when I was in touch with them about something else a while back they did warn that due to Brexit that their raw material costs have increased quite substantially recently (this was pre COVID too) so to expect a bit of a jump compared to the prices I'd been given for previous work.

ohh thats not good to hear, and annoyingly REV has a different fuel tank to TPA so I cant simply ask them to make another one like yours I dont think

1 hour ago, Andyrew said:

Regarding the tank I took it too my man, and he deemed it repairable but it was mighty costly at around 200 + quid as it would require a new lower half and sides, it's heavily pitted and any small repair would only be temporary untill another hole appears elsewhere. 

I'll have a think and see if I can find another more cost effective solution. 

also not good to hear!, but I appreciate you taking it to your man  but yeah do let me know if you figure out a more cost effective solution that would be much appreciated  

 

I appreciate the info/help  

 

 

@Andyrew do let me know when ya get the stuff how you want to be paid or what have you  

to recap, so

4 spark plugs 

a Jug of 20W50 oil (its 5L right?)

and a 25ft roll of 3/16th brake line

[Mr Pastry]

30 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

ohh thats not good to hear, and annoyingly REV has a different fuel tank to TPA so I cant simply ask them to make another one like yours I dont think

Re. fuel tank, surely to get you going  there is room for a jerrycan in there?  Buy a new one and you can safely solder in a pickup pipe.  You can manage without a fuel gauge, and it'll go quite a long way on 2 gallons.

[LightBulbFun]

16 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

Re. fuel tank, surely to get you going  there is room for a jerrycan in there?  Buy a new one and you can safely solder in a pickup pipe.  You can manage without a fuel gauge, and it'll go quite a long way on 2 gallons.

yea, would work for moving her around the field (so would a jam jar )  but I fear that might be a bit limiting once on the road

does remind me of @Zelandeth's original plan which was something similar with a Jerry can of a similar size to the original tank  

(the factory tank is 4.5 gallons)

 

but yeah did a sanity check and yeah REV's tank is different to TPA and im not sure they are compatible mounting hardware wise

on REV's tank the straps go round top to bottom vertically 

where as on TPA the tank is strapped in with horizontal straps on the side 

like so (shown here mid installation hence why it looks a bit wonky at the bottom)

[LightBulbFun]

@Andyrew do you know who has REV's fuel tank currently? 

a forum remember has very kindly offered to check with his fabricator friend if they could make a new one

but they need some detailed photos/measurements of the tank (all the sides, mounting point fuel filler neck etc) to figure things out  

so if whoever my tank has ended up with could do that, that would be very much appreciated  

[egg]

Could you get something generic to fit?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STOCK-CAR-GRASS-TRACKING-2-GALLON-ALUMINIUM-ALLOY-PETROL-TANK/224084149286

[LightBulbFun]

3 minutes ago, egg said:

Could you get something generic to fit?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STOCK-CAR-GRASS-TRACKING-2-GALLON-ALUMINIUM-ALLOY-PETROL-TANK/224084149286

potentially its just a case of finding one in the right shape

something like that is the wrong aspect ratio sadly 

 

shame im not m8's with Bad obsession motor sport they could probably knock me up something in no time, with a ruddy great big turbo attached to it for good measure LOL

(or at least they would be able to knock up on hell of a bracket to fit whatever tank LOL)

[Mrs6C]

16 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

yea, would work for moving her around the field (so would a jam jar )  but I fear that might be a bit limiting once on the road

does remind me of @Zelandeth's original plan which was something similar with a Jerry can of a similar size to the original tank  

(the factory tank is 4.5 gallons)

 

but yeah did a sanity check and yeah REV's tank is different to TPA and im not sure they are compatible mounting hardware wise

on REV's tank the straps go round top to bottom vertically

A subtley modified jerry can would be a fine alternative tank. A jerry can is 20 litres or 4.4 gallons. It will fit in the tank space very well with one of its side handles removed; I know this because I have offered one up to fit already and one side handle just fouls the tank holding bracket.

The fuel tank on REV was strapped in horizontally like Dolly's and other Model 70s.

[egg]

Yes, I did see another one more the right shape but that's £150, and at that price - you might as well start going bespoke for the marginal cost.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-H-Fabrications-Race-Rally-Alloy-Fuel-Tank-2-Gallon-Capacity-024/361523505575?hash=item542c7ae9a7:g:UzMAAOSwq-BdzQpc

[LightBulbFun]

5 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

A subtley modified jerry can would be a fine alternative tank. A jerry can is 20 litres or 4.4 gallons. It will fit in the tank space very well with one of its side handles removed; I know this because I have offered one up to fit already and one side handle just fouls the tank holding bracket.

The fuel tank on REV was strapped in horizontally like Dolly's and other Model 70s.

 ah cool thats good to know  wonder how hard it would be to fit a fuel sender in one as well...

and ah my bad for some reason I thought it strapped in vertically, for some reason I seem to recall REV having different mounting hardware then Dolly if they both strap in horizontally then I think they should both be compatible with each other

will ask around with people who have their own parts stashes if they have anything as well

[Mr Pastry]

I think you will find a dipstick works quite well, and more accurately than most gauges.

Difficult to fit a sender unit reliably if the tank isn't designed for it.

The prices quoted for a bespoke fuel tank are not unreasonable.  It is specialised work.

You pays yer money and takes yer choice.   Just saying.

 

 

[Zelandeth]

That looks like an identical headlight kit.  I don't have a note of the exact listing I used as I bought them quite a while ago, only finally got around to actually fitting them this last week.

Yeah, the Jerry can approach should work fine if you have one you can chop a handle off.  That was the only issue I found was that the one handle wanted to occupy the same space as the upper bracket.  I can't remember if it was an issue with it actually fitting or more an issue of it being fine once in but I couldn't actually GET it fitted because the handle got in the way.

There's plenty of room to fit a bigger or different shaped tank (so long as it's not wider) but you'd need to alter the brackets.

If you do get a custom tank made, get a wider filler neck than I did.  This one is a pig to fill without splashing fuel everywhere.

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Mr Pastry said:

I think you will find a dipstick works quite well, and more accurately than most gauges.

Difficult to fit a sender unit reliably if the tank isn't designed for it.

The prices quoted for a bespoke fuel tank are not unreasonable.  It is specialised work.

You pays yer money and takes yer choice.   Just saying.

yeah I never said they where unreasonable, I just had it in my head that it somewhere around £250 rather then £300 or even more now which is getting quite expensive for me (I do have boring life things like rent and bills to pay for on a monthly basis, I sadly cant plow all my income into my Invacar, as much as I want to LOL also still have driving lessons on going which aint helping in the finance department)

 

56 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

If you do get a custom tank made, get a wider filler neck than I did.  This one is a pig to fill without splashing fuel everywhere.

how exactly did ya go about getting yours made, did you simply hand them your old fuel tank and tell them to just copy it, or was there more to it than that?

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, Mrs6C said:

The fuel tank on REV was strapped in horizontally like Dolly's and other Model 70s.

did a bit of digging and it looks like we are both right  

there is a horizontal strap but also a vertical one like I remember

[Zelandeth]

That photo reminds me that I *really* need to do something about the front mudguard...

I literally just handed them the existing fuel tank and the fuel gauge sender and said "make me a copy."

It's actually slightly smaller than the original simply because of limitations in their tooling (they couldn't fold quite as tight a radius as on the corners as the original) but nothing that a bit of foam padding in the bracket can't take up as the actual "box" dimensions are spot on.