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...

[Heidel_Kakao]

  On 06/10/2024 at 21:33, busmansholiday said:

Actually, that's not as daft as it sounds. The roof on a model 70 is just bolted on so replace them with explosive bolts and the jobs a good 'un..

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You probably wouldn't even need to do that, in my extensive research (I read Wikipedia) I discovered that some seats are set up to eject straight through the canopy.

"Aircraft designed for low-level use sometimes have ejection seats which fire through the canopy, as waiting for the canopy to be ejected is too slow"

It is quite fun to think about as a theoretical exercise how you would implement it.

I must have watched too much Bond as a kid 

[LightBulbFun]

  On 07/10/2024 at 08:34, Eyersey1234 said:

@LightBulbFun in a comment on Facebook Steph from I drive a classic said that her Minor is a ex disability car, that got me wondering if someone was given a car like a Minor instead of an Invacar how long did they have it for, were they  changed every few years like the current scheme or did they have them for life?

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as I understand it, it was similar to the Invacar scheme, your vehicle was replaced every few years, unless there was a specific reason for you to need to keep the vehicle, Invalid Vehicles where generally replaced every 7 years for example

[HMC]

[Snake Charmer]

Our neighbour had a late MkI Austin 1100 with hand controls, he must have owned the car as we had it for parts in the late 70's and weighed it in.

[chadders]

  On 07/10/2024 at 08:36, Heidel_Kakao said:

You probably wouldn't even need to do that, in my extensive research (I read Wikipedia) I discovered that some seats are set up to eject straight through the canopy.

"Aircraft designed for low-level use sometimes have ejection seats which fire through the canopy, as waiting for the canopy to be ejected is too slow"

It is quite fun to think about as a theoretical exercise how you would implement it.

I must have watched too much Bond as a kid 

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Detonating cord or other options.

If I remember correctly you can see the outline of the cord if you get close enough. It was probably used a lot in the Luftwaffe 'Lawn Darts'.

[Sheefag]

You can see it here clearly, on this early BAE Hawk.

 

[chadders]

We're still pretty much world leaders in this field.

It's a pity that it took the death of Valentine Baker in the MB3 to get James Martin, not the TV 'personality' to go down this route.

[bangernomics]

Alternatively you could follow the other James Martin and coat the occupant in butter.

[bangernomics]

Forgive me for not reading from the start. Is there an actual date this is hitting the road?

[mintwth]

  On 07/10/2024 at 13:47, bangernomics said:

Forgive me for not reading from the start. Is there an actual date this is hitting the road?

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Shortly after ejection is the norm with ejection seats

[chadders]

Especially with the downwards firing ones.

[lesapandre]

[Saabnut]

  On 07/10/2024 at 13:47, bangernomics said:

Forgive me for not reading from the start. Is there an actual date this is hitting the road?

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I am aiming on getting it back south next week but that very much depends on the hospital and the funeral directors, both of which should update me at the end of this week

[lesapandre]

If you need a hand unloading it when you reach dar smoke - gimme a shout and I will come over - if I am in London.

[Rustybullethole]

  On 07/10/2024 at 17:22, lesapandre said:

If you need a hand unloading it when you reach dar smoke - gimme a shout and I will come over - if I am in London.

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Likewise, Am about that week am happy to help. 

I also now want to fit an ejector seat to my van. Wonder if I could get the insurance down for the upped safety. 

Edited October 7, 2024 by Rustybullethole
fecking autotypebollocks

[Sheefag]

  On 07/10/2024 at 15:36, lesapandre said:

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What has the Welsh national anthem got to do with this?

[lesapandre]

  On 07/10/2024 at 18:57, Sheefag said:

What has the Welsh national anthem got to do with this?

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Passons maintenant au français, même si la chanson est anglais.

*Indochine est en tournée en 2025 dans toute la France. Nous allons créer un Invacar gonflable pour survoler le concert comme le cochon Pink Floyd.

[Sheefag]

 

[plasticvandan]

Don't forget to coat the door handles in teflon for faster cornering.

[alcyonecorporation]

Yeah - 

If the taxi is a non-starter, what was wrong with a Kangoo conversion van as a daily? 
Surely they'd tow/A frame an Invacarf? 

[Dobloseven]

  On 08/10/2024 at 22:03, alcyonecorporation said:

Yeah - 

If the taxi is a non-starter, what was wrong with a Kangoo conversion van as a daily? 
Surely they'd tow/A frame an Invacarf? 

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Rear loading WAVs can't be used for towing for obvious reasons!A better idea would be a Scudo type thing with ramps for side loading like a taxi.

[LightBulbFun]

  On 09/10/2024 at 06:33, Dobloseven said:

Rear loading WAVs can't be used for towing for obvious reasons!A better idea would be a Scudo type thing with ramps for side loading like a taxi.

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sadly I dont think I can get insurance on one of those either as they are well, a Taxi like a black cab, so regular insurance companies wont touch em, I did have a brief look when @warren t claim had his Peugeot E7 for sale

its probably easier for me to get a bus driving licence and get myself an ex London ALX400 Dennis Trident that I have always had a hankering for, those have a side-loading wheelchair ramp! 

or just wait until 2029 when the first ones will be 30 years old(!) and then I could drive one on my regular car licence  and can maybe tow? I am not sure what the towing rules are for buses! not sure I have seen a London Low floor bus with a tow bar! and there might* be some objections to me parking it in the dead end however... (and maybe from insurance too, not sure if anyones ever tried to get *street parking* insurance for a bus before? I mean even enthusiasts usually keep theirs off the road somewhere!)

[wuvvum]

LOL, if you thought getting insurance on a black cab was difficult, wait until you start ringing round insurers telling them you'll be driving a bus round central London on a car licence.  And yes, as you say, parking it overnight in a residential cul de sac might* be an additional stumbling block.

[Yoss]

  On 09/10/2024 at 08:13, LightBulbFun said:

sadly I dont think I can get insurance on one of those either as they are well, a Taxi like a black cab, so regular insurance companies wont touch em, I did have a brief look when @warren t claim had his Peugeot E7 for sale

its probably easier for me to get a bus driving licence and get myself an ex London ALX400 Dennis Trident that I have always had a hankering for, those have a side-loading wheelchair ramp! 

or just wait until 2029 when the first ones will be 30 years old(!) and then I could drive one on my regular car licence  and can maybe tow? I am not sure what the towing rules are for buses! not sure I have seen a London Low floor bus with a tow bar! and there might* be some objections to me parking it in the dead end however... (and maybe from insurance too, not sure if anyones ever tried to get *street parking* insurance for a bus before? I mean even enthusiasts usually keep theirs off the road somewhere!)

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Surely you could just remove all the seats from the low floor section and drive it straight on! I'm being flippant of course but I reckon if you could widen the centre doors it might just fit. 

  On 09/10/2024 at 08:57, wuvvum said:

LOL, if you thought getting insurance on a black cab was difficult, wait until you start ringing round insurers telling them you'll be driving a bus round central London on a car licence.  And yes, as you say, parking it overnight in a residential cul de sac might* be an additional stumbling block.

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This is exactly what I used to do. Any bus over 30 years old can be driven on a car licence as long as you don't carry more than eight passengers. Sounds ludicrous but it is the law. Was even more ludicrous when they introduced this law because at that time thirty year old buses quite often had manual gearboxes and steering whilst modern buses had push button gears and finger light steering. 

On street parking would be the killer though. I know somebody who used to keep an RT on their drive in a nice area of Winchester but on street itself would, I fear, be a step too far. 

[wuvvum]

  On 09/10/2024 at 09:19, Yoss said:

Any bus over 30 years old can be driven on a car licence as long as you don't carry more than eight passengers.

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Oh, I'm aware that it's legally possible, but when I looked into it a few years back, finding an insurer to cover you if you had no experience with large vehicles was, shall we say, challenging, and those who would quote wanted what I considered to be daft money.  And I'm a lot older than Dez and live in the arse end of Norfolk, plus I've had 7.5-tonne lorries in the past so have at least a vague idea how to drive a big thing with air brakes.

[LightBulbFun]

  On 09/10/2024 at 09:19, Yoss said:

Surely you could just remove all the seats from the low floor section and drive it straight on! I'm being flippant of course but I reckon if you could widen the centre doors it might just fit. 

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The Model 70 has a maximum payload capacity of 190kg, how many gold bars is that?

  On 09/10/2024 at 09:19, Yoss said:

On street parking would be the killer though. I know somebody who used to keep an RT on their drive in a nice area of Winchester but on street itself would, I fear, be a step too far. 

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I always loved the incongruity of that  its *exactly* what I would probably end up doing if I had a drive way and then I would be like "whats the big deal?" acting completely indifferent like I have only just parked a regular car on it

[Yoss]

  On 09/10/2024 at 09:23, wuvvum said:

Oh, I'm aware that it's Legally possible, but when I looked into it a few years back, finding an insurer to cover you if you had no experience with large vehicles was, shall we say, challenging, and those who would quote wanted what I considered to be daft money. And I'm a lot older than Dez and live in the arse end of Norfolk, plus I've had 7.5-ton lorries in the past so have at least a vague idea how to drive a big thing with air brakes.

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Not sure where you were looking but there are preserved bus specialists. 

I was paying about £160 a year for my RM up until I sold it about five years ago, plus another £80 for a specialist recovery service. That doesn't seem excessive. 

[wuvvum]

I tried the specialists, most of them wouldn't give me a quote.  I must have done something to upset the algorithm.

[chadders]

  On 09/10/2024 at 09:50, wuvvum said:

I tried the specialists, most of them wouldn't give me a quote.  I must have done something to upset the algorithm.

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Good.

I'd hate to be either behind or coming the opposite way to you in somewhere like Cley.

[wuvvum]

I'd probably still be going quicker than most of the camper vans that clog up the coast road every summer...