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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

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Exciting times for you, Dezmondo. Don’t be afraid to take it easy or ask for help or take the bus. There’s always tomorrow when you leave an old banger at home, but not if you take it out! 

The only other thing I taught my own son, is how you can calm even the most angry of motorist with a hand up and a sorry. I did this by deliberately breaking down in the middle of a busy junction in Ipswich and saying to him “Watch this”. I just put my hand up to say sorry and everyone immediately became patient and sympathetic. It was like flicking a switch. 

Remember - slow and steady wins the race. 

Good luck man. 

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I stopped by to give Rev a quick check over and test drive today.  Seemed worthwhile to do given I'm at least somewhat used to how these cars behave.  At least you'd hope so after ~5K miles in one.

PXL_20241026_123257941.jpg.dc8ba2c6e5664e6d15a410628a4c1b1b.jpg

Yes it was also a good excuse to get TPA out for a decent run, she's only really had a couple of local runs this year, so a good half hour run on proper open roads probably did the world of good.

Plenty of little jobs to keep Dez busy, but she seems to be running, driving and stopping just fine.  Only thing we found that seems to have given up the ghost was the horn.  May be that can be revived by whacking it with a screwdriver or something, but likely easiest just to change it.  Looks like an Invacar equivalent to the patented BMC choke clothes peg might also be needed as that didn't really want to stay fully on, so you kind of need three hands during a cold start.

Needs a good clean, a bit of paint on the front end over a couple of cracks from historic damage where it's started to flake a bit, and I'm sure once you start digging there will be a dozen other little things once some miles are being covered.  As far as I can tell though, she's as ready as she's likely to get.  All the vital systems and lights seem to be working properly as best I could tell spending an hour or so with the car.

I'd have loved to offer to help in a more material way with the actual prep, but I just know I'd never find time with how poorly I'm keeping up with my own fleet at the moment never mind anyone else's and I wouldn't want to promise anything I couldn't deliver.

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Awesome! many thanks for taking time out of your day to pop over and give REV one last final check-over, espically as you say, you have plenty of real world Model 70 experiance, so would be able to tell if something was off or wrong with how she drove or peformed or behaved in some manner, so its very reassuring to see you have had a go and theres nothing to really report it all checks out :) 

on the horn front, I do actually have REV's original Lucas horn in a box here at home, its mostly a lump of rusty metal, but I do note that upon cleaning up the terminals and applying voltage to it, it draws plenty of power and I can tell its trying to work, so I do wonder if I can open it up and clean it out/get it working again, its OnTheList(TM) of things for me to do eventually when the fancy takes me :) 

her bodywork has always been like that since I got her, I am told it happened when the previous owners daughter drove her into a tree, it would be good to get it all sorted at some point, but for now I am not worrying too much about it, mostly looking forward to driving about :) 

7 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

I'd have loved to offer to help in a more material way with the actual prep, but I just know I'd never find time with how poorly I'm keeping up with my own fleet at the moment never mind anyone else's and I wouldn't want to promise anything I couldn't deliver.

really dont worry about it, you have helped me out immeasurably in many other ways, which without your help there is a good chance I would not have REV today :) and just having someone with lots of common interests who is there as a friend and never too far away, has been immensely helpful and good food for the ol mental-health side of things, so dont feel like you have not helped! its very much the opposite, you have helped me out immeasurably and for that I am eternally grateful and will always be there for you in kind :) 

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A horn will be vital in London I'm sure with all the pedestrians staring at their phone, plenty of universal fitment ones about,and could probably upgrade to a louder one as I'm sure it will have had the cheapest one in the Lucas catalogue when new

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12 minutes ago, plasticvandan said:

A horn will be vital in London I'm sure with all the pedestrians staring at their phone, plenty of universal fitment ones about,and could probably upgrade to a louder one as I'm sure it will have had the cheapest one in the Lucas catalogue when new

no no, the fun and games is seeing how close you can sneak up to them, then stick your head out the window and shout "Boo!" :) 

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Well you can't say "Fancy going for  a ride in my wheels, darlin' ? " :sad:  They'll fall over laughing !   Best of luck today anyway!  

 

Now if you had a fake, ' fake taxi ' .. and said that , chicks would hop right in !  

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51 minutes ago, Christine said:

Well you can't say "Fancy going for  a ride in my wheels, darlin' ? " :sad:  They'll fall over laughing !   Best of luck today anyway!  

 

Now if you had a fake, ' fake taxi ' .. and said that , chicks would hop right in !  

Believe it or not, you're quite mistaken ;) .

@LightBulbFun I'm keenly watching for updates today and hope you have a fantastic time of it. Knowing that you are a nocturnal creature I was quite amazed to log on this morning and find you had already made a post, a good sign of an exciting day to come.

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He probably hasn't slept at all...

Re the horn situation - I'm sure you could find room to mount one of these under the bonnet*.

s-l1600.webp

Having fitted a few to assorted vehicles over the years I can attest that they are f***ing loud.

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I always meant to fit something like that to the camper as it had the most pathetic horn of any car I've owned with the possible exception of the 107.

5 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

Awesome! many thanks for taking time out of your day to pop over and give REV one last final check-over, espically as you say, you have plenty of real world Model 70 experiance, so would be able to tell if something was off or wrong with how she drove or peformed or behaved in some manner, so its very reassuring to see you have had a go and theres nothing to really report it all checks out :) 

on the horn front, I do actually have REV's original Lucas horn in a box here at home, its mostly a lump of rusty metal, but I do note that upon cleaning up the terminals and applying voltage to it, it draws plenty of power and I can tell its trying to work, so I do wonder if I can open it up and clean it out/get it working again, its OnTheList(TM) of things for me to do eventually when the fancy takes me :)

I wouldn't really put TOO much weight on my observations - it was a pretty brief inspection really looking for anything which rang major alarm bells.  There's only so much you can figure out from a brief test drive rather than a proper 100+ mile shakedown.  I think I'd done nearly that in TPA before she was taken outside our neighbourhood!

I'd really not worry too much over the original horn.  Generally they're things that once they get rusted up they never work as well again.  If moisture has got into the innards once and caused corrosion, it's going to do it again.

Plus a half decent quality replacement isn't going to be more than £30 so it's really not worth the hassle.  Especially for something that you're not going to use particularly often but where it's potentially safety critical when you do need it to work.

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You need a horn. Firstly - it’s part of a car being in roadworthy condition. Secondly - I nearly always use mine when in London. Never in anger but always “Err… I don’t think so bud” or “I’m here… use your mirrors next time hun”.

A 12v horn is £6 and a nice simple yet rewarding job.

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Old Lucas horns have to be used regularly to keep working. When ever I haven't used the Triumph for a while the horns stop working and need a couple of taps to get them going. 

I really should take the above advice and just get new ones, it's not like the rest of the car is original anyway, but as soon as I put it back in the garage I just forget. But as you all say, if I lived in London I'd probably fit about six of the things just to make sure. 

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On 26/10/2024 at 15:00, Remspoor said:

I do hope that you are not heading right into London. All the Robinson supports are out there doing their best to block the roads.

The last Unite the Kingdom was in July. Unlike the save Palestine, from the river to the sea, smash the Nazis off the streets, we support terrorist organisations load of dickheads block the Central London every sodding week

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7 minutes ago, Christine said:

Lbf not been on for 7hrs. 

Likely he's got a busy day with a lot, and much excite, on his mind. Have patience, I'm sure all will be revealed at some point.

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42 minutes ago, timolloyd said:

IMG_3027.webp

Went in there once after 500 yards of sisal twine.  Girl at the desk gave me a right funny look...  

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3 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Chips being got 

Are they open on a Sunday evening?

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On 03/09/2024 at 11:09, warren t claim said:

Maddie McCann will be home first. 

So if we don’t know the whereabouts of Rev or LBF, is there still hope for Maddie?

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His phones battery flat  , he can't text Mum ..she can't text him , he can't navigate .. doesn't know were he is,  and fuel is low .. panic setting in ...

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