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]

9 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

'Invacar' is used as a colloquial term in this instance, so quite likely to involve ACs as well as or instead of Invacars

Cool I had suspected such good to know  , (just as a general thing, its always important when discussing "technical"/complicated things like this to make sure the correct terminology is used etc hence why you rarely see me use Invacar in the colloquial sense, rather I say invalid vehicle when referring to them in a general sense or when im not referring to any particular make or model )

9 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

Sadly no further information was provided on this front, only that there was one (or some kind) there.

Aw, but its good to know there was something there, gives us something to look for, or keep an eye out for when digging up info  

[Mrs6C]

10 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

 

Cool I had suspected such good to know  , (just as a general thing, its always important when discussing "technical"/complicated things like this to make sure the correct terminology is used etc hence why you rarely see me use Invacar in the colloquial sense, rather I say invalid vehicle when referring to them in a general sense or when im not referring to any particular make or model )

Aw, but its good to know there was something there, gives us something to look for, or keep an eye out for when digging up info  

Try this link and search for Invacar (correct terminology!) in the document. An interesting snippet or three to be had... :-)
https://apps.castlepoint.gov.uk/cpapps/view/planning/Planning%20Applications%20Decision%20Notices/1948/PLANNING%20REGISTER%20BENFLEET%201948%201%20-%201281949%202%20-%203401950%201%20-%20274.pdf

[LightBulbFun]

13 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

Try this link and search for Invacar (correct terminology!) in the document. An interesting snippet or three to be had...
https://apps.castlepoint.gov.uk/cpapps/view/planning/Planning Applications Decision Notices/1948/PLANNING REGISTER BENFLEET 1948 1 - 1281949 2 - 3401950 1 - 274.pdf

ah very interesting  looks like planning permission from when Invacar moved from their original premises in Southend on sea, to Thundersley  (as they ran out of production capacity in the original factory and needed something larger to fulfill all the government orders they were suddenly getting)

(which is why the very earliest Invacars had HJ and JN registrations, long before 1974  I wonder if anyone noticed this )

Like this Invacar Model 12D

[LightBulbFun]

On 1/18/2020 at 5:38 PM, LightBulbFun said:

heres something pretty neat a Running/working electric Stanley Argson  

you can see a video of it in action the comments of the post

https://www.facebook.com/groups/950689934973969/permalink/2719059311470347/

(video should be viewable even without a FB account )

and you can see me get all excited by it LOL, there are very few invalid carriages from this period that I know run/drive so it was very cool to see a working one!, in fact I think its the first modern video I have seen of an electric invalid carriage in operation, amusingly over the bumps etc it sounds like a train  

just a shame its not on the DVLA currently, would be fun to take onto the open road, be a bit like a scaled up Sinclair C5 I imagine!

going by how it goes Clunk and sets off like it does I wonder if speed control is done by uniselector/relays?

its also not one I have documented anywhere I dont think, although the reg does look a little familiar ill have to check the old photo archives and see if I have unknowingly an old photo of it somewhere

(as a side note for @Zelandeth guy says he has an aixam for sale...)

continuing the Model 44, electric Stanley Argson theme 

I was thinking the other day while looking at some 1980s Street scene photos with Model 70's in them

that there where older vehicles still in operation, but I had not seen any pictures of such, and what are the chances a few days later I found this picture  

https://flic.kr/p/uMxq7B

not quite full on street scene but it is pretty neat to see a Stanley still soldiering on through the 1980s

much like this picture from way back in this thread

and speaking of UPD104, as previously noted it does still show up on the DVLA checker and for giggles I tried UPD103, and it Too shows up!

and this made me realise, much like Electric Tippen Deltas and AC Model 64's the last of the Model 44's would of been considered fairly special vehicles

 

certainly I know the last of the Argson users where very reluctant to give up their Machines, at least until the Electric Tippen Delta showed up, as the Ministry really didn't have a good replacement for the Argson

remember electric machines, where used much more in the sense a modern mobility scooter is used, ie to nip to the shops and back and around town stuff, feeding the pigeons in the park sort of thing

rather then, for driving from London to brighton and back that you would use a larger/full bodied Petrol vehicle for

and this was the problem with the Model 64, it was a Petrol sized electric vehicle, and not a very fast one either on account of its relative heft, so it got in everyone's way etc, and was not suited for use for mobility scooter like tasks

(after lots of complaints etc the electric Tippen Delta was born as the Tippen Delta was suitably narrow/small enough, to stay out of people's way!)

anyways because of all this I realised that although the last Model 44's rolled off the production line in the mid 1950's that I suspected a higher than average number of them would have survived long enough to still show up on the DVLA

and indeed running chassis numbers shows this so, I have uncovered a whole bunch of Argsons that still show up  

including VPH207 which looks to have survived until 1995! (like that Model 64 I found that looks to have survived until 2003, I bet it must of stuck out like a sore thumb at the Approved repairer that was responsible for maintaining it among the rows of Model 70's they probably had  )

(I also wonder just how many sets of batteries it went through!)

 

I also came across this oddity, TFO720, originally VPJ549, and I say oddity, because it has an Electric chassis number, but comes back as Petrol etc

(at least im pretty sure the chassis number format for Electric and petrol Argsons where different)

I do wonder if it was an electric one, but someone did a naughty and doctored it into a Petrol one to grab its registration number, since IIRC at least back then you needed to MOT a vehicle etc to steal its number plate

but electric vehicles could not be MOTed back then, so you had no way of stealing its plate, but if it was petrol vehicle then you could put it through an MOT and steal its number

(I do wonder if its still around, or if it had its number plate stolen then scrapped)

 

im still going through the late chassis numbers so who knows what else might show up, im hoping I can find one that survived until the very end showing Last taxed 2003 or 2004 or such  

(im also hoping I can figure out just when the last Model 44's rolled off the production line, as that date is not quite known yet sadly, latest I currently know of is XPD805)

 

 

[overrun]

There’s some nice dateless plates in this thread that I would happily ‘steal’. ?

[Mrs6C]

Some more information on the Nelco Solocar for you...
https://www.guildford-dragon.com/2019/03/09/piecing-together-the-story-of-shalford-engineering-firm-nelco/

https://www.guildford-dragon.com/2016/04/03/vintage-electric-car-made-shalford-nelco-new-owner/

It seems the early models (1930s) started life under the name of 'Murphy Electric Carriage' and were built in Aberystwyth.

[LightBulbFun]

7 minutes ago, overrun said:

There’s some nice dateless plates in this thread that I would happily ‘steal’. ?

and thats exactly why I keep my chassis number lists private! and try and avoid mentioning real chassis numbers these days LOL

 

but speaking stealing plates this all made reminded me of TSJ449 which is Ex UPG269, 

weirdly enough its a survivor that shows up in my tools, but wont show up on the DVLA checker/MOT history checker for love nor money, do wonder what thats about!

also worth mentioning that it IS electric so in theory it should not have been allowed to have lost its number plate, yet it did (in 1998 according to my tool)

maybe someone stuck it through a bent MOT or something somehow

 

(as a side note, I ran all the late Model 44 numbers and XPD805 is the latest I can find, and looking at things it does look like Model 44 production ended a few invalid carriages after XPD805

[keef]

18 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

according to my tool

So what can this tool do?

 

[LightBulbFun]

8 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

Some more information on the Nelco Solocar for you...
https://www.guildford-dragon.com/2019/03/09/piecing-together-the-story-of-shalford-engineering-firm-nelco/

https://www.guildford-dragon.com/2016/04/03/vintage-electric-car-made-shalford-nelco-new-owner/

It seems the early models (1930s) started life under the name of 'Murphy Electric Carriage' and were built in Aberystwyth.

 

Ohh nice find  

Stuarts small book contains a good run down on the history of the Solocar as well  

in production from 1929 to 1967! one of the longest production runs of any invalid vehicle I think

although the latest known example is DYO833C, would be fun to find an E reg one! sadly Solocars have fairly generic chassis numbers that make them hard to hunt for with my tools as I get a lot of false positives/matches

 

speaking of 67 as in Model 67, just now the owner of the ALB finally responded to my email I sent back in November  (I was recently thinking what to do about that...)

he gave me the backstory to its history/how he got it,  how the owners father originally got it in 1988 with a Formula first car, intending to stick the body of the Model 67 onto the chassis of the formula first car!

(Thankfully!) that project never happened and it sat around outside, until 2007 when the current owner dragged it back indoors for restoration  

he says the engine has been rebuilt but is currently still out of the car, (it was taken to the 2 shows engineless!) so he is more than happy to grab all the detailed pictures I want of it  

he says he wants to get it on the road again, (which is an exciting prospect, as currently there are no Model 67's on the road sadly)

im hoping I can find its real chassis number and ID it  

and he said he likes the original look of REV (ill have to tell him that REV was supposedly repainted for its Movie role in 2002, not that the paint job has stood up particularly well, must have been done by the same people that had @Six-cylinder's Range rover  ) and said he and was thankful for the detailed description i gave him of the different Models he said he found that very useful 

now to formulate an appropriate response!  

[LightBulbFun]

22 minutes ago, keef said:

So what can this tool do?

 

it can tell me things like VIN/Chassis and engine numbers from a registration number, or tell me a registration number from a chassis/VIN number, and if the vehicle has a scrapped or export marker or not (and if it does when it was applied)

it also can also tell me its keeper change history, how many keepers its had, and sometimes even when the keeper changes happened, as well as telling me number plate history of a vehicle, if a vehicle has worn multiple number plates or lost its original plate

 

its a commercial tool that I have managed to wrangle access to, and i dread to think how much its cost me! I had to top it up today in fact (12-15p a look up doesn't seem like much but it sure adds up!)

but its been VERY handy in my invalid vehicle research  

[keef]

4 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

it can tell me things like [snip]

but its been VERY handy in my invalid vehicle research  

Ah right. Sort of trade add on to vehicle look up site?

I had similar access for a while until the website owners/developers sussed they'd left it "open"

A very handy tool indeed.

[quicksilver]

Much excitement! Oxford Diecast just released details of their new model plans for this year and there's a huge surprise among them!
 

I did suggest the Model 70 on the Facebook wishlist group but I honestly never thought a diecast manufacturer would ever touch it, as coming in any colour you like as long as it's blue doesn't give many variants to spread the tooling costs over. No release date yet, but when it comes out (hopefully sometime this year) I'll be buying at least four for obvious reasons. 

[LightBulbFun]

13 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Much excitement! Oxford Diecast just released details of their new model plans for this year and there's a huge surprise among them!
 

I did suggest the Model 70 on the Facebook wishlist group but I honestly never thought a diecast manufacturer would ever touch it, as coming in any colour you like as long as it's blue doesn't give many variants to spread the tooling costs over. No release date yet, but when it comes out (hopefully sometime this year) I'll be buying at least four for obvious reasons. 

Holy shit thats amazing!  

im really curious who is responsible for putting it to the execs or whoever at Oxford diecast

and who did they get licencing from? who owns the rights to the Model 70!

and who/what did they use for measurements!

I have so many questions

I do wonder if they perhaps contacted the guy making 1/43rd scale Model 70's?

the rear lights are wrong, but otherwise it looks like a good drawing of a Model 70!

(tho im not sure what to think of the rear wheels, if "76INV001" is an indication of year then 1976 would be on 10 inch wheels and I dont think the side wall of the tire would be that far up the wheel arch! I hope the wheels turn at least, I know on the 1/43rd ones they dont turn)

cc @Zelandeth

[quicksilver]

So many questions indeed, it just appeared in the PDF uploaded tonight with no more details. 76 indicates the scale so I guess it's a fairly generic Model 70 and will probably have either AC or Invacar badges printed on, and a lot of Oxford's 1/76 models (sadly including the Maxi) have wheels that are too big so they probably won't accurately depict either 10 or 12-inch versions. It wouldn't surprise me if this first release is a model of TWC, or if dollywobbler was involved in getting it made.

[egg]

Model 70 models brought to the masses! About a fiver aren't they?

[quicksilver]

13 minutes ago, egg said:

Model 70 models brought to the masses! About a fiver aren't they?

Should be in that ballpark, cheap as chips really. Perfect for a model railway, either in the disabled bays of the station car park or (on a 1970s layout) a whole train full of them being delivered, so I hope they sell well.

[Mrs6C]

16 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Should be in that ballpark, cheap as chips really. Perfect for a model railway, either in the disabled bays of the station car park or (on a 1970s layout) a whole train full of them being delivered, so I hope they sell well.

Perfect for Subbuteo!!!

[overrun]

6 hours ago, keef said:

So what can this tool do?

 

I've asked before if he would share the link, but he doesn't want to. It's a shame, because it would be handy for a lot of us, and we all tend to share this stuff.

LBF, I recall you saying it costs to look up, and you have to 'plead your case' to the site, but it would be nice for others to be able to have a go.

[overrun]

6 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

and thats exactly why I keep my chassis number lists private! and try and avoid mentioning real chassis numbers these days LOL

Well  obviously lol. Transferring a plate from a vehicle you legally own is a world away from what you allude to, though. 'Plate raping' isn't stealing. Sometimes it is a shame though, but it's all legal.

[LightBulbFun]

57 minutes ago, overrun said:

I've asked before if he would share the link, but he doesn't want to. It's a shame, because it would be handy for a lot of us, and we all tend to share this stuff.

LBF, I recall you saying it costs to look up, and you have to 'plead your case' to the site, but it would be nice for others to be able to have a go.

due to the potentially sensitive info it can dig up I am reluctant to share it on a public forum

keep in mind not only can users see this but also any random guy from google can too, and I dont want someone user or non user, doing something bad with the tool and then causing the tool to go away

54 minutes ago, overrun said:

Well  obviously lol. Transferring a plate from a vehicle you legally own is a world away from what you allude to, though. 'Plate raping' isn't stealing. Sometimes it is a shame though, but it's all legal.

indeed, but I know there are less then honest people out there who would apply for a V5 for a vehicle they dont own just to get its plate etc (and  know its not stealing in the literal sense but I sure don't like it LOL)

especially when dealing with invalid vehicle and their fleet vehicle nature, when they lose their original number plate it can wreak havoc

just see VES108S (ex XEV88S) for an example!

[plasticvandan]

The Oxford model is certainly very interesting,I suggested to SAMs model cars to make one,and he got in first,but at £85 a pop I couldn't afford one,the thing with Oxford is that if its popular a 1/43 scale usually follows.I think the more widespread interest in Invacars has woken them up a bit.I shall certainly be getting a few,if I can get hold of a Bedford ha model,I might recreate my grandad towing one on a dolly when he worked for a repairers.

[LightBulbFun]

38 minutes ago, egg said:

Canterbury 1986, very much how I remember it as a child.

 

ohhh Tippen Delta 6 or 7 spotted at 1:25 or so  

that would of been very rare even then, I imagine no more than about 100 on the road then, I know by 1994 there were only 23 Tippen Deltas on the road or so

shame the video is sped up so you cant make out the reg, (I wonder if its a Miller conversion Tippen Delta or not) 

there's a good chance whatever its reg is, that its still on the DVLA checker if it was still running around in 1986  

[LightBulbFun]

pleased to announce that today I went took my theory test and and happy to say that I have passed  

heres the certificate, and exact scores I got so you can select the appropriate length barge pole for when you encounter me on the road

thats half the battle done with! , just got to do my practical now!, will book my practical in tomorrow after my next lesson as I have a couple questions I want to ask my instructor before i book it in

[Mrs6C]

26 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

pleased to announce that today I went took my theory test and and happy to say that I have passed

Well done! :-)

[High Jetter]

Excellent,  really pleased for you. Matter of curiosity, do you know which answer you got wrong?

[LightBulbFun]

Thanks  

sadly I dont know, I was hoping they would tell you but they dont (I was sort of hoping id get a clean pass LOL as I managed to pull that off in a few mock tests, but my main worry was with the hazard perception side of things, but luckily although not the most amount of points, I passed that without issue in the end)

(amusingly the official docs said that the person at the desk would not discuss the test results with you, but as she handed me the certificate she said I can tell you studied really well for this!  or something to that effect anyway!)

[captain_70s]

Nice one, you did better then I did IIRC.

There was some quality chod in my hazard awareness test though, I was distracted by a Series 2A Landy and a Moggy Minor amongst others... I reckon the videos were from the late 90s...

[LightBulbFun]

1 minute ago, captain_70s said:

There was some quality chod in my hazard awareness test though, I was distracted by a Series 2A Landy and a Moggy Minor amongst others... I reckon the videos were from the late 90s...

That was the interesting thing, the practice clips I studied/took where all actual video 

but the mock test, and the actual test, was some weird CGI and video combination, like someone had taken a Video of a location, then 3Daffied it, like what google satellite view does with buildings etc

it was weird! especially the pedestrians/animals which where much more obviously CGI but still like someone had taken a photograph of a sheep and animated it after the fact

the DVLA equivalent of "Cows cows cows" if you will!

(I  did notice some quality low pressure sodium street lights   but not any vehicular actual chod, all 58/09 plate vehicles)

[LightBulbFun]

had my 22nd lesson today

my instructor was very happy to hear that I passed my theory  

todays lesson took place between 3 and 5 as opposed to between 1 and 3 when they normally happen

but this was good as it meant I got some more experience driving at night, and the lesson went pretty well overall,

I have to say tho

what is it with night time and making people run out into the road, its bad enough when they do it in the day time, let alone at night in dark coloured clothing, and yet I had more people walk out/run out in front of me then any of my daytime lessons combined!

(I am aware iv had quite a few lessons by now, but hopefully things are getting there! I will also say, because of living near central London, especially a specific thing in mind (lets say practicing maneuvers), just trying to get there can take up a lot of lesson time, so once you do get there you dont have as much time as you would like, and I think thats also lengthened things out a bit! at least thats the excuse I tell myself anyway! LOL)

next lesson is on friday normal time  

(I still haven't booked the practical in, cuz as I was going through I realised I should of grabbed the name of the test center to book with, throughout my lessons he has referenced a specific test center as we drive past it, and he said in the past he has me drive to the locations I drive to, because its where they do the test and he wants me to be familiar with the area, but I assume the area test takes place in is down to the test center, so I want to make sure I book the test with the right one! so ill grab that next lesson and hopefully ill be able to book my practical in  )

[High Jetter]

Wouldn't Google maps help you find the name of that test centre?