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...

[dollywobbler]

On 12/14/2020 at 2:46 PM, PhilA said:

Yeah, I did send him one, but it may have become lost, as that was a time of significant turmoil.

Phil

 

Edit: It was a regular 4-6-8 switchable tacho that I modified to read 2 cyl on the 4-cyl position. They're pretty easy to modify.

I definitely still have it somewhere, but the turmoil of two moves mean it might take some finding... I would still really like to get it fitted.

[LightBulbFun]

4 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

I definitely still have it somewhere, but the turmoil of two moves mean it might take some finding... I would still really like to get it fitted.

I think it would certainly make for a very interesting video  

(if nothing else I think it might help explain how the CVT works by visually demonstrating how the rev's stay constant)

[loserone]

Someone elsewhere has suggested that the thing the otherside of the level crossing is an invalid carriage of some sort.

 

Looks more like a kid's bogie to me, but thought I'd ask the experts

[Mrs6C]

5 minutes ago, loserone said:

Someone elsewhere has suggested that the thing the otherside of the level crossing is an invalid carriage of some sort.

 

Looks more like a kid's bogie to me, but thought I'd ask the experts

Looks like a Larmer car to me... what say you, @LightBulbFun?

[LightBulbFun]

6 minutes ago, loserone said:

Someone elsewhere has suggested that the thing the otherside of the level crossing is an invalid carriage of some sort.

 

Looks more like a kid's bogie to me, but thought I'd ask the experts

 

Just now, Mrs6C said:

Looks like a Larmer car to me... what say you, @LightBulbFun?

indeed id say its a Larmar car  

  

On 24/09/2020 at 12:28, LightBulbFun said:

introduced in 1946 designed to be narrow enough to fit through a common household door way, (2ft 4 inches I think the narrowest car in the world?) so you could park inside the house if you had no outside parking space

it was quite popular because it looked more like a regular car compared to other invalid carriages of the time, but this very thing attracted the tax people who stamped on it because of this  and the full amount of purchase tax was levied against it and the destroying its appeal overnight,

(tbh im not 100% sure why perhaps too many abled bodied people where buying them or they where not convinced it was an invalid vehicle? however AFAIK nothing dictated an invalid vehicle had to be a 3 wheeler...)

in 1949 the Larmar Model B was introduced which was widened 8 inches to accommodate a folding wheel chair, but production ended in 1951

 

[loserone]

And there you go.  Cheers both!

[LightBulbFun]

Ooo whats that

OOO indeed  

 

https://flic.kr/p/2kh8tPu

 

[Mrs6C]

2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

 

Put "invalid car" into Flickr as a search term... lots of interesting cars turn up... there may well be some photos in there you haven't seen... perhaps these?

https://flic.kr/p/6u82xX

https://flic.kr/p/ujUMfo

https://flic.kr/p/fLRHL

 

[LightBulbFun]

1 minute ago, Mrs6C said:

Put "invalid car" into Flickr as a search term... lots of interesting cars turn up... there may well be some photos in there you haven't seen...

indeed its one of a few flicker search terms I keep open in my many tabs and check in on, on a daily basis  

invalid tricycle and invalid three wheeler are others to try  

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Mrs6C said:

perhaps these?

https://flic.kr/p/6u82xX

https://flic.kr/p/ujUMfo

https://flic.kr/p/fLRHL

 

I see the comment has been updated

I have seen all of those, although as always I appreciate the heads up  heres the posts I did on a couple of them posted about a couple if your curious  

 

On 01/02/2019 at 13:17, LightBulbFun said:

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

 

 

On 06/04/2020 at 00:25, LightBulbFun said:

next up is this neat picture of an AC Acedes Mk15 Model 67, notable because I had found this Model 67 CPL351H on the DVLA before I ever knew there was a picture of it on the internet! during my Model 67 research period where I went through all the Model 67 chassis numbers to find as many blocks as I could  so its neat to see a picture of it exists!

https://flic.kr/p/6u8cZv

[martc]

15 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

I see the comment has been updated

I have seen all of those, although as always I appreciate the heads up  heres the posts I did on a couple of them posted about a couple if your curious  

 

In startling news - UYC654 may still be with us - but it's not taxed for road use(?) And LYF104 definitely is!!!

[LightBulbFun]

29 minutes ago, martc said:

In startling news - UYC654 may still be with us - but it's not taxed for road use(?) And LYF104 definitely is!!!

Ah thats cool, I never actually checked UYC654, but I knew LYF104 was around still, (if you look at the quotation box on the top right of it will be a little arrow, if you click on it, it will take you the original post itself where you can see the rest of it/other posts related to it ) 

 

not taxed for on road use is the taxation status a vehicle gets when its put in the NOT LICENSED taxation class

it can be thought of an old timey SORN, for when you had a vehicle on a buff logbook you wanted to move to the V5 system (or where just registering for the first time), but did not want to tax the vehicle (due to how the system works to put a vehicle in a taxation class you have to tax it)

so you would put "NOT LICENSED" in the taxation class to say im not licensing it, and obviously since you not taxing it, then it will not be taxed for on road use and gain that status on the DVLA system (but they where technically taxed to satisfy the systems requirements and you could see them automatically go from Tax not due to taxed and due back to Tax not due etc before the online system changed and hid this anonymity from us)

its literally the "free parking" of taxation classes LOL

 

I wonder if LYF104 and UYC654 survive, did anyone stash the 2 AC's and 1 Invacar Mk12 somewhere?  

 

 

speaking of taxation classes thinking about it, its probably why the taxation class on GTW614N stayed in the DISABLED taxation class despite putting HISTORIC VEHICLE on the V62, because to change it you need to tax it 

I wonder in future it might be worth trying again, but also putting a V10 Vehicle Tax application form in with the V62

 

[Woollen797]

On 11/30/2020 at 3:44 PM, LightBulbFun said:

Yeah, I remember them well as a kid  (and Tungsten lit Routemasters had a little cut off shield on the bulb next to the cab)

although is worth noting you could/can get coloured T8 tubes, but I suspect they simply sleeved regular white tubes because it was cheaper then buying coloured tubes and also a filtered coloured tube is much dimmer then an actual phosphor coloured tube

 

and finding a proper Red tube is quite hard these days

see red (and gold) tubes where always of the filtered type (as in they had a red (or yellow) coating on the glass itself as well as the phosphor coating) as its pretty much impossible to get a saturated Red or yellow light just from phosphors alone in a fluorescent tube (as the bare mercury discharge of a tube outputs its own blue light)

but the one problem with doing that is they put out a lot less light then their unfiltered counter parts like Blue green Pink etc and the old school red and yellow coatings used cadmium

so in more recent times most mfg's just made phosphor red tubes which are more magenta then red because of the blue light from the mercury discharge (and this is basically what radar red tubes where, which where developed for large quantities of red light, rather then saturated red light)

and as such getting proper filtered red tubes can be quite difficault, I think Philips are the last making Filtred Red and Yellow/Gold tubes

 

heres an example of some old school red tubes (these are ex MOD stock hence the lack of much branding, but the top 2 are Osram GEC and the bottom 2 are Thorn BLI)

and heres an example of the Thorns lit up  

By the time I started working on the buses in Leeds they had stopped using coloured tubes but some areas still have the modern versions.

[LightBulbFun]

had another lesson today my 3rd one with the new instructor

it went well  (although I do wish it was not so physically exhausting!) even managed to get a manoeuvre in despite heavy traffic, recently traffic has been very heavy so by the time we get to the area we normally do the lesson/manoeuvres etc (which is where the tests happen so you get familiar with the area for the test) we end up having to just turn around and head back home due to time constraints

I think next lesson ill recommend finding a spot closer to home just to practice manoeuvres if we cant make it to the usual location due to traffic etc (I know the quiet square where I had my first lessons learning the basics is fairly local so I may recommend that place)

speaking of, the next lesson is on the 23rd (then we will see then when the next few lessons are, hopefully traffic in the new year will be quieter also must remember to ask the new instructor how she thinks im doing and how many lessons she thinks I will need overall etc something Iv been meaning to ask but keep forgetting about!)

[Spottedlaurel]

Glen Fairweather has just uploaded a nice shot of an Invacar.

[LightBulbFun]

10 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Glen Fairweather has just uploaded a nice shot of an Invacar.

Oh very cool!

https://flic.kr/p/2jbxJxo

Model 70 Mark A complete with very rare dash gear change  

which was removed from most Model 70 Mark A's by the early 1980's I think, which is what the hole in the dashboard in TWC and TPA was for, so that should help date the photograph, (however a few Model 70's did manage to retain their dash changer until the end but of all the 90~ known surviving Model 70's  I only know 3 dash changer survivors , KPK888K, NPD775L, and NOO738M)

 

speaking of Nice shots of Model 70's Adam is continuing to enjoy his lot, makes me very happy to see some more Model 70's on the road out and about  

 

[Zelandeth]

One for you LBF which you probably know off the top of your head.

Do we know on what date the last Invacar was actually issued to a user?

[LightBulbFun]

7 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

One for you LBF which you probably know off the top of your head.

Do we know on what date the last Invacar was actually issued to a user?

CXI936 i am pretty sure was the last Model 70 issued to a new user, as it was registered on the 20th of the 4th 1983!  

although the last Model 70's issued to a new normal civilian user was issued on the 5th of July 1978, the option of a Model 70 remained available to war pensioners until 1983, which ties in with CXI's registration date,

and also of note theres also Marion Webb who gave up her Ministry invalid car in 1972 for a Ministry Moggie minor, but unusually managed to wrangled one back in 1979 and got given TJN352R and was the last Ministry Model 70 user only finally giving it up on the 14th October 2004!

from May 2006

(sorry for the delayed response, Both Sam and Adam have been calling me throughout today with stuff and updates on their respective Model 70's, I should open my Phone calls with "Invacar technical support how can I be of service today"  )

 

it also worth noting that if you where a Ministry vehicle user and your machine wore out or was involved in an accident etc, you could request another although obviously towards the end they tried as hard as they could to migrate users to the motability scheme etc

so it does mean Model 70's where issued to users throughout the 1980's-2000's but only to existing users 

[LightBulbFun]

just been sent by adam a very neat video of one of his Model 70's in action  there are not many external/chase cam video's of Model 70's/Invalid vehicles in general

so its very cool to see, its very fun to see it mingling among all the moderns

 

also given the commentary  in the video I feel like this should have been playing in the background

(as a side note the cover art always bugged me as the 3 wheeler in the warning triangle is clearly an AC Petite not an Invacar!)

[mitsisigma01]

6 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

just been sent by adam a very neat video of one of his Model 70's in action  there are not many external/chase cam video's of Model 70's/Invalid vehicles in general

so its very cool to see, its very fun to see it mingling among all the moderns

 

also given the commentary  in the video I feel like this should have been playing in the background

(as a side note the album always bugged me as the 3 wheeler in the warning triangle is clearly an AC Petite not an Invacar!)

WTF was that 🤔

Lyrics sheet required 

[LightBulbFun]

1 minute ago, mitsisigma01 said:

WTF was that 🤔

Lyrics sheet required 

Trust me I have looked but I cant find anything sadly LOL

do love that one of the vaguely legible bits sounds like "Mercedes car never touch my Thundersley Invacar now" 

would be a giggle to overtake a Mercedes just as that section blares out of REV's non existent radio LOL

[mitsisigma01]

Who was attempting to sing it, never heard of it before and probably wouldn't want to hear it again 😖

[Zelandeth]

This was something we were *really* hoping to do over the Christmas break while Chris was off work - get some decent rolling photos and some exterior video of TPA.  We'd got a few ideas of places relatively nearby we could get some decent shots with some nice backgrounds too.

Of course that's all in the bin now as we're under a stay at home order here.  By the time that changes he'll be back working 18 hour days again so I'll be short of a chase driver.

I still need to get out this week to get medicines and let supplies though, so that'll have to do. 

If nothing else I'll try to get a bit more onboard footage as there's so much difference compared to last time I got any there's really no comparison.  Want to get a little fleet update ramble for YouTube put together anyway.  Not so much because I reckon anyone will watch it of my 11 subscribers, but it'll be an interesting time capsule for me in ten years I reckon if nothing else!

 

[High Jetter]

The February issue of Practical Classics shows an 'AC or Thundersley Model 70 Invacar' in a photo of Staines in 1973, under the Memory Lane series. It's pretty side-on, so not much chance of making out the reg.

[egg]

6 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Of course that's all in the bin now as we're under a stay at home order here.

If you combine it with an essential trip for supplies, I'm sure it would be fine.

[egg]

I asked one of the founding members of collapsed Lung this:

I got these responses:

[LightBulbFun]

54 minutes ago, egg said:

I asked one of the founding members of collapsed Lung this:

I got these responses:

ah very cool! (and ha I was right in saying where they sampled the start from!  )

it would be fun if they came across my thread!

 

but that has reminded me, have updated the thread index to include the recent deluge of Model 70 new survivor updates  

[LightBulbFun]

just noticed the Harding https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133412512372

thats been for sale on ebay for yonks now

has been updated at some point with a neat little video of it in action  

I love the noise it makes  (thats true of any old electric vehicle really!)

(also im pretty sure that thumbnail with the harding and that helmet is next to the word incongruous in the dictionary LOL)

[RayMK]

41 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

just noticed the Harding https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133412512372

thats been for sale on ebay for yonks now

has been updated at some point with a neat little video of it in action  

I love the noise it makes  (thats true of any old electric vehicle really!)

(also im pretty sure that thumbnail with the harding and that helmet is next to the word incongruous in the dictionary LOL)

My 1986 Invacare class 2 (pavement, 4mph flat out) mobility scooter makes a similar noise, unlike modern scooters which are almost silent. Perhaps it's the transmission making the noise - mine is chain. Prior to my current ancient scooter I had an even older Everest & Jennings Runaround, a front wheel drive 3 wheeler which had a lot of transmission noise from its worn gear drive. Sadly, that one could not be repaired and ended its days at the recycling yard. In the 1950s, elderly disabled chaps often used hand cranked transport of similar appearance to the Harding. I fancied one for years but now realise that disabled old giffers in the 1950s must have been stronger and fitter than I am now 😃.

[LightBulbFun]

22 minutes ago, RayMK said:

My 1986 Invacare class 2 (pavement, 4mph flat out) mobility scooter makes a similar noise, unlike modern scooters which are almost silent. Perhaps it's the transmission making the noise - mine is chain. Prior to my current ancient scooter I had an even older Everest & Jennings Runaround, a front wheel drive 3 wheeler which had a lot of transmission noise from its worn gear drive. Sadly, that one could not be repaired and ended its days at the recycling yard. In the 1950s, elderly disabled chaps often used hand cranked transport of similar appearance to the Harding. I fancied one for years but now realise that disabled old giffers in the 1950s must have been stronger and fitter than I am now 😃.

Yeah quite likely the sound of gears and motor itself whirring away  (these of course brushed DC motors etc)

indeed most invalid carriage manufacturers started out with some form of hand propelled machines and even some later powered ones could still be hand propelled, I know Petrol Stanley Argsons could still be hand propelled by the user for example

@Woollen797 has a few hand propelled machines  

 

On 19/11/2020 at 02:19, Woollen797 said:

I'd love to see some more photos of GRT. I currently only have one powered IC and 2 hand cranked ones sadly the hand cranked ones haven't seen much use for a few years and GRT is in bits as I was rebuilding the body till some prat damaged both bodies where I was storing it. 

Bought the first as I has an old Springer Spaniel that couldn't walk far so I wanted a tricycle to transport him around at the shows and I tend to like unusual things so the IC really appealed to me. I had to put a plate onto the frame behind the front wheel to stop the dogs nose catching the wheel but he loved it and would go sit it it waiting for someone to take him for a ride.  

Really do need to get them back out as they are fun at shows, stopped using them about 2010 as my new puppy wouldn't travel in them and I didn't want to run him over while he was along side. 

I really do like them and it's fun at shows watching a friend getting stuck on hills and some of the older folk assisting pushing them up as they would have back in the day. I normally tell them thanks for the offer but I can cheat when the try and help push me up hills although when I was showing the trikes a lot I did quite well getting up hill unless it was on gravel and then I'd just spin the wheel.  The one with the front driven wheel is awful as it spins the wheel for fun.

I should get the V5 sorted for GRT but it didn't come to me with one but I did notice recently it is live again on the DVLA site so may be worth trying for one.

Somewhere on Youtube there is a video of me a friend racing them at Crich tramway museum. Ill have a look for that later.

 

this has also been on ebay for a good while if you fancy yourself a lockdown project or such  

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324273411484