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...

[Zelandeth]

1 minute ago, LightBulbFun said:

(as a side note I wonder what they mean by left hand steering lock, especially as they mention the part is dependent on if the car has 10 inch wheels fitted or not)

I imagine it's to prevent the wheel touching something at full lock.  Bearing in mind the 10" tyres are quite a bit wider than the 12" ones.

[LightBulbFun]

4 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

I imagine it's to prevent the wheel touching something at full lock.  Bearing in mind the 10" tyres are quite a bit wider than the 12" ones.

yeah I was wondering such

but the way they word "for left hand steering lock" had me a bit confused made me wonder if they where talking about some sort of actual steering lock in the security sense, but I have never seen anything like that on any Ministry invalid vehicle (nor could how I see such a security device would be dependent on road wheel size)

 

ahhh can you imagine calling up disklok or such asking if they do one for an Invacar, or calling to complain that it wont fit and sending back a picture like this 

[Mr Pastry]

STY 395 I think is a king pin bush (which will be fun when the time comes....)

It looks as though they supplied the steering rod as an assembly c/w ball joints.  They list a 1/2 UNF locknut, but I would expect a left hand thread on one end of the rod, and a right hand thread on the other for adjustment purposes.   

Mini track rod ends are 1/2 UNF but always RH thread, so would only fit one end.   Can't think of an LH threaded equivalent ATM.   Is the track rod actually 1/2" diameter, or something else ? 

[Zelandeth]

29 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

STY 395 I think is a king pin bush (which will be fun when the time comes....)

It looks as though they supplied the steering rod as an assembly c/w ball joints.  They list a 1/2 UNF locknut, but I would expect a left hand thread on one end of the rod, and a right hand thread on the other for adjustment purposes.   

Mini track rod ends are 1/2 UNF but always RH thread, so would only fit one end.   Can't think of an LH threaded equivalent ATM.   Is the track rod actually 1/2" diameter, or something else ? 

It wouldn't surprise me if the linkage for itself is threaded to suit the ball joint.  I'll take a closer look next time I'm in the garage.

[LightBulbFun]

2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

I believe there are some NOS track rod ends in which im sure can be looked at and compared to a Mini trackrod end?  

realised I had a brain fart, I meant to type

2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

I believe there are some NOS track rod ends in the parts stash, which im sure can be looked at and compared to a Mini trackrod end?  

as in there are some Model 70 ones in the parts stash that if needed could be looked at measured and compared to to others to try and find out what exactly they are?

 

(well im assuming they are Model 70 ones since aforementioned parts stash is the cache of parts we got with Dolly and REV!)

[Mr Pastry]

10 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

realised I had a brain fart, I meant to type

as in there are some Model 70 ones in the parts stash that if needed could be looked at measured and compared to to others to try and find out what exactly they are?

 

(well im assuming they are Model 70 ones since aforementioned parts stash is the cache of parts we got with Dolly and REV!)

Correction - Looking at the list again, at STY 400 they list "ball joint steering rod assembly (lower) assembly, 2051, qty 2" so maybe both ends are the same,

[LightBulbFun]

4 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

Correction - Looking at the list again, at STY 400 they list "ball joint steering rod assembly (lower) assembly, 2051, qty 2" so maybe both ends are the same,

Yeah

I was wondering above if that was for the cabin or suspension side, but I think it is for the suspension side,  or at least part of it is suspension side as the same part is listed in the Car type steering section (minus the Steering rod assembly (Bicycle type) bit, I guess when you ordered that part you had to specify what control scheme the car was?) which obviously does not use any such ball joints/track rod ends cabin side, like Bicycle steering does

17 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

Is the track rod actually 1/2" diameter, or something else ? 

I do think they are 1/2 inch, there is actually one on ebay  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133065945031

[Mr Pastry]

7 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

I do think they are 1/2 inch, there is actually one on ebay  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133065945031

Well that seems to settle it, though it's a pity we can't see the actual threads.  Not an easy to follow list!  It looks like you need 2 of these rod assemblies for the bicycle type steering and one for the car type.  Interesting under-dash photo.  The car type steering box looks familiar, though I can't quite place it.

[LightBulbFun]

25 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

Well that seems to settle it, though it's a pity we can't see the actual threads.  Not an easy to follow list!

its not too bad for the most part, but yeah it does throw the odd one at you that leaves you scratching your head a bit

(like I cant actually find the CVT pulleys themselves anywhere in the list, so I have no idea what their Store number number is!)

although its possible Approved Repairers may have been instructed to order those directly from Comet/Salsbury or something such via an Approved Repairer letter I dont have

25 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

 Interesting under-dash photo.  The car type steering box looks familiar, though I can't quite place it.

yeah its a picture of Dolly, I grabbed it during one of the previous FoD gatherings as there are no decent pictures I know of otherwise of the steering assembly of a steering wheel Model 70 (will have to grab one of REV's dash underside just for comparison sake ) 

(since its from Dolly, its worth noting that the control mechanisms/rods/linkages for the steering wheel hand throttle and brake are also present)

would be good to know if the Steering box was shared with/from another car, as I have had a few people ask me now what the steering box is from!

as you probably saw there is what looks to be a mfg's part number listed for it in the parts list I think, but I have not been able to find much via that sadly

25 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

It looks like you need 2 of these rod assemblies for the bicycle type steering

yeah there will be 2 if it is indeed catering to both cabin side and suspension side, since as you can see in Zels KPL photo there is obviously one suspension side

and and I know the bicycle type steering has one in the cabin doing similar duty, ill have to grab a picture next time im in REV  

[Mr Pastry]

1 hour ago, LightBulbFun said:

would be good to know if the Steering box was shared with/from another car, as I have had a few people ask me now what the steering box is from!

Will have a think about that, but don't hold your breath!  

[Spottedlaurel]

Seen photos of AHK 653L and GPL 335N in background of bus photos on Flickr?

[LightBulbFun]

2 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Seen photos of AHK 653L and GPL 335N in background of bus photos on Flickr?

I dont know actually

I cant immediately see any pictures with those 2 on my flicker tabs, or in my Invacar photo library but the registrations sound familiar and I have to wonder if I have them in my invacar photo library somewhere but never got round to posting them here

on the other hand the registrations may just sound familiar to me because I know I have gone through those registration blocks before  

if you could post them that would be much appreciated  

 

I had a quick look and here is some but not all the of the pictures (with buses) I have accumulated but yet to post (about) 

https://flic.kr/p/b8NrSZ

 

https://flic.kr/p/2gsio2t

 

https://flic.kr/p/satzDR

 

https://flic.kr/p/oecoU3

 

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

 

 

[Spottedlaurel]

2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

I dont know actually

I cant immediately see any pictures with those 2 on my flicker tabs, or in my Invacar photo library but the registrations sound familiar and I have to wonder if I have them in my invacar photo library somewhere but never got round to posting them here

on the other hand the registrations may just sound familiar to me because I know I have gone through those registration blocks before  

if you could post them that would be much appreciated

They're in this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarquinius_superbus/albums/72157629718443913

[LightBulbFun]

13 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

They're in this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarquinius_superbus/albums/72157629718443913

Ah awesome I had not seen those before, good album with some good shots scanned in lovely high resolution   

thank you for making me aware of them  

https://flic.kr/p/csfTmS

 

https://flic.kr/p/cxCn49

 

[LightBulbFun]

just came across this lovely picture

https://autoshite.com/topic/30553-the-new-news-24-thread/?do=findComment&comment=2218187

from @stuboy's recent post in the new news 24 thread  (the Model 70's ability to drive with its doors open like that will always amuse me, I wonder how fast you can go before it starts becoming a problem LOL)

would be good to have this one scanned in properly  

 

[LightBulbFun]

I see KPC538P's new V5 has finally been issued  

amusingly adam got the usual "your V5 will be with you shortly" letter from the DVLA just over a week ago, but for GPF282N!

which is still showing its last V5 issued as 1995

so I have to wonder if the DVLA clerk got slightly confused with the multiple V62's adam sent!

 

speaking of paperwork, I won the Model 70 Drivers Handbook and its been marked as dispatched  

[LightBulbFun]

14 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

so I have to wonder if the DVLA clerk got slightly confused with the multiple V62's adam sent!

 

nope just the DVLA being the DVLA, GPF282N had its V5 issued yesterday  (I was wondering because the Pre V5 letter said a V5 would be issued on the 16th but that was a weekend!)

(ill have to double check with Adam if he did or did not get a pre V5 letter from the DVLA on KPC538P)

[Zelandeth]

Don't suppose anyone knows if the flexible brake lines in the parts store (box 3) are front or rear ones?

I'm going to be getting a new set (or depending on cost, could get a few) made up for long term peace of mind for TPA.  Having a hose that's not already attached to the car and/or caked in underbody grime would be useful as a template.

Basically just planning to drop by my local Pirtek branch (they've always been good in the past) and say "Can you please make me 'n' of these please?"

Can always just take one off the car if need be, but if there's one I could borrow and return afterwards available it would be less hassle.  Especially if they say no and I have to resort to other sources.

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Don't suppose anyone knows if the flexible brake lines in the parts store (box 3) are front or rear ones?

I'm going to be getting a new set (or depending on cost, could get a few) made up for long term peace of mind for TPA.  Having a hose that's not already attached to the car and/or caked in underbody grime would be useful as a template.

Basically just planning to drop by my local Pirtek branch (they've always been good in the past) and say "Can you please make me 'n' of these please?"

Can always just take one off the car if need be, but if there's one I could borrow and return afterwards available it would be less hassle.  Especially if they say no and I have to resort to other sources.

im not sure sadly but if they can be got at then im sure their PN and or Store STY number will tell us what they are for exactly

and Girling PN's for all the brake parts on a Model 70 can be found here if its any help

https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/94895fc8/files/uploaded/GIRLING VEHICLE APPLICATIONS. AC. ABARTH. ALFA. ASTON MARTIN, AUSTIN. HEALEY. BARRETT, BOND, CLAN, DAIMLER, ELVA. 1960-85.pdf

 

[Zelandeth]

Oh, that's useful...Might well be able to just cross-reference that and find a source anyway.  I'll have a rummage this evening and see what I can find.

EDIT:

Appears that among other things, they're the same as the front brake hoses on a 69-71 Triumph Vitesse - which was by far the easiest to find a match for.  £12 later and I've got a pair on the way.  I'll advise if they're correct when the turn up...but for that price I figured I'd just take a punt on it!

[LightBulbFun]

just had this lamp arrive, its an MA lamp, a Medium pressure mercury lamp  I am very pleased to have finally nabbed one of these for a reasonable price

they are very rare sought after lamps and very historically significant, as the Medium pressure mercury lamp was the first hot cathode discharge lamp, and all modern discharge lamps today are descendent from this type of lamp

they where invented by GEC of England between 1923-1932 and put to market in 1932/1933 and was quickly copied the world over (in fact this is not my first one, I do own a 1943 US General Electric Example as well, but this is my first British example)

a great deal more on the Medium Pressure mercury lamp can be found here  http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Documents/M8 MA.htm

this particular lamp was made by the British arm of the Dutch Philips company in their Hamilton Scotland factory and dates to December 1952, the Date code is 36, which also comes back as December 1944, but the packaging looks 1950s to me matches a couple labels on the Philips 131U Radio I have IIRC, and the Hamilton Factory writeup by the excellent James Hooker makes mention that all lamp production moved to Hamilton in 1949 and since this bears the Hamilton Factory symbol on its etch then that confirms it to 1952, more on the Hamilton factory can be read here I do recommend giving it a read! http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Documents/Factory - UK - Hamilton.htm )

 

and as a bonus its an Ex Government property lamp, did not realise this when I bought it so was a nice bonus when I opened the package and checked out its etch  

(I think the number starting with X is a Pre NATO Military order code the lamp)

 

I do hope to light it soon and of course I will post pictures

this lamp does have one small issue where sadly one of the spot welds for the starting resistor has broken at some point in time, disconnecting the starting electrode from the rest of the lamp, but I have a few ways of providing the lamp with an extra kick to get it going in light of the non functional starting electrode so I am not to worried about that

[Mr Pastry]

@LightBulbFun   I was looking up some of my local history, and this came up in a short film about Tagg's Island.  I guess it was a postcard originally.   No shots of the factory unfortunately, but I thought you might like it anyway. 

[LightBulbFun]

32 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

@LightBulbFun   I was looking up some of my local history, and this came up in a short film about Tagg's Island.  I guess it was a postcard originally.   No shots of the factory unfortunately, but I thought you might like it anyway. 

Nice, an AC Petite  (Mk2 I think as that looks like rear steelies)

[Mr Pastry]

7 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

Nice, an AC Petite  (Mk2 I think as that looks like rear steelies)

Of course, the colour of the car is totally misleading for several reasons! 

[LightBulbFun]

On 18/01/2021 at 23:26, LightBulbFun said:

speaking of paperwork, I won the Model 70 Drivers Handbook and its been marked as dispatched  

its arrived  ill have to dig out my other copy at some point for a direct comparison, EDIT: I have attached pictures of my older version as well (whats left of it, sadly Pages between 6 and 11 are missing) but the one I got from ebay just now is definitely a different/a later version then the one I got from Stuart , but its still different than the one  @st185cs has! (note the differences on page 10) so theres at least 3 different versions of the Model 70 Drivers handbook!

(I know @dollywobbler has a Model 70 drivers handbook he got with some Reliant Fox parts I wonder what version his is!)

I have included most of the posts to do with the last Model 70 Drivers handbook when that showed up (which is on Page 74 for those wanting to read the full discussion then)

 

here are pictures of all the pages, in it for those curious  (if I was actually thinking, I would have arranged for it to go via @Zelandeth for scanning if he was up for that again, but I just saw it on ebay and went "Shut up and take my Money!" and lobbed a bid on it right way LOL)

its very interesting how it does make mention of the dash mounted heater/choke controls @Mrs6C's Model 70 has, its the first time I have seen them referenced in any official literature! (and Dolly is still the only Model 70 I or Stuart have seen with that setup!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(its interesting that for fuses it specifies 2x35A in fusebox, in other Model 70 literature I have it specifies 25A and 35A)

 

 

On 04/09/2019 at 11:44, LightBulbFun said:

Had a pleasant surprise delivery today  im not sure who sent it to me etc, but whoever did, thank you very much! its been a very interesting read  and im happy to have a drivers handbook to go along with my Model 70  

 

there's several very interesting things in this handbook but one ill point out now is how the lube chart, is literally a copy of whats on the Plaque inside the car, complete with "Engine number" and "Chassis Number" locations that are left blank in this case

I wonder if the end user was meant to write in the spaces what the engine number and chassis number of their Model 70 was in those blank spaces?

 

because on the previous page theres a location to write down what Key you had

 

theres also an interesting "Edit" of sorts to do with adjusting the handlebars

I wonder what it says underneath it?

 

edit:

sadly I noticed Page 7-8-9 and 10 is missing from my book

 

 

On 05/09/2019 at 04:32, st185cs said:

 

 

 

On 06/09/2019 at 16:04, LightBulbFun said:

Huh I just noticed on my manual the index page says that on page 10 should be battery, tyre and petrol tank info, but I dont see that on your page 10?

I wonder if there were different versions of the drivers handbook?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[egg]

Not quite sure, but is this one in Russia?

https://www.instagram.com/automuseum.ru/

pictures on this account:

[LightBulbFun]

4 minutes ago, egg said:

Not quite sure, but is this one in Russia?

https://www.instagram.com/automuseum.ru/

pictures on this account:

oh Very cool!

I had known about that one for a long time now

On 01/07/2019 at 15:03, LightBulbFun said:

this one is in Russia I think, sadly not much in the way of details either, https://www.instagram.com/p/BebOXPbliY3/ and https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd960R7Fcly/

 

 

but I never knew which one it was 

 

but while checking your post to see if it was indeed the same car (which it clearly is  ) I noticed the DHSS reserve sticker which I had failed to notice before hand

so that got me thinking and I checked JPA347N and indeed it looks like its the same car, its good to know finally where it ended up after it went to auction in the US, its travelled a fair bit! technically should not be on the survivors list as iv not yet been able to verify this one myself sadly, but it got added to the list during its earlier less strict days LOL

On 23/02/2019 at 12:15, LightBulbFun said:

JPA 347N, AC, Date of first registration, 6 June 1975, Current status: Unknown in the US somewhere, its thought JCB421N is actually JPA347N

 

[LightBulbFun]

2 hours ago, Timewaster said:

If they all belonged to the social, did the users even get a V5? 

indeed the users did  an invalid vehicle user would have the vehicle transferred to their name if they where the long time user of that vehicle and I do believe that they would get the V5 (although whether or not they where then instructed to hand it to their Approved Repairer or ALAC I dont know sadly)

(Courtesy cars and temporary user cars where registered to whoever the Local ALAC, artificial limb and appliance centre, was)

Invacars where actually a very good example of registered keeper does not mean the owner of the vehicle!

[dollywobbler]

This link is worth a click.

https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/19030928.remember-faces-brickfields/?ref=twshr#gallery8 

[plasticvandan]

Thanks for that Dolly,that's where my grandad worked in the 60s, I have been trying to find a pic of the place for years! It is also where the model 70 with the huge wheel.arches that was on this forum would have been "acquired" from