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...

[Spottedlaurel]

Invacar visible here:

 

[LightBulbFun]

40 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Invacar visible here:

 

ah cool, Tis a 1973-1978 Model 70 most likely  although could be a 1970-1972 Model 70 with a Retroreflective plate installed later in life, although most Model 70's only started to lose their original factory plates in the 1990s and 2000's

 

I have my own recently spotted background Invacar mystery to figure out, wondering where this Photo was snapped

https://www.facebook.com/groups/psvcircle/permalink/4193932027291642

you would think Isle of Man going by the stuff on the bus but the comments suggest otherwise

and im trying to figure it out because of the VPF251M-VPF299M Ministry AC Model 70 in the background!

Invalid vehicles in the Crown dependancies is a bit of an Unknown sadly, but I dont think they where part of the IVS scheme so the presence of an IVS Vehicle indicates this was taken somewhere in England or NI

(Unless someone drove their IVS Model 70 to the Isle of Man and back!)

[LightBulbFun]

Oi! its not March 1st yet! LOL

I Set REV to SORN on the 1st of march and when checking her out of idle curiosity I noticed she is already SORN, the dastardly DVLA robbing me out of a day or 2 of Nill Rate Tax LOL

 

funnily enough its not the first time I have managed to time travel into the future using the DVLA

check out the date of first registration on this Austin!

its not the first time I have noticed this particular quirk, funnily enough I notice the most with new Pre 1931 Age related registrations for some reason, and I have seen it show the next month as the date of first registration a good 2 or 3 days in advanced!

[LightBulbFun]

"Passenger Carrying is Forbidden"

Ha!

(thanks to the member who's name I recognise but cant remember what their user name is on on here who got @dollywobbler to tag me in the Photograph on FB)

[OldBlokeInACaravan]

Hello all!  I've listed my available spares on Ebay if you know anyone interested.  Cheers 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=ac+invacar&_sop=10

[bobdisk]

9 hours ago, OldBlokeInACaravan said:

Hello all!  I've listed my available spares on Ebay if you know anyone interested.  Cheers 

If you have recently got an Invacar, why sell parts? Give it a year or so and I bet you will need one or more of them !!

[OldBlokeInACaravan]

5 hours ago, bobdisk said:

If you have recently got an Invacar, why sell parts? Give it a year or so and I bet you will need one or more of them !!

The spares im selling I've got duplicates of........

[MT606]

got a duplicate of the invacar ?

 

[Jikovron]

Invacaresque Estate!

Not an invacar but I spotted this and thought what a cracking thing, looks to be a steel unitary body with added practicality of 2 seats and a rear hatchback moderately , LHD though. 

[egg]

39 minutes ago, Jikovron said:

Invacaresque Estate!

Not an invacar but I spotted this and thought what a cracking thing, looks to be a steel unitary body with added practicality of 2 seats and a rear hatchback moderately , LHD though. 

Was £2,400, been for sale for some time. I think he wants too much for it!

[Jikovron]

Yeah I agree it's likely too small of a market due to being so unheard of compared to other microcars, its certainly something ice never seen before.

[LightBulbFun]

4 hours ago, Jikovron said:

Invacaresque Estate!

Not an invacar but I spotted this and thought what a cracking thing, looks to be a steel unitary body with added practicality of 2 seats and a rear hatchback moderately , LHD though. 

hah yeah! iv seen that floating around for some time  

but if you really want an Invacar-esque estate find an Anzani Astra

they really do look like a 4 wheeled estate version of a Model 57, Metal AC Acedes LOL

[LightBulbFun]

On 31/03/2019 at 12:43, Yoss said:

Weirdly my Favorit has raised letter on aluminium reflective plates well into the perspex era.

Not seen another car this new with them (I've been looking since I got it). They have no dealers/makers markings either but they weren't a legal necessity until much later I think. I don't know if they had to be perspex from a certain date, though obviously they'd be cheaper than these. I like them and definitely won't be changing them.

so how many points is this worth?

was talking with Stuart about number plates and such and when the last styles of certain plates where last spotted or produced, and so I duly showed him the one on your Skoda Favorit

which he was very excited to seem, as your raised digit plate as its now the latest he has seen of that style (apparently a regulation update in 1989  to do with how tall the digits of a plate could be, basically killed off all the raised digit plates overnight)

until now H909BBV was the last in period raised digit plate he had seen and H964GPC is the latest in his collection, it is interesting to note that H964GPC is off a Skoda and is also Surrey/Guildford registered

have to wonder if they came from the same dealer?  

[Yoss]

That does look slightly deeper than standard too and with no border. Mine came from Withams of Walton on Thames. They're not there any more, they were one of these small backstreet dealers that Škoda discarded when they started selling more cars. 

[OldBlokeInACaravan]

On 3/1/2021 at 3:43 PM, MT606 said:

got a duplicate of the invacar ?

 

Fraid not! Lol

[Tadhg Tiogar]

On 2/9/2021 at 1:59 AM, LightBulbFun said:

....also some old traffic light porn for @Tadhg Tiogar

Always liked those classic SGEs. They were cast-iron and weighed a ton. I once did my back in lifting a single 3-aspect head (cost fifty quid) into the car.

[Spottedlaurel]

Invacar (or its predecessor) lurking towards the back left of this old 1960s Darlington postcard:

Sent on 2nd September 1964, but looks to me like 1960/61.

[busmansholiday]

On 2/27/2021 at 11:07 AM, LightBulbFun said:

ah cool, Tis a 1973-1978 Model 70 most likely  although could be a 1970-1972 Model 70 with a Retroreflective plate installed later in life, although most Model 70's only started to lose their original factory plates in the 1990s and 2000's

 

I have my own recently spotted background Invacar mystery to figure out, wondering where this Photo was snapped

https://www.facebook.com/groups/psvcircle/permalink/4193932027291642

you would think Isle of Man going by the stuff on the bus but the comments suggest otherwise

and im trying to figure it out because of the VPF251M-VPF299M Ministry AC Model 70 in the background!

Invalid vehicles in the Crown dependancies is a bit of an Unknown sadly, but I dont think they where part of the IVS scheme so the presence of an IVS Vehicle indicates this was taken somewhere in England or NI

(Unless someone drove their IVS Model 70 to the Isle of Man and back!)

New as KRN218H, Marshall bodied Panther to Preston (just screamed Preston to me when I saw the pic). Did come back to the UK, there's a pic of it in Swanage on the web taken in 1982 in IoMRS livery and reg. 

 

[LightBulbFun]

4 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Invacar (or its predecessor) lurking towards the back left of this old 1960s Darlington postcard:

Sent on 2nd September 1964, but looks to me like 1960/61.

Ohh nice spot, looks like its a petrol Stanley Harper Mk6  (could also Stanley Mk7 but the grain size is too corse for me to be able to make out the Mk7's defining features sadly)

2 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

New as KRN218H, Marshall bodied Panther to Preston (just screamed Preston to me when I saw the pic). Did come back to the UK, there's a pic of it in Swanage on the web taken in 1982 in IoMRS livery and reg. 

 

ah thanks  figured someone would know a bit about it  good to know!

[Eyersey1234]

@LightBulbFun  just had this pass me in York 

[LightBulbFun]

32 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

@LightBulbFun  just had this pass me in York 

hah that must of been quite surreal  after reading me ramble on about them for nearly 3 years to have one drive right past you!

VJN960S is one of Adam's initial 4, happy to see he is continuing to enjoy them on the road   (or in this case I think its one of his friends/employees I know he lends them to close mates and such  )

 

[Mrs6C]

40 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

just had this pass me in York 

 

[Eyersey1234]

6 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

hah that must of been quite surreal  after reading me ramble on about them for nearly 3 years to have one drive right past you!

VJN960S is one of Adam's initial 4, happy to see he is continuing to enjoy them on the road   (or in this case I think its one of his friends/employees I know he lends them to close mates and such  )

 

Yeah it was quite surreal. Good to see one out on the road. 

[Eyersey1234]

@LightBulbFun I put the photo on my Faceache page which started a discussion about Invacars. Someone said that someone converted one to a bigger engine, any idea if that's true? 

[somewhatfoolish]

At least one has had a Dizzle fitted(Kubota I think?). Daft idea really, the aircooled flat twin is a good match for the weight.

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Eyersey1234 said:

@LightBulbFun I put the photo on my Faceache page which started a discussion about Invacars. Someone said that someone converted one to a bigger engine, any idea if that's true? 

depends exactly what they mean by converted one to a bigger engine

I have heard plenty of stories of "my mate fitted a 500cc something or other motorbike engine to his" but they never go into much detail and iv never actually seen a Villers Machine with a larger engine fitted

and it would not make much sense on a Model 70 since they already have relatively large 493cc Steyr puch engine

some sources will say that the Steyr puch engine was put in place of the Villers engine after it was discontinued but this is not the case, the Model 70 was designed from the Ground up to use a Fiat 500 engine originally then when Fiat could not supply engines they where directed to Steyr puch as their engine was a drop in replacement for a Fiat 500 engine, (the Steyr puch 500 being a licence built Fiat 500 but fitted with Steyr Puch's own engine and Gearbox for the hilly Austrian terrain)  and its a good thing they did go with Steyr puch engines in the end as its a much better engine then the Old fiat lump!

but on the Model 70 front at least one Model 70 was fitted with a 643cc or 660cc (I dont know which sadly) version of the Steyr puch engine as used in the Haflinger and larger/more performance orientated versions of Steyr puch 500

and this Model 70 was used for testing the driveline/the CVT system to its limits 

Derry Preston Cobb's Model 70 was also being fitted with a 643cc engine (as was a speed demon and a half!) but sadly he passed away while the work was being done and I dont think it ever got finished

otherwise im not aware of any other Model 70 being fitted with a larger engine (although VAV1L MPD553P was/is fitted with a Kubota 3 Pot diesel unit of all things a few years ago but that one is also 500cc)

[LightBulbFun]

but speaking of Model 70 and development work

check this out! one of these Fibreglass cars is not like the rest! thanks to @dollywobbler for bringing it to my attention its a very interesting find!

apparently Reliant had at some point got a Model 70 to study for its CVT transmission with a view of making such an option available in their own models!

I have to wonder how they got ahold of it, or when they got ahold of it? and its a shame its reg is missing, have to wonder if its an Ex Ministry example they somehow got their hands on or if it one of the Few private Invacar Model 70's out there that they managed to find and buy from someone

and I have to wonder what happened to it in the end!

https://www.facebook.com/MrHubNut/posts/10159328093463200

(about 47 mins in)

[Eyersey1234]

8 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

depends exactly what they mean by converted one to a bigger engine

I have heard plenty of stories of "my mate fitted a 500cc something or other motorbike engine to his" but they never go into much detail and iv never actually seen a Villers Machine with a larger engine fitted

and it would not make much sense on a Model 70 since they already have relatively large 493cc Steyr puch engine

some sources will say that the Steyr puch engine was in place of the Villers engine was discontinued but this is not the case, the Model 70 was designed from the Ground up to use a Fiat 500 engine originally then when Fiat could not supply engines they where directed to Steyr puch as their engine was a drop in replacement for a Fiat 500 engine, (the Steyr puch 500 being a licence built Fiat 500 but fitted with Steyr Puch's own engine and Gearbox for the hilly Austrian terrain)  and its a good thing they did go with Steyr puch engines in the end as its a much better engine then the Old fiat lump!

but on the Model 70 front at least one Model 70 was fitted with a 643cc or 660cc (I dont know which sadly) version of the Steyr puch engine as used in the Haflinger and larger/more performance orientated versions of Steyr puch 500

and this Model 70 was used for testing the driveline/the CVT system to its limits 

Derry Preston Cobb's Model 70 was also being fitted with a 643cc engine (as was a speed demon and a half!) but sadly he passed away while the work was being done and I dont think it ever got finished

otherwise im not aware of any other Model 70 being fitted with a larger engine (although VAV1L MPD553P was/is fitted with a Kubota 3 Pot diesel unit of all things a few years ago but that one is also 500cc)

Thanks LBF

[Six-cylinder]

Ok a bed time story to help you sleep!

Once upon a time in a land far away called Leith there was an Invacar parked in the street.........

 

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

Ok a bed time story to help you sleep!

Once upon a time in a land far away called Leith there was an Invacar parked in the street.........

 

That made it all the way to east yorkshire 2021 before the nuclear reactor powering the flux capacitor ran out of Plutonium and broke down...

but at least it did not run out of power when up in space!