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...

21,352 · January 27

its been a few days, (we had a wet-room/shower-with-seat thing installed), but today was time for another trip out in REV

despite sitting for over a week she started up without issue, today would be an interesting trip, as I was driving into the night and into the weather!

first stop!

another trip into Central London!

second stop! and then home! with a few more miles covered only a couple miles now to 200 miles from when I first got her!

pleased to report REV performed once again without fault despite the weather! ( @dollywobbler's trick of keeping a spare wiper blade in the car to clean the outside of the side windows etc works really well!)

and I am also pleased with myself, just in general since I got her back things have been fairly easy going, in in terms stress/worry/nervousness levels while driving, not going to say Its completely plain sailing, but it is very much a case of I have not had to think too much about the actual driving aspect of things, leaving me free to focus about whats on the road ahead of me etc, which I am quite pleased about, as i know during my driving lessons I was always very nervous/stressed about everything, but I know that when I first got REV back in 2021, all that melted away, and thankfully it has continued to do so this second time round

I do find on dual carriage ways I still get a bit nervous/stressed, (not majorly so, but I do feel the increased muscle tenseness/back pain from it afterwards) its not so much the driving at speed aspect of things, (although you are aware things do happen much quicker at those speeds) but actually the keeping to the speed limit side of things, when your a dual carriage way, its much easier to pickup speed naturally, and I dont want to get points on my licence thank you! LOL, in some regards I am actually looking forward to my first motorway drives in that hopefully there wont be so many 40Mph then 50Mph then 40Mph then 50Mph speed limit changed to worry about! (but I do have other worries there, like if you miss your exit/junction, you cant exactly do a quick U turn to get back on track! but I digress)

131,328 · January 27

We go to London a couple of times a year, I'd bloody love to see this being driven about. It'd be a better tourist attraction than pretty much anything else.

15,695 · January 27

2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

its been a few days, (we had a wet-room/shower-with-seat thing installed),

I guess that was a bit of an adventure*.

You're doing great, gradually gaining confidence and increasing trips

3,125 · January 28

16 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

We go to London a couple of times a year, I'd bloody love to see this being driven about. It'd be a better tourist attraction than pretty much anything else.

I'd also love to meet rev (and @LightBulbFun) one day, perhaps at a show or something. It'd be well worth the trip down as I've never seen one in real life.

I'm pleased to hear your confidence continues to grow LBF and still enjoying rev being out and about. I also hope it's making life easier for you. I've been driving 25+ yrs and the thought of driving around central London absolutely terrifies me. I suppose it's what you get used to but the M25 is close enough for me in a car, anywhere closer the train/underground is a doddle especially with the dog.

17,654 · January 28

For having been so camera shy for so long, another shot of MHJ 54P has appeared on facebook!

21,352 · January 28

16 minutes ago, cms206 said:

For having been so camera shy for so long, another shot of MHJ 54P has appeared on facebook!

its like buses you wait ages and 3 come along at once! except its the same bus (well coach) 3 times... is this how Glitches in the Matrix manifest themselves on Autoshite? :mrgreen: its not known to somehow still survive somewhere is it? as Model 70's either side of it do, MHJ22P and MHJ107P are known survivors, so a photoshoot if the bus between them would be neat!

21,352 · January 29

On 27/01/2025 at 21:50, Cavcraft said:

We go to London a couple of times a year, I'd bloody love to see this being driven about. It'd be a better tourist attraction than pretty much anything else.

this is one of the things that makes it fun to drive REV in London, is you do get a lot of smiles per gallon! it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling, to know that I have brightened up someone else's day

On 28/01/2025 at 02:06, Marshall2810 said:

I'd also love to meet rev (and @LightBulbFun) one day, perhaps at a show or something. It'd be well worth the trip down as I've never seen one in real life.

I'm pleased to hear your confidence continues to grow LBF and still enjoying rev being out and about. I also hope it's making life easier for you. I've been driving 25+ yrs and the thought of driving around central London absolutely terrifies me. I suppose it's what you get used to but the M25 is close enough for me in a car, anywhere closer the train/underground is a doddle especially with the dog.

Thanks, if you ever find yourself in this neck in the woods your more then welcome to swing by and have a nosy around REV, as long as I get a heads up of course

I do admit the bit that I have highlighted, when I do find myself worrying about something, or if I fluff something up, take a wrong turn, end up in the wrong lane etc, I always try to remind myself, "dont worry, there are plenty of people who have been driving for *far* longer then me who have said they would never entertain driving here" (so dont worry yourself, your far from the only one to make that remark!)

21,352 · January 30

Pop Quiz: whats the Tax Due date for VJN960S?.... (cheating is allowed, feel free to use the DVLA's vehicle enquiry service...)

3,125 · January 30

On 29/01/2025 at 17:29, LightBulbFun said:

Thanks, if you ever find yourself in this neck in the woods your more then welcome to swing by and have a nosy around REV, as long as I get a heads up of course

I'd very much like to take you up on that one day @LightBulbFun!

62,927 · January 30

I hate driving in central London too - it doesn't scare me as such but the traffic and aggressive driving stresses me out and I always manage to get bloody lost, even with a sat nav. I'm OK in the City as I know my way around reasonably well through working there back in the day, but anywhere outside the Square Mile I'm stuffed.

21,352 · January 30

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

I hate driving in central London too - it doesn't scare me as such but the traffic and aggressive driving stresses me out and I always manage to get bloody lost, even with a sat nav. I'm OK in the City as I know my way around reasonably well through working there back in the day, but anywhere outside the Square Mile I'm stuffed.

I will certainly say its not what I would call fun! I enjoy taking REV out and about of course, but the actual driving bit, is mostly stop start shuffling about the place bollocks, which REV at least does with ease, and means I dont have to think too much about it for the most part (I much rather take REV then public transport, assuming I can find parking at the other end!), the only thing I have noticed in that regard is sometimes she can be a bit snatchy/juddery/shunty when you snap the throttle open to accelerate away, not sure if slack/worn drive belt or worn driveline mounts?, does not seem to affect her in any other regards so I have filed it under "investigate it when the weather is warmer" (unless it was done unknowingly while at Red5's or with Saabnut, I dont think the CVT drive belt has ever been changed, so that is something I would like to do in general as a general preemptive service item, but yeah not for now in this weather LOL)

and REV being REV means you can find enjoyment in driving where other cars cant, the aforementioned traffic calming bollards which in REV you can take as a fast slalom

25,238 · January 31

Dixon-Bate trailer showing three wheeler invalid carriage 1949

21,352 · January 31

Just now, D.E said:

Dixon-Bate trailer showing three wheeler invalid carriage 1949

old Carter Model F or there abouts funnily enough when it was first listed I sent it to Stuart turns out he already has this picture/clipping himself

21,352 · January 31

another day, another trip out into London in REV

first stop was to fill up, because I have another longer trip planned where I just want to do the trip and not have to worry about fuel, gauge was showing 1/4 left

in actuality was more like half a tank left since I managed to get about 10L in there

so if I Have done my maths right, 10L in about 50 miles (23221 last fill up and 23270 this fill up) is about 22Mpg? thats 2Mpg better then last time! small victories? hopefully this makes @dollywobbler feel a bit better about Betty at least

this petrol station only had E10, hopefully REV's insides dont melt! the Nautilus fuel line @Mrs6C kindly fitted for me at the FoD, I know is everything proof, but I think a couple sections have been replaced since then, so ill keep an eye on those to be safe

eventually arrived at my destination (crossed over tower bridge again which is always fun for bemusing the tourists! although you cant really see the Thames when your in a car)

my brother is *deeply* into a card game called "magic the gathering" which he really-really-really wanted to teach me how to play and to play a game with him so thats what the purpose of this trip was for, it gets very complicated very fast! not majorly my thing, but I enjoyed the time spent

eventually it was time to head home, which was slightly an extended trip when I took a wrong turn at Tower Hill and ended up having to go a fairways down The Embankment, (including through a small tunnel that I used to go under when riding Routemasters back to the garage where funnily enough I passed a Routemaster with REV just as I was thinking that thought ) before eventually turning off at temple peer then battling through the Strand and Fleet street etc

anyways with a few more miles on the clock (now over 200 since 2019!), I was home

2,131 · February 1

Great to see you getting out about. Must be so liberating having your own personal transport especially in that there London.

Here's to many more miles travelled and we are looking forward to hearing how it goes when you get a bit further afield. Don't forget to call into some local independent garages whilst you are tootling about - you are bound to need some REV maintenance sometime that you aren't able to do for whatever reason.

62,927 · February 1

Might be worth investing in a bottle of this stuff for times when you can't find E5, just to be on the safe side.

22,843 · February 1

Spotted elsewhere.

Copland Rd end Ibrox in the 60s

21,352 · February 1

48 minutes ago, Dick Cheeseburger said:

Spotted elsewhere.

Copland Rd end Ibrox in the 60s

heres a slightly less "crunchy" version but sadly still not particularly high resolution

On 06/08/2022 at 21:52, LightBulbFun said:

speaking of eye catching black and whites, got a couple more football ones, I wish I could find a higher res version of this full lineup picture, I know its from a pinterest post, but reverse google image search aint coughing anything up sadly

February 2

MTG is fun, but can get expensive fast!

Anyway, just seen this.

Here. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2485922505078907&id=904662363204937

Something spoken about in the comments that I don't know existed.

44,545 · February 2

TWC can also be very snatchy at times if you're attempting a quick getaway. I put it down to the clutch system being rather simple. Would be interested to know if others are the same.

24,060 · February 2

Just popped into the local bygones site, and thought of you!

talacre, Holywell 1979.

24,060 · February 2

9 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Just popped into the local bygones site, and thought of you!

talacre, Holywell 1979.

Today…

7,369 · February 2

and there Desmundo is your next challenge! 😁

5,776 · February 2

You may have seen this already: https://youtu.be/Gcb12XVzJZg

1983, Southsea. From 12min 24sec approx.

Edit: At 20min 6sec there's a glimpse of another one, parked. At 30min approx. there is another one parked. Number plates are not visible on either of these.

I was interested in this because I lived in Southsea in 1961 but the drive around did not go down either of 'our' roads (Brading Avenue and Eastfield Road). Nevertheless, most of the drive was familiar territory. I wonder what car it was filmed from? Seemed to have a very short nose and was quite narrow but the suspension was more compliant than I remember in a Mini. Hydrolastic version perhaps? I did not spot any reflections in shop windows as it was all rather fuzzy. Enjoyable though.

21,352 · February 2

4 hours ago, RayMK said:

You may have seen this already: https://youtu.be/Gcb12XVzJZg

1983, Southsea. From 12min 24sec approx.

Edit: At 20min 6sec there's a glimpse of another one, parked. At 30min approx. there is another one parked. Number plates are not visible on either of these.

I was interested in this because I lived in Southsea in 1961 but the drive around did not go down either of 'our' roads (Brading Avenue and Eastfield Road). Nevertheless, most of the drive was familiar territory. I wonder what car it was filmed from? Seemed to have a very short nose and was quite narrow but the suspension was more compliant than I remember in a Mini. Hydrolastic version perhaps? I did not spot any reflections in shop windows as it was all rather fuzzy. Enjoyable though.

indeed I have seen that one a couple times if you search the forum for VOO623L you will find where I talk about it previously (there is actually a dedicated thread for that youtube video funnily enough) its notable as its an example of how Model 70's retained "White on black" number plates right until the law forced their hand to change to retroreflective plates

I always point this out because I have had more then my fair share of people go "oh no anything with an F suffix or later and most certainly by K or L suffix would of had retroreflective plates when new" and yeah while thats true for the vast majority or private motor vehicles, that however does not apply to Ministry owned and operated invalid vehicles like London Transport buses they are the exception that proves the rule so to speak!

21,352 · February 3

remember that petrol fill up from the last outing? well today was the day of the main outing that fill up was for

for a little while back I spotted a bundle of 13 nice flourcent tubes of a perticular type/colour/age that I wanted/which appealed to me, and when investigating the route I saw that google suggested a nice little motorway route, of about 25 miles, and I thought that looked good! I have never been on a motorway before, but you gotta start somewhere, and this looked like a nice little trip to do so

well I am pleased to report REV handled it without issue from the A12 to the A406 very briefly, then onto the M11, the M25 (yes I have done the M25 in an Invacar!), then finally the A10 very briefly, then to the seller house

fluorescent tubes picked up amusingly by sheer fluke it looks like REV's flat-floor space is almost exactly 42 inches, nice and snug!

and then it was time to come back the way I came, A10-M25-M11-A12, with the added fun of little bit of un-forecasted drizzle (but once you get some volts into it, the wiper does appear to work well enough)

and before not too long, I was back home, total milage for the trip about 53 miles my longest round trip so far I think with a nice pleasing to the eye computer-centric total milage number which pleases the computer nerd side of me

once more I am very pleased with myself and REV, this was my first time on a Motorway (maybe even REV's first time?) so I was a bit anxious about things and I spent plenty of time on google maps analysing the route going there (never actually looked much at the Route coming back since I was not sure which one I would take) but thankfully I had nothing to worry about, it was all quite intuitive once you actually "got there" even doing the same route coming back which I had not initially planned on doing was no problems, and as above REV handled it no problems! the M25 was all 50Mph roadworks limited anyhow, but even on the un-restricted M11 I was able to cruise quite nicely at Wide open throttle, 60Mph what she will do on the flat and level, about 63Mph is what I managed on a slight downhill section, sadly could not crack 70 despite actively trying! but again she handled it fine, no handling concerns of any sort sure its a bit loud, but otherwise she rolled with it very nicely, the engine certainly feels like it was nicely smoothed out by the end of the trip (although I do note the CVT developed some extra sequels in the 0-20Mph roads around here, wonder if the belt stretched/glazed slightly?)

and for those wondering what the tubes are, I picked these up as they are an unusual 1050mm length about 42 inches long, Thorn devloped this 1050mm T8 size as means to create a fluorescent tube that would fit entirely in a metric 1200mm ceiling grid hole and still be just as efficient and ballast compatible with a normal 4ft tube, originally when this 1050mm size came out they where 40W rated but in the early 90's they got re-rated to 38W and the reasoning behind that re-rating is something I happen to be actively investigating, (because Thorn also folded this tube in half to make the 40W 525mm U tube to fit 600mm holes, which was way more efficient then 2x2ft tubes, but that U tube remained 40W rated to the end so if they are otherwise identical tubes why did one get re-rated while the other did not) so I am pleased to have some actual examples to have a look at, and these examples are also nice British made, 840 Triphosphor types, so they will be nice and bright with good colour rendering (I do have some later Hungarian made 38W GE 1050mm tubes but they are normal 535 halophosphate white)

6,621 · February 3

When did you last check the tyre pressures? This will have an impact on speed and mpg.needs doing once a week ideally especially with the fluctuating temperatures at the moment.

20,934 · February 3

I know you wanted to try a motorway anyway but that seems a strange way to go to end up back on the A10 seeing as it runs about two minutes to the west of your house. Shoreditch High Street and Kingsland Road are the A10. From there it would have been a straight line all the way. Google sent you round in a big loop. They might be faster roads but I doubt it was any quicker.

But if you wanted to practice motorway driving that probably was a good start.

21,243 · February 3

The A10 going out N. from Bishopsgate can be pretty grim getting to the N. Circular and the bit N. of that can get really bogged up too on the way N. to the M25 and beyond.

I tend to bypass all that and even if going to the A10 beyond the M25 take the dual carriageway A12- N. Circular- M11 Route - and then swing back on the M25 - it's mostly decent roads all the way.

But everybody has their own preferences. All pretty time sensitive too and need to check the live traffic bulletins for carmageddon on the M25.

Even when going across London often quicker to get out to the M25 and then come back in. Depends on the traffic - but S.W. London can be pretty snarled.

I prefer to take a longer route as long as I can keep moving.

20,934 · February 3

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

The A10 going out N. from Bishopsgate can be pretty grim getting to the N. Circular and the bit N. of that can get really bogged up too on the way N. to the M25 and beyond.

I tend to bypass all that and even if going to the A10 beyond the M25 take the dual carriageway A12- N. Circular- M11 Route - and then swing back on the M25 - it's mostly decent roads all the way.

But everybody has their own preferences. All pretty time sensitive too and need to check the live traffic bulletins for carmageddon on the M25.

Even when going across London often quicker to get out to the M25 and then come back in. Depends on the traffic - but S.W. London can be pretty snarled.

I prefer to take a longer route as long as I can keep moving.

You're probably right, I dare say I'm underestiming the state of London traffic these days. It's been a long time since I drove in London regularly and when I do, mostly around west London, it is always much worse than it used to be.

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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...

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