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]

had another trip out in REV today, for what ill write off as Christmas shopping, for myself  

first step was to the bakery for mum since I was out and about (and I did get a carrot cake for myself)

then to a John Lewis Carpark in Bluewater Dartford

to pick up some Thorn 40W U-Tubes and a bonus Thorn 2D lamp  

76 Thorn U tubes to be exact, (3 boxes of 20 and 16 loose ones) no I dont *need* this many, but they where a very good price and they are* in Thorn's Unique "Plus White" Colour which is one fluorescent  tube colour I dont have in my collection and have wanted for some time in general, and especially recently, to perform spectral analysis on, ill keep a few for myself, and ill try and trade away the rest over time  *although the few I have pulled out so far although in plus white Boxes, have clearly been opened, and are Actually the even fancier Polylux 3500 type, which I am very pleased about, especially as they are still nice NOS Vintage Thorn ones, but I do hope there is at least a couple Plus-White's in there, as I still want that colour for my collection etc!

after loading up, I then headed, home, 50 miles covered all in all without any drama, traffic was fairly heavy, but I did managed to hit 70 briefly on the A2 on the return, before catching up with traffic  (I do often wonder what others on the road think when they get, passed by a warp speed invacar especially, in the dark 3 days before Christmas LOL, I know I baffled a few families that where leaving John Lewis based on the chitter chatter I heard while I was parked up waiting  )

[LightBulbFun]

also this very neat gift from @Mrs6C and @Six-cylinder arrived a couple days ago  my very own REV calendar, I think this is the very first actual physical calendar I have ever owned, fitting it be Invacar themed!  and some very good photographs chosen too!

 

[Dobloseven]

This continues to be one of my favourite threads and Dez has now used REV for over a year as his sole means of  transport.Various issues have been overcome,thanks in no small part to the generosity of others.Set me thinking,how many other 50 year old vehicles are being used all year round for the purpose the makers intended?Rather than just being used on fine days,or taken to shows etc.

[Dyslexic Viking]

The biggest problem 50 year old cars have is road salt, it's a quick way to kill them.

But this is not a problem for REV except the frame which I'm guessing is steel?

[Snake Charmer]

6 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

also this very neat gift from @Mrs6C and @Six-cylinder arrived a couple days ago  my very own REV calendar, I think this is the very first actual physical calendar I have ever owned, fitting it be Invacar themed!  and some very good photographs chosen too!

 

Brilliant. Will the hand made limited edition copies be done with Dymo Tape instead of bold type? 

[captain_70s]

1 hour ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

The biggest problem 50 year old cars have is road salt, it's a quick way to kill them.

But this is not a problem for REV except the frame which I'm guessing is steel?

In urban London even road salt isn't a major concern when compared to the rest of the UK. It rarely gets cold enough for ice to be a major concern.

[Dyslexic Viking]

6 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

In urban London even road salt isn't a major concern when compared to the rest of the UK. It rarely gets cold enough for ice to be a major concern.

It's so ingrained in me that winter has salt on the roads that I almost don't think it's possible not to have it in northern countries like the UK.

[Knotty Ash Towers]

5 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

It's so ingrained in me that winter has salt on the roads that I almost don't think it's possible not to have it in northern countries like the UK.

They don't salt the roads in Ireland. Instead, they get shedloads of rain, so cars will still rust...

[High Jetter]

8 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

also this very neat gift from @Mrs6C and @Six-cylinder arrived a couple days ago  my very own REV calendar, I think this is the very first actual physical calendar I have ever owned, fitting it be Invacar themed!  and some very good photographs chosen too!

 

Brilliant. Will you announce the next month with a new page?

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Knotty Ash Towers said:

They don't salt the roads in Ireland. Instead, they get shedloads of rain, so cars will still rust...

Ach, no - the rain is soft..,

(If you know, you know)

[junkyarddog]

13 hours ago, Knotty Ash Towers said:

They don't salt the roads in Ireland. Instead, they get shedloads of rain, so cars will still rust...

They do now,sadly.

[Six-cylinder]

Old TV spots.

Two in The Persuaders Ep 8, first broadcast Nov 1971. The episode was set in Brighton.

[LightBulbFun]

12 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Old TV spots.

Two in The Persuaders Ep 8, first broadcast Nov 1971. The episode was set in Brighton.

hah cool, I had been aware of it via the IMCDB for many years now

https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_18256-Invacar-Mk12.html

but I only just realised the car in the forground does share a registration mark with a block of Invacar Mk12's of which KWC896J is a survivor  

[Missy Charm]

On 19/12/2025 at 13:45, D.E said:

 

Dank u wel!

My dad grew up round there and well remembers the Volkswagens coming in on the boat.  In some cases, the cars would be driven under their own power from the quay to the depot, something which involved absolutely no high jinks or racing.  

Allegedly, too, some ancestor of his built part of Ramsgate promenade (or the harbour wall or the sea wall or possibly nothing at all - the story varied).  

[Remspoor]

A Spanish website on the Invacar. A collection of images at the bottom of the page

https://www.autopasion18.com/HISTORIA-INVACAR.htm

If the text has a lot of question marks showing that is because it is not been coded for modern browsers. The header codes say it was written with Microsoft FrontPage 6.0. That dates the website it to be written 2000

The next one has got some facts and date wrong.

https://www.ottw.es/ottw/portfolio-item.php?idmoto=3425

One image of a car is said to be from 1974 when there is a Mk3 Cavalier in the background. In another one the dash is said to be from 1954.

[Erebus]

Spotted this calendar in a pub yesterday:

[chaseracer]

6 minutes ago, Erebus said:

Spotted this calendar in a pub yesterday:

@Inspector Morose will be along presently... 😉👍

[auntiemaryscanary]

On 09/11/2025 at 19:15, LightBulbFun said:

as seen in the recent posts in the New News 24 thread, I had an outing in REV today, to see @auntiemaryscanary who happened to be passing through London and wanted to have a look at REV  

 went through the Rotherhithe tunnel (which I funnily enough did about this time last year also!)

which soon had me at my river-side location  

Car park registration machine amusingly cant handle pre 2001 registration marks properly it seems! (or does it just automatically assume your a private plate wanker and knowingly space it badly for you?)

anywho J2O consumed and a good natter with @auntiemaryscanary later and I was soon back home  (I should of kidnapped @Zelandeth for the occasion, you would of enjoyed it as it was obscure-photographic-film-formats themed ) 

its great having REV like this, being able to just hope in with nary  a worry and be able to do things like this which I could not before  

Taken whilst waiting for @LightBulbFun 09/11/25 at a pub in Rotherhithe (Mamiya C3, Kentmere 100, lab developed and home low res scan)

I'll let LBF show you his chosen pics from the photoshoot*.

[LightBulbFun]

did you know when an Invacar gets cold

it goes all sparkly  

but today was a trip not in REV

but a trip with my brother at some ungodly hour of the morning to lands fairly far away

where/what are you away on a trip for? well a fair while back @SiC mentioned he was recycling some old fluorescent lights, and would I like the guts from them, which of course I did, so I thought it was time I picked those up....

 

...and purchase the Forum Bike ADO16 Vanden Plas 1300 Princess  

Yeah I finally decided to just jump on the opportunity  and see how things go  

after a good rundown of whats what, with @SiC we hit the road! obligatory collection caper fuel station shot  then through Bristol and Hit the motorway all the way back home

with just a stop at a services for some food, its a bit bigger than an Invacar thats for sure....

but narrower than a lamborghini 

and some 4 hours later I was home  

but not for long as I was quite soon back out again to pick up mum from somewhere in Central London  

and back home again in short order without issue  

all in all she did admirably well, 4 hours on the motorway cruising at about 70Mph and into Central London!

only problem had was, that, you could boot it up a slip road without any problems, but giving it any throttle on the motorway, and it would stumble and splutter. die on its arse, lose speed, then perk up again for a few seconds before dying again in the same fashion, and keep doing that, I found if I kept a light throttle then it would eventually stop stumbling and I could achieve a good 70Mph cruise, but give it any actual throttle on the motorway, say I was at 60Mph and give it some throttle to overtake a lorry,  it would really upset it, so do wonder if anyone knows what that might be about?  drove completely fine and without fault otherwise as you can see it did get home! some 4 hours and 150 miles!  

 

my impressions thus far is

the suspension/ride is very nice, it deals with London's ruined potholed roads very well, and is quite comfortable to sit in/drive the only problem for me personally is my right leg/side was in quite a bit of pain for a fair amount of the trip, but thats not a fault of the car, just the fact me and my Cerebral palsy dont get on well with foot controls, I wonder if theres some way to easily adapt a hand throttle of some kind?  

also the steering is very heavy if you have to dry steer it, makes parking parallel parking it a bit of a bastard LOL (that and I am spoiled by REV's 1:1 steering ratio) but its quite light enough once you actually start physically moving 

all in all I am very happy with it! all being well should be a good stable mate for REV  

 

Many thanks to @SiC for accommodating me and giving me a good walkthrough of the vehicle etc!

 

 

BTW if theres anything anyone thinks I should know about these ADO16's any tips tricks, or foibles worth knowing about please do let me know  (especially this one being an Automatic, I am wondering if theres any sort of special oil I can get for it to ensure longevity of the gearbox)

[LightBulbFun]

2 hours ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

Taken whilst waiting for @LightBulbFun 09/11/25 at a pub in Rotherhithe (Mamiya C3, Kentmere 100, lab developed and home low res scan)

I'll let LBF show you his chosen pics from the photoshoot*.

they are all very Awesome shots! the fun thing for me is how clean you managed to capture REV, she looks really quite tidy in Black and white, much more so then she actually is!  thanks for taking your time and film resources to photograph REV like this  

[High Jetter]

12 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

 I found if I kept a light throttle then I could achieve a good 70Mph cruise, but give it any actual throttle on the motorway, say I was at 60Mph and give it some throttle to overtake a lorry,  it would really upset it, so do wonder if anyone knows what that might be about?

First thought are carb needs a clean, but maybe fuel pump diaphragm?

Well played though, admire your tenacity. 

[auntiemaryscanary]

27 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

there all very Awesome shots! the fun thing for me is how clean you managed to capture REV, she looks really quite tidy in Black and white, much more so then she actually is!  thanks for taking your time and film resources to photograph REV like this  

Crikey I wasn't expecting you getting a four wheeler Dez!! Congratulations. Top purchase. Sure the stuttering under load will get sorted soon.

[Six-cylinder]

Congratulations.

Summer 2024 Andy in your car, Colin in his VP1300 and my Morris 1300 went to the ADO16 National day. I was the only one who broke down. It was the condenser and all 3 of us had a spare. So my advice is to make sure you carry points, condenser, coil, distributor cap, rotor arm and spark plugs. They are easy to fit but hard to get hold of from modern garages.

The Gearbox shares the same oil as the engine and has always been a drawback of the AP Auto box. When they are cold the oil is not the right viscosity for working the gearbox correctly. Any brand of engine oil of the right grade changed regularly should be just fine. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

whilst you are driving if it does the splutter thing try grabbing a handful of choke for a second or so- this is a quick way of clearing a bit of shit through the carb

as this is a 2 pedal car could you get a left foot throttle pedal  thus resting the naughty one?

[Andyrew]

Excellent car! 

Regarding oil 10w40 motorbike wet clutch oil is used, think its something like jaso ma2 

I did try it on  some rather pricey  lucas 15w40 but went back to 10w40 after realising the 40ltrs of oil I had in stock for my car was bike spec too.

The plugs,cap,arm and coil are recent and decent brands. I never changed the points but did keep spares in the glovebox, may still be in there should you need them.

 

[BorniteIdentity]

Great purchase, and a very honest old bus. Safe travels. 

[Weird Car]

6 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

did you know when an Invacar gets cold

it goes all sparkly  

but today was a trip not in REV

but a trip with my brother at some ungodly hour of the morning to lands fairly far away

where/what are you away on a trip for? well a fair while back @SiC mentioned he was recycling some old fluorescent lights, and would I like the guts from them, which of course I did, so I thought it was time I picked those up....

 

...and purchase the Forum Bike ADO16 Vanden Plas 1300 Princess  

Yeah I finally decided to just jump on the opportunity  and see how things go  

after a good rundown of whats what, with @SiC we hit the road! obligatory collection caper fuel station shot  then through Bristol and Hit the motorway all the way back home

with just a stop at a services for some food, its a bit bigger than an Invacar thats for sure....

but narrower than a lamborghini 

and some 4 hours later I was home  

but not for long as I was quite soon back out again to pick up mum from somewhere in Central London  

and back home again in short order without issue  

all in all she did admirably well, 4 hours on the motorway cruising at about 70Mph and into Central London!

only problem had was, that, you could boot it up a slip road without any problems, but giving it any throttle on the motorway, and it would stumble and splutter. die on its arse, lose speed, then perk up again for a few seconds before dying again in the same fashion, and keep doing that, I found if I kept a light throttle then it would eventually stop stumbling and I could achieve a good 70Mph cruise, but give it any actual throttle on the motorway, say I was at 60Mph and give it some throttle to overtake a lorry,  it would really upset it, so do wonder if anyone knows what that might be about?  drove completely fine and without fault otherwise as you can see it did get home! some 4 hours and 150 miles!  

 

my impressions thus far is

the suspension/ride is very nice, it deals with London's ruined potholed roads very well, and is quite comfortable to sit in/drive the only problem for me personally is my right leg/side was in quite a bit of pain for a fair amount of the trip, but thats not a fault of the car, just the fact me and my Cerebral palsy dont get on well with foot controls, I wonder if theres some way to easily adapt a hand throttle of some kind?  

also the steering is very heavy if you have to dry steer it, makes parking parallel parking it a bit of a bastard LOL (that and I am spoiled by REV's 1:1 steering ratio) but its quite light enough once you actually start physically moving 

all in all I am very happy with it! all being well should be a good stable mate for REV  

 

Many thanks to @SiC for accommodating me and giving me a good walkthrough of the vehicle etc!

 

 

BTW if theres anything anyone thinks I should know about these ADO16's any tips tricks, or foibles worth knowing about please do let me know  (especially this one being an Automatic, I am wondering if theres any sort of special oil I can get for it to ensure longevity of the gearbox)

Hole E shit he only went and bloody done it! Congrats! You’re definitely not going to regret getting a car with more than 1 seat, well done 

[Andrew353w]

Bloody hell, this is a dramatic start to 2026 and an excellent one, too! As regards the poor high-speed running, I'd reiterate earlier remarks re: carburettor cleaning and perhaps checking/changing the oil in the damper. Condensers (capacitors in modern speak) are a perennial problem, and the ones for sale now are not of the same quality of those sold in the 1960s-80s, so NOS might be best. Of course, you'll be checking points, plugs etc. first.

The oil changes are even more important in these engines than would otherwise be the case, as the oil doubles up as gearbox oil as well. I think (but I stand to be corrected) that these cars had a warning light to indicate when the oil & filter needed changing-a form af very early ending management. 

The Autoshite world looks forward to more stories.......

[SiC]

Great meeting you and good to see you had a safe drive back!

Tbh I think I'd been aching after a 3 to 4 hour drive back in an old car. They're not quite setup for comfy ergonomics like many newer cars. The ado16 has a certain amount of offset too which takes some getting used to.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Looking forward to following this and how you get along with this one Dez and congratulations on your first vehicle with a steering wheel and 4 wheels!

And I would think that a hand throttle should be possible to have made if you need it?

But I'm jealous I can just forget about driving old cars all year round with 5 months of heavy road salting every winter.