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...

[BorniteIdentity]

5 minutes ago, 500tops said:

I haven't got time to catch-up on all the recent posts,

You’ll need a lifetime just to read the post that quotes no fewer than eleven comments (!)

It is indeed @jollyfkr2 who uses that guy. 

[BorniteIdentity]

2 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

Name change?

Linked to remove the paywall

https://archive.ph/0Qfmf

There are some great alternatives for those little things I see parked outside ‘Spoons at 9am. Scam Pram being a favourite. Scamborgini a close second. Then there’s PipWhip and  Chariots for Liars.

For the Wolf Fleece wearing massive who seem eminently able to be at a pub table but not behind a desk, I’m happy with any of those terms to be adopted into common parlance. 

[Andrew353w]

I've followed the link regarding oils and those recommended for B.L. cars, which was most informative. In essence, a 10W 40 or a 20W 50 would do the trick in the climatic conditions normally experienced in the U.K. My preference, based on experience of running Minis as old as a 1959 Austin Se7en and as new as the M.P.I. Coopers is for Castrol 10W 40 GTX Magnec, although I appreciate that none of my Minis had automatic transmission. I should also add that, as well as the type of oil used, the frequency of oil and filter changes is critical in these engines. You (almost!) can't change the oil & filters too often! I would view 3,000 miles as an absolute maximum, and 6 months as the maximum time between changes.

Sorry to have gone on a bit, but this stuff's interesting!   

[barefoot]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

There are some great alternatives for those little things I see parked outside ‘Spoons at 9am. Scam Pram being a favourite. Scamborgini a close second. Then there’s PipWhip and  Chariots for Liars.

For the Wolf Fleece wearing massive who seem eminently able to be at a pub table but not behind a desk, I’m happy with any of those terms to be adopted into common parlance. 

They're called limping trolleys around here.

[Andyrew]

5 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

so I am a bit confused how the Mannol 10W40 can be both SN grade and JASO MA2 grade at the same time 

They are by far one of the cheapest oil manufacturer brands, so the reality is that it probably doesn't. They have comically bad trading practices too, or did a few years back. 

Other brands have been caught out before in the past with spec claims, one particular brand who make oil for multiple companies to put under their name have oils that turned concerningly thin after just a few thousand.

Don't over think it. On old junk, just change it often and get oil in roughly the right viscosity. 

 

 

 

 

[LightBulbFun]

5 hours ago, Remspoor said:

Name change?

Linked to remove the paywall

https://archive.ph/0Qfmf

augh I hope not! I mean dont get me wrong its very annoying how when the Chronically sick and disabled act 1970 was put together, how they call Mobility Scooters, invalid carriages, I have always thought they should of called them something different, so as to not confuse them with pre-existing actual road-going Invalid carriages 

but at the same time i really dont want them to fuck with that, because Invalid Carriages, in their proper sense have a separate legal definition and I dont want anyone just doing a find-and-replace on "Invalid Carriage"

and buggering up about a million different other laws and regulations pertaining to *actual* invalid Carriages like Stanley Argsons and the such like, that they are not aware of

 

because I fucking bet, if you go into parliament and show them this 

they wont realise how it as an *Invalid Carriage* is distinctly legally different from a Mobility scooter

or how this Invacar is legally different from the earlier Invacar in itself!

[SiC]

7 hours ago, Andyrew said:

Don't over think it. On old junk, just change it often and get oil in roughly the right viscosity. 

☝️This

 

Go for something like this:

https://www.millersoils-shop.co.uk/classic-4t-20w50-motorcycle-engine-oil

Or a 10w40 equivalent 

Basically classic 4 stroke motorcycle oil.

[Christine]

During the last 40 - 50 years i bet that's had all manner of different  oils in it , to no ill effect apparently..

[LightBulbFun]

7 hours ago, Andyrew said:

They are by far one of the cheapest oil manufacturer brands, so the reality is that it probably doesn't. They have comically bad trading practices too, or did a few years back. 

Other brands have been caught out before in the past with spec claims, one particular brand who make oil for multiple companies to put under their name have oils that turned concerningly thin after just a few thousand.

Don't over think it. On old junk, just change it often and get oil in roughly the right viscosity. 

42 minutes ago, SiC said:

☝️This

 

Go for something like this:

https://www.millersoils-shop.co.uk/classic-4t-20w50-motorcycle-engine-oil

Or a 10w40 equivalent 

Basically classic 4 stroke motorcycle oil.

Thanks for the pointers/thoughts  with those in mind after a bit of umming and ahhing and googling and looking at things decided to grab this in the end

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121670138377

which in combination with with an eBay discount code and some cash my sister kindly PayPal'ed me for Christmas a while back, meant it only cost me about £35  

hopefully it will do the trick!

27 minutes ago, Christine said:

During the last 40 - 50 years i bet that's had all manner of different  oils in it , to no ill effect apparently..

no doubt, and for who knows how many miles/years the oil filter was not even doing anything until @Andyrew replaced that missing washer, but she is a good old motor and I have got no problems going out of my way to do right by it if/where I can  , for example for similar reasons on collection caper I filled it up with E5 just to be on the safe side

[SiC]

21 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

Thanks for the pointers/thoughts  with those in mind after a bit of umming and ahhing and googling and looking at things decided to grab this in the end

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121670138377

which in combination with with an eBay discount code and some cash my sister kindly PayPal'ed me for Christmas a while back, meant it only cost me about £35  

hopefully it will do the trick!

I wouldn't have gone semi synthetic, only regular mineral oil. Stuff for classic vehicles, not modern as per the label on that bottle. Oil for classics also tend to have far more ZDDP (tappets like this) and other such additives that older engines like but modern don't so much (especially emissions components).

But it'll probably be fine. 

[IronStar]

Isn't the oil for A series engines supposed to have ZDDP, otherwise tappets put themselves out of their misery rather quickly?

I'm putting Valvoline VR-1 in my Mini. Admittedly, mine is manual, and the climate here is warmer. Not that it stopped it from grenading itself multiple times, but at least it wasn't tappets. 😂

I know some people will disagree with me, but oil is fairly cheap in the grand scheme of car maintenance anyway, so I don't think there's much money to be saved by cheaping out on it.

[LightBulbFun]

44 minutes ago, SiC said:

I wouldn't have gone semi synthetic, only regular mineral oil. Stuff for classic vehicles, not modern as per the label on that bottle. Oil for classics also tend to have far more ZDDP (tappets like this) and other such additives that older engines like but modern don't so much (especially emissions components).

But it'll probably be fine. 

19 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Isn't the oil for A series engines supposed to have ZDDP, otherwise tappets put themselves out of their misery rather quickly?

I'm putting Valvoline VR-1 in my Mini. Admittedly, mine is manual, and the climate here is warmer. Not that it stopped it from grenading itself multiple times, but at least it wasn't tappets. 😂

I know some people will disagree with me, but oil is fairly cheap in the grand scheme of car maintenance anyway, so I don't think there's much money to be saved by cheaping out on it.

I did wonder/had heard about that, but if their website is to be believed I think it has adequate amounts of ZDDP?

https://www.westwayoils.co.uk/products/10w40-semi-synthetic-motorcycle-oil?variant=37854589026492

at least when checked against this write up

https://www.widman.biz/mini_pics/classic-mini-oil.pdf

of course if theres more to it than just this then I am all ears, I think its quite self evident that I always enjoy the technical juicy/fine details  

[IronStar]

ZDDP was reduced/removed from modern oils as it can cause damage to catalytic converters.

VR1 20W50 has 1400ppm zinc, 1300ppm phosphorus. Westway you bought is 1150/1170. Does it matter if it's accurate? Probably not. Is it true on the oil that costs £3.2 per liter, from a relatively unknown brand? Maybe. Would I worry about it if I bought it already? Nah, you'll be through it in 10k miles. 

As SIC said, it'll probably be fine.

[lesapandre]

I've used these people:

https://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/nerve-center/ask-ade

As has been said modern oils are sometimes not suitable for old cars (and vice-versa).

My problem was my Landcruiser of 1980 didn't like EP additives in it's gearbox oil - it strips the bronze castings. 

Gb was horrible when I got it but a good flush and the right oil got it working right.

I can't 'recommend' them because I have not used them a lot - but they were fine on the gb and engine oil.

Price-wise I've no idea - I just wanted something that was right. It saved the gearbox from ruination. Lots have been knackered by the EP additive.

[lesapandre]

Their 'works' looks like this. 

[lesapandre]

I wonder what Issigonis specced? 

British Motor Museum might have the answer:

https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive/using-the-archive

Probably something inventor-mad like castor oil 😂

[Dyslexic Viking]

If ZDDP is a concern then there are additives as this is a big deal in the US. Rislone has this below.

 

There are many opinions about oil. All the 50+ year old tractors I maintain run on Mobil 10W-40 semi and with this additive now and then. I have nothing but good experiences with this and the engines run so well and have no leaks. So I will continue with this. But I have no experience with automatic transmissions that share oil with the engine, but I see that it might be something to use motorcycle oil in this as some people say here.

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

I've used these people:

https://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/nerve-center/ask-ade

As has been said modern oils are sometimes not suitable for old cars (and vice-versa).

My problem was my Landcruiser of 1980 didn't like EP additives in it's gearbox oil - it strips the bronze castings. 

Gb was horrible when I got it but a good flush and the right oil got it working right.

I can't 'recommend' them because I have not used them a lot - but they were fine on the gb and engine oil.

Price-wise I've no idea - I just wanted something that was right. It saved the gearbox from ruination. Lots have been knackered by the EP additive.

That will be the GL4 vs GL5 debate.  GL4 is entirely safe for boxes with yellow metal components, GL5 isn't.

It is inherently impossible for an oil to be compatible with both specs (something to do with film strength - I had it explained in great length by someone in the field many years ago), yet many (especially cheaper) EP rated oils will claim to be both GL4/5 compatible.  

GL4 is an absolute must in Lada Nivas as the box (can't mind now if it's the main gearbox of transfer box - it's been over 20 years!) contains bronze bits and GL5 will destroy it in short order.  

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Spotted elsewhere on tinternet. No doubt it's already on here somewhere...

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Dick Cheeseburger said:

Spotted elsewhere on tinternet. No doubt it's already on here somewhere...

actually no, I had only just seen it myself in a comment on @dollywobbler's recent Post (good to see TWC getting a bit of TLC and out n about ) 

https://www.facebook.com/HubNutCarVideos/posts/pfbid02wJSWuKoDCFCSqK3ghSbmY6i74PEbS5nd5ZvUE9RDt1CmrexoN1uvsC5swqx2UnoYl

tis a very fitting photograph  

[Dick Cheeseburger]

4 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

actually no, I had only just seen it myself in a comment on @dollywobbler's recent Post (good to see TWC getting a bit of TLC and out n about ) 

https://www.facebook.com/HubNutCarVideos/posts/pfbid02wJSWuKoDCFCSqK3ghSbmY6i74PEbS5nd5ZvUE9RDt1CmrexoN1uvsC5swqx2UnoYl

tis a very fitting photograph  

I like the way someone appears to have driven their little Cinq all the way over from Milan, too. Class. 

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, lesapandre said:

I wonder what Issigonis specced? 

British Motor Museum might have the answer:

https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive/using-the-archive

Probably something inventor-mad like castor oil 😂

20w50, BITD. The fight was between Castrol & Duckhams. Longlife had their own branded cans. 

[Wibble]

36 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

actually no, I had only just seen it myself in a comment on @dollywobbler's recent Post (good to see TWC getting a bit of TLC and out n about ) 

https://www.facebook.com/HubNutCarVideos/posts/pfbid02wJSWuKoDCFCSqK3ghSbmY6i74PEbS5nd5ZvUE9RDt1CmrexoN1uvsC5swqx2UnoYl

tis a very fitting photograph  

Good luck getting the ADO16 out!

[ETCHY]

Join the owners club. They'll know the correct oil as they own the cars.

[UltraWomble]

I'm old enough to remember Castrol GTX being put in just about anything that wasn't a performance vehicle (and they got Mobil 1)

[EyesWeldedShut]

https://www.hatads.org.uk/catalogue/record/fd793b44-8cb3-43e1-83a3-f6a36835788b

[High Jetter]

39 minutes ago, UltraWomble said:

I'm old enough to remember Castrol GTX being put in just about anything that wasn't a performance vehicle (and they got Mobil 1)

It was either that or Duckham's Q. Still have one of their giveaway yellow jugs somewhere.

[danthecapriman]

13 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

If ZDDP is a concern then there are additives as this is a big deal in the US. Rislone has this below.

 

There are many opinions about oil. All the 50+ year old tractors I maintain run on Mobil 10W-40 semi and with this additive now and then. I have nothing but good experiences with this and the engines run so well and have no leaks. So I will continue with this. But I have no experience with automatic transmissions that share oil with the engine, but I see that it might be something to use motorcycle oil in this as some people say here.

If I can’t find any oil with good levels of ZDDP already in it, that’s what I do.

This stuff was the last I used.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286991115706?_skw=zddp+additive&epid=1107839082&itmmeta=01KEEGBSVBK9BWQPWA7RV4078C&hash=item42d200e5ba:g:M0QAAeSwLHNpMsnc&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fUcAAfulqDRlvviID9woU0o0l3y6TOvpGjBjkqH%2F0BWKH29fhxQ2Dk%2FJPLtqiibzOfhuQ%2FFoOrAtivHs5sR2EV0FsH8z%2FSoj1BOOs%2BLM6ES9ZFzfiBGEfzAw01RaSX9zLNW3rLAZVYO0In%2BU5zSL36TEqvu%2F2i8so9wqvqi1G3X%2BMOUsIqzfDhvjxn1BgBuHKw%2FFOkBXQsfPxKsLnbaAOmgMQadcW3mYTJtF3kBkE8FphnBETTYpD4VsCYF24xT5A%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-qdr9DzZg

Usually the bottle can do two engines/two oil changes. I always put it in the Mercury, especially as that’s got a rebuilt engine which I’m keen not to ruin, but I’ll usually bung some in the Capri too purely because of its age. Although I suspect over its life it probably had every different type and brand of oil known to man put in it!

I don’t tend to worry about it in the Volvo though. I’m not sure it really needs ZDDP? Saying that, on an engine of that age it’s not going to do any harm putting in regardless.

[barefoot]

Fuck me, I put 10/40 mineral oil in the T2 & Scirocco and the garage puts synthetic into the 944 & Rover 75. I never realised that there was so much to it, and yet in more than 40 years, I've not killed an engine because I used the wrong oil.

[JMotor]

15 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Their 'works' looks like this. 

Sorry slight thread drift.

I was there last November as there was a presentation launch thing through my work.

Bunch of us got a quick tour of the factory by Adrian and their storage facility down the road. Which was the old Sentinel Waggon works site.

Both sites are massive!