NEV 1 S - A 40 mile Voyage

[lovejoy]

This is specially for Eddyramrod, but others may find it somewhat amusing / informative....

 

(This is what the Yanks refer to as a "Crate Motor" I believe...... packaged thus to enable it to be slid onto a dockside ferry for the 40 mile trip on the "Carib Queen", to the nearby island of Nevis, where a certain Beeman (also known as 'A-Man") runs the island's oldest car, a 1961 Austin A40.

 

quite a heavy little cast-iron lump, minus cyl head, which went to uk for unleaded brain surgery.

 

ingenious means were created to transport it across rough terrain down to the docks......

 

where another obscure lump had been shipped across in exchange !

[lovejoy]

which can be seen more clearly here, I am sure Vin will win the prize of a bottle of rum !!

 

and here's a little extra taste of something a bit more muscular, that also might go down well....

 

and something 16 times larger in cubic capacity ...

 

and what it went in !!

[lovejoy]

and here's a better pic, from further away, which gives some idea of what its pushing !

 

Finally, an infestation of more island " Atosshite "....

 

[eddyramrod]

Excellent work!

 

The imported engine is surely a Fiat 500 twin-pot, isn't it?

[lovejoy]

Eddy, my pet cockerel is winging it's way over to Cyprus, as we speak, with a large bottle of our finest rum

 

Do you know of the aforesaid "Beeman" ? he's in the A40 Club, I often get to see "Farina News" when he's over here.

 

(czech out Flickr for "buzzzwords" site, I was unable to steal an image from it....)

[Gompo]

'Crate motor' made me LOL, cheers.

[eddyramrod]

I had three 500s in the 80s... What a lot of fun they are! I'll be sure to have a soft landing site ready...

 

I don't believe I know of Beeman, but he must be one of "us" if you're seeing his Farina News! Maybe he doesn't use the club forum much... Anyway, good luck to him! And to you of course!

[lovejoy]

Let me know if "Roger" the rasta (rooster) has drunk all the rum before it reaches you

 

I too have had a brace of 500's in the past, 7 of 'em in all, a couple of the estates (now worth silly munny) and a "Big Block" 500.... still got loads of bits in storage (trying to catch up with Mr. Bikkle

 

It was actually 652cc, from the 126 De Ville, with rack & pinion steering fitted by another enthusiastic owner. That was my fifth one, but I kept it till last. Just like a road going Go Kart !! Used to get stopped by the fuzz for speeding, much to their surprise ! What a lotta fun, as you say

[Tayne]

.

[eddyramrod]

If Beeman's car is supposed to be a 1961, then it isn't this one. You're looking at a Mk2 (same as mine) which was only introduced in 62. Easy to tell the difference, the grille is the big giveaway. On the Mk1 (1958-62) it's recessed, as below:

This is the one that lives across the road from me... It's actually wearing a Mk2 bonnet. Mine had a Mk1 bonnet when I bought her, but I found a Mk2 one so I gave my Mk1 bonnet to Costas, owner of the green car.

 

Tayne, mind if I repost that pic on the A40 forum?

[Tayne]

.

[lovejoy]

Hey Eddy, that IS Beemans A40. (JQH 1 are his actual initials ) and I've done many small jobs on that car over the years, including a secret kill - switch in the coil supply lead ! to thwart off potential "JOY" riders Oh Joy

 

I understood it is a '61 model, I believe it came down from Canada, which might explain the discrepancy, with just a drop down bootlid, not a fully opening hatchback. A bit ponderous to drive, but simplicity is its keyword, I would happily run one in the UK as it's practical, and tax -free ( if I could find an affordable, rot- free one, that is).

 

Tayne, many thanks for the link to his Flikr site, as you can see, he's a bit of an autonumerologist !!!

[eddyramrod]

Thanks guys.

 

The model with the drop-down bootlid was called the "saloon" although it was exactly the same shape as the "Countryman" hatchback, and both had the folding rear seat. My Mk1 was a saloon, all those years ago... Can we get a shot of Beeman's dash? A new dash was introduced in (I think) 64, in a fake-wood finish rather than the previous black. It won't be conclusive of course, as you can swop these things, but it could help us date the car better. Mine has the late style dash. I think this was the point where the bigger (1098) engine was introduced too.

 

It's all A-series, and suspension-wise pretty-much MG Midget, so the A40 is extremely practical and easy to upgrade. Plus they are ridiculously cheap for such a usable everyday classic. You'd be lucky to find a rot-free one in UK; even in Cyprus, I have rust issues to deal with. However if you can find something that's been looked after, it'll be one of those purchases you never regret.

 

OK, sales pitch over!

[lovejoy]

Eddy, you can have a shot of rum, instead

 

"Q", as I prefer to call him, is an Autoshite lurker, and I cannot get a pic of his dash,but it's crackle black, certainly not fake wood !

(if it had been, it would be long-gone by now as termite food), but I had various bits of dash ,speedo, central switch panel and other bits that matched his dash, from the A40 that I found here, slowly rising off the ground in a coppice of fast-growing Neem Trees !!

I still have the anodised trim with two eyebrows that covered the top of the speedo and glovebox, so I'm sure it's a Mk 1 saloon.

No, I had not had too much toddy, it was real Serpent & Rainbow stuff, the car was up in the air when I found it !!

His car has featured on the cover of "Farina News" in the past, you will have to do some archiving. Cheers !

 

Write to him, Beeman, Gingerland, Nevis : the same bloody drunk cockerel delivers the island mail there too

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yo lovejoy! Tell us what you're doing in that part of the world.

[lovejoy]

Surviving, Mr.Bol, just surviving.... see my profile !

but I shall be back in Blighty soon for an -off-island brain transplant, and to re-boot the old grey matter. Seeing Mr. Bickle helps a lot.... cheers from LovejoyAntiques, Caribbean branch.

[nigel bickle]

Daft old bastard. Mad as a box of frogs. Its the sun y'see.