Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[Zelandeth]

Given the location I figured that may be the case! I think a full fix can probably wait until the bumper comes off for painting. Cable tie will do just fine for now! It's not as though it can go anywhere, just not wanting to give things an excuse to rattle.

[Zelandeth]

Spent far too much time stuck in traffic jams today. That's what I get for leaving the house so close to Christmas.

Re-noticed something during that time though. The aux drive belt on the Activa is squeaking. No signs of distress or chafing on the belt, it's just going squeak-squeak-squeak. It's quite noticeable when you've got the window open.

Before I wrestle a new belt on there (assuming it's equally or more fiddly as on the XUD simply due to the Activa factor), anything obvious I should check.

I have just had belts which just "do that" before for no readily explicable reason. Especially on the Saab.

[CitroJim]

In all the time I owned the Activa Zel, I never swapped the belt so it'll be due!

Spent far too much time stuck in traffic jams today. That's what I get for leaving the house so close to Christmas.

Poor you! Where did you find the jams? Val and I got back from Somerset this afternoon with just a tad of congestion in Trowbridge but apart from that we had a clear run... Almost unbelievable on 'Frantic Friday'...

Even Peartree at the A34/M40 junction between Bicester and Oxford was clear despite the M40 being solid...

[Zelandeth]

Certainly due then... wouldn't think it to look at though! Stops for a few seconds if you spray water on it, so is likely the rubber of the belt squeaking rather than a bearing.

Remember the old Discoveries and Terrano/Mavericks used to be sods for squeaky belts too. We had one Disco that I reckon we'd changed everything in the belt path and the belt, and sent it to the dealer and the thing still squeaked. Eventually we just wrote the buyer a "belt system warranty" on the understanding that we were sure it was a case of "it just does that" and they were a regular customer...three years later it was traded back in as usual, still squeaking but having been utterly reliable.

Funny that, didn't give them a bit of thought at the time, but when did you last see an early Ford Maverick or Nissan Terrano?

Traffic was basically the whole north side of Bletchley grinding to a halt...just my own stupid fault for going out without thinking!

[Zelandeth]

Spent entirely too long the last couple of evenings when I couldn't sleep following on from a post on another forum researching the rise, fall and general history of the Invacar.

Somewhat astonished that until that thread turned up that I'd never even heard of them, even more so when finding that they were still about until 2003. When the scheme was formally ended and it was meant to be the point that all remaining examples were gathered up and crushed, the scheme finally being fully replaced by the Motability scheme.

I actually quite fancy one of the later ones as a little project to fiddle about with and to zap around the odd show. The idea of a laughably simple, tiny, lightweight three wheeler just appeals to me. Plus I always enjoy seeing things which once held a significant social stigma to the extent of being things of ridicule having come full circle and now being objects of interest that people enjoy seeing. One of the reasons I love driving the Lada!

Model 70 probably would be the target...single seat, looking rather like an early Reliant Robin photocopied at 2/3rds scale. Weight I believe is well south of 400kgs (it's quite possible to pick up the front by hand), with a 600cc rear mounted Steyr-Puch sourced flat twin providing power through a DAF-esque CVT belt drive. The odd thing is the total lack of pedals...these being designed to be driveable by people with quite severe disabilities, they have quite an odd setup (by default, there were dozens of possible configurations) having a motorcycle like set of handlebars for steering, twist grip throttle but braking provided by pushing down on the handlebar assembly. Lot of parts look to have come out of the parts bins of Leyland and Reliant.

Given that most were crushed in 2003 they're not exactly easy to find, and there are a number of loopholes involved in getting them road legal (though this apparently is usually possible now), though there seem to be quite a few that escaped...so never know I might find one someday.

Just ticks a lot of boxes. Tiny, free tax, oddball, and with an almost elegant simplicity to the engineering. Decent engineering actually I reckon, especially given that a lot of it was essentially having to be a parts bin special...

[CitroJim]

An Invacar should be a lot of fun Zel : I like it!

Just ticks a lot of boxes. Tiny, free tax, oddball, and with an almost elegant simplicity to the engineering. Decent engineering actually I reckon

Sounds just like a C1/107 to me

[Zelandeth]

Thing is, I've always wanted a classic in the fleet that's *properly* old. I've also got designs on a Model-T maybe one day. I blame Craig. Yes, he's the same bloke who's also responsible for my love affair with the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit among others. He has a lot to answer for.

...but let me drive a Ferrari F-40 once and lent me a Testarossa for a week when my car of the time had broken down and I needed wheels to get to college, so he can basically get away with anything in my book! I was expecting him to lend me either the Volvo 240GLT or Nissan Bluebird that day by the way! Getting home and finding a Ferrari in the drive was a surprise. The envelope dropped through the letterbox and a note simply saying "Enjoy!" was even more so. His approach to cars like that was "What's the point in having them if you don't share them? It ain't doing anything for me sitting in a shed."

I personally share that view, which is why when I take mine to shows I always invite people who are interested to open doors etc and have a sit in the car and such. I never get along with shows where the cars are all barriered off.

Currently though I'm physically at capacity, and certainly can't justify another car to tax and insure. These are old enough to be tax exempt, and are apparently pennies to insure - especially as I'd probably stick it on a limited mileage policy with a silly low limit, because it's purely for fun. So it needs to be something essentially free to run aside from maintenance that takes up no space.

I just like how approachable they seem from the angle of something to tinker with on a quiet Sunday afternoon, and I can park one in the corner of the drive where the green bin currently lives.

Don't reckon given how little they weigh they'd be too slow either with an engine that size. Can't be far off the power a mid-year 2CV had, especially probably with a slightly tweaked carb, in a car that's probably not much more than half the weight... that'd go quite well I'd think. Certainly sounds from some of the stories from the factory like they did too!

Just seems like a fun little side project. Plus I always enjoy the whole "giving a car a second chance" when it's virtually been lined up for the crusher at some point.

[CitroJim]

I'd love a usable pre-1960 car Zel, I'm attracted to the free tax and more importantly, no MOT!!!

My No.1 choice would be a 1959 Mini as I still love early Minis and 1959 is the year of my birth...

Failing that, any small 1959 car would do as long as it's usable. The only one I'd not want is a Morris Miner...

An A35 would be nice too, especially an A35 Van... Great for carrying bikes

[Zelandeth]

Still can't believe that out of all the odd, terrible, wonderful, exotic, common, slow, fast, simple or bewildering... and all other categories of things I've driven, a classic Mini is one thing I've never driven! Beetle, yep. Fiat 500 (the original one), yep. Fiat 126, yep (and I didn't want to give that one back), Metros, yep (Mk I is a far superior car to drive than the later ones I reckon) etc etc...but not a Mini.

[CitroJim]

...but not a Mini.

Think of a MK1 Metro with the essential fun elements of a 107, a 205 and an AX/Saxo and you have a very fair approximation

If you've never driven a Saxo then we can soon rectify that

[Michel]

...
...but not a Mini.

I have a decent sized metal storage cabinet in my shed. I shall bring it up next time I see Jim. We can then shut you in it, and I'll tow you around MK at speed on the end of a rope in said cabinet. This will give you a fair idea of how pleasant it is to be inside a Mini.

[CitroJim]

...
...but not a Mini.

I have a decent sized metal storage cabinet in my shed. I shall bring it up next time I see Jim. We can then shut you in it, and I'll tow you around MK at speed on the end of a rope in said cabinet. This will give you a fair idea of how pleasant it is to be inside a Mini.

[Zelandeth]

Main things I remember from my Metro (1981 W plate 1.0 in HLE spec) were the pinion whine from the gearbox in 1st through 3rd and the fact that it seemed to steer almost as if by telepathy. That and needing both feet to brake from speed as it lacked a servo!

Drove quite a few Saxos at the garage in various specs. Remember thinking there was a good reason that the VTR was so popular, because they were bloody rapid. Only gripe I really had with the range at all was that the pedals were too close together when wearing big work boots.

[CitroJim]

Only gripe I really had with the range at all was that the pedals were too close together when wearing big work boots.

I find that is still very much the case... I have an old pair of running shoes that are quite wide and it's hard to drive in them... I choose my Saxo driving footwear with care; it has to be narrow..

And I hardly have big feet either - I'm between 8 and 9 - must be very difficult for bigger blokes with more normal feet...

[CitroJim]

Zel, I am utterly delighted to report your Sanyo CD Player is now fixed and working well

I've just got to reassemble it and it'll be ready for collection...

I got lucky and found the fault without recourse to any manuals or circuit diagrams... It had a power supply fault...

It sounds good and seems very at hope playing Barclay James Harvest CDs