It's a real shame I think that AC didn't clad the Model 70 in a modern looking body when it was launched rather than essentially just rehashing the Invacar Model 67 skin and adding some flared wheel arches. It makes it look like a car designed in the early 50s rather than what was actually a pretty modern well engineered design at its launch in 71. The rear engined layout makes way more sense in a three wheeler I think (especially with a flat twin/boxer engine like this) as it keeps the bulk of the weight in the most stable part of the car. I've driven a Rialto for quite a few miles - and would by lying if I didn't say I'd love to own one as they're such charismatic little cars - and I can honestly say that you're *way* more aware of the missing wheel up front in that than you are in the AC. It initially feels a little alarming when you chuck it into a roundabout or something as it does roll quite a bit initially as it's quite softly sprung - up to a very specific point, but once the suspension has loaded up a bit it doesn't really go any further. It takes a bit of time, but you get used to that sort of balance dead zone (best description is that it's kinda like the suspension equivalent of the free play in a car with an old school steering box).
I'm really hoping that getting this thing out and about and exposing more people to it will help dispell some of the myths that float around them.
I think the reason they're starting to come out of the woodwork now is that the restoration of TWC (the car mine was the parts donor for) has helped raise awareness of the fact that they can actually be driven.
Prior to that the general belief was that they were illegal to own and couldn't be driven...the illigal thing is a complete urban myth as far as we can see anyway...the word from the government was that their use was "banned" but as far as we can see, nothing ever actually got signed into law which legally prohibited their use on the public highway. It was a bit of a moot point anyway as the cars were only ever leased to the people who used them, so they were simply recalled when the lease was terminated. Still think it must have been a sad day really...when the scheme was finally terminated at the end of the 2002/03 financial year there were around 200 vehicles still out on lease...and it's fair to say that by this point there were only going to be two types of user. Those who were sufficiently impaired that it wasn't possible to reasonably adapt a normal car to their needs (the almost infinite flexibility of the Model 70 was one of its greatest features), or those who still had theirs because they loved the little blue tripod. One day they were still happily bowling along making their owners happy, then the day after were without ceremony rounded up with orders issued for their immediate and permanent destruction.
This is where the number of survivors was pretty much guaranteed though. Even though there were only a couple of hundred cars still in active service in 2003, there were still probably a couple of thousand parked up in yards all over the country, and the contracts were issued for destruction of the whole lot at once. In typical government fashion, this was sent out to tender so as to be done cheaply...and quite a lot of the scrap dealers who had taken on the contract to dispose of however many hundred cars suddenly realised that given the relatively small amount of steel in them and large amount of fibreglass, that they were going to cost them more to deal with than the metal was worth - especially back then when scrap metal prices were rock bottom.
It was because of this that a lot of the smaller scrap dealers instead of properly dealing with them instead wound up just parking them in a corner of the yard, a field or something like that. That's what happened with the field mine and TWC came from - there were a dozen or so cars there in various states of destruction.
The one thing which most that ended up at the mainstream scrappers did lose though was their engines - as the prototype Model 70 used a Fiat 500 engine (but Fiat refused to provide units for the production cars, hence the use of the Steyer-Puch 493cc unit) the Invacar engines were pretty easy to fit to Fiat 500s...and are far more powerful out the box than the Fiat ones, and are very tunable. 50-60bhp is entirely doable without significantly sacrificing reliability. It's a lovely little engine - which is actually quite modern for a small capacity air cooled engine from the early 70s. That's really clear if you look at the cylinder head design, the gas flow is way better than things like those used by VW. The 2CV engines get a pass from me because they were engineered more with being indestructible in mind rather than performance.
So there are quite a few of these cars sitting in fields, in the back of sheds etc which had generally been ignored because folks didn't think you could do anything with them, and all folks knew about them were all the urban myths of how terrible death traps they were...however now word is starting to get out that you can actually put them back on the road, they're starting to be saved. Once they're saved and folks start driving them, they're starting to discover how terrible they actually aren't and how different the Model 70 really is to the earlier versions - the Model 70 really is lightyears ahead of the earlier Villiers engined cars. The Villiers engine is a lovely thing...but it's not really up to propelling something this size around on a modern road. Those cars are usually good for 30-40mph tops, and being far, far cruder under the skin had far more erratic handling characteristics. Being one-wheel-drive probably didn't help either!
They're downright strange things to drive as the control scheme is so unusual, but it's astonishing how quickly it becomes natural. If you get the opportunity I definitely recommend getting a shot of one. I had a proper Cheshire cat grin on my face when I first took mine for the 500 yard loop round our residential block. If you do have a go though you'll probably end up looking for one though, you've been warned!
Now is the time though I think. It seems that the wider microcar community are starting to take an interest in them just a little (though equally some seem to have a rather elitist view that they're not real microcars), which tends to suggest that prices are only going to go one direction.
You can still get a decent project car for under a grand it seems if you keep your eyes open and ask the right people and wait patiently. Luckily so long as the bodywork isn't too far gone you're unlikely to need to do much beyond recommissioning work...they're so well (to be honest over) engineered that there's unlikely to be any particular pitfalls. The chassis is insanely well rust proofed, so rot is unlikely to be an issue - the only thing which does tend to rust out is the floorpan - but this is a simple totally flat sheet and isn't structural - it's just riveted to the chassis to keep your feet in and the weather out, so replacement isn't difficult. The one item where rust can be an issue is the fuel tank - the early cars had a lip around the top of the tank where water collects so the tank rusts out. New ones are basically unobtainable, so getting one made is going to be necessary if you've got a holed one - £250 will get you a nice shiny ally one.
Beyond the fuel tank, the body, some of the interior bits, the car is basically a few thousand bits out of a dozen British parts bins flying in close formation. Brakes are all Reliant, switchgear is Maxi, Speedo is a Smith's bike one, headlights are Mini, rear axle is Fiat 126, tail lights are Reliant Regal (latterly Minivan), drive is bought in from Salsbury (now Comet), engine is well supported by the maker still, suspension ball joints up front are all Mini track rod ends, shocks are adjustable Spax coilovers (yes, really!)... there's really nothing to scare anyone off. I've just finished digitising a full copy of the original workshop manual as well so all the information you should need is out there too. I need to make a point of getting that up on my website at some point shortly.
The only thing that is somewhat frustrating about it as a car to work on? That the folks building it seemed to be allergic to the concept of captive nuts...so it's not uncommon to wind up needing to borrow an extra pair of hands for what should be ten second jobs. The fact that there's a random mix of Whitworth, AF and metric fasteners is fun too.
Got you sold on one yet?
If you're ever in this neck of the woods feel free to let me know and I'm sure we can introduce you to TPA. I'd never even heard of an Invacar a couple of years ago...can't really imagine the garage without it in there now!
The other fibreglass car I've always wanted a shot of is the Kitten/Fox. The Robin/Rialto seems a decent enough little car, but always to me has felt that it was forced into being a three wheeler to meet the licensing rules, and that the Kitten and Fox were what it would should have been. Same lovely little engine, but a full compliment of wheels...and with such a low weight it seems like it should handle pretty nicely.
If I do wind up getting something ridiculously huge and American I'll have to get a photo of it next to the Invacar!
Edit: Nice little present arrived for the van this evening just as I was about to lock up.
Should look the part better than the bargain bin plastic tat that's falling apart on the wheels just now. Look forward to getting those fitted.
