Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ray White]

No pun intended but I always like to read about ironic stories connected with our kind of motor.

The "terrier" tank engine 32662 which is seen here hauling a delivery of newly built Isettas was itself built at the same Brighton Works some 60 or 70 years earlier.!



Fortunately the engine has been saved.
https://hiveminer.com/Tags/32662%2Cterrier/Timeline

[Rootes75]

Only 70 years apart in manufacture, think of all that changed during that time.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[Ray White]

When one considers the state all the steamers were in following WW2 it really is a wonder that any survived.!

If steam locos represent the plentiful supply of coal in an age gone by, the bubble cars represented the oil crisis of the modern age. I like the contrast.

[peter scott]

When I first got my Isetta it had fault that I never actually sussed it but the effect was that you would be driving along normally then all of a sudden it would make smoke even greater than the worst that that tank engine could generate and completely obscure the road behind.

I "repaired" it by swapping the engine. (Well I was only 16 at the time.)

Peter
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http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Ray White]

My Isetta was THE most unreliable car I have ever had; in fact it would even break down in the drive!
For example I lost power one day and the cabin was filled With petrol fumes. What had happened was the banjo bolt had come loose on the glass filter bowl and it had smashed against the inside of the inspection cover. Dad turned up a replacement from brass and handed it to me with the immortal words "try not to break it!".



I had a problem with the barrel holding down nuts coming loose. What had happened was the studs had become loose in the aluminium crankcase. The result was the barrel smashed and had to be replaced. The threads were so worn in the crankcase Loctite couldn't be relied on so Dad extended the holes through and secured the barrel with bolts and Nylock nuts. Problem solved!.

The gearbox linkage was a proper lash up so again Dad came to the rescue getting new hard rubber bushes made at work.

When I got the car, the chain driven rear axle was so badly worn it could cause
rear wheel steering!. Dad had the shaft metal sprayed and turned it to size but it must have been flawed because it eventually snapped sending me into a hedge!

The list seems endless from shorted out dynastart windings (a job which required a special fine metric thread puller to be made) to binding brakes and slipping clutch but at that age you don't know any better so just keep on taking the punishment.

The arrival of my first "proper" car, a beautifully cared for Austin A30 with absolutely no issues was a revelation...

I digress...

[Mog]

When I was 8-9-10 I lived at Hastings.I became a train spotter with my mate George Brown . We would go to Hastings but the engine sheds were at Ore ? We would catch the train to Ore to see the engines , I am pretty sure it in clued a Terrier tank loco . So much freedom in those days , an 8-10 year old could not do it now .

[Rootes75]

An 8-10 year old now would be sat indoors playing on a tablet or xbox, they wouldn't venture out of the house!
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[Ray White]