• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Three-Wheeled Cars

GNC said:
Danny Baker mentioned on his podcast today, about a spate of unknown gangs (or maybe just one gang) who in South London turned three-wheeler cars onto their roofs for a brief period about fifty years ago. Apparently it was reported in newspapers. It stopped as soon as it began, and no culprits were found. Anyone know any more?
Click to expand...
Mr Bean?
 
escargot said:
A replica of it is sometimes seen around these parts, complete with two blokes done up as Del Boy and Rodney. You can have your photo taken with it at charity events.
Click to expand...
MODS
I'm sorry I keep doing this, I should read it all then quote as I go along
I have seen the Robin at Skeggy in a layby.
My late husband used to have a Robin, and he looked like David Jason. Once, before he met me he was travelling down the motor way, and as you might know a touch of the wheel and you move, he had some passengers, and the guy next to him was very nervous, my husband was approaching some traffic cones, and it was obvious he thought my husband was not going to make it , so, he grabbed and yanked the wheel, and the car flipped onto it's side, nobody could do anything as they slid along the road, it wore the handle down and hubby was slightly hurt. If he had done that to me I would have got out, and punched the git, what a stupid move.
 
Last edited:
Shady said:
Mr Bean?
Click to expand...

When I was a first year in high school, a group of older boys picked up and rolled over one of those little turquoise invalid cars. At the time I thought it hilarious. Now, I feel dreadful for finding it funny. I can’t imagine the horror that poor person experienced when they came back to their only mode of transport.

The problem is, the image I have in my head to this day still makes me laugh.
 
Mr. Banooka said:
When I was a first year in high school, a group of older boys picked up and rolled over one of those little turquoise invalid cars. At the time I thought it hilarious. Now, I feel dreadful for finding it funny. I can’t imagine the horror that poor person experienced when they came back to their only mode of transport.

The problem is, the image I have in my head to this day still makes me laugh.
Click to expand...
Hey, we aint perfect :p
 
GNC said:
Danny Baker mentioned on his podcast today, about a spate of unknown gangs (or maybe just one gang) who in South London turned three-wheeler cars onto their roofs for a brief period about fifty years ago. Apparently it was reported in newspapers. It stopped as soon as it began, and no culprits were found. Anyone know any more?
Click to expand...
Not heard of this but my dad had a phone call from the police back in the 1990s to say that his Reliant Robin had been tipped off the kerb by 'youths' and was upside down in the road outside his flat.
 
Before I was born my dad had a Morgan 3 wheeler which used to transport mum , dad and my older brother and sister. Once, probably because it looked such a wreck, he was stopped by the police for a spot check. The policeman said the hand brake wasn't working and asked how he would hold the car on a hill in traffic. My dad said he would get one of the kids to jump out and put a brick behind the wheel:chuckle: Luckily they had a sense of humour and let him off with a warning to get it fixed.
 
RaM said:
Now here's a man that likes a challenge.
End to End in a Peel50
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-59307070
Click to expand...

He did it!

A motoring nut has driven the length of the country in the world’s smallest car — and yes, it’s taken a while as the gutsy three-wheeler has a top speed of just 23mph.

Alex Orchin, 31, set off from John O’Groats and has finally reached Land’s End: a trek of 874 miles.

And he managed it in the Peel P50 — just 134cm long, 98cm wide and 100cm high.

He arrived at his destination within his three-week goal, raising £8,000 for Children In Need along the way.

https://metro.co.uk/2021/12/07/man-...-smallest-car-at-top-speed-of-23mph-15725751/
 
Ahh- 3 wheelers... had 3 of ‘em 2 Reliant Regals ( both vans) and a 750cc Robin. Great ‘cos you could drive ‘em on a bike licence and had heaters too- sheer luxury!,
My first Regal cost me £10- and I was done! The previous owner had hacked away most of the floor, to “work” on the engine, which he then removed and left in the back- I was young, hopeful ( ok, stupid) and put it all back together and even managed to bust my nose with the prop shaft, when trying to get it slotted back in.. bugger never moved under its own steam... and then selfishly went and caught fire...

...next one £120 and whole and an MOT’d runner! - I used to “ fuel inject” it- pulling the choke out half way would give it a spurt of speed that would often surprise... unfortunately, the Police on occasion.
I noticed on the log book it said “4 seater” which then explained the piece of wood in the back- you lifted it and it became a seat back to the 2 shallow depressions in the fibre glass which were “ seats”...Spartan doesn’t do ‘em justice-let’s just say you didn’t realise that the coccyx was connected to every other nerve in your body until a day after a ride in the back...

Finally the Robin- they are surprisingly nippy, as they weigh about as much as a Tupperware lunchbox, and believe me, they have a very sporty, short throw gearbox... one of the great things I discovered, was that should you lock your keys inside, by gently lifting the “Plastic Pig”, by either rear wheel arch, it would allow the body to flex just enough so that the drivers door would just nicely pop open- sorted!

You could get wheel spacer kits to widen the rear track and minilite wheels too- so you could “hustle” them a bit more through the bends- not to exactly RAC rally extent, but it certainly added more fun...had two mates ( also bikers) who had spruced up 850 Robins- and kid you not, a works group of us coming back from Margate back in around ‘83 on the M25, started - ( as you do) a little bit of to and fro “racing”... Maxi 1750 vs Escort 1.6 vs Datsun 120Y vs us; girlfriend pretty much flat out at 95mph in our Renault 12, got “done” by our mate Alan in his Robin- even more astonishing was his passenger was a 6’4” chunky mate, and in the back a French pen pal - whose face was a picture as they went by at...110mph!!
I don’t think the French pen pal bothered to write back after they returned home...
Ahh, such fun those 3 wheelers are!,
 
Here in North America there has been an increase in three-wheeled vehicles that are more than motorcycles, but not quite traditional cars - specifically the Polaris Slingshot and various models by Vanderhall. These are basically the rear end of a motorcycle for the drive chain with an open car-like body, two wheels up front for steering, and side by side seats. I can't say they're very popular, but an Indian motorcycle dealer down the street sells them, as well as the similarly designed Can-Am Spyder motorcycle, so I see them around from time to time.

Has this concept caught on anywhere else?
 
ChasFink said:
Here in North America there has been an increase in three-wheeled vehicles that are more than motorcycles, but not quite traditional cars - specifically the Polaris Slingshot and various models by Vanderhall. These are basically the rear end of a motorcycle for the drive chain with an open car-like body, two wheels up front for steering, and side by side seats. I can't say they're very popular, but an Indian motorcycle dealer down the street sells them, as well as the similarly designed Can-Am Spyder motorcycle, so I see them around from time to time.

Has this concept caught on anywhere else?
Click to expand...

Yes, the 2 wheels front/single at the rear seems the logical set up, for handling and stability...I guess the only times that set up has been pursued in the UK - ( and still is I believe a going concern)- is the Morgan and the Lomax... though they are rather expensive- but look to be rather fun, and definitely appeal to those ( myself included) who want a real “ bare bones” and austere, “proper” motoring experience...
 
I thought THIS was a Who-Mobile.
Great-Big-Electro-Who-Cardio-Shnook-768x576 60%.jpg

It's even got three wheels.
 
From 'Tardis Data Core';

As a real-life vehicle
The Whomobile (reg: WVO 2M) was one of Jon Pertwee's personal vehicles. He retained possession of it until nearly the end of his life.
The Whomobile was hastily written into the script of Invasion of the Dinosaurs, where it replaced an army motorcycle as the Doctor's transport around the deserted London. The Whomobile's roof/door section had not been completed at the time of filming, so a motor-boat windscreen was fitted to make the car legally roadworthy. The vehicle was classified technically as an "Invalid Tricycle".
When Pertwee demonstrated the vehicle to Peter Purves on the 5 November 1973 edition of Blue Peter during his tenure, he revealed that the vehicle was roadworthy and legal, though he mentioned that the BBC forbade him or any of the production crew from removing it from the studios except for outside shoots. It was capable of a top speed of 105 mph (roughly 169 km/h). Footage of this is available on the DVD release of Invasion of the Dinosaurs and the Season 10 Blu-ray.

https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Whomobile
 
Irish police have seized an "electric tricycle" being illegally operated on a public road in Offaly.

ElectricTrikeIE-B.jpg
ElectricTrikeIE-A.jpg

Irish police seize electric tricycle due to lack of insurance

Police in Ireland said they seized an unusual vehicle -- an electric tricycle -- when the operator was found to be using it without a license or insurance.

The Gardai, Ireland's national police, said in a Facebook post that while the electric tricycle is unusual, it is still considered a "mechanically propelled vehicle" under the Road Traffic Act. ...

The post said the designation means an operator is required to have a driver's license and insurance in order to use it on public roads. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/1...ectric-tricycle-Offaly-Ireland/7411666893605/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top