The Man. The Legend. Cyphus

[P50]

Well what can one say?

I suspect there's a plethora of armchair experts who no doubt have some rare and desirable contraptions stashed away. Bought many moons ago for little more than scrap.  Well done.  

But there's very few like Mr S Cyphus.  After reading the Comtesse piece in Rum one has to doff ones cap in his general direction. A true hardcore enthusiast.  Braving the elements in a machine utterly unsuitable for cross country work.  But is he phased? Err perlease!  

2.5 hours to cover 35 odd miles.    The world would be a much more boring place without Stuart.

So if anyone knows of or has a Scootacar going cheap then perhaps they could let him have a punt on it. At least he could get around a bit easier!!

(Sorry mine's staying but I think it's time you got one of of Jack Lanes finest Stuart).

P.S.

Was sad to learn many Scootacars have gone to the US from the last Burford gathering.        

[Dan Rodd]

i think the comtesse actually goes faster than Stuart says,when i last visited him i followed in my moggie wand clocked him doing about 22mph,and when i drove it it felt faster,having no speedo in it doesnt help mind!

[Jim Janecek]

Was sad to learn many Scootacars have gone to the US from the last Burford gathering.

are you sure they went to the US?  I heard one recently went to a collector in Mexico.

how many are "many Scootacars"?

and back on topic:  I doff my cap in your general direction Mr. Cyphus.   Fabulous indeed.

[P50]

Was sad to learn many Scootacars have gone to the US from the last Burford gathering.

are you sure they went to the US?  I heard one recently went to a collector in Mexico.

how many are "many Scootacars"?

and back on topic:  I doff my cap in your general direction Mr. Cyphus.   Fabulous indeed.

Allow me to correct.  I should have said overseas.    But I suspect 'most' will have gone to the States....

[Jim Janecek]

so how many are you talking about?
seriously.  You brought it up.

"Many Scootacars..."

Last time a variation on this with "several Peels have been lost Overseas" stuff came up I think it ended up being one Peel.
and it was one that had been offered to the UK first and no one seemed to want it (in fact a few people here even made fun of it!).

now that is sad.

[Bob Purton]

How serious is it anyway if Americans buy our cars? We have the same oppertunity as they do to buy them, we are also free to buy anything offered on ebay from the states, its a world market, in fact with the exchange rate as it is there has never been a better time to import a car from the usa. I think its more to do with British peoples lack of appreciation for the cars. At the end of the day market forces will prevail, its no good whining, buy as many as you can and hang on to them if you feel strongly about it. Discuss, but remember what happen to KR200 so no swearing or fits of temper!

[blob]

Lets not moan about cars going overseas, besides I wonder how many people have imported cars from Germany. 

[P50]

I agree it's the owners right to sell their car to who they want.  If it happens to go overseas then so be it.

But it can mean less cars will subsequently available for shows.  I fear its the rare stuff that'll be exported.

So if these oddities are no longer here then I'm concerned 1, no new blood will be able to buy them in the future, 2, these potential enthusiasts won't be able to see them to wet their appetite and start hunting.   

Very little is written about micros in the classic press.  I got interested in Peels when I saw Mr Hurns Trident at the NEC some years ago.  What if that was sent abroad?

The Peel you mention was a replica. 





 



 

 

[marcus]

I agree it is a world market, but I am concerned that British people do not value their history and heritage enough and are letting so much of it go. At some point it will be too late. Us Brits took the Elgin Marbles from Greece because they were crumbling and no one in Greece wanted them. Now of course they regret loosing them. It is the samewith beer..we get saturation advertising for Continental and American beer and our own beers have become a relatively tiny niche market. You don't know what you've got till it's gone. I am not moaning, just concerned. I am also a hypocite, because I would always go for the best offer no matter where it came from, and cannot blame anyone else for doing the same!

[P50]

It's a very noble man who sells for a lower price for the 'cause'..

One notable and laudable exception is the manx P50 which is now on the IoM.  'Orange Peel' could easily have gone to the States (yes the states I was there...) for a bid a lot higher than the Manx Club could raise.

Through a bit of charity it's now on display for many visitors to ogle.  Mere meters away from where it was built.

Everyone's a winner.  And lets be honest there should always be a Peel on the island for punters to view.   

   

[Bob Purton]

I agree, it would be a great shame if all the British made rareties ended up abroad but relying on acts of charity and chivelry is not going to solve it for us. British enthusiasts are going to start having to put there money where there mouths are. Its a noble man that pays a little more for a rare mico to keep it in the country or even import one that has already found its way to foriegn parts.

[Stuart Cyphus]

 'ere, hang on a moment, isn't this topic suposed to be all about my shining brilliance        rather than arguing the toss over importing/exporting.....

 Seriusly though, I really must thank you P50 for your kind words, I first read it late last night & it certainly cheered me up in the middest of "one of those weeks" at work, but really,  everyone is being much too kind in my direction. Suerly everyone else has done such things as I have with their cars, and rather more impressively than I too. Take for instance Malcolm Goldsworthy driving Bob Dobie's old Peel from Kent to Burford & back in one day for the 1976 National, & Maclolm & Shelia Thomas touring Holland in a Trident in 1986  . Then we have Grant, whose exploits in a Scootacar is the stuff of legends....    THESE sort of people are the real stars....

 And elsewhere;

It's a very noble man who sells for a lower price for the 'cause'..

 How do I stand in such stakes? When I was raising the money to buy the Mini-Comtesse, I turned down an offer of £800 for my Harding becuse the folk were not members of any micro club and I couldn't be certain of their true intentions towards the vehicle, and instead offered it to the East Anglian Transport Museum for £300 (which is where the vehicle is now) becuse there I knew the Harding would be "safe" for the foreseeable, I would still know where it is, plus visiting folk would actully stand a chance of being able to SEE it.....

 On the other hand, I have just sent two Reliant's out to America. These being our 1982 Rialto and none other than our 1971 Regal (the legendary SJO 963K  ) Those who know me well will know just how much old SJO means to me. This was the car that shaped my entire life for twenty-three years. So why have I suddenly commited what seems to be the cardinal sin to most folk and sent it to America? Bascally, I am now of the opinion that the UK is no longer a safe or fitting country for Reliant three-wheelers to live in. The only folk who seem to want them now are either idiots or banger racers. For these reasons I elected to send the two family Reliants as far away from these shores as possible, but to silence the critics before they start, they have both gone to the capible hands of Cuscus47 of this very forum. No badgering took place, and no money changed hands. I was the one that offered the cars to him, and I gave him the pair as a gift.

[Bob Purton]

And not to mention all the reliants that are being broken up to make those hideous grunge trikes that are all the rage.

[Dan Rodd]

2 yrs ago i cause a huge row on the reliant forum for dareing to say that by the time i was drivng there wouldnt be any Reliants left,they either get triked,banger raced,trotterised or vandalised.
I was shouted down,and got the impression that because they all had one,it was fine.
Now they have all come to realise that there arent many left anymore and that they are dissapearing.
couldnt care less if they went to america,they have the money and the space to look after them properly.

[P50]

Stuart,

There has been various other sojourns from other people etc but on reading your piece in RUM I thought it warranted praise.

It's a different world now than it was in the 70's.  The roads are faster and more crowded. So it's really rather dangerous (brave?) to drive a machine tha goes 17mph!

But you decided to do it.  Driving a Schmitt can be a bit hard work on the hills.  Your car might not get up 'em!! 

I have no road fit Peel at the moment.  But when one's done I intend to drive it now and then.  But it can be dangerous due to the performance.  The 1st proper run in the Trident will be through London. Seeing as the average speed is 8mph I should be OK!!