Church Pod

[Big Al]

[Big Al]

At last I can see my Church Pod again and empty of all the parts for it and the others bits I have accumulated. This partly as interest has been expressed in taking on numbers 2 and 3 out of 5 with said parts. That will leave me with this registered one and a spare bodyshell to fit once more development work has been done. That will give a fresh set of panels with no holes now not to be used as things have been altered. The used panels can be put with another chassis for a cheap starter pack should there be interest. My main concern is the fitting of the windscreen. This is currently unsatisfactory and had I been doing the design I would not have gone down the route taken. Need a trip to the scrappy to get some ideas on what rubber sections are available.

Basic run through is this has Vespa disc brakes in the front mounted to new Messerschmitt front suspension with replicated steering and geometry. Master cylinder on foot pedal, as is the throttle. The rear is wholly Honda Foresight 250 four stroke twist and go. Dash from the scooter. Space-frame tubular steel chassis clothed in unstressed GRP panels. Screen cut down Ford. Nif naf from what ever source suits.
This thing goes very well and represents a modern take on the Austrian doofur, the Schmitt and a sort of Bond Bug for one. It is comfy once in but not easy to exit or enter. You can see a single head light front on the back of the trike but the twin headlight version is fitted at the moment.

[marcus]

How many were made?

[Big Al]

How many were made?

Eeer. None yet! There are 5/6 sets of parts. The prototype, which I have, has been run illegally on the road before mothballing. I have it registered and it is the nearest the road. Another is mojorly done in Wales. There are two complete sets of parts here. I believe there is another but I know not where, Slough?, and then I have the spare shell and some misc parts. I effectively bought the project and then found I had other owners making me offers I could not refuse to give me their cars back. We all invested on the basis of the originators track record of success. However on this occasion other issues rather forced him to give up before the project was finished. The concept is very good and potential likewise. Like all these things it needs time and work. I would rather not do the cars and even doing the easy one really means I have an old car I cannot then do. Hence looking for someone to take the project on. If I had time, skill and wanted business I think this car could be simplified into a good selling cheap commuter./fun car as it uses mostly stuff from a breakers yard. The SVA/registration being the major prob. The answer is, of course, to use an old scooter but that is to simple for folk it seems as everyone wants to drive faster than Concord could go. Well great, but you cannot have it both ways, and that attitude suggests HM Gov are right to be picky doesn't it?

Why, do you want one, eh eh?

[richard]

have vaguely heard of this project before but why on earth is it "off topic" ?

[Big Al]

have vaguely heard of this project before but why on earth is it "off topic" ?

It does not fit my definition of a microcar being to modern. Smedley's canned worms anyone?

[marcus]

I don't think age is really a deciding factor, and if I remember rightly the Pod was featured in Rum Cars News, but anyway an interesting project Al.

[Jonathan Poll]

My racing mower is classed as a Microcar... Its RUM'd !

[richard]

 :)I am certain it wasn't meant to be jonathan - are you trying to crash the system

[marcus]

My Drum Car is RUM'd too! dRUM Car perhaps?

[Jonathan Poll]

:)I am certain it wasn't meant to be jonathan - are you trying to crash the system

Hehe it was when Jean said it could be registered, seeing as there is a powered wheelbarrow.

Its got 4 wheels, its small, and under 850cc (or whatever the limit is. It was 400cc, but hopefully soon 200/250 !)

[Big Al]

Is this a Mini situation where there are now Mini and Classic Mini? Everyone knows what a Classic Mini is but Mini generically now seems to include a revoltingly large four wheel drive thing with a replica Tojan bubblecar badge on it. I am not certain what part of that has anything to do with 'Mini' and that is before we get into the fact Mini was nicked off Bond's Minicar. So are there Classic Microcars and Microcars? Sorry I had to test out my tin opener.

[marcus]

A lot of us of a certain age have a nostalgic interest in a particular age of micro cars, from about 1948 to about 1970 when there was a boom, and we tend to remember these as proper micros and bubbles. However small cars were made from the earliest days of motoring. Some of these were popular like the Peugeot Bebe and Austin 7, and these just about fit into the broad range of "Micro". Less well known ones were even smaller, like many small volume cars, prototypes and home-made ones, often single seaters like the Busy Bee.

Since the 1948-1970 boom there have been few micros marketed by manufacturers of any size, but lots of small volume micros, sans permit vehicles, "Kei" cars in Japan and endless 'schmitt and Isetta derived micro concept cars, and of course the Pod. The Smart car has been by far the most successful of the modern 'micros', with G Whiz and Aixam being seen occasionally.

[Big Al]

A lot of us of a certain age have a nostalgic interest in a particular age of micro cars, from about 1948 to about 1970 when there was a boom, and we tend to remember these as proper micros and bubbles. However small cars were made from the earliest days of motoring. Some of these were popular like the Peugeot Bebe and Austin 7, and these just about fit into the broad range of "Micro". Less well known ones were even smaller, like many small volume cars, prototypes and home-made ones, often single seaters like the Busy Bee.

Since the 1948-1970 boom there have been few micros marketed by manufacturers of any size, but lots of small volume micros, sans permit vehicles, "Kei" cars in Japan and endless 'schmitt and Isetta derived micro concept cars, and of course the Pod. The Smart car has been by far the most successful of the modern 'micros', with G Whiz and Aixam being seen occasionally.

Most of those do not fit in with my idea of a Microcar, while fitting a category. Its an odd thing. Why is a Fiat 500 not really a Microcar in terms of our events, when clearly it is, yet a Bond Bug is classed as OK but clearly is not a Microcar but is a trike. And before over sensitive Reliant owners go off on one this is a discussion point not reality. Its really a people thing on the ground and the car is incidental to the input of the person with it. Over a period of time the scope of what is a microcar seems to have increased as has the many and varied interests of those who are owning cars within even a restricted definition of microcars.

I return to my underlying part of the definition that has been left out. Minimalist transportation. Ultimately a self defeating concept really but it is interesting what is put into these minimal packages as thought to be required for everyday use. How that changes over time. Include that and I am very much more settled to what I feel is a microcar and what is a lightcar. Cyclecars are another whole different thing again but clearly there is a link.

[marcus]

Lots of different vehicles, classifications and opinions, and several areas of overlap for sure. RUM of course stand for Register of Unusual Microcars, with some cars being welcomed not for being micros but being "unusual", and some vehicles which are not necessarily "micro" (like Bugs) are welcomed as cousins, but generally another aim of RUM is to cover vehicles which do not have their own clubs, and that is why old Minis and FAT 550s are generally outside RUM's sphere of interest.