This 3-wheeler delivers!

[wilksie]

Can you imagine turning up at the next National Microcar Rally in this?

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C341401

A glass of milk for everyone!

[Jean]

It is as good as the Pashley bread van that Malcolm Goldsworthy owned until recently or their Ice Cream Cart!  See RCN111

[richard]

don't know the bread van but the ice cream machine was at least half motorcycle . love em but micro not cars 

[Big Al]

Is this the same machine, or another. One was advertised last year, I think a lot cheaper. If I had space I would have bought the other one as what a superbly bonkers period device.

[Chris Thomas]

Has anybody worker out in which direction you drive it?

I can not see any headlights or indication of direction of travel. A lot of these type vehicles were electric. a 500 cc engine sounds a bit too powerful.

Chris Thomas

[richard]

Surely you lean over the top whilst steering . Delivery van concours surely it would get the gold top

[Bob Purton]

Good point Chris, surely milk deliveries start early in the morning whilst still dark, I cant even see number plate lights.  I would guess you stand on the back and it moves forward single wheel first. It must be electric surely. My father in law was a milkman and he used to use a similar float in the sixties which was electric but his was lead with a handle from the front by a walking milkman. My wife Shelley has a provisional license from the 1980's that allows her to drive an electrically propelled vehicle unaccompanied that was built or adapted to carry one person and a load. I would imagine that clause was introduced for vehicles just like these!

[Big Al]

It would seem to be tiller steered though some of these things were steered by the footplate you stand on. move your weight to one side and the plate rotates moving the steering. It could be duplex as if you rotate the tiller 180 degrees you can then walk in front of the vehicle.

The vehicle might be old but so is municipal street lighting. Loads of idiots commuting in cars is a modern invention. So why do you need lights? Horse and cart milk floats did not. People used to actually look where they were going in those days instead of relying on gizzmos to do everything for them. Besides back in the day a wondering Milky used to go round bigger conurbations selling milk during the day. People bought it as an energy drink before they invented fizzy pop advertised by overpaid sports persons who would now probably run Milky over in their stupidly huge Hummers etc. Its called progress - who funnily enough made some of those odd delivery vehicles before going out of business. Which proves that progress has gone bust and is no longer happening. Case solved!

Is this milk float classed as an old crate?

[Bob Purton]

I see, so milkman used floats with no lights before they lost there bottle!!

[Big Al]

A gold topped ripost. Sorry I am struggling.

They would be OK in a one whey street?

[richard]

amazingly bob the ad says it's a 4 stroke 500cc ! imagine that on a cobbled street - milk shake

[Bob Purton]

I guess a 4 stroke 500 would be butter than electric because of increased range

[richard]

free range is that ?

[Chris Thomas]

I have found a description of the Nipper where it says there were 2 versions an 8 and a 10 cwt. The engine was a JAP mounted at the rear and could travel at 16 mph. The driver stood at the rear and steered the single front wheel using the long tiller. Sounds like mystery solved.

Chris Thomas

[Big Al]

Just nip on the JAP Nipper. Are they having a Giraffe? The Japanese do not greatly favour dairy produce and recon it makes us smell funny enough to find us in jungle fighting. Did they do a Asian take away delivery and milk truck called a Chink? An Italian pizza delivery van called...well you get the idea.