What's made you smile today?

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

AFAIK the RSPCA kittens has no windows on the sides nor a back seat. I know there were more than 40 of the Kitten cars made.

I liked the kitten a lot, thought it was the best looking version of that body style. Nice engine too. I think I've mentioned before that at the height of my Imp madness/obsession I had 4 engines, several transmissions and a whole load of other spares, suspension arms, steering racks, etc, etc. I had so much I built an extension onto my 6ftx8ft shed doubling it's size and shelved all round my garage at just above head height, there wasn't a free space anywhere! The Imp I loved the most was the estate I acquired from a customer when it failed MOT catastrophically. He asked us to take it to the scrappy for him but, with a lot of the cost in labour I fancied fixing it up and asked him if I could have it. He agreed and I used it as my daily run around for many years.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I think there was a commercial that was related to the kitten called the Jimp. We had one at work in the early 80's. It was a real hoot sideways any time you cared to provoke it. It didnt take much.

 

[porta]

I think there was a commercial that was related to the kitten called the Jimp. We had one at work in the early 80's. It was a real hoot sideways any time you cared to provoke it. It didnt take much.

I thought the Jimp was a jungalo, trekka, etc lookalike, coach built 2 and 4 wheel drive off-roaders, based on 500’s and 600’s, a very rare 4x4 version was up for sale quite recently for £12k

 

[The Panda Nut]

I thought the Jimp was a jungalo, trekka, etc lookalike, coach built 2 and 4 wheel drive off-roaders, based on 500’s and 600’s, a very rare 4x4 version was up for sale quite recently for £12k

I am faily sure it was reliant based. Ours was a tiny pickup, totalyly uselss to man or beast. The engine was around 800cc, too low powered for carrying anything, and in any event it was too small to fit anything heavy enough to need carrying. My boss cleverly had a towbar fitted. Im not sure what he thought it would tow, may be a baloon. It was so light weight it had no traction for use off road (Parks and Recreation Dept). It wasnt even any good in dry weather. It was a really cheeky thing though and a total hoot to drive. I made sure it was transferred to the other area in our district council where Im sure it was highly prized.... I would have had it as my transport, but the boss thought it should be put to work. LOL
I love the suggestion it was coach built. Ha Ha.. It was rough and I mean rough all rivited together like a poorly repaired Tonka toy. It did have chunky tyres though.

 

[bugsymike]

AFAIK the RSPCA kittens has no windows on the sides nor a back seat. I know there were more than 40 of the Kitten cars made.

Oh! This was a car version with rear windows as I recall, in the late 70s.

 

[porta]

I am faily sure it was reliant based. Ours was a tiny pickup, totalyly uselss to man or beast. The engine was around 800cc, too low powered for carrying anything, and in any event it was too small to fit anything heavy enough to need carrying. My boss cleverly had a towbar fitted. Im not sure what he thought it would tow, may be a baloon. It was so light weight it had no traction for use off road (Parks and Recreation Dept). It wasnt even any good in dry weather. It was a really cheeky thing though and a total hoot to drive. I made sure it was transferred to the other area in our district council where Im sure it was highly prized.... I would have had it as my transport, but the boss thought it should be put to work. LOL
I love the suggestion it was coach built. Ha Ha.. It was rough and I mean rough all rivited together like a poorly repaired Tonka toy. It did have chunky tyres though.

Found it, so a kitcar based on the kitten
No wonder the company folded!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Found it, so a kitcar based on the kitten
No wonder the company folded!

I "dabbled" around with kit cars when at college, but most were VW based. Always quite fancied a Jago Jeep though. There was an American fibre glass panel van conversion based on the beetle which totally transformed it which I also fancied but I'm damned if I can remember what it was called.

The estate car version of the Kitten was the best looking in my opinion.

 

[bugsymike]

Found it, so a kitcar based on the kitten
No wonder the company folded!

I see that is the four wheel drive version with diff locks.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Oh, looky here, I found a video of that VW based panel van kit:



I believe it was a Wizard kit but I'm sure it started out being manufactured by someone else in the US. There was another very nice looking one with twin rear doors and sculpted rear mudguards (fenders to you Cheest) manufactured by someone else.

It just occurred to me it would make a really rather nice hearse? I wouldn't mind being taken up to the crem in one!

 

[bugsymike]

Oh, looky here, I found a video of that VW based panel van kit:



I believe it was a Wizard kit but I'm sure it started out being manufactured by someone else in the US. There was another very nice looking one with twin rear doors and sculpted rear mudguards (fenders to you Cheest) manufactured by someone else.

It just occurred to me it would make a really rather nice hearse? I wouldn't mind being taken up to the crem in one!

Being all fibre glass they could drive it straight through.
Just sort out the fibre glass strands from the bone material.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Being all fibre glass they could drive it straight through.
Just sort out the fibre glass strands from the bone material.

Along with the metal hip and knees?

 

[bugsymike]

Along with the metal hip and knees?

Weigh them in separately.

 

[Cheest]

Had some me time today.

Yes, fenders, Jock. The one on the sidecar is new. The russkies still hadn't learned about seam sealer in the oughts and it rusted out. This one was undercoated before it got mounted. You ought to see the other two.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Found it, so a kitcar based on the kitten
No wonder the company folded!

Ours was a factory build, resplendant in cargo yellow. It looked better than that if you looked from a disatnce away. Styling similar but better. But if viewed from about a mile or so away. When I moved to Norwich we had a fleet of reliant Ants. The Ant was similar to the italian Ape trucks but with a steering wheel instead of handlebars and a reliant 4 cylinder engine. The three wheeled horror stories were slow, unreliable, unstable and almost useless as transport for the business. I soon binned them in favour of four wheeled Bedford Rascals (Suzuki in drag I think). We had a few larger pick ups to do heavier work which meant things started getting done. Pickups were however no use anywhere I worked, including Norwich as people helped themselves to everything in passing. We lost a staggering amount of equipment and tools.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Along with the metal hip and knees?

At least you could put up some resistance then. More than my meagre flesh and bones!

 

[The Panda Nut]

Found it, so a kitcar based on the kitten
No wonder the company folded!

I must admit to a dergee of glee when I swapped it for an old Sherpa from teh Northwich area. That sort of says it all.

 

[bugsymike]

I must admit to a dergee of glee when I swapped it for a Sherpa. That sort of says it all.

I liked the Sherpa's, I had one 1800 diesel and two of the LDV 200 Series van versions. A mate of mine has 3 pick ups in varying states of dis repair.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I liked the Sherpa's, I had one 1800 diesel and two of the LDV 200 Series van versions. A mate of mine has 3 pick ups in varying states of dis repair.

I had a Sherpa van as my transport. It was decent too, reliable and very robust. In those days the abuse I dished out was pretty awful and it took everything I could throw at it. I cant remember if it was diesel or petorl, but logic says it would have been diesel.

 

[bugsymike]

I had a Sherpa van as my transport. It was decent too, reliable and very robust. In those days the abuse I dished out was pretty awful and it took everything I could throw at it. I cant remember if it was diesel or petorl, but logic says it would have been diesel.

If empty very light on the back end , just like the BMC J4 van I had before, but without the sliding doors that cut off your head if braking when looking out.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I had a Sherpa van as my transport. It was decent too, reliable and very robust. In those days the abuse I dished out was pretty awful and it took everything I could throw at it. I cant remember if it was diesel or petorl, but logic says it would have been diesel.

When I started with the gardening squad I had an LDV twin rear wheel crewcab pickup which was about as slow as they get and sometimes struggled when we had the trailer with ride on mower behind it - 'specially on long hills. However it was "boringly" reliable. Started every day, even in sub zero temps, and never needed anything more than regular servicing. It was replaced by a well known make of the same spec ie. twin rear wheel crewcab pickup, which just seemed to require constant attention. Most memorably It had two D/M flywheels - not due to the clutch itself but the flywheel itself failing and making a terrible clattering noise. I lost quite a number of working days through it, but the lads loved the days in the warm canteen - mostly it broke down in the winter.