His & Hers Toads

[EuroTrotters]

Maybe ?

 

[Apache]

Isetta , my dad had one when I was a toddler

 

[bobandjanie]

One Sunday while out in my first car, an Austin A40 with my mates, we came upon a ford that was flooded, being young and stupid decided to drive through.
Halfway and conked out, managed to get my mates out paddling and push me out, drying the distributor out got it going.

Just about to drive off and a couple in a bubble car came towards us, stopped and said did we get through, ..........Yes
He said I will get a bit of a run at it, well ......splash and he nearly got washed down river, but it never stopped and got through and off they went with a toot toot. Bob.

 

[Ridgeway]

Sideways on you'd probably fit the pair on a trailer designed for one car

 

[PeteH]

Now that WOULD be interesting. "A" frame both?. A Bit like this:-

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[solaris]

Isetta with the front opening door. Only car I’ve been trapped in. Driver was parking on grass and didn’t see a 12 wide ditch that had been mowed flush. Front wheels dropped in jamming door against ground. Fortunately others with us were able to lift it out. Memories

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

I used to have an Isetta. Lovely little car. Brilliant white with tangerine interior and headlights. Also had a spare hanging from the garage roof

 

[David and Sally]

Isetta with the front opening door. Only car I’ve been trapped in. Driver was parking on grass and didn’t see a 12 wide ditch that had been mowed flush. Front wheels dropped in jamming door against ground. Fortunately others with us were able to lift it out. Memories

I had one. Yellow.

If someone parked too close I got out of the sunroof.

Wish I had one now. £20k to £30k in reasonable to good order

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

I had one. Yellow.

If someone parked too close I got out of the sunroof.

Wish I had one now. £20k to £30k in reasonable to good order

Whilst you could drive it on a motorbike licence, you had to lock off the reverse gear, so easy to get stuck if you parked against a wall. Most owners had it locked off with a simple screw across the gearstick selector which could be removed by hand

I did 60mph in mine once, down a hill. The engine did not like it though and I had to get my dad to tow me home. Fortunately BMW said that it should not have done that and actually sent me a new engine FOC!

 

[David and Sally]

you had to lock off the reverse gear, so easy to get stuck if you parked against a wall. Most owners had it locked off with a simple screw across the gearstick selector which could be removed by hand

I don't remember that!

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[Jimbohorlicks]

I had a red Issetta, brilliant little car. Once went shooting in it, through the open sunroof, , even had 4 up in it. Bit of a squeeze with 3 seated and one on the floor. No seat belts then and no one bothered. Had braking issues as I recall with brake fluid getting hot, but then I was only 17 and didn't know much about brakes then.
Would love one as a toad now.

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

I don't remember that!

They didn't all have a reverse gear

 

[Clive and Sally]

My best friend at school had one but my favorite bubble car was the Messerschmitt KR200 which was a lot more streamlined. It had 4 forward & 4 reverse gears!

 

[Tea Bag]

Hi.
Multiple trailers.....Showmans Guild...........
Tea Bag

 

[David and Sally]

They didn't all have a reverse gear

I'm sure mine did. Without a reverse how did you go backwards?

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[gus-lopez]

I don't remember that!

To drive any of them at 16 on a motrcycle licence reverse had to be locked off. My mate had the reliant & that was locked off.

I'm sure mine did. Without a reverse how did you go backwards?

A) you got out & pushed it back B) or you didn't go backwards.

 

[Taran_Las]

These Isettas have an interesting history. BMW made them under licence from Isetta. Isetta made household electrical goods. The door on the car was reckoned to be a fridge door from the company's parts bin. The cars which followed from the Isetta company are now worth megabucks - e.g Iso Grifo etc. Initial design by Giotto Bizzarrini.

 

[Minxy]

These Isettas have an interesting history. BMW made them under licence from Isetta. Isetta made household electrical goods. The door on the car was reckoned to be a fridge door from the company's parts bin.

I have no idea who told you that but it's total tosh!

I was one of the founders of the Micro Maniacs Club, a microcar club, originally called the East Yorkshire Microcar Club but dropped the EY bit when it got members nation and world-wide. We had loads and loads of cars attend our annual rally, and other smaller rallies, some coming from mainland Europe and one chap who flew in from Australia and another from New Zealand to see all the cars in one place, our rallies were so popular and well attended they outstripped the 'official' national microcar rally.

The Isetta 300 bubble cars were very popular and those, along with Heinkels, were the most desirable ones, if you could get the 4 wheeler version you were in heaven! Same goes for the Messerschmitt KR200 which had 3 wheels, anyone who had the 4 wheel 'Tiger' version was worshipped! We saw weird and wonderful microcars of all shapes and sizes and our magazine editor and co-founder Jim, who was 6'8" used to love trying to get in and drive them ... he had an Isetta 300 and used to drive with the cloth sunroof rolled back so the top of his head didn't rub on in! We had a Bond Minicar 250cc twin estate in pale blue (called Basildon as hubby worked in stationery!), totally original, which was great fun but after 13 years or so he didn't get taken out much and wasn't overly practical so eventually we reluctantly sold him. We then got an air-cooled Fiat 126 Bis in 'petrol blue' which I called Wally (hubby's middle name) and subsequently changed to a primrose yellow water-cooled one which was virtually mint on which I put the registration F126 TOT so was called 'Totty'.

It was actually because of microcars that we got into motorhoming as I got fed up of sleeping in a cold tent when we went to rallies but eventually motorhoming and holidays took over and we did very few microcar events so left the 'scene' totally but we have lots of good memories.

 

[Apache]

Did you ever go to Jasmine Park caravan site between Scarborough and Pickering ? We had our caravan there and often saw the microcar people come for a weekend .

 

[Minxy]

Did you ever go to Jasmine Park caravan site between Scarborough and Pickering ? We had our caravan there and often saw the microcar people come for a weekend .

I never went or organised any rallies there but I know other members organised smaller gatherings so maybe they did.

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[Taran_Las]

I have no idea who told you that but it's total tosh!

I stand corrected.

 

[EuroTrotters]

My best friend at school had one but my favorite bubble car was the Messerschmitt KR200 which was a lot more streamlined. It had 4 forward & 4 reverse gears!
View attachment 393972

I assume that was the same 4 gears reversed

 

[Spriddler]

On my way to work I used to stop and watch Isettas being assembled in a couple of gloomy brick type of railway arch workshops next to Brighton station. I still lust after them at vintage vehicle shows.

 

[PeteH]

Hi.
Multiple trailers.....Showmans Guild...........
Tea Bag

But not in most US states. We regularly saw Pickup`s with 5th wheel, towing a boat?. I asked a guy on site at Corpus Christi KOA. about it, he said some States like you to have a CDL (HGV) but many just don`t bother.

 

[Clive and Sally]

I assume that was the same 4 gears reversed

Yes I'm pretty sure that was how they worked although I wouldn't fancy going backwards at 62mph!

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[Wagoneer]

My best friend at school had one but my favorite bubble car was the Messerschmitt KR200 which was a lot more streamlined. It had 4 forward & 4 reverse gears!
View attachment 393972

I had a friend at college who had a 3 wheel Messerschmitt. One day he turned into a side road (probably at speed), hit a stone, and overturned it. He was trapped because the only way out was via the perspex roof. Fortunately, a couple of passers-by managed to get it back on it's wheels....so he was able to continue

He was the same guy who failed his car driving test for turning onto a dual carriageway against the oncoming traffic. No hope for some !!!

 

[Minxy]

My best friend at school had one but my favorite bubble car was the Messerschmitt KR200 which was a lot more streamlined. It had 4 forward & 4 reverse gears!

I assume that was the same 4 gears reversed

Yes I'm pretty sure that was how they worked although I wouldn't fancy going backwards at 62mph!

Yup, same number of gears forward and backwards, I can't remember the exact way it was achieved but I seem to recall it somehow turned the direction of the drive the opposite way. This was the case on a few microcars and some brave souls (total nutters) used to see how fast they dare go in reverse! If you didn't have a full car licence you couldn't use reverse so it had to be blocked off.

Bond Minicars, on the other hand, were ONLY able to go forwards as they actually used motorcycle engines and thus still a kick-starter (many did have electronic ignition too), however many a time I've seen owners trying to get them going with their leg inside the engine compartment kicking away like mad only to start them and then have the car run them over because they'd left it in gear!!! ! The lack of reverse gear wasn't usually much of an issue though as the car's steeting literally turned 90 degrees in either direction so you could go round and round in circles if you wanted to ... one of our 'display' party pieces was the 'Dancing Bonds'.

 

[EuroTrotters]

I had a Micro van once. I was going to tow it but sold it. Wish I had'nt now.

 

[Clive and Sally]

Yup, same number of gears forward and backwards, I can't remember the exact way it was achieved but I seem to recall it somehow turned the direction of the drive the opposite way. This was the case on a few microcars and some brave souls (total nutters) used to see how fast they dare go in reverse! If you didn't have a full car licence you couldn't use reverse so it had to be blocked off.

Bond Minicars, on the other hand, were ONLY able to go forwards as they actually used motorcycle engines and thus still a kick-starter (many did have electronic ignition too), however many a time I've seen owners trying to get them going with their leg inside the engine compartment kicking away like mad only to start them and then have the car run them over because they'd left it in gear!!! ! The lack of reverse gear wasn't usually much of an issue though as the car's steeting literally turned 90 degrees in either direction so you could go round and round in circles if you wanted to ... one of our 'display' party pieces was the 'Dancing Bonds'.

Hi Minxy Girl,
I see from your photo in your earlier post that your Bond was a 1966 250G model and it must have been one of the last ones produced as Sharp's stopped producing them early that year.
Also was yours fitted with the single or twin cylinder Villiers engine & did it have reverse as I know it was an option?
With regards to the Messerschmitt KR200 reverse gears, they were fitted with two sets of points so you could stop the engine & re start it using the second set by so the engine runs backwards & hence 4 speed reverse.

Cheers

Clive

 

[Nasher]

My best friend at school had one but my favorite bubble car was the Messerschmitt KR200 which was a lot more streamlined. It had 4 forward & 4 reverse gears!
View attachment 393972

I assume that was the same 4 gears reversed

Yes I'm pretty sure that was how they worked although I wouldn't fancy going backwards at 62mph!

Yup, same number of gears forward and backwards, I can't remember the exact way it was achieved but I seem to recall it somehow turned the direction of the drive the opposite way. This was the case on a few microcars and some brave souls (total nutters) used to see how fast they dare go in reverse! If you didn't have a full car licence you couldn't use reverse so it had to be blocked off.

Bond Minicars, on the other hand, were ONLY able to go forwards as they actually used motorcycle engines and thus still a kick-starter (many did have electronic ignition too), however many a time I've seen owners trying to get them going with their leg inside the engine compartment kicking away like mad only to start them and then have the car run them over because they'd left it in gear!!! ! The lack of reverse gear wasn't usually much of an issue though as the car's steeting literally turned 90 degrees in either direction so you could go round and round in circles if you wanted to ... one of our 'display' party pieces was the 'Dancing Bonds'.

The Messerschmitt used a Sachs 2 stroke engine, timed at top dead centre

As a result it could run backwards - so what you did was to turn the ignition key backwards and that started the engine backwards - yes really

As stated earlier, if you only had a motorcycle licence you weren't allowed reverse gear - this was changed in, I believe, 1967

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