The name's Bond

[Greybeard]

Our neighbors had one of these when I was a boy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_Minicar

These air-cooled engines were developed principally as motorcycle units and therefore had no reverse gear. However, this was a minimal inconvenience, because the engine, gearbox and front wheel were mounted as a single unit and could be turned by the steering wheel up to 90 degrees either side of the straight-ahead position, enabling the car to turn within its own length.

[RDfella]

I see no battery leads headed for the flywheel, so presume one starts it by lifting the bonnet and using the kick-starter. Not overly convenient methinks.

Re-reading the wiki article came across this: "Starting was achieved by using a pull handle mounted under the dash panel and connected by cable to a modified kick-start lever on the engine". Didn't see that in the pic. Maybe a later addition? Or does the model shown have electric start and I've not recognized a cable hiding in the conduit? Dunno.

[Topdad]

When I was a kid growing up in the area of Manchester Haughton green the area being quite rural the local church gave the vicar one of these and yesn you lifted the bonnet and kick started it. It also had a "suicide handbrake " after a few mths if you just touched the handle it flew to the off position, no rpob reall except the church was at the top of a lane which was very steep. Numerous times ,charlie burke,  the vicar was seen chasing down the lane after it ,still raising his hat to the ladies ,only once did he fail ,it drove itself right up the vicarage drive ,about 350 yd down the lane , and stopped ,divine intervention or what ! 

[Greybeard]

I was under the impression that you had to lift the bonnet, put your leg in and kickstart the engine but when I skimmed that Wiki article it seems the kick starter was only for emergencies. I think there may have been a mechanical starting method inside the 'car'. Maybe it was like an outboard motor with a recoil rope. The engine was only 175cc so not difficult to spin over.

[CheeserBeezer]

These were fitted with a 'Ciba Dynastart' electric starter. Do I get the 'Geek of the Day' prize?!

[terryg]

One of my classmates had a Bond Minicar.  It may not, certainly nowadays, be your idea of a ‘babe magnet’ but back in 1973 his proved to be just that.  Max pulled the most gorgeous, and posh, grammar school girl in our town aided by his chosen mode of transport.

Apologies if I’ve posted this before.  I know I have but it could have been on a different forum. ‘Search’ drew a blank here.

[Topdad]

 Andrew you just pipped me ,I couldn't think of the name but knew the later ones had a starter linked to the gene,  the earlier models i think were kickstart only but really my knowledge about them is nil.

[Swarfcut]

 That's a real trip down memory lane for me!  Growing up as kids there was an early basic model hardtop saloon version (that blue van later variant is a new one for me) parked up in a front garden. Upon passing his bike test on an original Douglas Vespa (headlamp on the apron type), my pal's folks decided two wheels were dangerous.....three wheels better. So a deal was struck and the neglected Bond was returned to active duty. This must be around 1965. Shortcomings in the design were soon apparent. Starting was indeed with the kickstart, open the bonnet, one leg over the front valance, hope for the best.

 It did have the cable start. An aluminium tube lever, pivoted on the floor was connected to the kickstart pedal with a steel cable. The cable connected to the lever at the hand gripped top end. The lever normally fell forward onto the toe board when not in use, the cable slack allowing the engine unit and wheel to pivot for steering. To start the engine, the steering was set to straight ahead, the lever raised, the cable tightened against the kickstart spring and with a few pulls it....

  Started, or  kicked back skinning your knuckles on the dashboard. Mostly it just sulked, and it was up with the bonnet to deliver a temper fueled kicking. Ours never ran backwards, but that would have been even more entertaining. The exhaust silencer pivoted with the engine, gases exiting under the passenger compartment, so carbon monoxide poisoning in slow moving or standstill traffic was another hazard.

 The UK construction and use rules allowed three wheelers to be driven on a motorcycle licence, providing they were below a specified weight and no reverse gear. To achieve this everything was thin and flimsy, and they were built to a specific penny pinching market. We lads likened it as an eggshell on wheels and an accident waiting to happen. There was no driver's door, you sorta slid in over from the passenger side, onto a bench seat. We had great fun with it, particularly on wet grass or ice, where with no weight over the trailing rear wheels, with a footful of throttle it would break away and spin until the front wheel gripped and away you went in an unexpected direction. When finances improved  it was sold on to another willing victim.

 Swarfy.


PS. Bond cars were made by Sharps Commercials, later producing the Bond Equipe, a fibreglass bodied Triumph Herald based GT. They were later taken over by Reliant of Tamwoth, effectively removing the competition for three wheelers.

[Greybeard]

That's a real trip down memory lane for me!

I really enjoyed your recollections! 

[bikerbob]

My late father had a Bond minicar but it was green they were powered by a 250cc villiers engine mounted over the front wheel and yes you could lift the bonnet up and use the kick start but that was for emergency starting only. My father's had electric start and it also had a reverse but it was not a reverse gear in the conventional sense . To use it there was a switch on the dash so if I remember the proceedure correctly you had to stop the engine turn the switch restart the engine then the car was in reverse mode it actually worked by turning the engine backwards so you could reverse. I think that was the proceedure but definately it worked by turning the engine backwards, my father's was prone to shearing the woodruff key on the mainshaft he always carried spares and replaced at the roadside. They could also turn around in near enough their own body length as you could the front wheel 90 degrees either way. That is my father in his minicar taken late 50's  I still have the Siba Dyna Start booklet gives operating instructions wiring diagram and component parts list  and fault finding tips. price 9d.

[Swarfcut]

  Jeez...That looks like a 2 + 2 Family version. Reliant used aluminium panel bodywork on their earlier three wheelers. Bond were innovators in the use of fibreglass, a newcomer material to the automotive world at the time, and being relatively low cost in terms of tooling, a good choice for low volume manufacturers. Reliant retained Bond's expertise after the takeover, by then having switched entirely to  fibreglass body shells.

 That idea of running a two stroke backwards also featured on the contemporary Messerschmitt 3 wheeler. These had a Sachs engine and a dynastart.  It did not contravene the legislation, which specified  "No revere gear" Back in the day I drove one of those for a few hundred yards, it was truly frightening.  With its direct steering there was a tendency to wander as you changed gear, slight movement on the steering bar producing vastly unexpected changes in direction. It was capable of over 60mph backwards, claimed my mate.......Better you than me!

 Swarfy.

[bikerbob]

That car of my fathers had aluminuium bodywork I know this because back then we lived in a terraced flat and we converted the backyard into a garage with folding doors in those days you could not have garage doors that opened outward ito the backlane planning rules. So my father used ot reverse his Bond into the garage then I would put my then Norton Dominator motorcycle in front of the Bond leaning against the then closed folding doors. The then the inevitable happened the guy opposte while reverseing to get his car into his garage bumped the doors the bike fell over onto the bonnet of the Bond putting a great big dent into it and me being a sheetmetal worker got the job of removing the dent which I did quite well so father was quite happy even though the guy over the lane denied ever touching the doors but the marks were there on the door.

[Topdad]

Swarfy, this IS a trip down memory lane , at 14yrs old I had a Messerschmitt bubble car. Opposite our house and cafe in liverpool there were miles of wood yds , the timber dock being close by. All the staff came in for their dinners and so a deal was struck ,I could park it behind the offices and once the work stopped, I could run around the tracks for miles, great fun and yes it went better backwards ,not so sure about 60 but whatever speed i got it to was fast enough ! After 6 mths we started getting german crews in from the elderdemster line ,one of these guys had the sports version at home ,said it would stay at 60 all day long, anyway he sorted the gearchange and a few runs were organised down on the beach . I got it quite fast and did a fair few miles on it ,would probably have kept but a group of bloody idiots wrecked it one night . Four of them did it I caugt 2 and whacked 'em but never saw the other 2 . Happy days indeed .

[Bsareg]

Kenneth More starred in the Man In The Moon film driving a Messerschmitt 3 wheeler which was hired from the firm my brother worked for. The car was sold after filming but some time later the film company wanted to record the car's sounds. Not having another messerschmitt, my brother drove a BMW Isetta behind the sound van. So in the film you see the only twostroke messerschmitt with four stroke engine.🤔

[Greybeard]

..... So in the film you see the only twostroke messerschmitt with four stroke engine.🤔

It's annoying when post production, (foley) sounds don't match the video. You'll see a British bike with the sound of a Harley Davidson. Or old style UK dial tone in a contemporary scene. The film makers must think the audience are all idiots..... Oh wait!