LOMAX 223 - slow max the right kinda trike
Discussion
Okay, I have decided to tell the rest of PH about my car. It’s a Lomax 223 classic kit car. I may be mistaken, but I don’t think there is another owner on here as they tend to be "knocking on a bit" (no offence intended to any of the wiser of us on here).
I bought it nearly exactly one year ago in June 2009. At the time it was not road legal and had been on SORN for over a year as the owner had another two 3 wheelers so this was sat on his drive feeling sorry for itself. Once I cleared out the garage (7 trips to the tip in my brothers Volvo), I organised for it to be delivered. A bit of TLC, a few weekends in the garage and a night or two sorting out the tuning we had her pass the MOT and on the road for the summer.
A little bit more information about the car:
Lomax Kit cars are based on the legendary Citroen 2CV chassis and drive train. Lomax mainly offered two models, the 223 (3 wheeler) and the 224 (4 wheeled version). Both use the same tub and bonnet with bits cut out for the rear suspension on the 224. For those not familiar with the 2CV it uses an air cooled 602cc flat twin engine with 4 speed gearbox and front wheel drive. The suspension layout is fully independent leading and trailing swing arms giving it the excellent ride quality and comfort it is known for. To allow for the single rear wheel at the back one of the rear swing arms was removed completely and the other turned around to "point" inwards. Although the standard 29BHP sounds like nothing you would be surprised at the amount of torque they appear to have. Mind you, at only 400KGs (ish) they are a lot lighter than the standard car and so feel very fast. Mine is based on a 1981 2CV with the better ami8 gearbox.
I’ve done a few little bits and bobs in the time of owning her, mostly just niggling little bits like door openings, exhaust mountings, fitted the Aero screens and added a bit of chrome detailing.
As with all types of kit cars and classics, there are no two the same. When we took her to Stoneleigh Kit car show I was surprised to see that she was one of the tidier examples on display. I cheekily managed to persuade my way on to the Citroen Specials Club (CSC) stand and became a member the same day. There was around 20 Citroen Specials on the stand.
On Thursday the 24th June I went to North Wales near Prestatyn to partake in one of the runs that the CSC had organised as part of their annual summer gathering. The event was week long but as I only lived 50 miles from Prestatyn and had work commitments we decided to go for just the one day. A short run of 50 miles took us through some of the most beautiful parts of Wales and the weather was an absolute dream. On the run was some truly stunning looking motors and in total counted around 40 at the stop off point at a reservoir (the name escapes me). Naturally there were a few poorly ones on the way around but I am glad to report the mine made it through and didn’t skip a beat all day.
In total we did 180miles over about 5 hours and have never had a more enjoyable day spent in a car! Neither of us has stiff legs or back ache (probably due to the comfort of the MGB seats) although a little sun burnt.
Now at this point I expect you are thinking I am an old anorak. Anorak, maybe, but it may come as a surprise that this is my first car. At age 19 I am one of the youngest members of the CSC but the wealth of knowledge amongst the collective group is truly biblical and they are all young at heart (and mostly crazy).
I bought it nearly exactly one year ago in June 2009. At the time it was not road legal and had been on SORN for over a year as the owner had another two 3 wheelers so this was sat on his drive feeling sorry for itself. Once I cleared out the garage (7 trips to the tip in my brothers Volvo), I organised for it to be delivered. A bit of TLC, a few weekends in the garage and a night or two sorting out the tuning we had her pass the MOT and on the road for the summer.
A little bit more information about the car:
Lomax Kit cars are based on the legendary Citroen 2CV chassis and drive train. Lomax mainly offered two models, the 223 (3 wheeler) and the 224 (4 wheeled version). Both use the same tub and bonnet with bits cut out for the rear suspension on the 224. For those not familiar with the 2CV it uses an air cooled 602cc flat twin engine with 4 speed gearbox and front wheel drive. The suspension layout is fully independent leading and trailing swing arms giving it the excellent ride quality and comfort it is known for. To allow for the single rear wheel at the back one of the rear swing arms was removed completely and the other turned around to "point" inwards. Although the standard 29BHP sounds like nothing you would be surprised at the amount of torque they appear to have. Mind you, at only 400KGs (ish) they are a lot lighter than the standard car and so feel very fast. Mine is based on a 1981 2CV with the better ami8 gearbox.
I’ve done a few little bits and bobs in the time of owning her, mostly just niggling little bits like door openings, exhaust mountings, fitted the Aero screens and added a bit of chrome detailing.
As with all types of kit cars and classics, there are no two the same. When we took her to Stoneleigh Kit car show I was surprised to see that she was one of the tidier examples on display. I cheekily managed to persuade my way on to the Citroen Specials Club (CSC) stand and became a member the same day. There was around 20 Citroen Specials on the stand.
On Thursday the 24th June I went to North Wales near Prestatyn to partake in one of the runs that the CSC had organised as part of their annual summer gathering. The event was week long but as I only lived 50 miles from Prestatyn and had work commitments we decided to go for just the one day. A short run of 50 miles took us through some of the most beautiful parts of Wales and the weather was an absolute dream. On the run was some truly stunning looking motors and in total counted around 40 at the stop off point at a reservoir (the name escapes me). Naturally there were a few poorly ones on the way around but I am glad to report the mine made it through and didn’t skip a beat all day.
In total we did 180miles over about 5 hours and have never had a more enjoyable day spent in a car! Neither of us has stiff legs or back ache (probably due to the comfort of the MGB seats) although a little sun burnt.
Now at this point I expect you are thinking I am an old anorak. Anorak, maybe, but it may come as a surprise that this is my first car. At age 19 I am one of the youngest members of the CSC but the wealth of knowledge amongst the collective group is truly biblical and they are all young at heart (and mostly crazy).
Thanks, Well I always wanted to build my own kit and started looking towards the cheaper end of the market. At the time I started looking seriously, the cheapest kit available to put on the road was something like a Robin hood 7 or an MEV rocket, this was before the likes of MEV tR1ke and eco exo kits. . I realised that building one was actually going to cost more than I could get a second hand one. I started to look towards the unfinished or unbuilt complete kits where owners had just lost interest or were too old to finish etc. I always fancied having a three wheeler so I bid for a few shabby, unfinished Lomax's on ebay, but they all went for more than I could justify paying. Just when I was losing hope I came across this little gem and the owner just wanted rid but it was by no means a bad example, but not 100% either. Either way, I am very happy with my purchase.
A few photos that were taken on the Citroen Specials Club summer gathering in North Wales, June.
In total I think I counted about 45 citroen specials at the reservoir where we stopped. The whole event in north wales was apparently very enjoyable and was a 4 day event. I could only make the one day this year but it was not so bad as i only live about one and a half hours from north wales, where the event took place this year. Next year i will try and make the whole 4 days as it is down near Devon somewhere.
In total I think I counted about 45 citroen specials at the reservoir where we stopped. The whole event in north wales was apparently very enjoyable and was a 4 day event. I could only make the one day this year but it was not so bad as i only live about one and a half hours from north wales, where the event took place this year. Next year i will try and make the whole 4 days as it is down near Devon somewhere.
)
Hungry Freak said:
I'm 19, I have a 1990 Mini 1000, it never crossed my mind to get a 3-wheeler! Fair play to you matey!
Just out of interest, what's the insurance like for something like that?
haha, well....Just out of interest, what's the insurance like for something like that?
At the moment it is not financially sensible for me to get insured on it. I am at uni for about 40 weeks of the year so my dad is insured on it and i have to co-pilot, but i enjoy doing the little bits n bobs on it. I could get insured on it this year with me as main driver and my dad as second driver for about £850, not bad compared with other cars, but i still can't afford it (thats with having my license for 1 year, 0 no claims bonus), next year i am hoping to get insured on it, and hope it will be down to less than £700. If i had the money i would be insured on it like a flash, but i think i will wait another year, i want to spend a bit more money on it to get it how i want it first.
A paint job would do it wonders. The gelcoat is getting a little tired now, but it would need a fair bit of prep and a full spray would be quite a bit of money.
ETA- I haven't polished or cleaned it in a while, so will take some proper pictures at some point. I am also going to a club meet where there will be about 40 similar vehicles this weekend so there will be some photos from then too.
ETA- I haven't polished or cleaned it in a while, so will take some proper pictures at some point. I am also going to a club meet where there will be about 40 similar vehicles this weekend so there will be some photos from then too.
Edited by slomax on Thursday 23 September 19:03
This weekend we attended a club meet called the 10,000ft run, so called because you climb and descend 10,000ft across Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
(copied from another forum)
The morning of the 10,000 foot run, 25th of September was very crisp indeed. We awoke to find the Lomax covered in frost having stayed at our caravan over night. At the start point in Ingleton there was a total of 21 cars, including 2 Pembletons, 3 Lomii, an incredibly rare 2CV Bijou (only 212 were made in slough), a DRK a special and various Marlins, a JBA, a BRA and a few others.
We set off at approximately 10.15 with one of the Guzzi Pembletons storming off into the distance and disappearing over the horizon, it sounded great and went just as well. The run to the lunch stop was fantastic, and although very cold, it was sunny too. We had a precautionary stop after smoke was appearing from under the bonnet, only to find a little Oil on the Disks, after a wipe down and a bit of nut and bolt tightening, all was well. At Lunch two other Pembletons joined us. The silver surfer BMW brooklands and the Guzzi powered Silverfish.
Malcolm had sorted out a great way over plenty of hills on mostly single track lanes and roads, which had amazing views over the surrounding area. We had various stops on the way round with the two longest ones being lunch, where the local morris dancers entertained us, and the stop off at the reservoir. The final run took us to Ribchester at around 5.30, where we all had a natter, and presented Malcolm a Bottle of the warm stuff for all his efforts to a great day out.
Unfortunately, we had an AA escort for about 60 miles of the way home on Sunday due to a suitably flat battery, a dead alternator, and a stall up a hill in the middle of Lancaster.
(copied from another forum)
The morning of the 10,000 foot run, 25th of September was very crisp indeed. We awoke to find the Lomax covered in frost having stayed at our caravan over night. At the start point in Ingleton there was a total of 21 cars, including 2 Pembletons, 3 Lomii, an incredibly rare 2CV Bijou (only 212 were made in slough), a DRK a special and various Marlins, a JBA, a BRA and a few others.
We set off at approximately 10.15 with one of the Guzzi Pembletons storming off into the distance and disappearing over the horizon, it sounded great and went just as well. The run to the lunch stop was fantastic, and although very cold, it was sunny too. We had a precautionary stop after smoke was appearing from under the bonnet, only to find a little Oil on the Disks, after a wipe down and a bit of nut and bolt tightening, all was well. At Lunch two other Pembletons joined us. The silver surfer BMW brooklands and the Guzzi powered Silverfish.
Malcolm had sorted out a great way over plenty of hills on mostly single track lanes and roads, which had amazing views over the surrounding area. We had various stops on the way round with the two longest ones being lunch, where the local morris dancers entertained us, and the stop off at the reservoir. The final run took us to Ribchester at around 5.30, where we all had a natter, and presented Malcolm a Bottle of the warm stuff for all his efforts to a great day out.
Unfortunately, we had an AA escort for about 60 miles of the way home on Sunday due to a suitably flat battery, a dead alternator, and a stall up a hill in the middle of Lancaster.
a few photos from a North west PH meet from this weekend.
Courtesy of Dangermouse-
many more photos can be seen here-
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
Was an excellent, but cold and damp meet- many thanks to those who organised it!
Courtesy of Dangermouse-
many more photos can be seen here-
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
Was an excellent, but cold and damp meet- many thanks to those who organised it!
artvandalay said:
Are you insured on it at the moment?
unfortunately not. My old mans insurance is up in June and the company he is with do not insure under 25s 
when it runs out it will probably be going with Footman James with me as main and my dad as second driver. Bloody difficult getting kit car insurance when you're under 21 AND it's a three wheeler. So hopefully I shall be on the road for a majority of the summer!
M5 Russ said:
Just found this thread. Absolute top respect for that being your first car. You wait till you take a girl out for a Sunday drive in it. She will love it 
the requests have been pouring in for the last two years. Got an insurance quote today, and its slightly less hilariously expensive than i feared. My old mans insurance runs out in June, so I'll deffinately be on the road for most of the summer! ROLL ON JUNE!Sline said:
That really does look lovely. A set of black metal plates will finish it off a treat.
Yes, they would. Unfortunately it's one of my pet hates putting old plates on cars that you KNOW aren't. I could just about bare it if they were dateless (or NI) plates, but not on its current ones. DuncanM said:
My boy is 17 this year, I may be tempted to look at something like this for him. Where is best to search please?
Hi Duncan,There are currently three on eBay at the minute, one is in a bit of a state and would need to go through the MSVA, which is getting harder and harder for older vehicles like the Lomax to get through.
Another good place is the Citroens Special Club website.
www.citroenspecialsclub.org
There is a forum and a classifieds section.
As far as your son is concerned, it's a little tricker getting insurance. Most kit car insurance companies will not touch anyone under 21, due to the nature of the vehicles, those that do will either want a lot of money, or not do three wheelers (stupid I know). This is the torment I have had for the last two years. Now that I am 20 and have a full 2 year liscense, the price is a shade under £500 with both me and my old man on it, and that's with the CSC discount too.
If you can find a kit car insurance company that will insure him, and he/you can stomach the cost, then go for it. I'd start with Footman James and Adrian flux. You will have to ring footman James as on their website they say they do not insure three wheelers... They do.
HTH
After over 2 years of ownership, i am finally insured to drive the Lomax! 
for the last two years i have been relegated to the passenger seat as my dad has driven it around and i have co-piloted
As i haven't driven a car since passing my test over 2 years ago i have to go out with my dad until he feels comfortable with me driving it solo. If i roll/crash, i'm dead, so its just one of those things that i will have to abide by for a few weeks (although a sneaky few drives round to friends and into town during the day are to be expected right? right?).
First drive out tonight when my old man gets back from work, i shall report back later with with a write up and maybe some pics.... but first i need to fit a new breather pipe
thats all for now folks
Slomax
for the last two years i have been relegated to the passenger seat as my dad has driven it around and i have co-piloted
As i haven't driven a car since passing my test over 2 years ago i have to go out with my dad until he feels comfortable with me driving it solo. If i roll/crash, i'm dead, so its just one of those things that i will have to abide by for a few weeks (although a sneaky few drives round to friends and into town during the day are to be expected right? right?).
First drive out tonight when my old man gets back from work, i shall report back later with with a write up and maybe some pics.... but first i need to fit a new breather pipe
thats all for now folks
Slomax
Just come back from my second drive out in the Lomax
First drive-
When my dad got in from work last night we waited and waited until the rain died down a bit, we got aboard the old girl and the rain picked up again, oh well. A bit of rain wouldn't stop the first legal drive around in my Lomax after 2 long years of waiting and ownership. I decided to drive it on a mix of A and B roads to one of my best friends house around 8 or 9 miles away.
Nothing really spectacular to report to be honest. The rain didn't dampen my spirits too much, but as i hadn't driven in over 2 years it took a little while to regain my road craft and feel comfortable on the roads. Another thing that needed a little refinement and concentration was clutch and gearstick positioning. I learned to drive in a modern car with a 5 speed box, so was used to the gearstick springing to the middle, something that 4 speed gearboxes cannot do for obvious reasons. When i got there, my friend was out, but it was a good practice drive, i didn't really fancy going much further in the inclement weather.
I felt a little more comfortable driving back, as i knew what it was like to drive and nothing really caught me out. Although i was only out for about 20 minutes, i quite enjoyed it, but was a little disheartened as i had mostly forgotten how to drive. Not the basics like changing gear and mirrors etc etc etc, but more positioning and anticipation on the road.
Second drive out-
Well the weather this evening in cheshire is bloody fantastic. Sunny, warm and blue skies. Perfect. I think, subconsciously, this made me feel more comfortable and more contented with driving the car.
Once again we climbed aboard the Lomax and set off without a hitch. My road positioning was good and speed perception, positioning and anticipation was bang on tonight. I think that because i started off, in what wasn't the best weather, yesterday it was good preparation for a dry run. All gear changes were smooth and i didn't screw anything up. I was just at ease with the car. Maybe it was just that i was subconsciously nervous yesterday, setting me on edge a little.
A longer drive out tonight of about 40 mins took us up from Knutsford toward Holmes chapel, across to Chelford and back down A and B roads.
NB- the door height is perfect to put your elbow on while driving. It makes a nice rest while gripping the steering wheel.
Thats all for now folks
Hope to go a little further over the weekend, so if your in the macc/northwich/holmes chapel/knutsford/alderly edge/wilmslow area of cheshire keep your eyes out
Slomax
First drive-
When my dad got in from work last night we waited and waited until the rain died down a bit, we got aboard the old girl and the rain picked up again, oh well. A bit of rain wouldn't stop the first legal drive around in my Lomax after 2 long years of waiting and ownership. I decided to drive it on a mix of A and B roads to one of my best friends house around 8 or 9 miles away.
Nothing really spectacular to report to be honest. The rain didn't dampen my spirits too much, but as i hadn't driven in over 2 years it took a little while to regain my road craft and feel comfortable on the roads. Another thing that needed a little refinement and concentration was clutch and gearstick positioning. I learned to drive in a modern car with a 5 speed box, so was used to the gearstick springing to the middle, something that 4 speed gearboxes cannot do for obvious reasons. When i got there, my friend was out, but it was a good practice drive, i didn't really fancy going much further in the inclement weather.
I felt a little more comfortable driving back, as i knew what it was like to drive and nothing really caught me out. Although i was only out for about 20 minutes, i quite enjoyed it, but was a little disheartened as i had mostly forgotten how to drive. Not the basics like changing gear and mirrors etc etc etc, but more positioning and anticipation on the road.
Second drive out-
Well the weather this evening in cheshire is bloody fantastic. Sunny, warm and blue skies. Perfect. I think, subconsciously, this made me feel more comfortable and more contented with driving the car.
Once again we climbed aboard the Lomax and set off without a hitch. My road positioning was good and speed perception, positioning and anticipation was bang on tonight. I think that because i started off, in what wasn't the best weather, yesterday it was good preparation for a dry run. All gear changes were smooth and i didn't screw anything up. I was just at ease with the car. Maybe it was just that i was subconsciously nervous yesterday, setting me on edge a little.
A longer drive out tonight of about 40 mins took us up from Knutsford toward Holmes chapel, across to Chelford and back down A and B roads.
NB- the door height is perfect to put your elbow on while driving. It makes a nice rest while gripping the steering wheel.
Thats all for now folks
Hope to go a little further over the weekend, so if your in the macc/northwich/holmes chapel/knutsford/alderly edge/wilmslow area of cheshire keep your eyes out
Slomax
Nearly three months of driving takes us to the weekend just passed and the annual Citroen Specials Club (and nutcracker kit car club) 10,000ft run over the roads of the lake district and Yorkshire.
As per last year, the run was approximately 80 miles over some of the best roads the area has to offer. The run is so called because you climb and descend 10,000ft over the course of the day!
The day started off with a bit of rain, then a fair bit more and as we climbed higher up into the hills and mountains we had to use "the force" to predict where the roads and twists were as we were plunged into exceedingly thick fog in a few places!
Fortunately though the rain and accompanying fog cleared for about 11.30am leaving the rest of the day grey, but mostly dry. A huge array of cars were there from a Reliant Kitten based Tempest, right the way through to a Grinnall scorpion and Tiger as well as a fair few lomax's, pembletons and others as well as a Malvern moss and a renault 4 based special 3 wheeler that tagged along en-route.
see the pics in the next post as well as a video (if i find an uploader) at the bottom!
As per last year, the run was approximately 80 miles over some of the best roads the area has to offer. The run is so called because you climb and descend 10,000ft over the course of the day!
The day started off with a bit of rain, then a fair bit more and as we climbed higher up into the hills and mountains we had to use "the force" to predict where the roads and twists were as we were plunged into exceedingly thick fog in a few places!
Fortunately though the rain and accompanying fog cleared for about 11.30am leaving the rest of the day grey, but mostly dry. A huge array of cars were there from a Reliant Kitten based Tempest, right the way through to a Grinnall scorpion and Tiger as well as a fair few lomax's, pembletons and others as well as a Malvern moss and a renault 4 based special 3 wheeler that tagged along en-route.
see the pics in the next post as well as a video (if i find an uploader) at the bottom!
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