Sinclair C5 - 80's nostalgia
Discussion
I thought I would share with you all my latest eBay acquisition, which possibly tops my worst and slowest vehicles ever bought 
As with most of these things it started with a stupid eBay bid. I thought it would go for more and I would be outbid, but as quite often happens the hours tick by, and I end up getting the unexpected email that I won! Picked up 20 miles away with the help of my dad and his Mondeo (no chance it would fit in the Jag, TVR or Cappuccino) and i got it home and started looking at what I had.
Thankfully i got it quite cheap due to a vague advert, which made no mention of the extras the guy had with it. On the bad side though it has been modified in the past with a different motor, absolutely no wiring and none of the original electronics, so basically i have a shell with pedals, brakes and wheels.
When I first got it home:
Spare set of wheels with brand new and perfect condition Sinclair tyres (still soft and no cracks!)
Some of the spares that came with it and were not mentioned. Rare parts include 2 pods which will probably be going up for sale and two brand new rear wheel centres still in the packet. Loads of other bits as well.
Also has a brand new spare battery kit still in the box and with the original paperwork
First jobs this weekend were to get some new inner tubes from Halfords and pump up the tyres that were on the C5 (too much effort to swap the wheels at this stage and the original Sinclair tyres might be better off in the hands of an enthusiast). I did this this morning and took it out for its first ride (cycle)
My neighbour now thinks i'm a nutter, but its great fun
Plans are to give it a good strip down and clean up, remove all of the previous modifications and get the brakes working. Then I am looking at maybe fitting a front wheel hub motor or finding an aftermarket motor to power the back. Putting it back to totally standard i think will cost too much as it is so bare and parts are so rare, but I should be able to end up with something better and more reliable with modern components anyways.
As it stands now, next job - Clean the body:
Currently it stands me at £165 with the inner tubes. Sorry if this post is rambling and makes no sense but I have just finished a long night shift and decided to fit the new tubes rather than go to bed
As with most of these things it started with a stupid eBay bid. I thought it would go for more and I would be outbid, but as quite often happens the hours tick by, and I end up getting the unexpected email that I won! Picked up 20 miles away with the help of my dad and his Mondeo (no chance it would fit in the Jag, TVR or Cappuccino) and i got it home and started looking at what I had.
Thankfully i got it quite cheap due to a vague advert, which made no mention of the extras the guy had with it. On the bad side though it has been modified in the past with a different motor, absolutely no wiring and none of the original electronics, so basically i have a shell with pedals, brakes and wheels.
When I first got it home:
Spare set of wheels with brand new and perfect condition Sinclair tyres (still soft and no cracks!)
Some of the spares that came with it and were not mentioned. Rare parts include 2 pods which will probably be going up for sale and two brand new rear wheel centres still in the packet. Loads of other bits as well.
Also has a brand new spare battery kit still in the box and with the original paperwork
First jobs this weekend were to get some new inner tubes from Halfords and pump up the tyres that were on the C5 (too much effort to swap the wheels at this stage and the original Sinclair tyres might be better off in the hands of an enthusiast). I did this this morning and took it out for its first ride (cycle)
My neighbour now thinks i'm a nutter, but its great fun
Plans are to give it a good strip down and clean up, remove all of the previous modifications and get the brakes working. Then I am looking at maybe fitting a front wheel hub motor or finding an aftermarket motor to power the back. Putting it back to totally standard i think will cost too much as it is so bare and parts are so rare, but I should be able to end up with something better and more reliable with modern components anyways.
As it stands now, next job - Clean the body:
Currently it stands me at £165 with the inner tubes. Sorry if this post is rambling and makes no sense but I have just finished a long night shift and decided to fit the new tubes rather than go to bed
Edited by AceOfHearts on Sunday 5th October 09:24
Excellent!! I assume you've seen the other C5 thread on here by another fellow nutter?
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Got one those sitting in my dad's garage, I keep meaning to dig it out and check the condition. It won't have moved for 25 years I'd have thought.
It might be worth contacting Hotpoint, to check for spares, as I recall they supplied all the spares when we were running ours. Even when it was brand new it broke a lot.
Have fun.
It might be worth contacting Hotpoint, to check for spares, as I recall they supplied all the spares when we were running ours. Even when it was brand new it broke a lot.
Have fun.
My old man has a very good condition C5 at home, a good working one is great fun. It runs off some old UPS batteries which are lightish and give a decent range. It has wing mirrors, indicators and the high visibility mast.
I'm on the phone at the moment but Google image 'Sinclair C5 wet weather gear' if you like a good laugh
I'm on the phone at the moment but Google image 'Sinclair C5 wet weather gear' if you like a good laugh
bonus99 said:
(seriously, think carefully before you do decide to go out in that thing amongst today's traffic)
At a glance i thought it'd be about the same as riding a Recumbent but the C5 will be a whole lot slower than a Recumbent which would probably make it dodgier to use.Interested to see the progress on this though.
Top thread!!
Aunt has one in her garage still which is in near perfect condition - they bought it new when it come out and has only been used for 'racing' round the garden when the family are over for beers and barbecues.
Will follow with interest
have a picture somewhere of me in one, i think i was 10 !
i also own two, near mint Spectrum 48ks with the rubber keyboards... love the early sinclair stuff
Aunt has one in her garage still which is in near perfect condition - they bought it new when it come out and has only been used for 'racing' round the garden when the family are over for beers and barbecues.
Will follow with interest
have a picture somewhere of me in one, i think i was 10 !
i also own two, near mint Spectrum 48ks with the rubber keyboards... love the early sinclair stuff
Slow going so far as I have been working on the house, but I have bought a spare parts C5 which has all the drivetrain stuff I need
I have also finished cleaning the body though and fitted the new stickers
Next up is to get the brakes working properly, get my new motor and gearbox rebuilt and unbodge the motor mounting at the rear and wire it all up.
I have also finished cleaning the body though and fitted the new stickers
Next up is to get the brakes working properly, get my new motor and gearbox rebuilt and unbodge the motor mounting at the rear and wire it all up.
Edited by AceOfHearts on Tuesday 4th November 18:10
Started on the motors today. The one that came with my first C5 had been horrifically bodged by the previous owner and the one with the spare C5 had been sitting at the bottom of a river with it, but i have managed to make one good one from the two
Stripped them apart, cleaned up all the magnets, armatures and casings and removed all of the old bearings. The two main motor bearings i had for replacement already so those are fitted and the motor reassembled. The large gearbox bearing and two small gearbox bearings i have just ordered on eBay for £9. Since the two motor bearings are now new i can test the motor later without the gearbox attached, fingers crossed
I will post up some pictures later.
Stripped them apart, cleaned up all the magnets, armatures and casings and removed all of the old bearings. The two main motor bearings i had for replacement already so those are fitted and the motor reassembled. The large gearbox bearing and two small gearbox bearings i have just ordered on eBay for £9. Since the two motor bearings are now new i can test the motor later without the gearbox attached, fingers crossed
I will post up some pictures later.
So a little background on my donor C5
A guy I work with mentioned he had 2 Sinclair C5's when I said I was looking at buying one last month.
It turns out the first he found in a pond near his house (now my donor C5) and after that sparked his curiosity (he is from New Zealand) he got himself a working one to play with.
This was about a year ago now and he has no use for the pond C5 so he sold it to me
Here it is as he found it
A guy I work with mentioned he had 2 Sinclair C5's when I said I was looking at buying one last month.
It turns out the first he found in a pond near his house (now my donor C5) and after that sparked his curiosity (he is from New Zealand) he got himself a working one to play with.
This was about a year ago now and he has no use for the pond C5 so he sold it to me
Here it is as he found it
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