1988 Honda Acty..
Discussion
LeoZwalf said:
Cute. Looks newer than it is what with the round lights. It's the kind of thing which hipster popup startup entrepreneur types will go mad for on Instagram. Put some decent company decals on it , grow a mad beard, drive it to Shoreditch and sell deconstructed rustic home made artisan sushi juice from the rear bed. You'll not get rich at all but you'll have like a thousand followers :-P
pits said:
There is no structure to these things though, the front panel is the crumple zone and your knees are about 2 inches away on the inside, we managed to get one running a few years back after it had been sat for 20 years
Indeed. Had a couple of Hijets for a giggle. Game over in a prang.Got it, love it! It's so pathetic, it's funny.
55 mph is about its max. It pings at you when you go over that to remind you it's about to explode.
It's also Fukushima radiation free!
Has already risen many smiles, several thumbs up, a chat with a random stranger in a petrol station and some picture taking.
I also decided a silly car such as this needs a silly gearknob, so we stuck a pool ball on it.
Oh and a friend asked how heavy it was given the engine is in the back, so he tried this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idtPHzfJTaY
It's a bit bouncy & it rattles & it's slow (you can get in to 4th gear at around 20 mph) &....it definitely needs a bike engine
55 mph is about its max. It pings at you when you go over that to remind you it's about to explode.
It's also Fukushima radiation free!
Has already risen many smiles, several thumbs up, a chat with a random stranger in a petrol station and some picture taking.
I also decided a silly car such as this needs a silly gearknob, so we stuck a pool ball on it.
Oh and a friend asked how heavy it was given the engine is in the back, so he tried this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idtPHzfJTaY
It's a bit bouncy & it rattles & it's slow (you can get in to 4th gear at around 20 mph) &....it definitely needs a bike engine
stevesingo said:
Awesome.
When I was a boy, I did a milk round off the back of one of these. Imagine milk crates stacked two high on the back, about 40 in total and thinking about it, about 500kg plus driver, passenger and two youngsters hanging off the back.
No wonder we had to get off and run along side going up the steeper hills, particularly when it had blown a spark plug out, which it did more than once.
Wonderful stuff When I was a boy, I did a milk round off the back of one of these. Imagine milk crates stacked two high on the back, about 40 in total and thinking about it, about 500kg plus driver, passenger and two youngsters hanging off the back.
No wonder we had to get off and run along side going up the steeper hills, particularly when it had blown a spark plug out, which it did more than once.
MuscleSaloon said:
Looks like the home market ones were 3 cylinder. As far as I know all the UK ones were twin cylinder ?
UK ones must be incredibly rare now. Having said that I do occasionally see a van still in use. Will try and grab a picture of it at some point.
I put an engine in one years ago. Ended up buying a complete pick up to get an engine as parts were pretty hard to come by.
These small commercials seemed pretty popular in their time. Suzuki Super Carry's used to be everywhere !
I'm going to pick up some rear lights and a 5 speed box for this today, although there is a chance the box won't fit as it is probably coming from a 2 cylinder.
It's cheap, though, so what the hell!
Digby said:
LeoZwalf said:
Cute. Looks newer than it is what with the round lights. It's the kind of thing which hipster popup startup entrepreneur types will go mad for on Instagram. Put some decent company decals on it , grow a mad beard, drive it to Shoreditch and sell deconstructed rustic home made artisan sushi juice from the rear bed. You'll not get rich at all but you'll have like a thousand followers :-P
https://www.instagram.com/p/BToWVNzhyK-/?taken-by=...
MXRod said:
Well,that takes me back,had the panel van version of one of those back in the late 80s
So small,all it needed was a handle on top to transform from van to tool box.
Yes blindingly slow,had to make a few trips from s London to Canterbury and Folkestone,took forever,perhaps it was good that is was slow,zero protection from front impact
Clutch made of cream cheese,lasted about 10k ,forever over heating,ended up taking the thermostat out ,waste of time having a radio,could never hear it .ah those were the days
Don't know how true this is but I was told that the engine shared components with a gold wing engine.definitely a twin
Time will tell!So small,all it needed was a handle on top to transform from van to tool box.
Yes blindingly slow,had to make a few trips from s London to Canterbury and Folkestone,took forever,perhaps it was good that is was slow,zero protection from front impact
Clutch made of cream cheese,lasted about 10k ,forever over heating,ended up taking the thermostat out ,waste of time having a radio,could never hear it .ah those were the days
Don't know how true this is but I was told that the engine shared components with a gold wing engine.definitely a twin
Edited by MXRod on Thursday 11th May 07:43
She's not covered many miles, so temp wise, clutch wise etc all seems good at the moment!
(it even copes at the moment having a beer bottle as an expansion tank!)
I have a new radio and some small speakers to go in it and am hoping as the engine isn't underneath where you sit, I may be able to hear it a little
V8 FOU said:
How slow is this going to be?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/honda-acty-550cc-romahom...
The chap I got my gearbox from said his old 5 speed would do 70 odd.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/honda-acty-550cc-romahom...
I can't swear to this as I only have what he says to go on, however.
I can tell you my 550cc 4 speed still gets going reasonably well. Even with two adults in it and only the 4 speed box, it still doesn't embarrass itself away from the lights etc. I'm not sure how much different the 3 cylinders are to two cylinder versions.
4th gear in mine is much like second or third in most other cars. You pretty much leave it in all the time once above 20 mph. If you approach a hill for example and it starts to slow, your natural reaction is to go for 3rd which would be utterly pointless in mine. Due to the way it behaves in 4th, however, it tends to even pull up hills ok!
I still want to go for 5th every time I drive it, though.
Apparently it's also not too much of a mission to remove the camper part of the van in your link and leave them as just a flat bed. That would turn it in to something far more funky
Edited by Digby on Saturday 13th May 07:52
Just noticed this thing for sale on ebay...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aixam-Mega-500cc-diesel-...
500CC Diesel!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aixam-Mega-500cc-diesel-...
500CC Diesel!
Yeah that's the chap. Real nice bloke and not that old. His lockup he shares is absolutely rammed with amazing projects.
He's currently building a road-going Formula Ford type vehicle and behind that was his first car - a red top mini
He purchased a bike to put the engine in this van. That is probably still going to happen in the future.
He's currently building a road-going Formula Ford type vehicle and behind that was his first car - a red top mini
He purchased a bike to put the engine in this van. That is probably still going to happen in the future.
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