Tiddly Truck is alive!

...plus more Citroening

The weekend I recently spent with Chris and Claire wasn't all about the Oltcit, but seeing that was a reward for a successful day's work in the field of dreams. You'll probably remember the Tiddly Truck and our failure to get it running on the two previous occasions, but we weren't prepared to give up on it so the main purpose of our visit was to have another go at this. I can report some good news: it may have taken three attempts and a lot of tinkering, but it is now alive and moving under its own power at last!

This is how we left the Tiddly Truck last time. Getting closer but still not running.

The first attempt had been thwarted when the clutch cable snapped so it couldn't be tow-started. This was duly replaced on the second visit, but then it wouldn't run due to a lack of spark from the magneto. Chris had bought another magneto shortly afterwards, and gave both this and the original faulty one to my dad to see if he could fix either or both of them. The 'new' magneto turned out to be in worse condition than the original, but he was able to create a good one out of the pair and obtain a healthy spark, so this was brought back to the field for refitting and we crossed our fingers that the Tiddly Truck would fire up.

The design of this magneto is such that it is possible to fit it upsidedown, and being unable to turn the engine over as the starting handle is missing meant we couldn't be certain which way up it should go and just had to take the 50% chance that it might be wrong. With the magneto back in place, Chris brought the trusty tractor out and it was hitched up. Several laps of the field sadly resulted in no signs of life and investigations revealed that the spark plug was still dry and not receiving any fuel. The carburettor was the most likely culprit, so this was dismantled to reveal blocked jets and a seized float valve. With these fixed and fuel now flowing, we tried again and got a couple of backfires but the engine still wouldn't start, suggesting the magneto was indeed upsidedown.

Tiddly Truck moving under its own steam. A fantastic sight.

Off came the magneto again so it could be turned over, but even with fuel and a spark both reaching the cylinder at the right time, it still wouldn't fire up. At this point we were running out of ideas and then the rain came and we took shelter in the Maxi. When the sky cleared we decided to have one last try with the aid of a can of Easy Start. To our collective amazement, one squirt of Easy Start into the air filter was enough to bring the engine to life almost instantly and it continued to run steadily. The next challenge was learning how to drive it, as the gearchange (three speed plus reverse) is to say the least imprecise and the clutch pedal has a very on-off action so smooth starts are practically impossible and with so little weight at the back wheelspin is inevitable.

I have the dubious honour of being the first person to get the Tiddly Truck stuck when I hit a small muddy patch in the field and the wheels immediately started spinning. With barely any traction and a binary clutch that couldn't be slipped it was going nowhere and I didn't yet have the confidence to tackle the tricky gearchange and risk stalling it so a push was necessary. Having got it unstuck, things were going well but then the engine just suddenly died without even spluttering so we feared the worst but it turned out to have run out of fuel. Luckily it would now fire up pretty much immediately with a yank from the tractor and was becoming fairly reliable, so with the tank refilled it was soon back in action. 

There was a mower to play with too

To be honest the whole machine is really quite worn out, with sloppy linkages and worn bearings, and it would no doubt have driven a lot better when new, although I have no idea how old it is as you can apparently still buy a brand new one. There is a lot of play in both the steering and the front wheel so it doesn't always go where you want it to, and the vibration is enough to leave your whole body buzzing after ten minutes or so. I wouldn't want to do a whole day's work with it but it was great fun just playing with it in the field and so rewarding that it is at least now in working order.and we were finally able to drive it.

The LNA is starting to look like a car again

There were other things in the field to play with besides the Tiddly Truck, one of which was a Westwood ride-on lawnmower. This is practically a boy-racer machine as mowers go, being covered in stickers advertising its mighty eight horsepower and five-speed gearbox, and even has the luxury of an electric starter powered by a battery bigger than those found on some cars. I was able to see the latest progress on the restoration of Chris's Citroen LNA that had been dragged out of a hedge last year with the engine in the boot and had not been on the road since the year 2000. It now runs and is starting to look more and more car-like every time I see it, so an MoT is hopefully not far off. Claire had been wanting to have a go in the Maxi, so having let us drive her Daimler it was only fair to give her a shot behind the wheel in return, and she pronounced herself very impressed with it.

The Visa GT. Very rare but also very rotten. Looks OK from here though.

In other Citroen news, I got to take a look at Chris's latest purchase, a very rare Visa GT. This doesn't look too bad from a distance and most of the panels are in fairly good condition, but underneath it is very seriously rotten. The sills are practically non-existent and the floorpan has something of a Fred Flintstone look. New body parts are not available so another Visa will probably have to be sacrificed as a donor, but it is such a rare car that he is determined it must be saved and will see the road again one day. The GTI fitted with the fuel-injected 1.6-litre engine from the Peugeot 205 is the better-known performance Visa, the GT being a short-lived earlier model powered by a 1.4 unit featuring a two-barrel carburettor. The latest figures from howmanyleft.co.uk indicate there is not a single roadworthy Visa GT in the UK at present, and this is one of just three on SORN.

What's brown and silly? A rusty sill of course

Our work on the Tiddly Truck may now be done and it can be used for its intended purpose, but with so many vehicles in their collection Chris and Claire always have projects that need doing so I have no doubt there will be more visits to the field of dreams this year and more fascinating things to tinker with. Visiting them is always a pleasure and there always seems to be something new to occupy us, so who knows what adventures await.

I don't think a view of the ground through the floor is a standard Visa feature