Articles

1. How big is your steering wheel? - size is important!
2. Is it a plane..? Is it a motorbike..? No - it's a Lomax!
3. Stuck in reverse - why didn't anyone warn me?

How big is your steering wheel? - size is important!

When Which Kit magazine built the Flyer in 1994, they opted for a 12" steering wheel. I believe that the normal one supplied with the Lomax kit (if you buy all the bits) is 13". Why they decided on a small one I am not sure. I do know that they had some problems getting it finished and had to bring someone in to complete it in a bit of a hurry to meet the publication deadline so perhaps it was a hasty decision. They also obviously had some difficultly deciding how to secure the steering column, opting in the end for a U bolt from an exhaust clamp and some wooden packing pieces. This produced a few wry comments from my MoT inspector, but he did pass it. I have still to find out what the official method is. Anyway, the result was that it was bolted tight up under the dash and to me didn't look right.
An important aspect of the Lomax (at least for me and the Flyer) is its classic touches. I don't know any classic car which used a 12" wheel (or even a 13" one for that matter). It should be big and close to the chest - I would like a car with an 18" Motolita wheel with a slender wooden rim - but it wouldn't fit in a Lomax. The 12" Mountney was too small and too high. The subsequent owner fitted a nice 3-zip tonneau cover which only just fitted. It didn't have a pocket for the steering wheel and had to be strained tight to make it reach the studs on the top of the dash.
In finding a solution to the mounting problem I realised that the Lomax has the benefit of a universal joint at the base of the steering column which allows the steering wheel to be lowered with no problem. At the same time, I invested in a 13" wheel, which, also being a Mountney, bolts straight on to the existing boss. The result is a much better balance to the dash (in my opinion) and the tonneau fits properly now. There is now minimum clearance between the steering wheel and the gear change knob so any bigger wheel is probably out of the question. Anyway, I think it looks much better - what do you think? E-mail me!

The Flyer came with a 12" Mountney wheel. It was mounted up tight under the dash. It didn't seem quite right somehow. It now has a 13" wheel mounted 1" lower. It is a subtle change but it now looks right - and the tonneau cover fits better, too!

Is it a plane..? Is it a motorbike..? No - it's a Lomax! revised 12.07.00

Under UK law, a Lomax 223 is a tricycle and benefits from the lower Ł60 rate of Road Tax. Its classification for driving licences is B1 (where B is normal cars). B1 covers three AND FOUR wheel vehicles under 550kg. In spite of what you may have read, the 223 is not classified as a motorbike. You cannot drive one at the age of 16 UNLESS you are disabled - this is allowed because class B1 includes the tricycles built specially for disabled people. You CAN drive one on a motorbike licence only because passing a full motorcycle test qualifies you for class B1 as well - which means a motorbike licence holder could also drive a Lomax 224 with FOUR wheels. However, a government paper issued in 1999 says that this "anomaly" will soon be removed. You cannot drive one with "L" plates without a qualified driver with you. Unless you have retained a very early donor registration, you must have seat belts (and wear them!) and if your registration is after 1 August 1980 (registration letter W and after) you must have a rear foglight with illuminated lamp visible to the driver.

You could take a test in a Lomax 223 but it would have to have a passenger seatbelt and head restraint and you would only qualify for driving class B1 vehicles. Apparently only 24 people have ever taken a test in a B1 vehicle and I imagine most of them were invalid carriages. One thing I haven't been able to discover is how you take a test in a single seater (like the Lomax FG). Does anyone know? Does the examiner follow you on a motorbike as in a motorbike test?

I have heard that some owners have got discounts on ferries and toll bridges as a motorbike. I have myself been admitted to Dunham Massey (National Trust) at motorcycle rate, but that was only by negotiation with the gatekeeper as I was on my own and only wanted to come in for an hour.

If anyone has evidence to contradict these conclusions (they are based on the driving licence and road tax application forms available from any Post Office) please e-mail me and I will publish them.

If anyone knows any facilities that will give motorbike rates to Lomax 223s, let me know. I would be glad to compile a list for reference for this site.*

*STOP PRESS - Perhaps a 223 CAN be a motorbike after all in certain circumstances. I took the Flyer to the Isle of Wight in June this year by Wightlink ferry - Lymington to Yarmouth, back Fishbourne to Portsmouth. If you don't have a ticket bought in advance, you leave your car in the queue and go to the booking office. The conversation went something like this:

Me: I am not sure whether I am a car or a motorbike.
Man: What have you got?
Me: (trying not to use the words "car" or "2CV") It's registered as a tricycle - same tax as a motorbike and sidecar, 600cc air-cooled twin...
Man: (Checking the rules pages on his computer) Is it a motorcycle combination?
Me: No
Man: (After checking more rules pages) Don't know, I think we will call it a motorbike.

No problem! I presented my ticket to the collector (who didn't look at it) and boarded the ferry. On the way back from Fishbourne, I joined the queue and handed my ticket (which had the Flyer's registration number and said "motorcycle and rider") to the collector. He walked a few yards looking at the ticket, turned, looked at the Lomax, frowned, looked at the ticket again, smiled, shrugged and walked on.

Result - return fare for motorbike £23, return fare for car £60.90 - worth the effort!!

I tried the same on the floating brige across the river Medina at Cowes but the tickets were sold at the car and he wouldn't accept my motorbike argument!

What is the best strategy? The one I have heard which is attributed to David Low of the Lomax Motor Company is, for any ferry, buy a motorbike ticket and argue when challenged. The worst they can do is make you pay the difference. Even so, I understand that the CSC club runs to France have never managed to secure motorbike rates for their block bookings.

Let me know if you are more successful!

Stuck in reverse - why didn't anyone warn me?

The 2CV gearbox is prone to getting itself stuck in reverse. Didn't know? Nor did I. It happens to about 10% of all 2CVs during their lifetimes, my 2CV guru, Klaus of "Deux Chevaux", Stockport, tells me. Getting a reconditioned box is no guarantee against it as it has happened to new cars with less than 5,000 miles on the clock. It is so bad I am told that many 2CV drivers try not to use reverse at all. If they really must, they drive very gently and for as short a distance as possible.

What happens is that there is a retaining ring on the first/reverse gear cluster that comes unscrewed. It is a pressed steel ring about 4cm in diameter which threads on to a shaft. The shaft has several grooves through the threads around its perimeter and the ring is retained by thumping its edge to indent it into one of these grooves which is supposed to retain it. Although there are several grooves to choose from, it was the practice of the Citroen factory only to secure the ring in one of the grooves. For a couple of extra minutes, the ring could have been indented at every groove, as mine is now.

I first noticed a problem when I backed the Flyer out of the garage one day recently and when I depressed the clutch, the car stopped as if someone had put a chock under a wheel. Putting the car in neutral freed it up and going forwards was OK. I thought I would drive the car around for a bit to see if the problem went away - which was a big mistake. Next time, I reversed out on to the road but, when I came to select first, the gear lever refused to come out of reverse. I managed to wedge the clutch pedal down and manhandle to car back into the garage. When I tried to hand push it out of the garage it moved a couple of metres and then decided to lock completely. No going forwards and no going back, clutch or no clutch.

Apparently, had I stopped while the gears were still free to select, it should have been possible to whip the top off the box and rethread the ring. As it was, the gearbox was jammed solid. It would have been possible to take it out, strip it down and put it together again but once the box is out, the easier solution is to install another secondhand box.

Why didn't someone warn me? I have not seen this reported anywhere on the net. But it could happen to YOU! Be warned!

More articles soon!!

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The Flyer came with a 12" Mountney wheel. It was mounted up tight under the dash. It didn't seem quite right somehow.	It now has a 13" wheel mounted 1" lower. It is a subtle change but it now looks right - and the tonneau cover fits better, too!