Lomax 223 kit car

Introduction by Graham Pestridge

Bought for £450 in June 1999 as a rolling tub with 6 boxes of bits that used to fit on it - it was a steal! Six week's later this 1976 recycled Citroen Diane was MOT'd and on the road. I can honestly say I have had more fun with this 3 wheeler that any other vehicle I have owned. It makes me laugh every time I drive it. Small children point - teenager's laugh - old chap's think it's a Morgan and look misty eyed. The new £45 each Brooklands screens mean no roof, so it only comes out on sunny days.

I don't mind the cold (it does have a heated car seat cover - an amazing £3 at a car show) but getting wet isn't on, although I have a waterproof suit in the bit at the back. It does over 70mph and around 60mpg. Insurance is £85 and tax about £35pa. You can run it on second hand 2CV spares, infact I have a spare engine and gearbox in my stables just incase I need any bits.

Tim & I did the Welsh Rally in it and laughed all the way. I wouldn't part with it for all the tea in China. Like my wife Jenny, this is a partnership for life!!!

March 2002 Update

Spring is almost upon us and the wraps are off the Lomax! Tim and I plan to do the Welsh Rally again this year (May 10th to 12th), so some 'fettling' has taken place over the winter. I still haven't got round to the 3,000 mile oil and filter change that ECAS recommend, or the new Michelin 'X' rear tyre (£45) which it needs, or the Zeon bulbs I want to fit to improve the headlights. I have resighted the switch for Tim's heated seat, important as no roof means it can get chilly. I have also finally found out why the steering wheel moved up and down excessively! My MOT man spotted it but just shrugged his shoulders. It seems the fibreglass bracket under the dashboard the steering column is secured to, is fibreglassed onto the main body shell. A lot of force on the wheel over the years had caused the fibreglass to start breaking and the bracket was slowly parting company from the body - could be tricky to fix?. Re fibreglass? No thank you!

The easy answer was 2 stainless bolts through the body just infront of the drivers fly screen which has tightened the bracket back onto the body and the wheel is now tight and ready for more abuse! Another 2 holes and bolts is neither here nor there! Helps with the 'classic' look! At the same time I covered the nasty wooden speedo surround in cream leathercloth, which looks much nicer.

The forthcoming rally has prompted me to get 2 new 'sidesheets' made in Bovey Tracy by the same man who altered my tonnau cover to fit over the Brookland screens. These will cover the area where normal cars have doors and make driving cosier - I must be getting old!

I do have this crazy plan to cut up an old copper water tank and get a craftsman to hammer me out a dummy header tank complete with dummy filler cap, to go on the front of the bonnet where the Lomax badge now is. Then it would look like a real Morgan! I hope to 'do' several local car shows over the summer, and am looking forward to less trips in the Scirocco and more in the Lomax. Roll on the summer!

Pictures here were taken at the South West Kitcar Show 2001.

Lomax Summer update July 2002

Yes, it finally arrived in late July - the ideal weather for a Lomax! It was also the time for Classic and Kit Car Shows and I had finally been able to secure a place at the prestigious Crashbox and Classic Car Club of Devon Powderham Castle show on Saturday July 13th and joy of joys, my birthday - July 14th. Last year it was over subscribed (the rally not my birthday) and I wasn't welcome.

The Saturday was hot and a complete contrast to the traditional Friday evening 'run out' to Teignmouth where the weather was dull and wet. Still, on the promenade, Toby and I got to meet the Mayor of Teignmouth who inspected some 60+ cars which had braved the weather. He said he had seen the 'Slowmax' around town!!

Saturday was great and many people engaged me in conversation, some no doubt thinking they were looking at a Morgan. On the Sunday I was only able to get there for 2.30pm due to Church duties. Still, although late, they let me in which ensured I was able to collect my brass plaque commemorating the week-end. Another for the dashboard.

Was it because I was enjoying myself on a Sunday (a thing some would frown upon) but at Dawlish on the way home, a deep sound in the engine started. It sounded familiar, and by Teignmouth was definitely what I thought it was, a very noisy near side big end. I managed to get home with a light throttle, and a red face (which wasn't sunburn!) Perhaps it was divine retribution for the number of people I had told that week-end, "These engines are bullet proof. The original was run flat out for 4 days to prove its reliability". Well, after 26 years of faithful service, and only 74,000 miles, this engine was very poorly, a most unusual state of affairs according to 2CV enthusiasts. However, this was where my spare 2CV motor I had purchased 2 years ago came into it's own. Dear old Dave of Dave's Car Services, Shaldon - 01626 872789 put the heavy Diane flywheel and clutch onto the 86' 2CV motor, ("better for uphill torque"), swopped all the bits, and I'm on the road again - 'poop poop'.

And just in time for the July 28thTorbay Old Wheels Club rally and Classic Car Show on Paignton Promenade, which should get me another brass plaque!! As its on a Sunday I shall be late arriving but they didn't seem to mind last year. Better keep my mouth shut about 'reliability' this time! As they say, "Pride comes before a fall"!

Lomax in the summer - Noddy and Big Ears! September 2002

Lomax enters the Welsh Rally

May 2006

Tim and Graham enter the Welsh Rally 2006 and get a Platinum award

Tim's Lomax - sold Spring 2001 to buy 2 round the world tickets

My Lomax was built in 1988, and was used for serious every day commuting along the M1 by the owner/builder. He chose yellow as the safest colour for visiblilty on busy motorways. Underneath the bodywork is a Citroen 2CV Van chassis (or Ami 8 for the enthusiasts out there) - with a wheel taken off. It had 2 owners before me, the second being based in Redruth, Cornwall. He has now bought a Classic Citroen, and the original owner sold 'Brum' to buy a Microlight!

The car was built to a high standard, with great care being taken to prepare the chassis for the Lomax kit body which is entirely rust-proof fibreglass. After designing the dashboard himself, he fitted the interior with Triumph Spitfire seats, and many 'period' features such as a Bakerlite indicator switch, a floor mounted dip switch and a genuine Klaxon.

I find that people respond in all sorts of ways, but the most common is laughter. I do find it confuses the 'Kevs' in loud Escorts and Novas, because they're not sure what it is. It doesn't have go faster stripes, wide wheels, or even a stereo. It isn't exactly stylish, it's simply fun. Did you know: Lomax owners who are keen on the marque are called 'Lomaniacs'.

I recently bent the rear swinging arm, a rare occurence indeed, seeing as there are over 300 Lomi on the road, and only 5 known cases of this happening are known by current Director of The Lomax Motor Company David Lowe. I have no idea how it happened, but I do know it has taken 3 months to happen. As anyone who knows me will understand, I do like momentum, and corners are always a challenge to me. It's obviously challenged the arm a little too much, so I'm upgrading the suspension whilst it's in the garage, and David Lowe has been extraordinarily helpful in giving advice to me and supplying a much improved stiffer 'Interlink' rear arm.

Now the handling is quite markedly improved, with less front wheel squealing, thanks to the double arm arrangement keeping the back-end in shape. I would recommend this replacement to anyone with a single sided arm. Cost? Approx. £240UKP plus labour for fitting, which takes around 4 hours on average.