Exactly. very few cars in the UK post war. It wasn't until the very late fifties/early sixties that most people started to be able to afford one. Until then it was a bicycle followed by a moped or motorcycle. As time went on and marriage came along usually it was a sidecar on the bike. That is where the motorcycle engined 3 wheelers came in. In the UK you could drive one on a motorcycle licence . Still cheaper than a car and no need to take a car driving test. Reliants came along and made what amounted to a 3 wheeled car which was as near a car you could get under the 3 wheeler regulations.

Thank you for your nice comments. Many of remember Jimmy with affection and the good times we shared together.

Glad you enjoyed it

Sorry, just seen your comment. Yes, Cilla went to a new home in Ireland. Lost a lot of money on her - but his gain.☹️

Thanks for the comments. I'm afraid you will have to go to Northern Ireland if you want to see the car at the moment. Yes, I did consider a waterless coolant but ruled it out on the grounds of cost and value for money.

The kickstart was only ever used as the secondary means of starting. Initially, there was a cable attached to a modified kickstart lever and connected to a floor-mounted lever inside the vehicle. By pulling on the lever whilst seated, the engine could be started without lifting the bonnet and 'putting your leg in the engine compartment'. Later, for Deluxe models only, a modified 6 volt car type starter motor mounted on top of the cyclinder head was connected to the engine flywheel via a 'vee' belt. Engaging the starter motor moved the 'vee' belt across from its idler pulley and onto the engine flywheel, thus spinning the engine over to start it. The Standard models still retained the cable and pull-lever starting system. In 1956 the 12 volt Siba Dynastart was introduced for the Deluxe model, dispensing with the often unreliable cyclinder head mounted starter motor. The Standard models still retained the cable and pull-lever starting system until the Siba Dynastart was introduced across the board for all models in 1957. The Bond Minicar continued through until the end of production in 1966 with the Siba Dynastart. From 1953 until 1966, all the Villiers engines fitted to the Bond Minicar retained the motorcycle kickstart. The early 6v starter motor system was very hungry for power from the battery and the magneto on the engine was often incapable for supplying enough power to recharge it. The later 12v Siba Dynastart equiped engines were less troublesome but, unfortunately, they did require a special tool to remove the flywheel and change the Dynastart brushes when they had worn down and needed renewing. Failure to change the brushes resulted in the engine receiving no electrical charge and running off the battery. This very quickly led to insufficient battery power to turn over the Dynastart. Hence, the kickstart lever could always be used as the secondary means of starting any Bond Minicar with a low battery.

@@MrSpeedm4 I had two of them many years ago. The first one (MK C I believe) had the 6 volt starter that turned the flywheel and the second one was possibly a MK F with the 12 volt system and electric starter. Both of them had the kick starter option, but never had any cable mechanism or levers in the car to start them.

@@rileybenstead3574 The floor mounted starting handles were omitted from all Deluxe models in December 1953. If there was an electric starter, then it was deemed unecessary to have a hand start lever as well. However, the non-electric start models which still used a magneto for the generating system all retained the starting handle until September 1957 when the Siba Dynastart became a standard fit item on all Minicars.

@@MrSpeedm4 Thank you. I'm still young enough to learn. It was about 55 years ago when I had them.

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWeoqKGPmMhkl5Ysi=eQFbqpYwj3XXeO34

I only kept the bit I was interested in, featuring the Bonds.

Yes, John, there are numbers into double figures in the Bond Owners' Club and several of those are regularly driven to Bond events. I can only think of two in museums; one in Preston and the other is in the Science Museum storage depot at Wroughton. Neither is on display but they are available for viewing by prior appointment.

@@MrSpeedm4 thanks for that info and good to hear! Sorry the museums don't make better use though.

@@MrSpeedm4 been watching Hubnut's videos of micro car meets inc one organised by the Bond club. No really old 'a' model but lots to see.

I used to think these cars were ugly. I had a bond bug & an Isetta, now I have a Trojan 200. Great (dangerous) fun.

@@buxvan my Issetta was a thing of beauty! Sadly sold and replaced with a Ford Popular 100e very quickly once I had a car licence.