Hobo Jungle

[rogruth]

Dave,

I think that was meant to be part of the silliness of the show.
But I am not anaficionado, I have only seen it a few times.

[J. S. Bach]

My problem with canned laughter is that I'll laugh at what I think is funny, not what some idiot at the mixer thinks that I should laugh at.

[webenda]

The star of the show was that light blue Reliant Regal Supervan III. Reliants were known for falling over and spontaneous-combustion, they had a flammable fiberglass body. Of course, if it was not on fire, the light weight body allowed passersby to right the vehicles, un-trapping the unfortunate drivers. Reference (A Red Reliant Robin this time): http://youtu.be/QQh56geU0X8

[Rufus T. Firefly]

May I strongly urge a viewing of Blackadder on youtube? Many shows stretching from Elizabeth I to WWI.

For he has a cunning plan...............

[sarge]

I think you've fallen victim to the humour just a little. Actually, the Reliant has a somewhat bad rep for what it is. It is easy to make fun of and that's part of the cult, for it is as much a cult car in the UK as the 2cv "Duck" is on the mainland.

As far as I know, they weren't particularly flammable, certainly not prone to "spontaneous" combustion any more than any fibre-glass bodied car like a Corvette. As far as falling over, what was marketed in the USA as the Renault "Le Car" was easier to roll (I've done it repeatedly.) There was a racing series in Britain using identically prepared Reliants that was quite competitive, all on tight road tracks and cart-tracks. While they weren't very good, they weren't as unstable as legend would have. Some would fall over, but nothing like the mayhem that was the "Frog Hop", an American SCCA series using identically prepared Renaults. Often the winner of a Frog Hop was the last car standing, not the first over the line.

The spot on "Top Gear" was filmed using odd-sized wheels and weights placed for each incident; it adds to the body of cult but is hardly anything beyond entertainment.

They actually were a quite successful vehicle, built from the '60s into something like 2000 or so, registered as a motorcycle rather than an auto which really was the intent. They have a very low center of gravity so are much more stable than you'd guess, and were popular for the bike riders to own for use in the wintertime. They feel more like a modern American trike than something all scarey and dangerous, although they are certainly something not to be treated lightly or driven foolishly. They enjoy a strong cult following in the UK today, and last I knew the Reliant drivers were some of the safest drivers in all Britain based on collected accident statistics.

They are funny as hell, though!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

They are funny as hell, though!

And space worthy............well, not quite,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJdrlWR-yFM

[J. S. Bach]

How about a Trabby:

I got a chance to ride in my friend's brother's Trabant last November; well, lets just say that we survived.

[webenda]

I think you've fallen victim to the humour just a little.

The spot on "Top Gear" was filmed using odd-sized wheels and weights placed for each incident

They are funny as hell, though!

I suspected as much. With Jeremy Clarkson in the car, they didn't need any added weights (except for the wheelie scene.) [opinion] I noticed the Reliant Robin he was driving was fitted with a full roll cage. Also, the single front wheel appeared to be canted in a way to encourage the falling over stunt. I think, as you said, it was designed as a stunt car.

Thank you for setting the record straight on the Reliants.

[rogruth]

But it was fun.

[2railjon]

I'm more of a Monty Python guy.

[John Webster]

I was racing in SCCA in the era of the Renault LeCar. They quickly earned the sobriquet LeRoll. I believe the front wheel bearings were underdesigned and locked up under hard use, precipitating the car onto it's roof. Another factor was that Renault was paying cash to class winners (IIRC $100).

[webenda]

I'm more of a Monty Python guy.

I am not a fan of Monty Python. His skits are silly. [I know Monty Python is gravely serious when compared to Mr. Bean. ]

Now Mr. Bean I can relate to. He comes up with the same kind of solutions to problems as I often do. Like my plumbing problem. The galvanized pipes disappeared, got replaced with rust pipes. After opening the trench I could not even pick the pipes up, all I got was two hands full of rust flakes. [Canned laughter here.] So I looked around and saw everyone using copper pipes in Tucson. Like Mr. Bean, I copied, never mind I did not know how to solder copper pipe. I proceeded to solder up a bunch of leaks. [Canned laugher here.]

Another Mr. Bean experience. Code in Tucson requires water pipes be trenched 12 inches deep. The old pipes were only 3 inches deep. I found the reason... rocks. [Canned laughter here.] Jack hammering the rock had no results, until I made a Mr. Bean discovery. The rocks have cleavage planes. Ahh, that's better. [Canned laughter here.]

Rock number five pulled a Mr. Bean on me. It split, the jack hammer sank into the split, the rock grabbed the jack hammer and would not let go. Dang! [Canned laughter here.]

[sarge]

John:

I knew someone would remember those besides me. Without using the Web to look it up, a memory test on my part comes up with the Renault Cup Challenge as the name of that series for some reason.

These were the days of the birth of the "hot-hatch". I had a pre-prod VW GTI that was one distributed amongst the Vee and Super Vee crowd before going on general sale; that was a fun car! Nothing torques off the European petrolheads more than to be reminded the Golf GTI was "invented" by American gearheads and first produced in the now-closed Rabbit plant in Pennsylvania. That little fact probably won't survive the Wikipedia "statistical smoothing" of history but those of us that actually remember it will enjoy it to the grave. (Take that, Clarkson! Grin!)

Back to the Frog Hop, eventually the Renault 5 was completely redesigned into something pretty good (at least in Europe) with a better wheelbase to width ratio and a lower CG. The first design was not suited to exuberance in any form; any excitement whatsoever and it would surrender in the fetal position.

Funny what the original "proper" Mini spawned...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I'm more of a Monty Python guy.

Indeed!

[v8vega]

There is a thread on Model Railroader of Why do Passenger Cars Derail When Backing up. I wanted to post its because of your little tiny wheel flanges but I figured that would only make them mad so I didn't.