Glorified Shopping Cart! 1959 Bond Mark F Three-Wheeler Convertible
Some guys just wanna make cars. That included Lawrie Bond, who began his career in England at a steam wagon shop, progressing to aircraft and later, engine work. Just before WWII, he opened an engineering company specializing in aircraft and became a supplier under government contract to the war effort. But it was racing and making cars that captivated him. When the war ended, Bond turned his attention to this passion. His first effort was a tiny, aluminum-bodied, 500 cc front-wheel drive race car not a lot larger than a dining table. Nicknamed “Doodlebug”, it was crashed in the fall of 1947. Bond built a more serious race car for the 1948 season and at the behest of his wife Pauline, a shopping runabout for her that he called the Mark A. Constructed by Sharps Commercials, Ltd with three wheels, a Villiers two-stroke, Perspex windshield, and a convertible top, the Shopping Car could travel at about 45 mph. A series of improvements led further into the alphabet, with the B, C, D and E arriving sequentially. By the time the F arrived, the car actually had two doors. a Triplex windshield, and full length chrome bumpers. Almost 6500 Mark Fs were made. This 1959 example is for sale on craigslist for $6000; it’s located in Clancy, Montana. Thanks to T.J. for the tip!
The Mark E was fitted with a 12 hp Villiers 247 cc air-cooled, single-cylinder, two-stroke engine utilizing a Siba Dynastart and a four-speed gearbox. A reverse gear was optional. The car is started from the cabin, but a kick start on the engine is available for emergencies. A 12 volt electrical system helps run a full suite of lights and wipers. The gas tank finally exceeded three gallons. Mechanical cable brakes are a decent match for its 670 lbs and 55 mph top speed. This example runs and drives but its windshield burst “on a very hot day”, and the exhaust system needs repair.
The cabin is simplicity itself, but no one has bothered to clean up the windshield glass. That’s the gear-shift on the column. The body is a combination of aluminum and fiberglass, and its original color was green. The yellow repaint is said to be “recent”. These entertaining little cars served a purpose in post-war Britain, with tax, licensing, and fuel economy advantages over many competitors. Sales waned when customers opted for more luxurious conveyances, but production of the Bond minicar continued until 1966. Fortunately for fans of quirky cars, Bond soldiered on with the elegant Triumph-based Equipe, then was acquired by Reliant, bringing a few new models to fruition. While some Bonds are capable of commuting, these early minicars are not suitable for plying our highways. Could you find a practical use for a minicar?
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Comments
Crazy Vaclav sez,,”It will go 300 hectares on a single gallon of kerosene,,,PUT IT IN H” Some say the car Homer test drove was a Harper Invacar, but others dispute it was from a Soviet country “that no longer exists”, like an AC Petite.
This, I’ve never seen. It seems the front suspension includes the motor, trans and drive, that pivots with the steering. What kind of goofy setup is that? It looks almost self contained unit. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s cool as heck, and perfect for that 2 mile run to Wally world. Now there’s a column shift anyone from the future should have no problem with,,,( cough)
I love that Simpson’s clip. My daughter is going through all the seasons now, and this episode recently came on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HPVQ4FpVlY
If you haven’t seen it, check out Top Gear driving a Reliant Robin 3-wheeler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8
Kendra… (you may or may not know, but…) that Top Gear stunt with the Robin Reliant was totally staged, they loaded the car unevenly with bricks to make it unstable enough to get it to tip.
Sorry not seeing the excellent condition.
I love three wheelers..but only with two wheels in front like the Morgan and Berkeley…they are as stable as any 4 wheeler and look great.Loved my Berk T60’s and love to have one now.These Bonds were all over London in the 50’s and 60’s but never considered “cool”.Interestingly Lawrie Bond was behind the supercool design of the Berk..a far cry from this!
I am an American who has imported not just one, but two different Bond MiniCars, each older and small than this as mine were the Mark C and Mark D, each with the 197cc engine and both solely kick started – not something you want to stall in the middle of an intersection during heavy traffic!. Neither of mine were as advanced to have a reverse “gear” but, as on this car, reverse isn’t a gear at all – you simply restart the 2-stroke engine to rev the other direction! One of the most fun aspects of these cars hasn’t even been mentioned; Because the engine, transmission and front wheel drive is all one unit that pivots on a fork, and that fork steers a full 180 degrees lock-to-lock so you can crank that front wheel a full 90 degrees and the car will spin around on the radius of it’s own wheelbase. Numerous youtube videos show this. The needed windshield is going to be impossible to find in USA so your choices are plexiglass or no glass. And, Howard A – the column shift operates a sequential 3-speed motorcycle transmission so it’s as simple as can be. The Lane Museum in Tennessee has a couple of these, and, I believe the later “Bond Bug” and even more weird three wheeler that used a small four cylinder four stroke engine powering the rear axle
The seller tries to compare the wow factor to the Isettas and Messerschmidts, which are completely different from the Bond. You’ll never see a Bond going for the same price of a pristine Isetta or Messerschmidt, they are in a completely different league of their own.
A great advantage of the three-wheeler cars was that in UK they could be driven at a younger age and on a motorcycle license. Great memories of a friend’s Bond 197cc carrying a 6 or so youngsters (teens) to Framlingham (Suffolk UK) Trad Jazz Club on Saturday nights in the ’60s. Kick starting by climbing under the bonnet, in with the engine was tedious and often dirty so with hood down (summertime) all the passengers would give a running push start from behind and as the engine fired up and the vehicle gathered momentum all pile into the back seat over the back of the car.
Myself, as a student, I owned a succession of Isetta, a Heinkel and a Berkeley – all 3 wheelers, two wheels in front one wheel at the rear, – cheap and reliable motoring with cover from the elements.
Homer.