Who remembers this small two-seat, three-wheeled car? A photograph showing my brothers Bond Bug parked in Windsor Road in 1983.
Photograph and details courtesy of MF Wilson.
Bond Bug
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Who remembers this small two-seat, three-wheeled car? A photograph showing my brothers Bond Bug parked in Windsor Road in 1983.
Photograph and details courtesy of MF Wilson.
Yes I remember the Bond Bug I used to get a lift off the lad to work on the pipeline in the 70s.
Did your brother work on the pipe line in the 70s?
When I worked at MDS then to become Commodore Business Machines @ Eaglescliffe there was a young lady who worked there who’s boyfriend used to drop her off / pick up and he drove a Bond Bug just like this one. I wonder if it’s the same guy ?.
My best mate had a Reliant three wheeler van, and often when in it would tip onto just two wheels. Quite lethal really. But as a previous comment, easy for someone who had a motorbike licence, to be able to drive without passing a car test
Dave.
To comply driving with a motor bike licence, the Reliant needed to have the gearbox reverse gate blocked to dissallow selection of reverse.
We did it for several customers.
JW.
I bet he wished he still owned it. “Bangers & Cash” TV programme sold one for a very nice sum (cannot remember how much). Also, showed activities of the rallies held by the “Bond Bug” club.
I remember its predecessor the ‘Bond’, a 2 stroke motor bike engine that was not only the driving wheel it also was attached as part of the steering.
You lifted the bonnet to kick start it, the advantages were the test and licence.
Not only do I remember the Bond Bug but also its predecessor ‘The Bond’.
It was a kick start engine as it was basically a 2 stroke motor bike engine, you lifted the bonnet and there it was, the engine, it turned in time with the steering. No reverse which had its compensations regards a driving licence.
My husband had a 50 ‘s Bond and the earlier Bond had an electric powered dynastart starter motor as well as the kickstart. It had four forward and four reverse gears. Actually they were the same gears. To go in reverse you had to turn the ignition off and restart by reversing the key and starting the two stroke engine in reverse. If I remember correctly the Bug had a Hillman Imp engine with conventional reverse. My husband’s brother drove his Bug from Stockton to the London motor show and back within a day.
Yes they did have the Hillman Imp engine and the Imp engine was born from the Coventry Climax stationery pump engine.
Prior to Imps available to the mass market, I attended a weeks course at the Rootes Group factory in Coventry, the Imp for the best part was built in Scotland.
Yep. There was one often parked by the allotments at the bottom of Billingham Road in Norton during the mid-70s. I can’t remember whether we thought it was extremely cool or total trash, but it was one or the other!. I DO remember us assuming it must be Japanese.
According to the gov.checkmot website this one was first registered on 26 April 1971 and may well still be in existence as are many others. It still has a cult following. They were styled by Tom Karen who I believe also styled the Raleigh Chopper bike.