John Milton takes a look at the ABC Tricar.
The ABC Tricar, in short a three-wheeled BMC Mini, was originally created by Ken Heather and Bill Power for Ken’s son, Trevor. Trevor had really wanted a Morgan three-wheeler, but one suspects that, even in the mid-1960s, Morgans were an expensive choice for a teenager. So his father and Bill came up with a prototype built around a British Leyland Mini. Countless firms have used a Mini as the donor vehicle for specials, but this was, as far as we know, the first with one wheel less than the standard Mini!
The prototype used a complete Mini front end and reinforced floor pan with half a Mini subframe at the rear. It originally had steel bodywork, modified from the original panels, with a Morris Minor bonnet customised to form the rear bodywork. A second vehicle was built and Bill and Ken decided to put the three-wheeler into production from their company, Auto Bodycraft Conversions, in Kingswinford in Staffordshire.
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First called the Trimini, although that name seems to have been dropped early on in favour of the ABC Tricar, there were initially problems with registering the new model. The licensing authorities decreed that if it was a conversion of an existing car, then the current registration number had to be used. But if ABC claimed it was a new vehicle, then it would be subject to the dreaded purchase tax.
Ken and Bill enlisted the help of Chief Superintendent Joe Davies of the West Midlands Police who was in charge of traffic operations for the West Midlands. (Joe was also a very keen motorcyclist, having been a competition rider for the Wolverhampton Motorcycle Club. A life member of the TT Marshals Association, in 1967 he founded and led the West Midlands Police Motorcycle Display Team.)
With the assistance of Chief Super Davies, ABC managed to negotiate its way through the legal red tape so that, although the Tricars used second-hand and reconditioned parts, the finished vehicle was issued with a new registration number but was not liable for purchase tax. Even better for youngsters like Trevor, if it had just one seat it could be driven on L plates at the age of sixteen.
The basis of the ABC was the engine, gearbox and front suspension of a standard Mini, along with the front bulkhead, dashboard and flooring. To the bulkhead and flooring was then attached a new chassis comprising two flanged channel-section side members, braced and tapering towards the rear to carry a single Mini trailing arm and rear wheel.
Onto the chassis was mounted new bodywork; after the first prototype this was made in fibre glass with bonded in steel tube reinforcement and incorporated a fire bulkhead ahead of the fuel tank (also from the donor Mini) and a rear mudguard. There was some storage space behind the two seats and a luggage rack could be fitted to the rear.
At the front was a bonnet which, when the vehicle was offered to the public, was moulded in fibre glass by ABC although it looked very much like the original Mini front end; this new one-piece bonnet and wings, however, pivoted forward to give access to the engine and transmission.
The use of fibre glass made the little three-wheeler considerably lighter than a normal Mini (some figures say as much as 205kg less) which was intentional. Bill Powell told Motor Cycle in 1970: “The main snag is the 8cwt maximum weight limit for three-wheelers. By using a glass-fibre, instead of steel, body, we have been able to add a little more luxury, but even so we are restricted to a simple canvas hood, two-seater styling – and no doors. However, the sports Morgan of the 1930s rarely had doors, and it doesn’t require much agility to step over into the cockpit.”
The cost of the ABC with second-hand but reconditioned engine and running gear, was £400, although that didn’t cover steering gear, suspension, lighting and other items from the original vehicle. Customers could, however, reduce the cost to a mere £200 if they provided their own suitable donor Mini. They could choose from six colours and if a brand-new engine was required an extra £75 was charged. It’s said that a Tricar broke the lap record at Mallory Park when driven by noted motorcycle racer, Colin Seeley, but we’ve been unable to verify that. We would like it to be true!
Between 1968-71, around 24 ABC Tricars were built. How many still exist? Well, Jeroen Booij of the excellent MaximumMini website (and author of three comprehensive books on Mini specials) has done a sterling job in trying to track down the history of all the ABC Tricars produced. He has traced 16 ABC Tricars; of those, 7 are still on the DVLA database but have clearly been off the road for many years, 3 no longer exist, 2 are on SORN and 4 are on the road. Some years ago the original prototype made its way back to Trevor Heather, quite remarkably 50 years to the very days since he first drove it. We believe it’s under restoration and we would love to know more. Trevor told Jeroen Booij in 2018; “The three-wheeler was my road car for two years and it was a blast. 16 and driving a ‘car’ on the road – what was not to like?”
“Performance was stunning despite the lowly 850 van engine as the weight was under the 8cwt weight limit and, with only one seat, legal to drive on L-plates. The missing wheel changed nothing about the handling, except in deep snow when the single rear wheel tracked a little on the central snow. In reverse it was a little unstable (like a Reliant going forwards) so not too quickly in tight reverses was the rule.”
The car seen in these photos was the company’s demonstrator. It is still registered with the DVLA and last changed hands in 2012, but it doesn’t appear to have been on the road in years. Does anyone know its whereabouts?
