Three years ago today (9th February) in preparation for the Isle of Wight Hidden Heroes exhibition, a good couple of hours were spent moving a fully restored Enfield 8000 city electric car into Quay Arts.
The car was designed on the Isle of Wight in the 1970s by the late John Ackroyd, who was one of the seven featured Hidden Heroes.
Loaned by Barry Price
The car was lent to the gallery by Newport legend, Barry Price. He was extremely generous to lend this beautifully restored car for the exhibition and oversaw it being lifted into the building by the highly competent guys from Reynolds and Read.
Out comes the washing-up liquid
Once up onto the first floor, there was no room to steer the car around in the tiny corridor, so, in a rather brilliant move, Barry called for washing-up liquid.
Down on his knees, he liberally applied it under the back tyres of the vehicle. With a little persuasion the rear of the little motor started to slide to the side.
Breath in
The fit was crazy tight, with only about a 10mm gap between the car and the walls of the corridor.
Once the double doors had been removed from their hinges – there was no space for them – Barry at the wheel he expertly steered it down the corridor, while others pushed.
See the original brochure
Our thanks to Don Adams from Freshwater who tells us that he has photos of a booklet published by the Electricity Council in 1979 for the Enfield 8000 on his Ventnor Radar Website. It looks great and is incredibly detailed.
Click on the images to see larger versions
Article edit
8am 10th Feb 2021 – Loaned and loan corrected to Lent and lend
8.45am 10th Feb 2021 – Link to Booklet added
