SUNDAY HISTORY PHOTO

Doug T is off camping and looking for a crashed WW11 bomber this weekend and has asked me to post the following ....

Lightburn was the name of an Australian manufacturer that made tools, cement mixers, washing machines and fiberglass boats) who entered the passenger car market in the mid-1960s with the Lightburn Zeta sedan. The cars were built in the washing machine factory at Camden Park in Adelaide by the company which was owned by Harold Lightburn. The cars hit the market in 1963 at a starting price of £595. Production ceased in 1965 with the last vehicles sold in 1966 and total sales of less than 400 vehicles.


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The vehicle was powered by the Villiers 324 cc two-stroke motor with drive to the front wheels. The motor's output was 12 Kw, drive was via a motorcycle gearbox and chain drive. Reversing the car required stopping the engine, then restarting using the electramatic system which spun the engine in reverse, This meant that the car could go as fast in reverse as it could in forward, up to 60mph.
Another odd feature was the fuel gauge. The fuel gauge consisted of a glass tube on the dashboard that had petrol inside it, as it was on the same level as the fuel tank, which was just in front of the dashboard. There are no reports of this breaking and causing a fire. The standard Zeta did not come with a rear hatch so access to the cargo area required removal of the front seats, the ease of which was advertised as a positive feature. The chassis was steel, with a fibreglass body enclosing a large but sparse interior. Car tyres were not available at that time of such a small size hence wheelbarrow tyres were used.

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The diminutive Sports model used a West German Sachs two cylinder 500cc engine with integral four-speed gearbox, producing a modest 15.5 Kw , Its body styling originated with Michelotti of Italy and was based on the Henry Meadows Sprint version of the Frisky microcar. The fibreglass bodied car weighed 400 kilograms and ran on 10 inch wheels with all-round drum brakes.
The utility version not shown was produced for Sydney City Council's Hyde Park fleet.