Here’s a British body paired with French mechanicals – what could go wrong! The Lomax is a kit car provided from 1982 first by Lomax Motor Company; later iterations were available from Mumford Motors, then Cradley Motors, which dissolved in 2019. The cars utilized engines and platforms from the Citroën 2CV, or deux chevaux. Enterprising builders could substitute larger engines from the Ami or the flat four from the GS. Lomax offered two models: the 223 was a two-seat, two-cylinder, three-wheeler; the 224 was all of that but with four wheels. This 223 is listed on eBay, with bidding at $7400 in a no-reserve auction. It’s located in Cincinnati, Ohio; it runs well, though it could use a carb adjustment, so the drive home might be a bit exciting.
This is a 602 cc flat twin serviced by a two-barrel Solex downdraft; this kit is good for about 33 bhp. Note the individual manifolds to each cylinder; if you’re aiming to hot-rod your Lomax, opt for two motorcycle carbs, each servicing one cylinder. The transmission is a four-speed manual. The car weighs only about 900 lbs, so top speed can come in at around 75 mph, or even higher with the aforementioned performance mods. The seller notes that this car is being sold from the estate of the collector who cared for his cars in a meticulous manner. Keep the oil changes going, and consider an oil cooler – this engine should run for a long time.
The simple interior is as clean and tidy as I’ve seen. Brooklands wind screens are all you get for weather protection – there’s no top, tonneau, or side curtains. Trunk space is zilch, so some owners strap a trunk to the rear end.
The body is fiberglass, painted in Mopar Plum Crazy. I could wish for low-profile vintage seats, but I understand the safety concerns that might have motivated these modern lunks. This is the third three-wheeler that’s shown up recently on Barn Finds – and as with all these, value is in the eye of the beholder. Several years ago, an RHD 224 Lomax sold for $7000, but prices have inched up since then. Any guesses about the final selling price here?
This one looks a lot safer than the Raleigh 3 wheeler from a few days ago!
Good Grief Solosolo, I was thinking the same exact thing when I clicked on this. I think I’d prefer the single wheel in the back personally like on this or a Morgan. I don’t remember ever seeing a Lomax before. Michelle, once again, I just learned about a car that I didn’t even know that I didn’t even know about… Its neat, and looks like it would be fun to ride on some nice back country roads.
Yup, three-wheelers with the single in back are more stable in cornering, as Top Gear amusingly demonstrated with the Reliant Robin (tho’ I gather they also rigged those to make tipping easier to provoke).
One of my friends used to build these as an agent for Lomax; his own one is a 4-wheeler with a GS engine.
The carb’s dead simple (incorrect cable adjustment is common), standard 2CV’s 29bhp, the Supertrapp exhausts’re interesting(!), it has an oil cooler as standard (but you could fit a bigger one).
So if you want to fit a R1100 oilhead, you can…
Supertrapps are the second worst thing you can do to an engine just up from Cherry Bombs.
I agree. Our spec racer had one. By the time you add enough diffusers as to not create any back pressure. You might as well run a straight pipe for the noise/racket that they make. Aas soon as I saw the carb/air cleaner and the valve cover, I said to myself “2CV!”
I’ve been enthralled with tadpole bikes for ages, have always believed I would build one of the kits “some day”. While I don’t care for the body style of this one, I’m sure it;d be crazy fun to drive.
As the previous holder of a deposit on an Elio, I never really believed they’d make it to market. Maybe I was wrong, there really isn’t much more to this buggy. P.S. Yes, my deposit was returned.
This EBay seller, another BF darling, always has interesting stuff for sale.
Fright pig.
Front looks like it tangled with an alligator.
SOLD for $7400.
28 bids.