Five Classic Trials
Gilbern Invader
Life is full of little coincidences, but then some things are just meant to be. The patron saint of Wales is celebrated each year on 1 March and has over many centuries become intrinsically linked to the country – it is said that St David ate little but leeks, which apparently is why they became a Welsh national symbol.
As unashamedly Welsh as the leek and even St David himself are the cars that were produced by Gilbern in the Rhondda Valley. The owner of our test car, Dave Nicholson, spent his working life building rally cars for Vauxhall as its chief mechanic, so it’s not surprising that he’d seek to continue tinkering in his retirement. After completing an epic 18-month restoration of another Gilbern Invader he owns, he came into the possession of the car we’re featuring. Unsurprisingly, it’s no ordinary Invader.
Chassis number 3 became the star of the Earls Court Motor Show in 1969 when one of the two other cars earmarked for Gilbern’s stand (chassis number 2) was damaged beyond repair. Dave has owned this car – which was also used in period for magazine road tests – for six years now and has become a complete Gilbern convert.
The looks alone are enough to capture most people’s attention. Visually, the Invader lives up to its name, with aggressive frontal styling thanks to that large grille, which is needed to keep its Essex V6 powerplant cool. Slightly flared arches soften its slab sides, while a large pair of exhausts can be seen jutting out from beneath the rear bumper it shares with the Triumph 1300.
Inside, the Invader is lavish, though not entirely original. The previous owner elected to reupholster the seats, dash-top and door cards in a striking shade of red, the sort you’d expect to find inside a Moulin Rouge boudoir.
Stepping over the high sill and inside, thoughts move to the myriad of gauges and toggle switches set within the walnut dashboard. Fittingly, given its aspirational image, the Invader is well-equipped and plush – an impression undiminished upon realising the switches for its AC Delco electric windows are set within Austin Maxi door handles. The steering wheel adjusts up and down, and the pedals side to side, though the wide transmission tunnel means that there’s nowhere for you to rest your left foot.
The driving position is comfortable but far from sporting. Your legs aren’t outstretched and having the three-spoke steering wheel within easy reach forces you to sit quite upright. However, this and the spindly pillars do create a feeling of spaciousness inside while providing excellent all-round visibility.
Dave worked with all three McRaes – Jimmy, Colin and Alister – during the course of his career. You probably won’t drive anywhere near as enthusiastically as that trio of rallying royalty, but will soon find yourself hugely entertained by the Gilbern.
The 3.0-litre Ford Essex, fed by a Weber 38 GAS twinchoke carburettor, delivers quite phenomenal acceleration. Given Dave’s background, you’d expect him to have eked a few more horses from the venerable V6 powerplant, but he hasn’t – nor has he seen the need to. The Invader’s lightweight plastic body means that it tips the scales at just 904kg, so the engine is about as unstressed as they come.
What’s more, the huge amount of torque allows the Invader to pull strongly, even from low revs; you can drive it in almost any gear, which is a good thing, because not everyone is going to appreciate frequent changes of gear.
The action of swapping between ratios isn’t the problem; it has quite a long throw, but the action itself is smooth and precise, especially so now that Dave has fitted rose joints to the gear linkage. No, it’s the position of the lever which may aggravate, a result of the Essex lump being set so far back in the engine bay. This provides the Invader with almost perfect 50:50 weight distribution, which greatly aids handling, but does compromise the position of the gear lever, which is uncomfortably more in line with your hip than your knee. However, it’s not always necessary to shift ratios manually; in fact, you’ll often find yourself simply flicking out of overdrive in third on approach to roundabouts rather than changing down; the switch is ideally positioned to the left of the steering wheel. In terms of cruising at the legal limit, the engine is turning at 2500rpm in overdrive top. At 50mph, it’s barely ticking over at 1500rpm. The engine is smooth and quiet at these speeds; in fact, there’s not a lot of aural entertainment below 3000rpm, but it really comes alive as the revs climb, that burble elevating into a glorious wuffle through those twin exhausts.
What’s perhaps most surprising, though, is how beautifully the Invader rides. Even pockmarked country roads don’t disturb the drive, either through the seats or any of the controls. An ever-present road buzz reminds you that the suspension is working hard, and there are some creaks from the trim, but at no point does the ride feel choppy. And that’s incredible, given that everything has clearly been set up to prioritise road-holding.
All too soon it’s time to return the keys to Dave’s unique Earls Court motor show classic. To say that driving it is heaven-sent might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s certainly a divine way of marking St David’s Day.