Spotted on ebay earlier, this 1960 British Swallow Gadabout scooter for sale, all up and running.
The Swallow Sidecar Company was formed in the 1920s, producing (as their name suggests) motorcycle sidecars, as well as specialising in coachworks. In the 1930s they branched into the car market as SS Cars Ltd, although after World War 2 they decided to rebrand as Jaguar Cars Ltd for obvious reasons.
In 1946, the Swallow Coachbuilding Company launched the Swallow Gadabout scooter which was the same year as the first Vespa 98, and pre-dated the Lambretta by a year.
This Gadabout is a 1950 example and apparently easy to start and ride. The seller says, “Having spent time in my workshops being inspected and serviced, this scooter is in good running order, and its body and chassis is solid with no corrosion.”
He adds, “It’s a charming machine which gets the looks wherever you go, whether at shows and displays …or trailing behind Lambrettas and Vespas on a scooter run (35mph top speed!).”
With less than 2000 Gadabouts built, most being the earlier Mark 1 model, these 122cc Villiers engine’d scooters are a pretty rare beast, if you’re brave enough to try something different of course…
You’ll find the Gadabout for sale on eBay here, should you fancy a punt (note; we don’t know the seller but thought we’d share this as its a rare and sort of cool scoot).