I have a 1958 MGA Roadster with, you guessed it, Lucas Electrics. I bought it, not as reliable transportation, but as a hobby. 
When it runs, it is a joy to drive.
The standard joke in the MGA club was:
Q: Do you know why the Brits drink warm beer?
A: Lucas Electrics makes their refrigerators.
Someday I’ll have to get the MGA running again.
Hj did your Zephy have the windscreen wipers powered by the manifold vacuum? My Consul did. Boy could that get exciting. If you were over taking in the rain, the harder you put the gas peddle down, the slower the wipers went!
Good old days. Now we just have Jap-crap in everything, can’t complain I guess, it all works.
Thanks for the link to Beaver. I left them and Joined the Navy in 62, did 22 years. I did know they had folded though.
Rod F.
Mike Morgan said:... which is to say, I'm afraid, pretty well everyone in North America who ever had any experience of Lucas products ... or British autos in general. Too unreliable. My father, very proud to be British and a believer in buying British when he could in his long expat career, finally swore he would never buy a British automobile again; nor did he, even after he retired to his beloved Cotswolds.
Rod , You haven't seen Prince of Darkness before ? . It appears periodically on this site and others , usually with the same tired old comments from the same tired old people . Mike
Rod Fearnley said:
Hj did your Zephy have the windscreen wipers powered by the manifold vacuum? My Consul did. Boy could that get exciting. If you were over taking in the rain, the harder you put the gas peddle down, the slower the wipers went!…
I really don’t remember; that was 43 years ago and probably traumatic enough that I blocked it out.
I do believe, Rod, that “Prince of Darkness” is a NA term, as most Brits I know (and am on Dad’s side) just accepted it as fact of life.
But, when you’re used to even 6 volt positive gound systems on a generator that run for 50 years…
We had vacuum wipers in cars in the US until at least 1959, maybe later.
My 50’s both have vacuum wipers…and compound fuel pumps.
You just need to recall that they always work better in one direction than the other, and accelerate on the “strong stroke” and back off a tad on the “weak stroke”.
Hell, the FIRST thing you do is learn from the flyboys and drive THROUGH the rain on the windscreen.
Chris Vernell said:Chris,Mike Morgan said:... which is to say, I'm afraid, pretty well everyone in North America who ever had any experience of Lucas products ... or British autos in general. Too unreliable. My father, very proud to be British and a believer in buying British when he could in his long expat career, finally swore he would never buy a British automobile again; nor did he, even after he retired to his beloved Cotswolds.
Rod , You haven't seen Prince of Darkness before ? . It appears periodically on this site and others , usually with the same tired old comments from the same tired old people . Mike
That sounded like a rhetorical question, along the line of: “Tell me, how do you like your Lucas computer ?” 
I’ve had several British cars, and used to make extra money in high school tuning them.
The only good thing I can say about Lucas electrics is that, at least on my Mini Cooper, they were easy to debug, i.e. figure where the fault was, since my car only had 2 fuses!
Now, with generators eating brushes, a starter gear that locks onto the flywheel so often that they made a spanner to turn the starter shaft to unlock it, and a fuel pump that sounded like a ticking time bomb, and had contacts that failed whenever it was cold, raining, or dark, it was really unreliable considering it’s simplicity.
Oh, they also put the distributor right in the front behind the grill, so water would get in it whenever it rained, and it would quit running.
Yep, quite an experience.
Regards, Greg
Rod Fearnley said:I remember one of my grandpa's old cars (the only kind he could afford) climbing Wenlock Edge in a rain shower. That decrepit vehicle could barely pull itself up that hill, let alone any passengers ... and the vacuum powered wipers moved like arthritic snails. Another occasion, another Shropshire hill -- I don't recall whether it was the same car --, my aunt and I had to get out and walk behind it until we reached the hill crest. Fortunately, it was a pleasant day, and the car reached the top very little before we did.
Hj did your Zephy have the windscreen wipers powered by the manifold vacuum? My Consul did. Boy could that get exciting. If you were over taking in the rain, the harder you put the gas pedal down, the slower the wipers went!
It’s interesting to think that you only know about Lucas Electrics because they are exported all over the world . As opposed to American vehicles .
Now , what’s the name of the American systems ?
And just to give you that added zest on your next flight , Lucas Electrics are fitted to a lot of aircraft engines .
Lucas is the one that we remember as it fails.
What’s the runner-up?
Magnelli?
Remember the last good meal at a restaurant?
The last bad one?
US can be Delco-Remy, Autolite, Prestolite (old).
If Lucas in on aircraft engines, good.
That means somebody somewhere has made a set of “standards” and is holding them (Lucas) to said standards.
I recall a voltage regulator on an XK-120 with about 12 terminals…
12 terminals ? That’ll be one for each volt then .
And talking of Lucas , they seem to suit the US Special Forces using our Landrovers in the noisy places . And the British Army , the Australians , the…
And what’s that oxymoron…military intelligence…
Warren
Warren Mumpower said:
And what's that oxymoron......military intelligence...;)Warren
Ah…politics. Too much of it here. Not enough trains.
But, I do like the old question “What makes a statesman different from a politician?”
The answer is that a statesman is a dead politician. The really sad truth is that no matter how you cut it, we still have far too many politicians and not nearly enough statesmen.
Jumbo-Shrimp?
Hehehe
the Brit “Prince of Darkness” aka Lucas Electronics is well known here also among car collectors, but theres another contender for the title, and its another Lucas…
George Lucas.
He’s gotten that title for his previous dreadfull installments of the Star Wars saga, “The Phantom Plotline” and “Attack of the Clowns” he made a small redemptive steps with " Revenge of the Zits" but most older fans like me it was too little, too late. We still havent forgiven Lucas for selling out and making movies that were primarily designed to sell toys to 5 year olds. The Prince of Darkness decided it was better to make movies so heavy on special effects and sacrificing dialog and storyline to accomodate them, that it was better to have a stick thin plot line, cardboard characters, and flat acting but as long as wizz-bang special effects everything just fine!
Nah I dont think so… still dont have any of the latest chapters, dont really plan to either, I’m happy with my DVDs of the original theatrical releases of the BIG 3 movies
I suppose anybody who thinks Land Rovers are a dependable vehicle might possibly somewhere have a redeeming quality to offset that.
Ah, Land Rovers.
Yes indeedie.
When the stupid seal goes on the fritz between gearbox and transfer case, you have one of two warning signs.
Either the main gearbox seizes up or spits all the gears out the bottom, or the seals on the transfer case blow as all the gear oil from the main gearbox transferred itself aft.
Then, of course, the classic, to replace the clutch master cylinder…remove left wing (prolly right wing for RHD).
Amazing stuff.
Kinda like a choice of going bombing over Berlin in a Wellington or a B-17.
If I had to have a 4-wheeled, 4-wheel drive vehicle to depend on in a combat situation, a Willys (preferably a Ford version with their Vanadium Steel) would be it.
Land Rover.
Like the new ones over here you can’t give away as nobody stateside can fix them…and their “downhill” computers…
Lordhavemercy…
I recall Jaguars with the stupid injection computers in the boot and miles of wiring down the console…
I would dearly have loved to own a 56-57 XK-140MC, drophead or roadster, and when doing auto repair for a living, knew how to work on Brit iron, and I could not afford the investment in time and materials to keep one on the road.
My granddad had a 57 - 3.4 litre sedan.
The “Maltese Cross” in the steering was natural rubber.
He lived in Palm Springs at the time.
At 65MPH it dropped the column out.
We want to get into Girling Brakes?
How about their disc calipers?
Now there is one of the smartest things I have run across.
The seal was on the piston, not in the bore.
So…any moisture rusted the bore. The piston was state-of-the-art stainless, I think, but the seal wiped out along the RUST as the pads wore and suddenly all your brake fluid was on the rotors and you had no brakes.
Ever tried to change out a rear main or pan gasket on an 80’s vintage Jag?
You block the engine up to the top of the wings, put it on a hoist, remove front wheels, unbolt top of the suspension, brake lines, steering shaft, motor mounts, all the apputrenances…and unbolted the back of the subframe from the floor, and let it swing down on the BUILT IN HINGES AT THE FRONT.
Ah, and Sutters Unions.
Gawd, is that something to behold.
And adjust.
Especially when they get worn.
Machine shops love to see MOWOG castings.
They know they’ll be doing the engine block every 80K, and the head every 30K.
Rust?
Hell, the bodies had so much iron in them, they were worse than the old 356 Porsches.
The fuel pumps have been mentioned. I saw an old article once of a guy got pulled over by the fuzz after numerous calls that this Britmobile was transporting a dead body in the boot.
Seems his pump had died and he had his buddy in the boot, arm out and under the bumper, manually operating same as they went down the road.
Comet?
Did someone say Comet?
Anybody here ever follow the saga of the Brit boats foisted off on the Canucks?
Ah.
Dave,
Ah!
Let’s see what the reply reads.
Ah , just for a change , it’s rotweiller and kitten . With the whingeing pom bringing up the rear . The poor man’s triumvirate . Sad old world .
Mike Morgan said:[url=http://www.largescalecentral.com/LSCForums/viewtopic.php?id=6670]Hmmmmmmmmmmm[/url]
Ah , just for a change , it's rotweiller and kitten . With the whingeing pom bringing up the rear . The poor man's triumvirate . Sad old world .
Funny how you nail the apologists with facts and that’s all they can muster…