International British Car Awareness Week

[Milwaukee Midget]

Okay, I'm a geek about this stuff, but there are still some of us championing the motor heritage of Great Britain, both on the road and on the track.  "Pommy Cars", I think Dr. Goggles calls 'em.

It runs from May 31st until June 8th - actually longer than a week, and includes two weekends.

I suspect it's because they know we'll be spending the first weekend trying to get the darned things started.

http://www.britishcarweek.org/

I'll be celebrating by towing my newly acquired, rust free LSR Midget shell from a Morgan dealer in Lake Bluff, Illinois.  Yes, they still make Morgans. 

Expect a build diary in the next few weeks.  Time to apply all this research and parts acquisitions.

Like my dad once told me - the talkin' part's all over.

[Stainless1]

Yep, them Brits loved the electronics from the "Prince of Darkness" bikes and cars...

Dad was right, talk is cheap, takes money to buy whisky, Cheers, I'll tip one later to the week, it's just a little early for me unless I'm at the salt.

In the mean time, here is one to enjoy

http://www.hermit.cc/mania/tmc/articles/lucas.htm

[4-barrel Mike]

Funny that this subject would come up.

I just saw this little guy sitting in Old Town St Johns (North Portland) on a rainy morning:







I was thinking: close up the front end, ditch most or all of the windscreen (according to www.lotuseleven.org the top of the door is 24" above the ground) and install a big bad busa and...

YEEHA!

Mike

[Stainless1]

Well Mike, you sure don't see one of those every day....
Modified Sports is screaming for that little dude.    Did they make enough of them?

[Harold Bettes]

Hey All,

Ah yes, the rap snarl of a Coventry Climax on a rainy morning.

Bless its little heart. It probably got stranded there in the rain when the Lucas stuff stopped.

Since you mentioned the Prince of Darkness (his short name is Lucas from the proper Lucifer).

Regardless of my slanted sense of humor, the driver has to be absolutely hard core and probably stopped for tea to warm up!
Thanks for the pics. Shows to go ya that gearheads are everywhere.

Regards to All,
HB2

[salt27]

Regarding Lucas electrics, when I was 16 I owned a 63 MG Midget that had electrical fires on two seperate occasions. I learned to be quite quick at dissconecting a battery and spraying a fire extinguisher.
A friend rolled his TR7 when its lights failed on a twisty road.
In Lucas I don't trust.
Don

[Milwaukee Midget]

Bless its little heart. It probably got stranded there in the rain when the Lucas stuff stopped.

Britannia may have ruled the ocean, but they've never made a car that would drive through a puddle without stalling!

Regarding production #'s for the Lotus 11, a quick web search indicates about 270 were built.  Looking at an old rule book (2005), it appears as though if it were classified as "Limited Production", you could race it.

Thanks for the pics, Mike.

Lucas Electricals    I have found the key to extending their life on my MGB has been to use a relay on EVERYTHING.  Head lights, brake lights, starter, heater motor - and the reason isn't so much the Lucas stuff as it is the wires carrying the current.  Take a 16 guage wire through a relay, rather than straight through to the head lights (duh), and all of a sudden, your head lights are brighter and your switch lasts longer. 

Still, for a car with a production run of 18 years, you'd think they might have figured that one out at the factory.

[salt27]

MM,
The relays sound like good solution. Lucas switches seem to have problems, but the relays would probably fix that too.
Thanks,
Don

[hotschue]

A friend, Brian Maceachern, ran a Lotus 11 (Silver Bullet) at B'ville about 10 year ago in modified sports.  He ran 143 on a 144 record with two different engines could not get the record.  Brian still races with us at SVRA events, Group 4 in the Lotus, along with a very competitive HP Sprite.

[Dr Goggles]

Still, for a car with a production run of 18 years, you'd think they might have figured that one out at the factory

The astounding thing about Jags was their stubborn refusal to fix any of the glaring problems , heaven knows what they spent their dull and dreary days thinking about because it sure wasn't cars.Maybe it was how to make something more complicated but less reliable, or maybe rust quicker , or how to make the interior smell funny....I don't know and the answer sure isn't obvious. Apologies , I have a bad record on this subject.......

and while we're on the subject this has always been one of my favorites

[Harold Bettes]

Priceless pic of the replacement smoke.

Way back in the very late 50s I drove a mighty Morris Minor and loved that little car. The saving grace was that it was in West Texas and rarely got wet. I remember fondly working on the gearbox with one finger and a set of needle nosed pliers as that is about all that would fit in the access cover at a time.

Great idea on the use of the relays on British vehicles. Would probably make life a lot more enjoyable.

Regards,
HB2

[Milwaukee Midget]

Still, for a car with a production run of 18 years, you'd think they might have figured that one out at the factory

and while we're on the subject this has always been one of my favorites

Complete with a part number - NOS, I presume?  No repro smoke from Moss Motors for the die-hards!

Last time I saw that much smoke in a glass container was back stage at a Ziggy Marley show.

So Doc, how do I put it back into the wires?

[krusty]

Rust free Midget? Sounds like a scam to me! When I was living in the Chicago suburbs and pounding one (F/Prod) around Blackhawk Farms, etc. in the 70s, I never saw a rust free Midget. And, if you did find one, why would you want to take it someplace that will promote corrosion?!     vic 

[Milwaukee Midget]

Rust free Midget? Sounds like a scam to me! When I was living in the Chicago suburbs and pounding one (F/Prod) around Blackhawk Farms, etc. in the 70s, I never saw a rust free Midget. And, if you did find one, why would you want to take it someplace that will promote corrosion?!     vic 

Hey, Vic!

Well, I didn't believe it either, but the search has taken me better than two years.  I've spent the last week pulling the fenders, windscreen, interior, and electricals and started pulling the drive train this evening.  While it was originally a Texas car, I suspect it remained free of rust due to the copious amounts of oil that encased the undercarriage.   I've easily got a weekend of steam cleaning in front of me before I can start prepping the undercarriage.

As to why I would want to expose it to the corrosive elements of Bonneville, well, gosh, I guess I'm just as daft as the other 1600+ members on this forum who think the best way to spend a summer vacation is to hang out in the desert for a week in 100+ degree heat to see how fast cars can go!

[bak189]

Bill Graves (long gone) a Triump motorcycle dealer in Passadena, Ca. who sponsored my rides
at the Carroll Speedway Dirt Track........used to
say "Lucas should never have stopped making
whale-oil lanterns"....................................Amen.