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Re: V8 conversions British copper wire

To: british-cars@autox.team.net, jag-lovers@psy.uwa.oz.au
Subject: Re: V8 conversions British copper wire
From: drabik@solaris.gatech.edu (Timothy J. Drabik)
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 94 11:04:21 EST
Kirby Palm writes to the Jag. lovers:

> 
> I'll even give you a basic test: take a piece of wire from a British car,
> strip the insulation, and take a single copper strand and bend it back and
> forth until it breaks.  Do the same with a wire from a Jap car.  You will
> note that the Brits can't even make the wire itself last.

I have to cite a related experience.  I was replacing the seats in my Spitfire
and suffered a mild occurrence of Shipwright's Disease.  As you know, the
driver's floors of Spitfires see a fair bit of water.  I decided to repair
the electrical tape on the bundle of wires running under the seat, and noticed
that insulation on the individual wires was damaged.  Congratulating myself
for fending off future disaster, I grabbed my soldering iron and some
heat-shrink tubing to fix the situation properly.

When I stripped the wires, I found they were coated with a hard, black oxide
that resisted fluxing extremely effectively.  I wound up SANDING EACH STRAND
to expose bright copper so I could solder the damn things together.

This problem might not be Triumph's fault, but I thought it was a funny
coincidence that the first time I ever saw this (and I teach electrical
engineering) was on my LBC.

                Regards,
                Tim


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