Joe Curry wrote:
>
> jonmac wrote:
>
> > AbsoluteHORSE***T!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is it with you people and my good
> > friend Mr. Obadiah Joseph Lucas? His products have ALWAYS been of the
> > highest integrity, reliability and totally faultless!!!
>
> John,
> I think it has something to do with his initials being "OJ".
Yet another reason to be suspicious, Joe. <g>
It seems that jonmac might be a _trifle_ sensitive about us Yanks
casting aspersions on Mr. Lucas and his creations.... (!) A couple of
anecdotal comments probably apply.... When people in the plant saw me
arriving in an old British car, comments were made. <g> One of our sales
engineers (who has never owned a British car in his life) came to my
office shortly after, saying, "what did you buy that for? You know the
first thing you'll have to do is re-wire the whole thing.... Lucas, you
know." <g> Some of the people I've known who work in the aircraft
industry have said that Lucas' reputation there is the same as it is for
car electricals.
My re-introduction to Lucas electricals was at the VTR in Ft. Worth.
After the evening at the Stockyards, I was following several cars back
to the hotel, and all the lights (stop lights, turn signals and
headlights) quit, very unexpectedly, which was a bit disconcerting when
driving on roads wholly unknown to me. Bad connectors at the fuse block.
Fuse block? Who at Lucas (or Triumph) thought it was a good idea to have
seven or eight circuits on a single fuse? How much unnecessary time does
one spend tracing circuits on such a system? Three fuses (one
principally for the rear glass defogger, but a couple of other circuits
tacked on for good measure). As I've said before, the little tag inside
the fuse cover on most cars ought to say, "Lights," on one fuse, and the
other should say, "All bloody else."
Let it be said that the guy who had a pretty good handle on electricity
very early on was British (Maxwell). But he was long dead by the time
Lucas started wiring cars.... <g>
Also let it be said that GM has not done all that much good with some
electrical wiring in the past... how many times has one seen a Chevy
Suburban or pickup of `70s vintage with feedback voltage into the
parking lamps? I've seen them often. And German wiring? Hmmmm.... One
would think the Germans learned wiring from the Italians, given its
resemblance to spaghetti. <g>
Nevertheless, what is the one item which annoys and confuses more people
on this list than any other? Electricals. Lucas equipment doesn't seem
to operate by common sense, or even fail in common-sensical ways. <g>
It, more than not, perplexes more people for longer periods of time than
any aspect of the cars. <g>
Truth of it is, much of the Lucas equipment is derivative--developed in
much more ancient times, and re-developed to death. And when Lucas first
introduced "modern" conveniences such as electronic ignition and fuel
injection, one was usually stranded much more frequently than with older
technologies--ask anyone with an early TR7 with Lucas electronic
ignition. By contrast, most GM HEI ignitions (developed around the same
time) run virtually flawlessly until the engine has died of old age.
Look, for example, at the construction of Lucas' alternator--no way to
replace the back bearing without unsoldering a number of items--defies
common sense. Moreover, why have an alternator which fails more
frequently than the generator it replaced, and yet, has an output no
better?
Lucas, like a lot of the British motoring industry, didn't keep up with
the times, let alone lead the pack. A sad commentary, but still true, I
think. The connectors and terminals used in cars built into the `70s are
outdated and not at all built for demanding use.
All of which, of course, is not to suggest that I don't like the cars. I
just might not like the Lucas portions _quite_ as much. <smile>
Cheers.
--
My other Triumph runs, but....
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