40 years of Auto Evolution....

Chuck Dempsey

Chuck Dempsey

Well-known member
Driving the ‘A’ by the golf course this morning, I noticed an old Spitfire. The first car I owned was a ‘69 Mark III, like this one. Note 40 years of auto evolution ('29 to '69)…. (of course, split rear bumpers are timeless).
 

Attachments

  • A and Spitfire.jpg
    A and Spitfire.jpg
    93.1 KB · Views: 93
Nice! I drove MG's for years, called them the British Model A because they were so easy to work on.
 
Oh my,are we comparing model a fords to anything mechanical produced by the British? come on now, let’s not let Lucas, the prince of darkness in our happy world…and his knuckle busting minion Whitworth..
 
Mr. Backer, it took a bit of research to understand your comments...:) But for my fellow Brit-ignorant Yanks, here is a brief description I found on the 'net. I tried to display a couple of pics showing the many variations of threads, but couldn't get them to load.... Thanks for the reminder that STANDARDIZATION is a great thing.

"Whitworth system should not be viewed as a stumbling block invented by the English to keep us from putting their cars back together again once we’ve managed to take them apart. I don’t believe it has anything to do with our minor disagreement back in 1776 either. The Whitworth system made it possible to manufacture complex machinery on a large scale, and it made it possible to work on that machinery without having a team employed full-time keeping track of the different nuts and bolts. Each system takes some special wrenches and sockets, and you might have to think for a minute or two about which wrench to use, but heck, if it were easy, anybody could work on these cars."
 
Lmao, I have removed the engine from a MG using 4 different size wrenches and a screwdriver. It's been a while since I've pulled an A engine but if I remember correctly it doesn't take much more than that to do one of them! They each have their challenges but a lot of issues can be resolved just as easily on one as the other.
 
I still have a 1971 MGB that is one of the better cars I have owned. I believe the reputation these cars got was more from the people working on them being unfamiliar with SU carburetors, positive ground electric systems and other British eccentricities.
 
I agree, once I understood the ideas behind the wiring system, I had very few issues with mine. Drove 1 to work every day for 20 years.
 
Humor is vital to health.. used to work on JCB backhoes.. when the operator asked why it broke I said “JCB … Just Cause it’s British”
 
And Lucas Electric is where “prince of darkness” comes from… had a zener diode on a triumph trophy,with the lights on you could light cigarets on it.
 
Have had several MG's from TD's to A's and they were all great cars. As far as the "Prince of Darkness" goes, do you know why the British like warm beer? ----- Because Lucas made their fridges. On a positive note, my son's first car was a Mini, with the typical Lucas electrics,and he quickly learned that if a light didn't light or something electrical failed, always look for a bad ground first
 
Lucas, did not invent darkness--just the sudden onset of it while driving.
SU carbs were the perfect tinkerer's carb--they never ran perfectly so there was always the desire to make them a little better---but it was just as difficult to mess them up so thoroughly that they would not work at all--perfect for the tinkerer in all of us.
I went to a seminar at an import show many years ago where the speaker promised " at least 10 HP more from your British sports car"--He asked for a show of hands as to when most people shifted---3000, rpm? 3500 rpm? No more hands raised after 4000 rpm. He showed the HP curve and made the point that everyone was shifting way too early--before the engine was developing the rated HP.
 
I have a 1951 Standard Vanguard Saloon that, like it's Triumph TR-2 etc. sisters is actually agricultural. They used the same basic engine as the British built Ferguson tractors of that time. Back in the day when travelling with a friend in his TR-3, we needed a valve cover gasket and just stopped at a Massey-Ferguson dealer in a farming community and they fixed us right up. I can still buy some parts for my Vanguard from our local Massey dealer.
 
"Humor is vital to health."

Along these lines:
The reason why the English don't make computers is because they haven't been able to figure out how to make them leak oil.
M.
 
Although I am TOTALY A Ford man, I wish I had the first car I owned given to me by a little old lady who was returning to her native home in England. It was a 35 Chevy coupe. I traded it to a friend for a 20 gauge shot gun ��
 
I, also had a spitfire! A 68, I bought it new, It had a de-tuned TR 3 100HP engine. They should've left it alone. Except for the side curtains, the TR 3 was a better car, at least I thought so.
Terry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top