What the h*ll went wrong?
- Thread starter Lucky13
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Old Wizard
2nd Lieutenant
Ralph Haus
Tech Sergeant
Having worked in England with my company British counterparts, I can see now where they were coming from; they were just being British. They did seem to be able to come together and produce some fine aircraft though. Great people socially though. Nothing like a night spent in a southern English pub!
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
At the beginning of my maintenance technician training in the early 60's our instructor started by saying
"it is my job to teach you the three ways to build an aircraft, the right way, the wrong way, and the British way. The first law of British design is why make it difficult when, with a little bit of thought, you can make it bloody near impossible"
He got it perfectly.
"it is my job to teach you the three ways to build an aircraft, the right way, the wrong way, and the British way. The first law of British design is why make it difficult when, with a little bit of thought, you can make it bloody near impossible"
He got it perfectly.
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Ralph Haus
Tech Sergeant
Now that's a quote that I need to remember! Seems absurd, but oh so real...
A shame indeed...
mikewint
Captain
Any Triumph guys out there? Remember LUCAS? As we used to say: "Lord of the Dark"
I had to re wire a Triumph Bonneville T120V on a camp site in Wales, the engine was firing and not firing every few seconds, lifting the seat couldnt find the problem so eventually I just fastened the seat down sat on it and waited for the wires to burn. The short was on one of the seat nuts. The weather was fantastic, I was 19 my girlfriend was 18 not riding the bike for 2 days didnt interfere with my enjoyment of the holiday at all.
mikewint
Captain
My first was a 1957 Triumph Tiger Cub a 200cc Thumper. Fenders off, lights off and knobbies. Taped a flashlight to the handlebars at night. That little sucker would climb trees
Shortround6
Major General
Had a 1968 TR-250 car. It used a voltage regulator (solid state! ?) used in no other car in no other year. I bought the car used (2 years old) and replace the Voltage regulator twice at about $20.00 for the part alone. 3rd time it went out a local electric shop replaced in with a an American Holly Voltage regulator (about $7.00) which stayed in the car through the next two owners and 4 or more years. Somebody tried to restore it as a shop project an went back to the original.
Maybe I am just not to bright but I never did figure out how to change the oil filter without removing one of the fuel lines from the fuel pump. !968 car still used a cartridge oil filter and not a spin on. I am sure the British cars didn't have this problem but the left hand drive ones had the steering column running right over the oil filter. Not having a lift I didn't try dropping it out the bottom as you then had to put the thing back.
One day (of course on a trip) the temperature gauge pegged on the high side. However the cooling system showed no real sign of distress, like actually boiling over. Removed thermostat and ran the heater full blast the rest of trip which got the needle off the peg.
Two new thermostats, new hoses, flushed radiator and new gauge and sending unit later discovered that the temperature gauge (and fuel gauge) ran on 9 volts and there was a voltage reducer bolted to the back of the either speedo or tachometer (I forget which) which would require dismantling the dashboard or a very dexterous midget to replace. Drove it the way it was (as did several of the next owners and measured the fuel capacity with a stick as the gauge read high.)
Ralph Haus
Tech Sergeant
My eldest son decided to buy a used MG Midget when he first decided to drive. I always took an extra empty luggage bag on my trips to Hursley (England) and filled it with spares for the trips home. Many times it was 1/2 full of Lucas electrical components! Fun car to drive and easy to tow.
Lord Lucas Prince of Darkness
Shortround6
Major General
After a TR-3, the Tr-250, a 350 Ducati Desmo and a summer of riding my brothers Triumph Bonneville, I Bought a BMW 900/6.
The riding time vrs worktime was much better
The riding time vrs worktime was much better
mikewint
Captain
While the little Tiger would easily hit highway speeds (with time anyway) after about 30 - 40 min of running wide open it would suddenly quit and would not restart until it cooled down. My graduation present was an upgrade. I traded in my baby Bonnie for a full grown one. 1961, 650cc and TWO cylinders. I was King of the World. First highway ride, pushing 95mph (153kph) the front wheel starts to wobble. Turned into a real tank-slapper before I got it under control...took 10min to break suction with the seat. Parked it in the garage and in the AM found oil on the concrete. Dad had a small cow. Called the Triumph dealer where we bought the bike and told him about the wobble and oil leak. His reply: Sir, it is a MOTORCYCLE!!!...click
The story goes that Goering showed up unannounced at a mission briefing the night they were going to bomb Coventry and said: "Find another target. Don't bomb Lucas; they're more usefull to us operating!"
When my girlfriend on her '67 BSA and I on my '81 Gold Wing travel together, all our camping gear and clothing has to fit in one compartment on the Wing. The other two compartments are devoted to tools and parts for the Beezer.
When we worked for Brockway maintaining Shorts SD-30s and Beech 1900s, she (purchasing agent) bought electrical components for the 1900 from Lear Seigler and for the SD-30 from Lucas for THREE times the price, although they were mostly the same parts from the same third-party sub-contractor, just stamped with the aircraft manufacturer's part number. The one exception was starter-generators. The engines in both aircraft were mechanically identical despite their dash numbers, but type certification required the SD-30 to use a Lucas starter that had half the service life and twice the price of the Lear Siegler.
Will the Brits ever learn how to make a gasket? Every Brit machine I've ever met has required a drip pan, including my stepson's three year old Mini. The apron at Logan (KBOS) Airport's Terminal A has carried the stains left by dribbling RB-211s since the demise of Eastern Airlines 30 years ago. You could even see it on Google Earth until the recent resurfacing.
Cheers,
Wes
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mikewint
Captain
Yea the Goode Olde Days camping on two saddle bags a sleeping bag and a tarp (used to throw the tarp over a picnic table in the rain).
Remember telling my new wife that she had ONE saddlebag and a small fender pad and sissy bar. That lasted ONE trip. Enter the Goldwing and Combie-camp. That lasted until the summer of 2000 at the Honda Homecoming. Temperature never fell bellow 95F(35C) even at night. Bye-Bye Combie and Hello Motorhome with Air-conditioning.
Remember telling my new wife that she had ONE saddlebag and a small fender pad and sissy bar. That lasted ONE trip. Enter the Goldwing and Combie-camp. That lasted until the summer of 2000 at the Honda Homecoming. Temperature never fell bellow 95F(35C) even at night. Bye-Bye Combie and Hello Motorhome with Air-conditioning.
Old Wizard
2nd Lieutenant
