Jon,
You mentioned the Cricket.... so far the ignition switch has failed (no
surprise, my prior Cricket had the same problem... at about 40-45,000 miles
also). The switch failed by not providing power to the coil while in the
"start" position. I solved that by wiring in a relay connected to the stater
solenoid so that when the engine is cranking, the relay is activated. The
relay then provides power to the coil. In my prior Cricket I simply installed
a starter button. The car now starts very well (oh yes, I also replaced the
coil with a coil for a 1969 Dodge Dart and a ballast resistor). I do not
remember anyone having ignition switch problems with either American or German
cars.
So far nothing else has died, but I expect starter problems at 50,000 or
so-that seems to be where the Lucas starters need replacement. So I have a
spare starter sitting on a shelf in the garage. Also, the interior light
switch on the door post quit (again, no surprise). I have not bothered to fix
it, I just switch the light on manually.
I would say that the 1970's Lucas equipment is not notably better (nor notably
worse) then the stuff from the sixties and fifties. The big difference is
that I don't use my British cars daily. They sit in a heated garage and do
not go out in bad weather. My '59 Minx has less then 40,000 miles on it and
as far as I know, all of the components are original and work fine. Of course
when I got it, I immediately cleaned all of the ground connections! My
headlights are a little brown as I have not cleaned the connectors, but I
would not expect the electrical system of any 40+ year old car to be top notch
condition.
Ironically, as bad as Lucas stuff is for every day use, it is GREAT for a
collector car. It is very easy to fix, problems are usually pretty obvious
and parts are readily available as all British cars used essentially the same
parts. A generator from an MGA will fit a 1958 Minx and a starter from a 1966
Austin Healey Sprite will fit a Sunbeam Alpine Series V.
I will bet that in a few years, the old Lucas reputation will begin to fade as
people will only be familar with the collector cars, not with every day
drivers. Early Japanese cars made just about every other country's cars look
good. It took them a number of years to come up to the quality of the rest of
the world, but once they got it right, they just got better and better.
Nissan (then called Datsun) originally built Austins and Nippon Denso used
build Lucas components under license for them. A British car parts dealer in
Pennsylvania has some Japanese Lucas equipment-interesting to see a Lucas
RB106 regulator will all Japanese characters on it (even the box). As you
know Isuzu used to build Hillmans and I have a couple of catalogs in Japanese.
I was tempted to buy the regulator from him and install it just to see how
well it works and confuse people.
Jan
P.S. I am hoping to drive the Cricket out to Ohio for the meet out there.
"jon" <humber_snipe@hotmail.com> wrote:
I think the best comparison that can be made between the two is that while
the quality of Bosch components improved as time passed, that of Lucas
components got worse.
For Bosch, my 1966 VW Squareback was great, with the exception of it's 6
volt electricals. But, that was a performance issue, not a switch or
component quality issue, and they went 12 volt in 1967 anyway. The 1972
model I had later was much more complicated, but electrically reliable. 1979
Rabbit, they digressed and used a Motorola alternator - junk. But the
switchgear and fusebox (provided the windshield didn't leak) were fine. 1984
GTI, back to a Bosch alternator, but with an odd battery connector that was
prone to burn out. They fixed that in1985. 1987 Jetta, 1989 Jetta, 1986
Quantum, and about 14 years worth of dealer experience with VW, Audi,
Porsche, Mercedes, and SAAB, all have given me no reason to distrust Bosch
components.
As for Lucas, my 1957 Hillman has all it's original switches and motors, and
all work well. My 1966 Alpine has had several switches replaced, and after
about 7 voltage regulator replacements and 2 alternator rebuilds over 15
years, I gave up and installed a 1990s Bosch 90amp alternator. Haven't
touched it since. My experiences with a certain Plymouth Cricket (you know
which one I mean Jan!) left me with no good impression of 70s Lucas
components, but I'll have many more opportunities for evaluation soon, when
I start working on my 1974 Commer. As for 80s components, my only
experiences are with cars that have gone through our service department.
Overpriced and underengineered are the adjectives that come to mind. I've
taken MANY Bosch power window switches apart, cleaned the contacts, and
re-used them for ages. I took a 1980 Rover 3500 window switch apart, and the
contacts were pitted right through, the material was so thin. If you want a
REAL nightmare, try a late 80s Jag XJS. Lucas fuel injection, and Magnetti
Marelli ignition. Talk about the worst of two worlds. But at least it's
powered by a Bosch alternator!
Don't get me wrong, no manufacturer is infallible. My place of business used
to be an Alfa Romeo dealer. Early Alfa fuel injection was mechanical, but in
1990, they switched to Bosch electronic fuel injection. One peculiarity
about these cars, though - if the battery voltage isn't at LEAST 11.9 volts
with the engine CRANKING, the fuel injection won't work. Period. The car can
turn over great, but won't start. That's poor design, and since it's in the
ECU, I must attribute the design flaw to Bosch.
All in all, I prefer British cars. I understand Lucas systems, and have
learned how to deal with them. The quality issue doesn't effect me
personally that much, since most of my cars are late-50s to mid-60s models.
But I do recognize that those same quality issues contributed greatly to the
decline of the British motor trade. And because of that decline, I was
never able to buy a NEW British car, as by the time I first bought a new
car (1984), the only British cars available in the USA were far out of my
price range. Too bad the MGB didn't last a few years longer.
Jon Arzt
Cordel Foreign Motors
Omaha, NE USA
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