*It amuses me that the people who have recently done a re-furbish to their
wiring normally claim their is a good job from a couple of years ago, you
normally don't hear of the guy saying 'I re-furbished a couple of decades ago
and don't have a problem'. Yet the same guy expects 30 year old Prince of
Darkness wiring and insulation and mechanical component not to cause a
problem.
OK- how's this? I refurbished the Tiger in 1979. No problems. The '39 MG TB
has original wiring, and while the voltage control unit was replaced in the
sixties, and I rebuilt the generator (bushes)...er, no problems. The '62
Sprite has a new wiring harness. It wasn't in bad shape but for where some
jackass had tried to wire in a giant stereo and was mystified by electricity.
The '36 Lanchester has the original wiring. I DID have clean the connectors,
as it had been stored for nearly 30 years. The only problems have been some
switches. '73 Jag, original. Second Tiger, switch for headlights replaced in
'90. '50 MG TD, I am doing a frame up, so the harness is being replaced by
one supplied by Vintage Wiring in Australia....which, by the bye, is a great
source. They are setup to produce virtually any wiring harness, can add
custom work-such as more ground straps, etc., use PayPal for funds (the AUS$
is around US$0.50) and are very quick on dispatch. It takes around a week for
your wires to arrive. They have a website. No dog in the hunt, just a
recognition for good work.
Also, British Aerospace, builder of many current planes, used (and still may
use) Lucas for years. Everything seemed to work well. And believe me, you
don't want stuff that doesn't work when you are in the air.
In short, there was a technology divide with Lucas that was caused by lack of
capitol for research and development. Hence, they continued to use old
technology for too long.
This was a common British problem as the country begin to be eaten alive by
increases in costs of social engineering projects. The problems were
systemic, not limited to Lucas.
In the end, what had once been a world-leading electrical engineering and
production firm was reduced to merely a venue for puns.
Further interesting facts of the cause of the demise of British Industry can
be read about in "The End of the Road".
Most electrical problems are caused by improper preparation of the
connections, or not understanding how electricity works. And, of course, by
Time.
Don is absolutely correct in his assessment.
ard to tpe ow as idex figer o rigt ad as doe te "retr to dst" tig. Gotta go.
Best,
Ray
"Every life is an example;
some to be emulated,
others as an example of
actions to avoid."
Folks it's not always Lucas . . . nature is cruel. It wants to reduce most
things back to dust and that includes you and I. It is particularly fond of
creating deposits on the surface of electrical connectors when sitting
without use, in some Spridgets often decades.
Most of the wire used in Spridgets is very good. I have not encountered any
of it that actually has deteriorated, however copper like most metals
oxidizes with time so every crimped connector in a Spridget should be
suspect and rightly so. Lucas did exactly what most of the electronics
industry did in those days, they crimped lugs to the ends of copper wire.
Some of those lugs were coated with silver. Have you seen one of your
silver
plated spoons after a few year of non use? Seen copper gutters or pipe turn
form bight copper to a dull brownish green?
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