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Any mechanic that says they can't work on the older Brit sports cars shouldn't be working on any cars.
-- Posted with TapaTalk
But that's exactly the point that so many on this thread are making ...
it's not that they can't be worked on, it's just that they require virtually continuous repairs.
I'll pass on your insult to John Deere ... JD's are famous for reliable, durable service with little more than routine maintenance. I'm heading back out to my workshop right now to take the flywheel from my '64 4020D to the machine shop to get turned; it has over 7,200 hours of use on it before the clutch wear was enough to justify splitting the tractor to replace the clutch. It took me less time to remove the clutch from it ... and it's got a cab and front end loader on it ... than it takes to remove the clutch in many Brit cars of it's era. It took it's first inframe engine overhaul with over 6,800 hours on the engine, and the only reason it needed that was due to a developing thirst for oil, about a quart every 4-6 hours of field use. Less oil consumption than many Brit cars of the era in normal running ...
None of that changes my point......any mechanic that says they can't work on a classic British car shouldn't be working on any car since the technology used in them is archaic.
I would also add that with decent maintenance, they are just as reliable as American cars of the same era.
Feel free to tell John Deere whatever you want. I had to have my 2010 JD tractor's engine replaced within 8 months. They paid for it as the problem was their's.
None of that changes my point......any mechanic that says they can't work on a classic British car shouldn't be working on any car since the technology used in them is archaic.
Archaic technology, yes. Crap quality materials, too. The aluminum alloys they used in/around the engine compartment were chosen for cheap and easy to machine, and the carbs were made of the cheesiest stuff possible. (There's good reason why so many SU's and Stromberg's got replaced with Weber carbs ... it was like having fuel injection in comparison to the original fuel metering on the cars so equipped ... and the Weber's didn't deliver any increase in net HP, they were just tunable and stayed in tune).
Compared to cars from other sources, these cars were ready to seize/corrode fasteners just sitting in a garage ... the Brits didn't have their mettalurgy down at all. At that, Whitworth/BS threads were infamous for loosening up under load ... the only way I put vintage Brit stuff back together to stay together is to use locktite and/or drill out fasteners so I can safey wire them in place ... especially on Brit bikes. Stuff that has to come apart routinely gets never-seize and safety wire.
Take apart as many old Triumph's and MG's as I have for transmission/clutch work and you learn real fast that the soft corroded fasteners that aren't frequently taken apart, like a trans tunnel area, and you just reach for the grinder or torch to remove them. You can then work on getting the fasteners out and replaced as needed; new bolts are cheap compared to the labor to take stuff apart. And that was in the common cars, Jag's, A-H's, R-R were not much better. I've seen so many hydraulic system issues in R-R cars that it lives up to their reputation ... if you want to drive one, you own three. One in the shop, one waiting parts, and one that you're driving for now.
I would also add that with decent maintenance, they are just as reliable as American cars of the same era.
Were this reliability BS even only 10% true based upon a sampling of the folk that dearly loved the pleasures of driving these cars,, the styling, the fun factor, etc., they'd have been a dominant factor in the USA market rather than a limping along business model here.
I'll bet you've rarely had the Lucas ignition systems on a 'scope for diagnostics, nor checked a Lucas distributor on a Sun test stand. Even when close to new, the spark delivery was pathetic (hence, hard starting on a lot of cars, especially in cold or damp climates) and the ignition advance curves bore little resemblence to the spec's. Bushing replacement in a Lucas 23D/25D distributor was almost as frequent as needing a distributor cap. Aftermarket performance oriented distributors were the way to go, better than doing any aftermarket electronic ignition set-up to replace the points ...
At that, the American cars of the same era could get neglected (which many owners did) and deliver their normal service for extended periods of time, where 50,000 miles wasn't uncommon before stuff started to fail. With routine pro-active maintenance, the cars of the era would go a lot longer than that. That's the big difference, the Brit cars could not be neglected at all and still perform reliably or durably for any amount of time ... rarely even a few thousand miles before significant failures. And boy, did I just love having to top up the knee-action shock absorbers all the time when the USA cars had sealed shocks that worked.
I've seen how GM's, Ford, and Chrysler line products delivered service in the post WW2 time frame through to the late 1960's. Basic inline 6's and 8's were solid, dependable, and reliable. We just got done doing a valve job on a Pontiac flathead straight-8 ambulance from the '50's that has rolled over 150,000 miles in it's service life (then parked in a shop for the last 20 years) ... and the lower end/pistons/cam/followers were still in very good condition; we only needed to do the valve job (new valves and replace a couple of seats) and the engine ran beautifully with good compression, not even smoked on start-up after all the work.
Feel free to tell John Deere whatever you want. I had to have my 2010 JD tractor's engine replaced within 8 months. They paid for it as the problem was their's.
-- Posted with TapaTalk
Infant mortality can strike anybody's machinery. Unlike the Brit car industry of many years here in the USA, at least JD stepped up and honored their warranty.
Can't say the same for many of the overdrive units I saw in TR's back in the '60's, or the trans synchro's that fell apart in a lot of Brit cars, or the leaking engines (ah, they all do that, right matey?) fresh from the dealer showrooms (very famous characteristic of Brit bikes, especially) ...
As I pointed out in the earlier years of this thread ... I love Brit cars and motorcycles. They have gone a long way toward funding my retirement because the romance and allure of these machines persists. But the nostaglia and fond memories are just that ... and most folks fergitters work better in time. Every time I think about getting another MGA Coupe to replace my last 1961 that was such a nice driver ... I think of all the work it took to keep it on the road for those few hours of driving pleasure.
Too long winded to brother reading. I was a Lotus and TVR mechanic at one time. I still stand by my words. Simple technology and some seem to forget what complete crap Americans cars were in the '60s.
Too long winded to brother reading. I was a Lotus and TVR mechanic at one time. I still stand by my words. Simple technology and some seem to forget what complete crap Americans cars were in the '60s.
-- Posted with TapaTalk
OK, I'll make it short so you can understand. TVR, especially, was a piece of shi*. I was offered various models for years at pennies on the dollar by dealers who were desperate to get them off their floor plan and I knew better than to buy one of those cans of worms. The marketplace also spoke on TVR's ... they hardly sold at all in this country. Lotus didn't exactly make a big presence here, either.
I, too, professionally worked on almost every English marque for over 45 years. I had dealers sending me the cars they didn't want to work on.
The cars were shi* build quality when they were new, mechanical components were built with crap materials. Whitworth thread standard was crap.
As I posted before, I love 'em. The allure keeps folks spending stupid amounts of money on them and longing for the all the nostaglia they remember of these cars.
I almost bought an MGB roadster project car last week at a swap meet I went to. It was a chrome bumper car and I planned on putting a small block Chevy in it, but I decided I have enough projects right now to keep me busy.
Years ago I had a bugeye Sprite that I swapped a 289 Ford into.........shoulda kept that one.
And so it begins!
Thus far, it needs a brake master cylinder, gearbox bushings, basic maintenence-oil, coolant, etc. This one has a "skip" roof that the bride would like filled in, which sounds a lot like work to me.
This one is in really good condition. We've had it running, there are only spots of surface rust, the interior is good, pretty nice overall. We are debating the tires. The tires are 7-8 years old, but, the Mini was stored inside so the tires aren't weather checked. They are still black and quite pliable, I reckon they are still OK but the bride disagrees.
I never thought that I'd own a British car until I could afford that Aston-Martin.
When I bought my 2003 Honda Civic Si, I was surprised to find out that it, and all other Si and R model Civics of that era were built in the UK.
130K miles. So far, so good.
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