Joseph Lucas "Prince of Darkness"

[TAROMAN]

Those among us unfortunate enough to have ever owned classic British cars or motorcycles will curse his memory forever:

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch - Dim, Flicker and Off.
The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.
Lucas is an acronym for Loose Un-soldered Connections And Splices.

[boatme99]

Oh yes.
I had a '69 MGB. I'm well acquainted Mr. Lucas and his electrical wonderments.

[Bekeart]

I have heard that Mr. Lucas also invented a refrigerator.

That is the reason the British drink warm beer.

Bekeart

[THE PILGRIM]

If you ever had an Alpha Romeo with a Morelli electric system, you would welcome Lucas.
Once upon a time Wayback in my puppy dog days, I had an Afla. I went through so many voltage regulators that I knew the parts guy at the Chicago dealership by first name.
What to do, what to do. I discussed this with some of my sports car mechanic savvy buddies. And then I discussed it with some electrical system Experts.
They all seem to think that I should try some other Voltage regulator.
So I get a copy of the specs, and go down to a local parts store.
I show him the specs and say I need one close to these specs.
So he got out some reference material and started comparing specs.
Then he goes back to the parts bin, brings out a rebuild Delco Remy.
This is the closest I got. That Delco Remy was way bigger than the Morelli.
I finally got it mounted hanging by one screw. A couple of adjustments later, it worked great.
The last time I saw that Alfa it was headed down the road with the Delco Remy Mounted on one screw.

[Bib]

...always keep plenty on hand!

[Johnny_w]

Originally Posted by Bib

...always keep plenty on hand!

All electronics work on magic smoke. How do I know? Let the magic smoke out and see if they still work!

[S&W Fan]

Lucas: Lord of Darkness
Had a '67 Triumph Bonnie, fun times haha!

[Bat Guano]

Back around 1972 I briefly owned a 81" WB Land Rover Series I. Its pedigree was a bit vague. The accompanying documents variously described it as a '51, '52, and '53. I remember that the wiper motor (singular) visibly sparked as it worked away.

I almost bought a Series III when they came out as they were distinctly more luxurious. And it would have gone so well with my M70 .375 H&H.

[Marshwheeling]

Had the Triumphs, the BSAs, the MGs, the Austins. Got the t-shirt, know all the jokes.

For the most part, my Lucas electrics have worked pretty well, perhaps because my expectations have been low. I have converted 6v systems to 12v and run them on surplus electrolytic capacitors in place of batteries and still gotten good service.

In 1973 or 1974 I installed a Lucas RITA electronic ignition in a BMW; it was flawless and reliable for close to 200,000 miles and has outlasted a bike that itself ran pretty long. The only bike I ever had that let out all the smoke was a Marelli-equipped Guzzi.

[Badquaker]

My TR7 was scared of water. Every time I hit a puddle, it would stop running.

[BruceB]

I've had plenty of British cars and motorcycles, and probably a dozen Alfa Romeos.

Magnetti MArelli switchgear in the Alfas sucked, notoriously bad things. You know the Chevy ignition switch recall - want to see my collection of bad Alfa ignition switches? Later Alfas - mid 70s on - were hopelessly bad with grounding, so all kinds of bizarre things would happen with back circuits looking for grounds.

I never did have charging problems, The alternators and regulators were solid.

My last Brit bike is a '72 Trident, it still seems to be pretty good with the electrics, but don't try to kick start it with a low battery and the Boyer solid state ignition. It needs good volts!

I do have a a '73 Alfa Spider still, but it's truly a sunny day car. If the ignition and fuel pump works, I'm good! Anything else is a bonus.

[bgrone]

Leave
Us
Cold
And
Stranded

3 MGBs
1 Triumph Bonneville
1 Land Rover

Loved them all though, Lucas electrics just protect you from having too much fun.

Jim in Iowa

[Frank46]

Buddy of mine had an old mg and used to kid him about only driving it in sunny weather and be home before dark. He was kinda slow on the uptake but eventually caught on. Frank

[Vulcan Bob]

One thing for sure, if you had anything with Lucas electrics, you had better have had a good sense of humor! Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure they had something to do with the Chrysler Lean Burn system. Even the factory tester for the thing wouldn't work.

[feralmerril]

I know many people all hated Lucas, but really I had good luck with my bikes. I had 3 Royal Enfield Interceptors and a Triumph and dont recall electric trouble.

[Big Cholla]

I owned a Triumph TR-4 and an Ariel Red Hunter scrambler at the same time. I got real well acquainted with Mr. Lucas' handiwork. .......... Big Cholla

[dmar]

I've also got a Triumph Bonneville, and have enjoyed the challenges that Mr. Lucas has presented over the years. Yes, that was sarcasm.

I think he inadvertently invented the ignition-interruption anti-theft device.

[deadin]

Triumph TR3
Austin Healy Sprite
MG 1100 with positive ground electricals! I took this one to Japan when I was stationed there. Talk about a big mistake...

[italiansport]

I had a late 70s Jaguar XJS. I couldn't keep alternators in it. I would be driving down the road and all of a sudden the amp gauge would spike. I knew at that point I had about 50 miles to get it to the Jaguar garage before it would quit entirely.
I believe the garage installed around 6 alternators in a one year period before I got rid of the car.
As an aside: Every Saturday I'd refill all the fluids in the car including oil, antifreeze , brakes etc. If I ever own an older Jaguar again it would be one converted over to a Chevy V8.
Jim

[WR Moore]

Can't recall the year, but I owned a Triumph Spitfire. 'Twas surely a learning experience. I'll also add a one liner. British sports cars have two seats so you can take your mechanic with you.

Lesson 1: Positive thing here, use brass nuts on exhaust fittings. Saves a host of problems when you have to take things apart.

Lesson 2: Never buy another British car. Wonderfully stylish, utterly lacking in dependability.

[Leslie Sapp]

1971 Triumph Spitfire.
Nothing like looking out in the yard and your pretty little red convertible is sitting there with the cockpit completely filled with thick, white smoke!
This is an especially funny thread for me, because my father-in-law (retired mechanic) and I were discussing that car and it's Lucas electrical system just last night.

[perrazi]

65 jag xke- when running with headlights, at times one headlight would go out. next morning they both worked. thought it had gremlins in the car. never could find the problem.

[5-Shot]

My first car was a 1956 Austin-Healy 100-4...the best looking sports car ever built. Sadly the Healy's myriad mechanical maladies prevented it from running long enough at any one time to probe the reliability limitations of Lord Lucus's wondrous components.

[therevjay]

Over the years I had 3 Triumphs, 4 BSA's a Royal Enfield and a AJS. The BSA's could be real bitch's to start at times. But the only bike that I ever had to push home because of electrical problems was a Honda.

To be fair to Mr. Honda I think the problem was actually because of the original owners re-wiring.

"Leak? Of course it leaks. It's British, it's sposed to leak!" (I still like "Lucas jokes.")

[Coldshooter]

Wonderful system never had to resort to the old out of gas routine when out with the GF.

[zzzippper]

Frick and Frack, the auto guys on radio, said that Alfa Romero is Italian for "the mechanics son wants to go to college. "

Originally Posted by THE PILGRIM

If you ever had an Alpha Romeo with a Morelli electric system, you would welcome Lucas.
Once upon a time Wayback in my puppy dog days, I had an Afla. I went through so many voltage regulators that I knew the parts guy at the Chicago dealership by first name.
What to do, what to do. I discussed this with some of my sports car mechanic savvy buddies. And then I discussed it with some electrical system Experts.
They all seem to think that I should try some other Voltage regulator.
So I get a copy of the specs, and go down to a local parts store.
I show him the specs and say I need one close to these specs.
So he got out some reference material and started comparing specs.
Then he goes back to the parts bin, brings out a rebuild Delco Remy.
This is the closest I got. That Delco Remy was way bigger than the Morelli.
I finally got it mounted hanging by one screw. A couple of adjustments later, it worked great.
The last time I saw that Alfa it was headed down the road with the Delco Remy Mounted on one screw.

[shouldazagged]

Originally Posted by zzzippper

Frick and Frack, the auto guys on radio, said that Alfa Romero is Italian for "the mechanics son wants to go to college. "

They also said the Brits don't manufacture computers because they can't figure out how to make them leak oil.

[Llando88]

Boy this takes me back.

1967 Austin Cooper S. Most fun with 76 HP I've ever had.

I outran a guy in a Volvo turbo on the A27 near Ferring, Hampshire one afternoon. I just straightlined the roundabouts at top speed and never slowed down.

[bgrone]

Italian joke I forgot ....FIAT stands for "Fix It Again Tony"

Easy to check oil in the Brit cars or bikes..... if the puddle underneath doesn't look fresh it's out of oil.


I took my present wife for a ride in one of the MGBs while we were dating, it had never quit on the road before but this time it left us stranded in a very small town ,the ride home in the tow truck wasn't quite the wind in the hair experience I had anticipated but she took it all in stride and I knew I had a keeper. (my wife not the car).


Jim in Iowa

[CW Spook]

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away I once had a '59 Austin-Healey 100-6. Mr Lucas and I were well acquainted....

[forindooruseonly]

My father was a Jaguar E-type aficionado, we always has one or two growing up. The things were constantly in the shop, but oh my, they were gorgeous to look at.

He sold his last one right before I got my license

Prices are so high on those now I doubt I will ever own one.

[Marshwheeling]

Originally Posted by Llando88

Boy this takes me back.

1967 Austin Cooper S. Most fun with 76 HP I've ever had.

I outran a guy in a Volvo turbo on the A27 near Ferring, Hampshire one afternoon. I just straightlined the roundabouts at top speed and never slowed down.

As a college freshman in the Bay Area, there was a young lady who was a waitress in the dorm dining hall who had an Austin Cooper S. I don't know why, but she would let us borrow it. We would take it down to San Pablo Avenue where the low riders cruised, and up on Grizzly Peak to bait the Corvettes. We didn't win a lot of drag races (but it was fun to smoke those fronts). We did embarrass a lot of Corvettes.

[desi2358]

I always heard that the Britts drank warm beer because Lucas electrics made their fridges!

[spad124]

'65 TR4A and a '66 TR4A. "I've learned from my mistakes and can repeat them exactly" Of course, that quote was originally said by Peter Cook, a Brit.

[A10]

67 MGBGT......I can rebuild a generator in less than 30 minutes. Always keep spare brushes in the glove box......

[Hofstet]

Owned a '64 MGB. Carried a 100' extension cord and hair drier in trunk to dry moisture in distributer cap after a rain so engine would start. Came standard with intermittent wipers also, they worked intermittently.

[WR Moore]

It came to me that there actually was a third lesson I learned from my Spitfire (see post #20).

I dearly lusted after the XK-120/140 Jaguars. There was just something about the bodywork. After experiencing the joys of British Sports Cars on a small scale, I knew better than to go looking for older, more expensive examples.

[LVSteve]

I never owned a British car with Lucas electrics, instead I suffered with AC Delco parts in my English GMs.

On one of them the coil would rotate in its mount until there was a short, at which point the vibration stopped. My friend's similar car had a distributor produced by the masterminds at Delco without the extra ground line fitted to the earlier models like mine. Took me a while to figure out for her that corrosion now had the dizzy base plate at 5 volts instead of ground making the spark a bit weak.

Another one had a battery negative cable that could support my weight but not pass current. Even my Dad had never seen that trick before.

A later GM decided that all the lights needed to be off RIGHT NOW while on a dark twisty hill road with a police car on my rear bumper. The cop was remarkably disinterested. I cycled the lights and they all came back on and it never did it again.

That same car used to self disassemble the main light switch in the center console because it took all the current (no relays, anywhere) and the heat made things distort until the switch would let you turn it off, but not back on. Happened way out in the country with a girl I barely knew, and she was less than impressed. By less than impressed I mean that I think I heard a whispered "Please, don't let him get me pregnant!" Drove several miles using the high beam flash facility, which did not improve my popularity with oncoming motorists. Got to where there were some street lights and cobbled the light system together so I had high and low beams again. Young lady was somewhat mollified when it became clear I was as PO'd as she was. Her friend had left before us on the back of my buddy's motorbike and she thought the whole deal hilarious.

Funny old thing, but several times afterwards these girls would always ask me for a ride in preference to anybody else if they were stuck and/or the company at the party was getting flaky. Guess I had proved myself a gent or something. Not sure they trusted my cars that much, though.