[matt167]

I'm thinking about selling my '50 Plymouth for something a bit more drivable . Old plymouth is fine, it runs good, shifts good and it's mechanically sound, but it's not great on gas, and I just don't enjoy it as a commuter.

I'm thinking of getting an MGB. Always liked them since my uncle had a TR6, the Brit sports cars are cool to me. Was looking for one a few years ago and ended up with a Beetle instead :drunk: Now I'm seeing restored or really nice car's go for pretty cheap money and it appears everything is available, so they are on my radar

How bad are Lucas electrics really? I've never worked on a Lucas wired car.

 

['48 Austin]

I've had lots of bad experiences with Lucas Electronics. I avoid Lucas at all costs. After all the common nickname is "Prince of Darkness". If you work on your own cars, British cars will drive you crazy. I'm building an Austin A40 Street Rod now and the only thing British left is the door handles and latches. I was going to use the original Lucas dimmer switch and wiper motor. The dimmer didn't work at all per my Ohm Meter. The wiper motor worked for about 1/2 hour on a battery charger on my work bench. When the motor warmed up, it stopped. When it cooled down it worked again until it warmed up and stopped again. The motor was not hot. You could hold tightly on to it without having to let it go. Both parts ended up in the trash. Granted they were old parts but I didn't want to take any chances. With a load on the wiper motor, it probably would die in less than 15 minutes.

 

[matt167]

Is it just the switches and motors that are bad? because the suppliers of parts for MG's is huge, and from what I read much of it is OEM, or made by the OEM suppliers.. And I know, we've all heard, prince of darkness. light switch is off, dim and flicker ect... I know that he had some odd theories about electrical but since I've never worked on one, I'm not sure what exactly. I understand and can troubleshoot normal 12v and even positive ground systems.

 

[BogiesAnnex1]

Everything British leaks, Lucas electrics leak smoke, their shock absorber's leak oil, convertible tops leak water.

Bogie

 

[LATECH]

Lucas is called "The Prince of Darkness" for a reason LOL

 

[Rip VW]

Lucas Electrics

Simply over engineered, unnecessarily complicated, and designed with one off components that seem to never want to play well together with other components from the stone age.

 

[Mr. T]

Lucas electric

after years of working in the world of early foreign cars I can say that many of problems can be solved by the use of aftermarket parts, but the "Prince" is still riding with you. By the way you do know the English drink warm beer because they have Lucas refrigerators.

 

[matt167]

But would it be any worse than the 68 year old 6v + ground Plymouth?

I've learned that the fuel pumps and other motors rely on an odd way of switching with point contacts and not modern relay's, and circuits that should have relay's are wired direct through the switches. And there are some flipped ground circuits, which my '92 Suzuki Carry has as well ( power or ground depending on which circuit is working ). The SU fuel pumps also are of a similar style to the pump on my Carry. using a set of contacts to maintain pressure by shutting the pump on and off.

Beyond the wiring, is an MGB really a bad car to own?

 

['48 Austin]

MGB is not a good daily driver. Your '50 Plymouth would be more reliable.

 

[BogiesAnnex1]

But would it be any worse than the 68 year old 6v + ground Plymouth?

I've learned that the fuel pumps and other motors rely on an odd way of switching with point contacts and not modern relay's, and circuits that should have relay's are wired direct through the switches. And there are some flipped ground circuits, which my '92 Suzuki Carry has as well ( power or ground depending on which circuit is working ). The SU fuel pumps also are of a similar style to the pump on my Carry. using a set of contacts to maintain pressure by shutting the pump on and off.

Beyond the wiring, is an MGB really a bad car to own?

My mother got a new Plymouth station wagon in 1949, that thing ran for nearly 40 years. It had dozens of cross country camping trips, us boys learned to drive on it, it fell off the main use vehicle around the late 1960's to become the get around the ranch run to town and get stuff vehicle for the next 15 or so years then was sold to an old car collector, still running just fine.

Bogie

 

[matt167]

Well, the old Plymouth runs fine but it still has a lot of bugs. Currently out of service due to the front brakes drifting around. I finally broke down and put discs on the front, just because of the complexity of the Lockheed drums. Then the factory wheels don't fit like Scarebird advertised, so I'm waiting on brand new rims... I know the Plymouth isn't worth a ton so I don't want to put a ton in it. And I don't feel connected to it. It's nice, but it's just a car.

 

[tdkkart]

But would it be any worse than the 68 year old 6v + ground Plymouth?
I've learned that the fuel pumps and other motors rely on an odd way of switching with point contacts and not modern relay's, and circuits that should have relay's are wired direct through the switches. And there are some flipped ground circuits, which my '92 Suzuki Carry has as well ( power or ground depending on which circuit is working ). The SU fuel pumps also are of a similar style to the pump on my Carry. using a set of contacts to maintain pressure by shutting the pump on and off. Beyond the wiring, is an MGB really a bad car to own?

Sounds a lot like a Fiat X-1/9 I had years ago, crappy or non-existent grounds, not enough relays, really crappy alternator, ALL the power went through the ignition switch, you could heat your house with the heat from the ignition key.
A GM alternator, a relocated battery, and a bunch of ground wires solved most of it's electrical problems.

 

[timothale]

Lucas - Jag problems

Had an XKE Jag, lighting problems, they wanted $ 90 for a light switch that looked like a K mart $ 3 switch when I opened it up, The wipers wouldn't work until it was a hot dry day then all of a sudden all 3 front wipers were going. I was waiting for the Ex to crash it too so I could use the suspension for a Cobra kit

 

[AirwolfPJ]

I'm obviously a glutton for punishment, I've had an affection for British cars since the early 70's. That being said, Lucas wiring, switches.....heck, everything about them sucks. Learned to do all new wiring and everything else related whenever I got another. Firewall = bulkhead. Trunk = boot. Hood = bonnet. Now, either they or us really screwed up the English language.

 

['48 Austin]

Matt167, with all the posts on this subject to this point, you should realize that Lucas electrics are pretty bad. I haven't seen a post yet that defends Lucas. That should tell you something.

 

[PHWOARchild]

A lot of their component terminals were not tin-lead plated which led to corroded connections.


I worked on lots of cars 40 years ago, can't tell how many Triumphs I saw that were retrofitted to GM alternators.

 

[matt167]

Yeah, this is kind of what I'm learning. I've searched and found why Lucas theories are sub par, running full current through switches using only 2 relay's in the entire car in the case of MGB. Along with their bullet connectors, leading to failed motors/ switches and lights that don't light.

that said, full brand new plug and play harnesses are cheap money and having aftermarket/ oem replacement and OEM reproduction parts ( everything is available ) that the car's are probably better to own nowadays then they were 30 years ago.. Add relay's to the fuel pump circuit, wiper circuits and headlights and it will be reliable. I'm still looking, but only at really nice car's

 

['48 Austin]

I've also seen 4 cylinder electronic distributors from old Ford Pintos modified to fit 4 cylinder British cars.

 

[matt167]

I've also seen 4 cylinder electronic distributors from old Ford Pintos modified to fit 4 cylinder British cars.

Yup, ran across a few of those conversions. Also Pertronix and an English company that make conversion kits for the Lucas distributor. Brand new distributors are also available cheap..

 

[st3gamefarm]

I've no clue as to what was going through the brain of Lucas. But it seems that everything on the car is controled through a relay, and cheap relays at that. Many failure points built into each circuit, and just crazy ideas of how to go about doing things. Rube Goldberg isn't as complicated.