my brake booster

[quk@isham-research.demon.co.uk (Phil Payne)]

In message <199804132131.PAA02740@su049.ast.lmco.com> Harry R Glesner III writes:

> Ken:
>> Girling yes, but I've
>> never heard of Lucas.  I guess they're the same/related company(?).

>    You've never heard of Lucas the prince of darkness...
>    You've never heard why the English drink warm beer...
>    because Lucas makes their refrigerators..?!

I have no doubt that Lucas' reputation was earned - but whether it was
_deserved_ was another matter.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, I was a cable and wire engineer
at "The Concordia Electric Wire and Cable Company", PO Box 1, Long Eaton,
Nottingham.  I worked with Lucas engineers on the design of their
alternators, and more specifically, on the wire they wound into their
coils.  We manufactured it, and I was responsible for the quality of
my raw material (copper wire) and my final product (enamelled copper
wire).

Let me tell you - it was good stuff.  Lucas' specifications were very
nearly as tough as the British Post Office's specifications.  Evil.
We had to solve a lot of problems.  Using water-soluble wire enamels
instead of oil-soluble - coating the enamelled wire with non-mineral
lubricants (can you imagine WD40 solvents transporting beeswax?) and
all sorts of other problems.

I remain convinced, to this day, that Lucas products are equal to or
superior to any other products of their type.

What _IS_ consistent is that they were typically over-rated.  What
Bosch would have called a "60 AMP" alternator was marketed by Lucas
as a "90 AMP" alternator.

Lucas could build the right stuff, they really could.  But their
dumbass marketing bozos insisted on selling low-spec products with
inflated claims.  Therein lies the tragedy of Lucas.

And the odds are still - if you meet a Lucas product in the field, it's
unlikely to be up to what is being demanded of it in that application.

--
 Phil Payne
 Phone: 0385 302803   Fax: 01536 723021
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