Yes Jack, the Germans certainly knew how to make intricate equipment. Just look at the workings of the Deutscher FH gearbox! How Deutscher survived the war I don't know. Some of our relatives going back were German/Australian and they were treated terribly during the war - same with the Japanese in USA.
It's surprising how many people still think all Germans were Nazi, which wasn't the case.
That distinctive spinning L logo was introduced in 1968 by British Leyland Motor Corporation, later known simply as BL Ltd. It lives on with Ashok Leyland in India, who still produce trucks and buses for their home market and have even acquired a bus builder in the UK.
Originally Posted by LRT
MF, Now that is an interesting one! One that virtually destroyed the entire British auto industry.
Some say this is a very big reason, even though I don't think they were that bad.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Yes it's hard to know fully. A lot of the problems seem to have been caused by the communist unions & the wharfies who were building the cars.
The shipment of launch Triumph TR7 cars to USA were sabotaged - even some of the engines came off the line with no pistons!
Cheapening parts just to save a few pence really killed off some of their cars such as the Stag with its cheap head gasket and unusual head bolt locations.
Then there was Alec Issigonis, he was an incredibly difficult person to deal with especially if someone queried his design.
Now it is only Jaguar and Land Rover and even these are far removed from their heritage now albeit owned by TATA India.
The V8 used in the Stag was the result of putting two Dolomite fours together to form the V8 after foolishly refusing to adopt the Rover division's existing and acclaimed V8. This underdeveloped new engine had inherent problems as a result ,but had the maddest V8 exhaust note in the business! Many owners converted their charges to Chevy V8s. You can barely tell the difference until you open the hood and look at the temperature gauge! I think someone told me once that the original Triumph Stag V8 can be made reliable with some work. Many Jaguars in Australia had Chevys fitted by mechanics without telling the owners!! It became a common fix as it virtually bolted straight in and many owner were none the wiser, as it could be done the same day lol!!
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Yes of course it's all hindsight now but it must have been hard trying to compete with the Rover under the same ownership. I'm a bit rusty on the dates but IIRC the Stag was based on the 2000 MKI that was replaced by the MKII in the early 1970's using the Stag design even though the Stag hadn't been released yet so they wouldn't have been owned by BL at the time. Saab were using the Dolomite slant 4 in the 99 but decided to turbocharge the 4 rather than do a V8 conversion.
My daily driver is a 1977 Triumph 2500 TC Auto that I hope to convert to manual + electric overdrive when I get the time. It is a fantastic car and like the Datsun of the same era can handle all the corrugated roads that a newer car wouldn't cope with. The trade off is a less precise road handling experience though. It returns 24 MPG from the straight six without any of the issues the Stag had.
Ahh the old trusty Borg Warner 3 speed slusher. Low tech, but cheap to have rebuilt and very smooth, but not the most efficient. All the same you should just keep it auto, since you are getting decent mileage anyway. I have always admired the looks of the 2500 sedan, both front and rear. They were assembled locally too by Leyland Australia.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, the beauty of fitting the Chev in the Jag was the cost saving, half the cost of rebuilding your own motor and about 10 times more reliable no constant tweeking to keep the motor running properly
Yes MF it's the BW65. I've just put in a new kick down cable & I've set it to up shift from 2nd to 3rd at 60kph rather than 80kph. Probably the only reason I was wanting to convert is being able to have the enjoyment of changing the gears myself and having an overdrive to drop the revs down but the auto is perfect for the odd trip to Melbourne etc. I've also been thinking about finding an Aisin Warner 4 speed overdrive auto out of a Volvo etc but the issue would be the extra length of the box requiring a custom propshaft & matching the torque converter to the engine.
I had an earlier 2500 before this one but rather than spending money repairing the rust in the sills I bought this 1977 model from a deceased estate in Sunshine for around $1,500. A manual version would be worth at least $5,000 in the same condition. Unfortunately I have since found out that it's been in some sort of accident as there's a lot of filler behind the rear bumper and the door shut lines aren't the best. It is one of the last Triumphs built by AMI & is painted in Toyota Guinea Gold.
I have to draw exception to the remarks re the Jag/Chev small block V8 conversion. Yes, very popular. But I would think the owner would be aware something had been done... Why is the car more powerful? How come it uses less fuel? Why are there no more stains on my driveway? How come it handles better?
As some may know XJ6's are worth more for parts than a whole car. They are in much demand by the Hot Rod fraternity. Many useful parts, and if one can score a Chev V 8 conversion, so much the better!
Sorry about that! Imagination can run wild I'm afraid!
I'd love some XJ6 seats to put in my Triumph. The problem is finding a good set locally.
I know someone who has a nice XJ12 Sovereign as his weekend car and he recently had the spoiler area repaired after hitting a possum. Unfortunately they didn't disconnect the battery so something melted causing it to go flat overnight. The wiring loom in the V12 is overwhelming! The owner put in a new exhaust but muffled it even more than standard. I don't know why you'd pay to run a V12 yet not want to hear the sound!
Thread dig Got a message to come take any mowers off this block of land. That I did. And found this at the bottom of a pile of rubbish Have been told its been there for years in the bottom of the pile. Put some fresh fuel in and 3 pulls and nearly had her. Gave it some heavy primes good 4 or 5 heavy pumps and she fired away slowly but surely puffing out smoke then once the barrels were lubed she cleared up and idled like an absolute gem...... Now to find strip it down and give it a full resto. Engine has good comp I won't be touching that.
We could make a good mower TJ91. Mine has a good base and catcher but engine trouble with stripped threads for attaching the cowl. Yours has a base that's been through the wringer but well behaving engine. No mean feat with a twin.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Great find there TJ, and a runner to boot, people pay good money for these but they usually have engine issues. Hard to imagine why anybody would put one under a pile of rubbish when it was still in a running condition
