It's something people pull out because they've heard stories on the internet, not experienced the real thing. Before the early '70's vehicles of all sorts from all manufacturers leaked oil....until oil became an HC for emission control, there was no need to control oil leaks. Road tubes, labyrinth and rope rear mains, they are the oil leaks, and even the Japanese used them. My 1938 Chev used to do 100 mpg...on oil...standing still.
Brass Hammer
- Thread starter The Critic
- Start date
If it was only that.... There has been a time when quality control and pride in the workmanship was severely lacking in UK car factories. Fit and finish was abysmal. Cars with electric windows cam with manual doorcards and stuff like that. Or the engine had AC, but no controls fitted etc...
And this was still going on around the time Rover quit.
That was a whole different era - there is no denying the demise of the British motor industry was brought about by poor management, but the businessmen in charge after that were a new breed entirely. British Leyland was a slur on all the brand names involved.
Yes, and sealing materials technologies were what they were, much less of the wonder elastomers we have now. I have drip pans in all but one of my garage spots. Funny though, the BMW 2002, although a contemporary of the Brit's in the fleet, only had a small daily drip from its' original engine. The Rovers, well...
But also the British auto industry was a dumpster fire back then, and the entire economic structure was troubled; strikes, nationalizations, etc.
None of my new British cars, Range Rovers, leaked oil though. They weeped coolant instead!
When I started my apprenticeship in 1970, the only sealant we had was shellac, which was not very nice stuff. The foreman had worked for Fodens which had RR engines as an option, and he used to go there and borrow some Hylomar if we had something special to seal. The oil leaks would've been a lot less if we had the sealants and gasket materials we have today.
Before the coal strike BMC was a profitable company, after the strike they were millions in debt, trying to climb out of the hole it collapsed on them. As we have seen in recent years, any company is one event away from disaster.
Before the coal strike BMC was a profitable company, after the strike they were millions in debt, trying to climb out of the hole it collapsed on them. As we have seen in recent years, any company is one event away from disaster.
I was in a 2nd hand tool shop yesterday...I should take a list next time. Anyway, they had some new Thor hammers, size 1, 2, and 3. I have a No2, so got the No1. This is about the same size as my brass hammer at work, so this will replace it, the brass one will come home. Thor have been making these copper/rawhide hammers forever, and are real quality...the cast iron head gives them some real heft, and the faces are better than brass or plastic.
