[list.british-cars] British Cars going Metric?

Larry Gillam <gillam@hpfcpq.fc.hp.com> (02/27/90)

        I was visiting my local parts house for some stuff for my
        '72 TR6 and was again explaining....No, my English car does 
        NOT have any metric fastners. This has happened several 
        times and I'd like to clear this up with some facts concerning
        SAE vs. METRIC as it relates to the British automotive industry.


        Any comments?

                                        Larry

ejd@iris.brown.edu (02/27/90)

Larry Gillam writes:
        I was visiting my local parts house for some stuff for my
        '72 TR6 and was again explaining....No, my English car does
        NOT have any metric fastners. This has happened several
        times and I'd like to clear this up with some facts concerning
        SAE vs. METRIC as it relates to the British automotive industry.


        Any comments?
>>end citation<<

Next time, just go on in there and keep muttering 'Whitworth' over and over
again.  This will at least cause them to remember that your car isn't metric.

But seriouly, it isn't really SAE either, is it?  Anybody have a short disourse
about fasteners?

I know someone must.  After all, this is a *British* car group, and the Britissh

about esoterica.

ed (sorry for the garbled text.  bloody Macintosh)

ely, tuning them up via one or more of the above means could only help.
The steel hoses are a judgement call for the street, though, as they do need
some maintenance.

You might also look into a master-cylinder swap.  This'd take some research,
first to find the diameters of the primary & secondary pistons in the stock
piece, and then to find a part from another car with somewhat larger dimensions.


Hope this helps,

ed

phile@pwcs.stpaul.gov (Philip J Ethier) (02/28/90)

> 
>
> Larry Gillam writes:
>         I was visiting my local parts house for some stuff for my
>         '72 TR6 and was again explaining....No, my English car does
>         NOT have any metric fastners. This has happened several
>         times and I'd like to clear this up with some facts concerning
>         SAE vs. METRIC as it relates to the British automotive industry.
>
>
>         Any comments?
> >>end citation<<
>
> Next time, just go on in there and keep muttering 'Whitworth' over and over
> again.  This will at least cause them to remember that your car isn't metric.
>
> But seriouly, it isn't really SAE either, is it?  Anybody have a short disourse
> about fasteners?
>
> I know someone must.  After all, this is a *British* car group, and the Britissh
>
> about esoterica.
>
> ed (sorry for the garbled text.  bloody Macintosh)
>
OK, I think I got it:  SAE are fine threads the same as NF (National
Fine in USA) and UF (Unified Fine in UK).  Coarse threads are NC in
USA and UC in the United Kingdom.  I believe UF and SAE and NF are
interchangable and that UC and NC are interchangable.  Whitworth is
not related to any of the above.  The good news is that I don't think
I have seen much Whitworth.  In my previous incarnation as a SAAB
two-stroke and V4 freak, I was exposed to a lot of metric and inch
threads on the same car.
Example of inch standards:  1/4 NC = 1/4 UC = 1/4-20
                            1/4 NF = 1/4 UF = 1/4-24 = 1/4 SAE
I don't have my copy of Machinery's Handbook (the machinist's bible)
here, so if I have erred, let me know.
--
Login name: phile        In real life: Philip J Ethier
Phone: 298-5324