Snap, Crackle, Pop! - These were the sounds that I would expect from my morning cereal bowl not from my dashboard interior! To start at the beginning, I was replacing a broken fan toggle switch on my ’67 MGB dashboard a few weeks ago and was happy to find out that this was an easy fix – parts were easy to get to and lead wires were push-on. I was finished in a few minutes and finally had an operable defogger fan. Last week after the Spring Tune-up I pulled into my driveway and turned off the engine. I reached into the glove box to pull out some paperwork when I bumped some exposed wiring under the dashboard. Then it happened. I saw a spark and an acrid smoke whiffed up from under the glove box. I was frantic – I shut off the ignition, and was reaching under the dashboard to see where the problem was. My thoughts went to my fire extinguisher behind the driver’s seat but I saw a rouge pushbutton switch mounted to an under-dash frame that was sputtering & smoking. I pulled the two leads from the smoldering device and the chaos ended. After some investigation I found that the previous owner had installed a starter pushbutton to jog the engine from the cockpit – for what purpose, I don’t know. I removed the wiring and melted device. This is one problem that couldn’t be blamed on Lucas!
This month’s issue will focus on the electrical system. Check those push connectors for a good contact, clean your fusebox and become familiar with your car’s wiring.
Lucas will be the focus in a ‘before-night’ Lucas Rally put together by Dino Perez. I hope you can male it.
Also the Driving Season has started - look over the annual Spring Chicken Tour pictures hosted by Bill & Jan Reece.

-- Victor L’Heureux