The Library Muse
My pal George and I were up north fishing in God’s Country not too long ago. The weather got bad so we came in off of the lake. George had just picked up a Triumph (I know, friends don’t let friends buy Triumphs) that was running a bit rough, even for a Triumph. As we had time to kill, we went over by Elkhart Lake to visit Nigel Watson’s LBC repair shop. He has been around a long time, in fact back to when they were still racing in the streets.
George outlined some of his car’s various problems to Nigel: lack of performance, overheating, poor braking, burning oil and leaks. Nigel replied that the best way to improve performance is to lessen the weight. He suggested “throw out the back seat, especially if one’s mother-in-law is sitting back there. That will get rid of a lot of dead weight. And a lot of hot air, thereby helping with the cooling.” “But it’s only a two seater.”
“Well in that case throw out the passenger seat along with your wife, works just as well and makes for a much quieter ride. And with less weight the car should stop better. Make sure that your horn is good and loud. But if not, the car in front of you will slow you down. As for burning oil, place a cloth diaper or vacuum cleaner bag over the tail pipe to filter the exhaust. You can then wring out the diaper from time to time and reuse the oil.
“British cars usually leak in one of two places. Water from above when it rains, and oil from below. Only drive on nice days and if the car stops leaking oil that means that the sump is dry, add oil.”
Noticing a lack of tech books and shop manuals about the shop we asked how he remembered various specs and things such as torque settings. “I’ve been here a long time and seen just about everything. As for torqueing bolts I just tighten up the fastener until I feel a snap, then back it up a quarter turn.”
The weather finally started to clear so we thanked him for his time and headed back towards the lake. It’s been rumored that our very own Dave ‘Cowboy’ Bralich uses Nigel as a mentor and part time wrench on his race B when he’s at Road America, and after seeing his lap times and race results, I believe it.
~~ Bill Mennell
DID - U - KNOW
by Facia Nearside
In 1913 Leslie Hayward Houns?eld produced his first car, a simple economical design intended to be easy to drive and easy to repair. The machine had a wood frame, fabric body, chain drive, rear brakes (only), no electric starter, solid rubber tires, and a four-cylinder two cycle engine. He called his company Trojan Ltd. and set up operations in Clapham, South London. Despite the unconventional design Hounsfield soon had a loyal following of British motorists.
Trojan RE-1931
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Most unusual among the unique features was the engine he used. The two-cycle power plant was of the “split-single” design. The cylinders were arranged in pairs with a common combustion chamber. A V-shaped connecting rod coupled the pistons together, so they moved up and down
their respective bores in unison. The mixture was drawn in through one cylinder, compressed and exploded in both cylinders, then exhausted in the other cylinder. Simplicity it was, the four-cylinder engine claiming to have only seven moving parts! Improvements in follow on models provided the company continued success. Between 1920 and 1929 alone, 17,000 Trojans were produced. Through two world wars, many model changes, and numerous products for other companies Trojan survived until March 2013, 100 years!
Early in company history Hounsfield bragged that his car was so economical it would cost more in shoes and socks to walk 200 miles than to cover that distance in a Trojan. The company’s obviously successful slogan: “Can you afford to walk?”
Reprinted from British Boots & Bonnets Chronicle — August 2018 issue.
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September 2018
