hddennis Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 (edited) While chasing parts & period accessories for my 1917 Maxwell I've stumbled on things I knew nothing about. Apparently towns and people had a small war with the early automobile owners over the brightness of their headlights and passed laws trying to control them. One of my first accessories was a Pittsburg Dirigible spotlight whose need came about so you wouldn't disturb house owners with your headlights while trying to find the street names with your newly legal "dim" lights. The second thing I found was the requirement that cars parked on city streets at night were required to have those red & clear little fender lights on the left rear fenders so cars whose newly dimmed lights couldn't see them wouldn't plow into them! Now I've just acquired a Lorentzen headlight control that mounts on the column to allow the hand dimming of your headlights without leaning out of your seat and you can control the amount of dimming. Thirdly are all the neat period headlight lenses whose adds all claimed to comply with local laws and apparently some were actually challenged in courts of law! Has any articles ever been written about this fascinating time and it's effects on drivers of the period ?Howard Dennis Edited August 27, 2011 by hddennis (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 My 1915 Buick has three positions. Dim, Dimmer, and Off. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackStar Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 I found an article in the New York Times Database of vintage articles from Dec.3, 1922. It explained the Headlight types that were to be allowed for use in New York.. gave a list of them..very interesting.. it is copyright, so you will have to search for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hddennis Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 BlackStar, Thanks for the lead, I'll check it out. While checking your site a question came to mind. Would you have a magnifying lense for the spotlight that started this whole search? It measures 2.485 OD and is flat on the back and rounded on the front? Howard Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Dandy Dave, that reminds me, of course, of the Lucas headlight position switch, marked Off, Dim, and Flicker.I'm sure most of you know Lucas was the British supplier for electrics. On headlights, the oft quoted slogan was "Lucas, Prince of Darkness..."One of the best cartoons ever, a man wakes up in hospital bed after having heart surgery, looks down at his chest, and exclaims "Oh my God, a Lucas pacemaker!!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcarfudd Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Why are Lucas employees so proud of their new Lucas vacuum cleaner? It's the only thing they make that doesn't suck. (This was on a Model T web site, of all places, a few years ago.)Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Love it, Gil. Reminds me of the oft told tale, why don't the British manufacturer toasters? They can't figure out how to make them leak oil..................With all due apologies to our British friends, of course........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Do you know why the English drink warm beer? They have Lucas refrigerators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hddennis Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) Having heard these lucas stories for years, I almost fell off my chair when I found this online, just wish I had recorded where it came from.Howard Dennis Edited September 18, 2011 by hddennis (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Having heard these lucas stories for years, I almost feel off my chair when I found this online, just wish I had recorded where it came from.Howard DennisSome enterprising person came up with that one on eBay. See: Lucas Replacement Smoke KitBTW, I've always thought the Lucas switch should have read "Dim, Flicker, Short". The "off" position is misleading as it may indicate that something worked and can be truned off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hddennis Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 Thanks Dave, I'll be reading this all night!!Howard Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mortsciguy Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Had a 68' Jag XK Rag in New Orleans, 1975. Great car, till you drove it through standing water. No run no more. Had a 1968 Triumph Bonneville... Don't drive after dark. But I guess ther are some success stories out there...aren't there?Kelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphicar BUYER Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Had a 68' Jag XK Rag in New Orleans, 1975. Great car, till you drove it through standing water. No run no more. Had a 1968 Triumph Bonneville... Don't drive after dark. But I guess ther are some success stories out there...aren't there?KellyI am sorry to continue the off topic nature this thread has taken but...Amphicars have Lucas electrics. I have had very few problems even for an Amphi. The key is to have the grounds properly conected. I place an internal star washer between the body and the connector and another on top between the screw head and connector. This makes sure the connection is from the connector to the body and not only through the screw and threads where rust lives. 11+ years and hundreds of hours in the water (400+ so far) and still everything works perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bkazmer Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 so you have a Lucas bilge pump? that's brave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dick Whittington Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Case IH used/uses Lucas on some of their ag equipment. Plenty of room on a tractor for the smoke to escape. Don't ask me how I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphicar BUYER Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 so you have a Lucas bilge pump? that's brave.I just know my car as I did the resto myself. While most Amphi owners won't turn off their car while on a lake, I never worry even at 2AM. Just like anything, if you do it right and take care of it, it will work fine. She can sit all winter and when I go to start it all I need to do (almost) is just look at the key to start it. Actually I really only need to barely touch the starter and she purrs along. The bilge pump is a modern hi-cap semi-automatic, backed up by the original (which works well) just to be sure. I have a very rare 2 position lucas switch that operates both pumps. pull to 1st position is the modern pump on semi-auto, 2nd position is both pumps full on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 (edited) In their defense - LUCAS did invent the INTERMITTANT WINDSHIELD WIPER - not what they were trying for -I've owned and restored many British cars and bikes - no more LUCAS for now - Edited September 21, 2011 by Marty Roth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now