Classic Cars – Driving London to Edinburgh in Top Gear

[john halfpennyParticipant @johnhalfpenny52803]

Russell has omitted to say that this classification applies to cars, but motorcycles are treated differently.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

In the 70s we had a Wolseley 6/110 with 3-speed box and overdrive. My mum basically drove it in 3rd all the time.

Neil

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by john halfpenny on 14/07/2020 10:12:31:

Russell has omitted to say that this classification applies to cars, but motorcycles are treated differently.

and, of course, here in France vintage has a totally different meaning hic!

[john halfpennyParticipant @johnhalfpenny52803]

But we have vintage cider. Snooze…….

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The only 5 speed Leylands that we had were Tiger Cubs with 1st gear as a crawler.. To engage this, you had to lift the gear lever, over a catch (Same for Reverse) We prided ourselves on being able to lift the gear lever with only one hand,. Crawler could be engaged on the move, if you were good and lucky.

All the other Leylands had 4 speed boxes, with Eaton two speed axles for single deckers and coaches.

The Bristol REs were handicapped by the then Chief Engineer choosing entirely the wrong axle ratio.

Starting in 2nd eventually failed the gearbox bearings, and often resulted in a cracked casing. There was an air assist on the clutch mechanism. It was needed!

Renault 5s had a design fault in the automatic clutch adjuster which caused the cable to bend at the same point rather than follow the radius. Mine failed as I left work in the evening rush hour. My wife's failed some 55 miles from home. Having had a lot of practice driving Leyland Leopards without being able to disengage the clutch; on both occasions I made it home. After a couple of angry letters, Renault eventually provided a field fix with new Pedal, and Adjuster assemblies, F O C.. Daughter also had a 5, but ignored my advice to buy the new fix for me to fit. But she did heed my advice on driving without a clutch. She managed to drive from The Hague to Peterborough with a broken cable!

Scammell lorries had a very heavy clutch, so once on the move, the clutch was not used!

Howard

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Posted by Howard Lewis on 15/07/2020 03:21:58:

Renault 5s had a design fault in the automatic clutch adjuster which caused the cable to bend at the same point rather than follow the radius.

Hillman Avengers were similarly handicapped by a badly designed scuttle/clutch cable arrangement where the clutch cable pulled through the bodywork.

The fix was a shaped reinforcing plate that took seconds to tack into place, but a whole morning to remove everything and reassemble afterwards, particularly if the cable had jammed in the torn hole.

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