looking for info on Lucas Flathead distributors

[kwmpa]

Looking for any and all info on Lucas Flathead Distributors

[Karl Wolf]

Google "Warm beer: English refridgeration, by Lucas Electics"







Have worked on Brit M/Cs in my youth... Karl

[Kurt in NJ]

I bought 1 years ago, found that a new cap was $$, it has ball bearings, and when I ran it on the dist machine the points floated at a lower rpm than a Ford dist ---I don't have any printed information other than some old lucas price sheets.

[Flathead]

Lucas...............Prince of Darkness. There is a reason for the name. Usually boils down to over complication and iffy quality control.

[FlatheadTed]

Some speedway guys liked the Lucas

[Bruce Lancaster]

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There were at least two early flathead models, similar but with a bunch of differing parts. I think most common source that will give some info on them is the Ford Pilot shop manual. It is only somewhat rare as original, and I have turned up a repro too, but have no idea who reproduced it.
I do not know what other specific models used it...I have only a partial set of British Ford parts manuals. There are probably some wartime and postwar truck applications too, but literature is scarce because most of the vehicles used were Canadian without the Lucas and Solex accessories and actual British V8 production was not very large.
Also, if you find any Ford of England owner's manuals from vehicles using them, basic pictures and tuning info would be in there.
Some Lucas distributors were imported here and sold as speed equipment, hence the occasional flea market finds here.

[Tim Ayers]

Are all of them magnetos?

[rotorwrench]

They are longer than the 59A type distributors so fan mounting could suffer in some installations.

They are just a distibutor, similar in function to the Ford/Mallory 21A & 59A types. No magneto.

Kerby

[Manuel]

No not magnetos. They had different carbys as well [not stromies]. Also used in UK trucks. The Kiwi boys should jump in here.

Manuel in Oz

[Tim Ayers]

Thanks, cool. Someone told me they were mags. I can see why they would think that do to the size of them, but I appreciate the clarification.

[Bruce Lancaster]

From memory, I think they used the same Mallory related features as USA stuff, dual points and vac brake. I have never encountered one, but I'd bet Lucas mags for flatheads exist as a lot of engines were built during the war to run emergency fire pumps, generators, etc. and probably there were applications with mags.
I think the carbs were Solex, from memory. Flatheads were built with both 1 and 2 barrel carbs, I think both Solex...some British built military engines (these were 1937 style 221's) used a one-barrel with an adaptor to put it on a noirmal 2 barrel manifold.
Most British military Fords, though, were actually Canadian with few real differences from USA engines. My Canadian manifolds all have flanges with room to drill the 4 bolt Solex pattern...

[Mart]

I can add a little bit of info.
I have used a Pilot dizzy, nicely made, dual point with an 8 lobe cam. I have also used a commercial dizzy, 4 lobes, the points have very wide heels, but give excellent 15/30 deg open/closed ratio.
They use different caps.
The pilot has a advance vacuum brake the commercial type does not.
They use the same rotor arm, which is the notoriously weak point on them. They break down and fail under heavy load.
The mags are much longer, and share some parts (points etc) with the commercial type distributor. They pack quite a punch, but were intended for stationary engines running at constant speed, hence no advance mechanism.

My personal experience is that they are nicely made, but due to the rotor arm weakness and price of caps, the Ford Crab is a much better choice.
Mart.

[FlatheadTed]

Here is one that a customer wants me to work on for his 39 ,The points float would depend on spring tension .I think they are the same points as a 50s Jag and they are good for 130MPH .

[KiWinUS]

I have Brand new Lucas distributor & 6 new Lucas mags , both are next to impossible to find parts for . The guy in England that I got my mags from had a bunch more mags & distributors all brand new but had all been stored somewhere very damp & the moisture had taken its toll on them . He wanted more that I felt they were worth in there condition & because of the weight were too expensive to ship from there plus the mags I did get were all damaged from poor packaging when they arrived.
Cheers
Tony

[kwmpa]

Originally Posted by Flathead

Lucas...............Prince of Darkness. There is a reason for the name. Usually boils down to over complication and iffy quality control.

I love this statement because it only refers to the 70s and later stuff...the lucas products pre-70s are actually very quality....we work with them everyday

[kwmpa]

here is mine

[Bassman/NZ]

I have a mate who's just picked up a Lucas magneto. It is VERY long and would not fit into a standard V8 situation. I recollect they were used in stock cars and speedway cars back in the 50s, 60s.

[Mart]

Kwmpa:
It might be interesting to show a shot with the rotor removed to show the broad foot at the rubbing point.
This is the commercial type I have.
Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure one pair of contacts fires 4 cylinders and the other pair the other 4 cylinders.
Note also the cap is configured for cross-fire.. By that I mean the two odd wires that go to the opposite side of the motor are crossed within the cap to keep the wires tidy on the outside.
As you can see from Kwmpa's pictures, this is not a cheap piece of crap, but a nicely made and expensive (think military) piece of kit.
I may dig mine out and give it a try now I have a new rotor arm for it.
Mart.

[rotorwrench]

I've got an old 47 Triumph 1800 with the 4-banger lucas distributor. I'd swear the cap, rotor, & ignition breaker set are from the 50s but they still work just fine. They've been cleaned & polished a few times but still good to go.

The motorcycle mag on my old 58 RE Indian Trailblazer is a Lucas SR2 and it was a good product for the time. The K2F mags with the rotating coil had problems with the condenser being hard to replace and what not but not badly made at all, just an unconventional design. When the original replacement parts started being made outside the UK was when problems started to happen. Out-sourcing to the 3rd world is nothing new, just a sign of hard times. Sounds Familiar!

Kerby

[51 MERC-CT]

My recollection of some of the Lucas electrics I've had.