The Gubblemobile- Series III from hell.

[Jeep]

THAT was absolutely hilarious!

Why do Brits like warm beer? 'Cause Lucas makes refrigerators too.

 

[ntsqd]

When I worked in Vintage Racing Car prep & fabrication my employer & friend Tony explained to me why Lucas gets such a bad rep.

They will build equipment to your price-point.

If you, as an OEM, want a $5 generator regulator that's what they'll sell you. If you want it to work and live longer then you buy the $15 regulator or if you're Rolls-Royce you buy the $35 regulator. All three units have the Lucas name on them, but the internal parts are not the same.

Illustrating the point, note how much of the airborne electronics on aircraft from Europe is Lucas. And note that they have been a major player in F1 electronics. Perhaps not the dominant supplier, but they have been there. Granted, there still may have issues, but we're back to that buying at a certain price-point thing again.

Now, if you want a challenge, figure out how to make work an 1965 Abarth-Simca Corsa 2000 GT's negative Earth charging system. Lucas generator with a Magnetti-Marelli regulator on a car based on a French set of mechanicals, hot rodded in Italy by an Austrian.........

 

[Alaska Mike]

Thanks for the laugh...who do I give credit to when I forward this to our electicians? Lucas?

I've seen this attributed or supplied by several people when I ran across it on the net, so the original author may be unknown.

Here's a little more:
http://www.mez.co.uk/lucas.html
There is a lot more out there- believe me. Google "Lucas, Prince of Darkness".

 

[Alaska Mike]

...and there it sat for the last year.

A re-examination of priorities put the project on the back burner, as family, health, and finances/career took the top spots. Now that things have calmed down a bit and I have a schedule that allows a bit more free time, I'm ready to dip my toes back in the cesspool.

With that in mind, I've started searching for the parts that slowed my project in the first place. In particular, the front differential was keeping me from finishing. The local source flaked out on me, and suddenly they became a valuable commodity up here. eBay is where I got the rear, but the shipping was more than the diff itself. Fast-forward to today, and it looks like I've located one for a decent price and somewhat reasonable shipping. That will allow me to finally finish the front axle and get a rolling chassis. Every part I bolt on is a part that isn't sitting in a box cluttering up the place.

I still have to get the floorboards done before I start looking at mounting the engine. I need to have the bulkhead in place so I know what clearances I'm working with when I mount the engine and tranny/transfercase. I'm likely going to use the stock motor mounting points and build from there. The engine is more powerful than the original, but it's also lighter. I think I'll be OK here.

Like I said, I'm going to only be dipping my toes in here. Hopefully gas will still be available when it's done.

 

[Alaska Mike]

So, today there was a nice box of front diff sitting on the front porch. Now I have less of an excuse for not finishing the front axle.

So, the muttification continues:
Body panels/top: Original '73 Series III 88
Frame: Galvanized replacement
Bulkhead: '73 Series III 88 (a different one)
Engine: Rebuilt '92 Jeep Wrangler 2.5L MPFI I-4
Transmission: Rebuilt SM465 (fullsize GM truck)
Transfercase: Rebuilt Spicer 18 ('62 International Scout 80)
Rear axle: Rover housing, Disco 3.54 diff, Seriestrek axle shafts, new bearings/seals
Front axle: Rover housing, stock shafts, RRC 3.54 diff, new swivel balls, new bearings/u-joints/seals
Steering: International Scout II Saginaw power steering box
Tires: 31x10.50 R15 BFG Mud Terrains
...and so on and so forth...

I'm not sure what it will be when I'm done.

While the official name of the Rover is the Gubblemobile, I'm probably going to make up some kind of logo for "The Platypus Expedition", alluding to the thrown-together nature of the vehicle and as a nod to the Turtle Expedition, which was a big inspiration to Scott Brady and me years ago.

Just some thoughts as I stare dreamily at my Rover pile.

 

[evilfij]

Consider running a taller and narrower tire. 31 x 10.50 x 15 do not fit under the fenders well. If you have the SIII stock 15x6in wheels, run a 32x9.50 or 33x9.50 tire or buy some 16in wheels and run 235 85 r17 or 7.50x16.

Ron

 

[Alaska Mike]

I certainly considered narrower and taller tires. A couple considereations led me to the 31x10.50 R15s:

• Wheels: My Rover originally came with 15" wheels. I looked into 16" steel wheels from various sources, but the price after shipping was obscene. Local outlets weren't much better, and the wheel quality was marginal at best. 15" wheels were going to have to be it.
• Tread: Finding a decent mud tire in a somewhat tall but narrow size for a 15" rim is next to impossible these days. BFG used to make a 33x9.50 MT, but that was discontinued years ago. I really need a mud tire up here, as that's pretty much the terrain. Even the ones I found that were somewhat along the lines of what I was looking for were a special order item- not a great characteristic if you're going to be driving anywhere that might destroy a tire or two. 31x10.50s are pretty common everywhere.
• Ratios: The Disco/RRC differentials I installed have a stock 3.54 gearing. I was concerned about killing the XJ 2.5L running a taller tire without a gear swap. I'm not so concerned about low range, as the SM465 will take care of that. The 3.54/31" combo isn't a perfect match, but the gearing is somewhat close to an XJ's would be. Without an overdrive, I have to consider highway gearing as well. The 30x9.50 option was briefly considered, but it lost 300lbs of tire load capacity and would have increased my 65MPH RPMs.
• Springs: I'm not completely sure how arched and "springy" my rear springs are after the rebuild. I'm also not sure how much the new replacement fronts will settle. I went a little conservative here.
  
  None of this is really my long-term plan. I really need to get it together and do some evaluation on the road before I consider the gearing and tire size again. The extra 1" of width is going to have to be dealt with in the short run.
  

 

[Alaska Mike]

Well, today I finally got the time to install the front diff and start putting together the passenger side from the stub axle out. Should have been easy, but I took my time getting everything sealed up nicely. The last step was to fill the swivel ball housings with Lucas Hub Oil. The stuff was so thick, I thought there was no way it was ever going to leak out.

Wrong.

After a few minutes it started coming out of the swivel ball seal, right at the bottom. Not weeping out either, but dripping.

These were new parts, and I was sure that they were seated properly. No dirt or other stuff around the seal. I worked the swivel ball back and forth a few times, and it seemed to seal off. I'm going to let it sit tonight and check it in the morning. Hopefully it stops.

 

[Wander]

I hope you get it sorted Mike. My only guess would be that something didn't seat completely,but I've never done that job before.

 

[Alaska Mike]

I'm thinking (hoping) that one of the lips on the seal might have rolled under on the dry swivel ball, creating a gap. Moving it back and forth may have re-seated it. I'm going to wipe it down, fill it up, let it sit a while longer, and go from there. Frustrating, but not the end of the world.

I'm going skiing.

 

[stevenmd]

I certainly considered narrower and taller tires. A couple considereations led me to the 31x10.50 R15s:

• Wheels: My Rover originally came with 15" wheels. I looked into 16" steel wheels from various sources, but the price after shipping was obscene. Local outlets weren't much better, and the wheel quality was marginal at best. 15" wheels were going to have to be it.
• Tread: Finding a decent mud tire in a somewhat tall but narrow size for a 15" rim is next to impossible these days. BFG used to make a 33x9.50 MT, but that was discontinued years ago. I really need a mud tire up here, as that's pretty much the terrain. Even the ones I found that were somewhat along the lines of what I was looking for were a special order item- not a great characteristic if you're going to be driving anywhere that might destroy a tire or two. 31x10.50s are pretty common everywhere.
• Ratios: The Disco/RRC differentials I installed have a stock 3.54 gearing. I was concerned about killing the XJ 2.5L running a taller tire without a gear swap. I'm not so concerned about low range, as the SM465 will take care of that. The 3.54/31" combo isn't a perfect match, but the gearing is somewhat close to an XJ's would be. Without an overdrive, I have to consider highway gearing as well. The 30x9.50 option was briefly considered, but it lost 300lbs of tire load capacity and would have increased my 65MPH RPMs.
• Springs: I'm not completely sure how arched and "springy" my rear springs are after the rebuild. I'm also not sure how much the new replacement fronts will settle. I went a little conservative here.
  
  None of this is really my long-term plan. I really need to get it together and do some evaluation on the road before I consider the gearing and tire size again. The extra 1" of width is going to have to be dealt with in the short run.
  

Is it the shipping to AK that kills it? You can get a set of 5 DI spare steelies that fit the series for about $125. I have 2 sets of 16" wheels for my 109 and a set of steelies. (Not selling though, sorry.) Keep looking out for deals, they are out there if you are patient.

 

[stevenmd]

I must be the only person who has had very little trouble with my Lucas electrics. Certainly no more than the electrics on my other cars.

Same here sans the one time the window regulator on my old DI needed to be fixed.

 

[Sean VHA #60013]

Keep up the good work! I am reall looking forward to seeing it all come togather :ylsmoke:

 

[lstrvr]

I always get a bit of a kick out of the Lucas is evil debate as well. I work on Boeing 757's with the Rolls Royce RB211 powerplants, and everything electrical on them is Lucas! They also have a great reputation for reliability and are preferred over the Pratt & Whitney option. That being said, there is nothing Lucas left on my '61 SII!

 

[SeaRubi]

I'm thinking (hoping) that one of the lips on the seal might have rolled under on the dry swivel ball, creating a gap. Moving it back and forth may have re-seated it. I'm going to wipe it down, fill it up, let it sit a while longer, and go from there. Frustrating, but not the end of the world.

I'm going skiing.

that's highly plausible Mike about rolling the lip. on my coiler I wiped the swivel ball down with a little 90wt before before buttoning everything up. they are all notoriously finicky. some guys never seem to have a problem, and then others are always leaking regardless of what they try. If it's bad you can investigate using the "oneshot" grease that's used in the newer trucks, also sometimes referred to as "corn grease". there were some epic threads on this on the LRO list waaaay back.

there did seem to be a consensus as I recall that the grease isn't as desirable for a truck that sees a lot of water and mud. the thought being, if oil isn't getting out, water isn't getting in. lots of people would just say to hell with the seals and put the grease in, only to find destroyed U-joints or CV's from water and rust a few years later.

some googlin' on the topic will make for an evening of entertainment :coffeedrink:

cheers