Smoke in the Wires Oct 2015

October 2015 Volume 3 #7

Front Cover: Austin Healey 100 by Marc Cherry 

Flyleaf: 2015 SABCC Show by Marc Cherry 

Back Cover: Triumph GT6 by Marc Cherry 

Smoke in the Wires is a publication of the Panhandle British Car Association 

Contact Marc Cherry redshirt98@att.net for questions or submissions 

Contents 

From the Editor 3 

SABCC Fairhope Show 7 

Upcoming Events 9 

Upcoming Picnic and Rally 10 

Missing the Marque 11 

Pensacola Historic Rally 13 

Roadside Emergency Revisited 14 

Drive-In Movie 15 

Brits on the Bay Show News 16 

Emerald Coast Show 17 

Lucas Distributors 18 

Feature Car 20 

Tool of the Month 22 

Brits on the Bay Sponsorship Form 24 

PBCA Facebook 25 

Smoke in the Wires October 2015 Page 2

Letting the Smoke out 

Marc Cherry 

Editor 

October has been great so far! There have actually been too many events to choose from. After sitting out 

much of the last three fall driving seasons due to my engine rebuild, it is great to get out and do some events. 

Our weather has been superb for all of the regional events. 

As we continue to shape the direction of Smoke in the Wires, I’m going to change my column a little bit to avoid 

overlapping Richard’s column by giving less focus to details of past events and instead highlighting more diverse 

topics within our hobby and the needs for upcoming events. That is not to say that I will not pause to give thanks 

and recognition where needed for past events. Our club is powered by the voluntary efforts of our members 

and that can never have 

enough attention. 

On that note, Tom 

Matsoukas put together a 

looong drive for the Dog 

Days Rally and raised an 

incredible 801.5 pounds of 

dog food for the Pensacola 

Humane Society’s shelter. 

Thanks to Tom’s work, this 

is our club’s most successful 

charity event. 

One of the topics I visit 

frequently is bringing up the 

next generation of 

enthusiasts. There are few 

Here's what 801.5 pounds of donated dog food looks like! 

really solid efforts among 

classic car clubs to do this. Car shows of static machinery sometimes have the opposite effect when trying to 

entice active younger enthusiasts. When I came up short of a navigator for the Dog Days Rally, I took the 

unorthodox step of advertising for a navigator on the internet. Not quite true, I listed the opportunity on a local 

closed Facebook group for car enthusiasts I belong to. This group is mostly a younger crowd into much newer 

machinery. I saw the Dog Days Rally as a perfect opportunity to show off the dynamic side of our hobby. My 

solution was to open the navigator’s seat to a crowd of 20-somethings who are mostly trying to build or run 

their first enthusiast car—often on a shoestring. We’ve all been there. My 23 year-old navigator was in the 

midst of trying to trick out a 2005 Dodge Neon as a rolling project due to work requirements and a shortage of 

funds. Like I said, we’ve been in that position before. Even though we didn’t have to do much navigation, it still 

turned into an adventure as I had to contend with Bill Moseley unexpectedly stopping in an intersection in front 

of me and later getting out of his car to chat with me at a red light—causing me (and everyone behind us) to 

miss the green light! I don’t know how you did it in the Navy Bill, but in the Air Force we launch on green! Only 


the Army jumps out of a perfectly good vehicle when they get a green light. It was still a fun day out driving 

British classics and a great way to introduce our corner of the hobby. 

I was going to miss out on Bill 

Weeks’ Pensacola Historic Rally 

due to the lack of Jaguar and 

lack of navigator when Werner 

Kettelhack called (actually 

texted), looking for a navigator. 

He, like many others, assumed 

that a professionally-trained Air 

Force navigator would make a 

competent ground navigator. 

My wife, and the wives of 

thousands of air navigators, 

will tell you that this is not so. 

Nevertheless, Werner and I 

navigated ourselves to a 

perfect score despite the 

traditional (and promised) 

major error on the route 

directions. Booze and candy 

were our reward for our 

attention to details. I don’t 

know who will collect the 

Broken Compass award this 

year, but Werner and I know 

we can rest easy. Thanks, Bill for a great Rally. 

Werner and I won the wine and candy over the whine and unhandy navigation of the 

competition. 

I hosted our first drive-in movie in a while but cannot claim I did the bulk of the work. Bob Manske did the Lion’s 

share. He helped me design the complex (and huge) erector-set screen based on my crazy notion that the 

Bagdad Historical Society’s tents could serve a higher purpose. Bob also hauled everything to and from the 

event. Therese Hemmert arranged the availability of an on-site toilet. Thank you also to the crew of guys that 

showed up early to help build the viewing site and the club members who stuck around to clean up. While not 

everyone loved The Italian Job, it did deliver some outstanding and horrifying British car content for the 38 

people who attended in 20 cars. We will definitely do it again. 

The very next morning my wife and I headed up to the Knoxville, Tennessee, area where we took in the fall 

colors along some of America’s greatest roads. The Tail of the Dragon is famous for its 318 curves in 11 miles. It 

is also famous for being slow and packed during the peak fall colors. By going on a Tuesday afternoon, we 

enjoyed moderate traffic and tire/brake wear. The tight and frequent turns of the Dragon are great for 

motorcycles and Minis, but some of the other regional roads like the Cherohala Skyway and the Moonshiner 28 

offer fast sweepers and breathtaking vistas that actually make them much more-suitable for our cars. We 


enjoyed these roads, 

completing a great day 

of driving in the 

Smokey Mountains. If 

you haven’t run these 

great roads in eastern 

Tennessee, you need 

to add a trip to your 

bucket list. 

Driving events are not 

the only things that 

have kept me busy. I 

have expanded my 

classic car auction 

writing to include 

Motostalgia’s 

upcoming Austin, 

Texas, sale held in 

conjunction with the 

Slow motorcycles hinder movement on the Tail of the Dragon 

SVRA’s historic races 

at Circuit of the 

Americas. They entrusted me to write on some incredible cars, too. Each car sends you on a path to becoming a 

fast expert on a given model’s history and capabilities. From tracking down the designer to doing a complete 

decode of the VIN or chassis number, there is actually an incredible amount of work involved in getting the 

318 Turns in 11 miles. What's not to love, especially when the leaves turn? 


details right. For this sale I wrote on a Spyker 

Aileron, Lamborghini Mucielago, Porsche 356C, 

DeTomaso Longchamp, Intermeccanica Italia and 

about twenty other fascinating cars, trucks and 

microcars. 

Participation by our members has been great at 

recent events. Please keep it up. As you get out 

and begin your holiday shopping, please keep in 

mind sponsorship for our upcoming show. It only 

takes a few moments to speak with the merchants 

you are patronizing about sponsoring a class. See 

you out there. 

The Tree of Shame commemorates bad decisions and inattentiveness 

on the Tail of the Dragon 

Beautiful visas await along the Cherohala Skyway between North Carolina and Tennessee 


South Alabama British Car Club Show 

Congratulations to our sister club on a great 25 th Anniversary 

Show 

28 PBCA cars supported their show and came away with 26 trophies including Werner Kettelhack’s Best of Show 


PBCA Attendance and Award Results at 

SABCC British Car Show 

Franz Bachmann TR-3 1st 

Marc Cherry E Type 1st 

Jerry Crompton XK 2nd 

Richard Cunningham E Type 2nd 

Brian Daly MGA 2nd 

Mike Darby 

MGA 

Mike Darby Jag 240 1st 

Al DeWeese MG 3rd 

Al DeWeese 

Jag X-type 

Al DeWeese Jag XK8 3rd 

John Grossi 

AH Replica 

Jerry Hall Lotus Elan 3 rd 

Robert Herman Jag E-type 3rd 

Mark Huber MGB 2nd 

Mickey Kay New Mini 1st 

Werner Kettelhack XK 120 1st & Best of Show 

Cameron Leonard TR6 2nd 

Mike Lindley Jaguar 3rd 

John Mahone MGB 2nd 

Bob Manske Triumph Bike 1st 

Tim Maynard MGA 1st 

Bill Moseley TR8 1st 

Tom Schmitz Morgan 1st & Heritage Award 

Tom Schmitz MGTF 1st 

Bill Silhan AC Ace 1st 

Taber Tompkins Caterham 7 1st 

Fred Veenschoten 

Morgan Replica 

Rich Willows AH 100-6 2 nd 


PBCA UPCOMING EVENTS SCHEDULE 

November and December 

All PBCA Monthly Meetings will be 6:00 pm Dinner/7:00 pm Meeting at Sonny’s Bar-B-Que, Navy 

Blvd at US Hwy 98, Pensacola and will feature a Program, Door Prizes, 50/50 drawing until further 

notice by email, website and Telephone Tree. 

*All Executive and Show Committee Lunch Meetings are always open to the entire membership and 

participation is encouraged. For new members it is a good way to meet active members and get 

involved in either a small or larger way. Be a part of the club. You will be enthusiastically welcomed. 

Event details will be emailed and posted on the PBCA Website: www.pbca1.com 

(PBCA Sponsored Events, Club Activities and Meetings in Bold type) 

NOVEMBER 

Tuesday 3 

Sunday 8 

Sunday 15 

Monday 16 

Saturday 21 

Saturday 28 

-“First Tuesday” Breakfast, 1000 Pensacola Grand, then Show Committee Meeting 

-Rally & Annual Picnic 1200pm, Welcome Center at 3-Mile Bridge and Fishing Pier 

-Exec Comm 2016 Planning Meeting 2-6pm at the Lewis residence in Bagdad 

-PBCA Monthly Meeting—Sonny’s on Navy Blvd. at 7 pm. Election of 2016 Officers 

-Gulf Shores Zoo, Lunch at Doc’s—details will be via email 

-Pensacruise in Pensacola—Additional details at November Monthly Meeting. 

DECEMBER 

Saturday 5 

Saturday 5 

Saturday 12 

Saturday 19 

-Diabetes Run Car Show at the Crown Plaza Hotel—Time and TBA 

-Christmas Party at the Crown Plaza Hotel—Installation of 2016 Officers—Details TBA 

-Lillian Christmas Parade, 12:00 Noon—Lillian, AL 

-Holiday Cookie and Bake Contest and Bagdad Tour #2, Bagdad, FL—Details TBA 


PBCA Rally for November 8th, 2015 

You Do Not Want To Miss 

THE PBCA SHORT & SWEET & THEN WE EAT RALLY 

12:00 PM, November 8, 2015: Cars depart at 12:15 PM from the Welcome 

Center Park at the Pensacola side of the 3 mile bridge and Pensacola Fishing 

Pier. The rally will end back at the starting point by the Welcome 

Center. Further details by email. 

Click the map for details: 

(SEE NOTE BELOW ON FOOD AND RSVP TO BOB MANSKE) 

The short (but irritating) rally will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. 

The Rally Picnic will begin when all cars have returned and the rally questionnaire is turned in. 

4 Extra points will be awarded to entrants driving a British car made in or before 1980. 

2 Extra Points will be awarded to cars with no navigator. You may not leave a navigator behind 

at the starting point to get the extra 2 points! 

*10 Extra points will be awarded to cars with no driver and no navigator. 

*Cars left at the Welcome Center Park after 10:00 PM may be towed to the city impound lot. 

Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and Baked Beans, cokes and ginger ale (left over from the Drive-in 

Movie Night) will be provided. Please bring your own beverages if you don’t want/like coke or 

ginger ale. 

IMPORTANT: 

Additional side dishes, salads, and deserts would be much appreciated by all. 

Please call or email Bob Manske to RSVP and coordinate any food items you are willing to 

bring. 

850 393-5301 OR rtmanske@gmail.com 

Popcorn will not be served at this event. 


This Month’s The British Line submission for The Marque by Richard Lewis 

Fall in northwest Florida is perhaps 

its best time of the year. Normally, it is 

when the air takes on a sharper edge, the 

few trees that have leaves that will turn are 

roused enough to get about their work, the 

sun shines briskly, and the anticipation of 

the multiple holidays just around the 

corner makes its happy presence known. 

Not so much thus far in our little 

slice of paradise. Thus far, gloomy days, 

intermittent rain, and scudding clouds have 

wrestled their way, with their sharp elbows, 

to the forefront for all too many days. It 

won’t be that way forever, but the weather 

might be a little more vigorous in doing its 

proper job, before it’s too late to enjoy the 

glorious driving weather we normally have 

about now. 

However, inclement weather does 

cause one to be more introspective 

sometimes, and since Your Loyal 

Correspondent (YLC) is possessed with a 

morose, inward-turning nature on a par 

with E. A. Poe and Bram Stoker, he has 

been reflecting on a question that might 

have crossed your mind, to wit, what 

should a sports car club have as its 

ultimate goals? Ruminate with him as we 

probe this question. 

Ever since YLC returned to his home 

town a few years ago, he has been active in 

the British car club arena. He has seen the 

Panhandle British Car Club grow in 

membership and activity, making several 

changes, mainly for its improvement. Still, 

he wonders if the members have examined 

the question of where they are going and 

what do they want the club to be. Therefore, 

we boldly leap into space and examine some 

things YLC believes any car club might 

want to accomplish. You might have an 

entirely different view. That’s what makes 

horse races. 

First among them might be the 

recognition that we are preservationists, a 

noble calling. We are happy to see the 

marques that manufacture British cars 

continue to manufacture British cars, but 

perhaps we have a keener interest in those 

marques that have gone on to the big board 

room in the sky. We should, and we do, try 

to see that they are cherished, maintained, 

and refurbished. This sense of preservation 

comes from a notion that they represent in 

some cases simply history, and in some 

cases, art. While a marque like the Mini 

may fail in the aesthetic sense, it succeeds 

admirably in the sense of a car that 

changed motoring history in the British 

Isles, carving out its niche as both fun and 

practical. A car like the Austin Healey 

succeeds admirably in the fun category, not 

so much in the practical, but wonderfully 

well in the aesthetic dimension. These, and 

many others, occupy a warm place in public 

history, cultural history, and memory for 

countless people on all sides of the Atlantic. 

They merit our tender care. 

Another goal for any, including our 

own, car club might be to help owners and 

enthusiasts find new ways to enjoy their 

cars. Although a case can be made for 

simply garaging a beautiful car just for the 

purpose of admiring it, in the way one 

might admire another piece of sculpture by 

Rodin or Giacometti, actively engaging with 

it by driving it in competitive or noncompetitive 

events, sharing with others 

one’s feelings and knowledge about the car, 

or simply being with others who share one’s 

enthusiasm adds dimensions absent in the 

passive admiration alone. 

Another goal might be to provide a 

wide enough array of club events that some, 

if not all, of them will capture the 

imagination of most of the members. Not 

everyone is satisfied to simply go to car 

show after car show, viewing mainly the 

same marques over again, perhaps rarely 

discovering one unseen before. Certainly for 

those for whom the accumulation of 

trophies is their main interest, this is not 


the case, but for many, this is not enough. 

Driving events, safe and spirited competitive 

events, clinics where one gains additional 

technical knowledge, making connection 

with other car club enthusiast, and simply 

social outings draw on the myriad interests 

that are likely to exist within any large 

group. No one can attend all the events of a 

vigorous club like PBCA, but the wide array 

of events will touch almost everyone in 

some way. 

Still another goal might be to engage 

as many members as possible in all aspects 

of the club, including encouraging members 

to accept leadership positions, attend club 

meetings, attend and assist with club 

functions like the driving and social events, 

and be engaged in the multiple activities 

any vigorous club will present. It goes 

without saying that making these various 

events interesting and engaging is a 

prerequisite for strong attendance. It is the 

nature of many social organizations that, 

unless steps are taken to actively prevent it, 

the club will soon find itself with a small 

leadership group that takes all 

responsibilities and a large membership 

that take little interest in it, beyond duespaying. 

To prevent this, the club must make 

sure members feel welcome into all the 

club’s functions, including the leadership 

function, and that they feel their 

contributions will be valued and 

appreciated. It is perhaps appropriate to 

note that PBCA has increased membership 

participation in its “Brits on the Bay” 

annual show by the simple expedience of 

clarifying the tasks to be performed and 

encouraging members to select and sign up 

for the multiple jobs, while impressing on 

all how their help will enhance everything. 

The participation rate went up dramatically 

when this practice was adopted. 

However, we will likely agree that the 

most important thing is that attendance at 

meetings and events must be fun! A wise 

person once told YLC that if you do not look 

forward to the events, reconsider your 

options. Maybe this just isn’t for you. Good 

advice. Then, above all, fun. 

Therefore, preservation, finding ways 

to utilize and enjoy one’s car, expanding the 

range of activities, and promoting 

participation are at least four goals that any 

vigorous car club might pursue, but most of 

all, fun. You can no doubt add to this list, 

or perhaps replace some of them with 

clearer and more important goals. 

Admirable if you do so. Through such 

examination can we build an even better 

PBCA. 

Now, let’s discuss some of the events 

that have occurred recently, and some that 

the future promises. 

RECENT 

September 18-19 Brits on the River in 

Natchez, Ms. Six cars showed up for a 

beautiful day in beautiful Natchez, winning 

eight awards, including Bill Silhan’s “Best 

in Show” for his 1956 Morgan +4. 

Congratulations to all. 

September 26 Dog Days Rally to benefit the 

Pensacola Humane Society. Some ten cars 

and twenty contestants competed in a 

challenging rally organized by Tom 

Matsoukas, with winners Werner 

Kettelhack and Alicia Bergeron in their 

Jaguar 120 carrying away the laurel crown, 

but not before members had exceeded last 

year’s contribution with over 801 pounds of 

pet food and $150 in donations. The day 

ended with lunch and the distribution of 

“Dog Bone” wrenches shared by Tom as 

consolation prizes. A great day for the club 

and the pups, both of whom thank Tom for 

his fine work. 

October 3 South Alabama British Car Club 

Ice Cream Social, held as always at the 

Cunningham’s Garagemahal in Daphne. 

Welcoming PBCA and MGMG members as 

well, the SABCC again prepared an ice 

cream extravaganza of desserts and food. 

The large crowd enjoyed the drive over and 

the great camaraderie. Thanks to the 

Cunningham’s for their generosity. 


October 6 PBCA Breakfast at the Grand. 

This ever popular event attracted about 

twenty members and friends and provided 

everyone a chance to catch up in a relaxed 

atmosphere of good food and fun. 

October 10 Pensacola Historic Rally- 

Organizer Bill Weeks always prepares a 

great rally through historic Pensacola, with 

some challenging treasure hunt locations 

and a great lunch. Werner Kettelhack and 

Marc Cherry came away winners in 

Werner’s Austin Healey 100. 

October 17 Drive-In Movie at the “Brits on 

the Bay” show site. Marc Cherry and Bob 

Manske organized this event to begin with a 

showing of the original version of the film 

“The Italian Job.” 20 cars and around 38 

members—it was nigh impossible to count 

accurately in the dark. We will teach Bob 

Manske how to make popcorn for next year. 

October 23-24 SABCC British Car Show- 

One of our favorite events by some of our 

favorite friends. We had 28 cars from PBCA 

out to support the SABCC’s 25 th 

anniversary. It was an outstanding show 

with PBCA members winning 28 trophies. 

Werner Kettelhack took Best of Show with 

his beautiful Jaguar XK120. 

Until next time, yes, that was a red light. 


By Marc Cherry 

After last month’s article on roadside emergency preparedness, I had a few more thoughts, as well as 

received some constructive suggestions from the hard-won experiences of other club members. Here are 

some additional pointers. 

Jumper cables were not in evidence during the video but, as most of us know, jumper cables are the item 

most likely to be needed out of everything you can carry. Just make sure you know how to properly jump a 

car, being especially mindful of the fact that your car or the car you assist may be positive earth. 

Rule number one of owning a positive earth car is: No one talks about Positive Earth Car Club. 

Rule number two of owning a positive earth car is: Don’t let anyone else “help” you jump start the 

car. 

Rule number three of owning a positive earth car is: Carry a spare voltage regulator in case 

someone “helps” you jump your car. 

Our cars, especially the older ones, are not known for bright headlights or taillights. Consequently, the loss 

of one headlight or taillight can place you in a very unsafe position. Spare bulbs of all major types for your 

car are a sensible addition to your emergency kit. 

Many of the maladies that befall our cars are electrical in nature with the quality of contacts being often 

more significant than the quality of components. In addition to the temporary measure of jumper leads that I 

mentioned in the video, I also carry brushes, sandpaper, a battery brush, dielectric grease, crimp-style male 

connectors and spare female bullet connectors. 

Even if you only drive during the day, the nether regions of the engine bay, dash, and underside of the car 

may warrant additional lighting. Bob Manske pointed out that I didn’t show a flashlight. I do carry two lights 

and spare batteries. I keep a really good flashlight, like a Mag-Lite, as well as a Harbor Freight freebie 

stashed away. I keep the extra batteries stored in a separate sealed bag. 

The final suggestion is for warning triangles or flashers. I don’t carry one of these—yet. I can’t credit 

anyone in particular for this idea since it came up during an executive committee meeting. This idea was a 

rare gem so I wasn’t ready for it. None of the antique cars came with reflector triangles and most of the old 

classic era cars do not have hazard lights. A super bright LED warning flasher isn’t terribly expensive and 

just makes sense. 

If you have more tips and suggestions, please keep them coming. It is an important topic and central not 

only to a safe hobby but also to an enjoyable one. There is no substitute for the smug satisfaction of 

reviving a hopelessly broken car—even more so if you rescue someone else’s maintenance catastrophe 

through your own superior preparedness. 


the Drive-In Movie 

Photos by Marc Cherry and Bob Manske 

Every big event requires cleanup-Risa Manske and granddaughter, Audrey, sort the tent pieces used to construct the screen--Bob Manske Photos 


Brits on the Bay 2016: Feature 

Models Announced! 

By Marc Cherry 

Do you know anyone in the region with a Triumph TR3 or Spitfire? We would like to see it at our show. Please pass 

the word around to any of the individuals and clubs to interact with. These are two great series of cars so it would be 

an outstanding achievement for our club to promote a great turnout and make these cars and their owners welcome 

at our signature event. 

I won’t start hitting you up directly to fill volunteer slots until December, but if you have a position you know that you 

would like to help with, please let me know and I will be happy to mark your name beside it. 

If you attended the SABCC’s 25 th Anniversary show earlier this month, you saw a great club go all out for their 25 th 

show. 2016 will be our 24 th show. You may not think that warrants extraordinary effort, but quite the opposite is 

true. How we come out financially from our 24 th show decides just how big we can make our own 25 th anniversary 

show. We MUST achieve great results from sponsorship in 2016 not only to hold a great show, but to put us in a 

strong position for going very big on our 25 th anniversary. Please start asking area businesses to sponsor the show. 

We really need the bulk of our members that have not brought sponsors in in the past to get just one or two 

sponsorships. The results would be tremendous. As I said before, only about a dozen club members brought in 

sponsors last year, with just four members lining up the bulk of sponsors. We all enjoy the events throughout the 

year, so please help support the club. You are always welcome to be a sponsor yourself as well. You can find the 

sponsor form for the 2016 Brits on the Bay on page 22 of this issue. 

Monica Bachmann feigns indifference while a 'judge' inspects their TR-3 during the SABCC show. Look for this 

beautiful vehicle and many like it at Brits on the Bay 2016 


Photos by Bob Manske 


Lucas Third Generation Distributors 

By Jeff Simpson 

What follows is the Second of a series of articles reprinted with permission from The Register, the 

newsletter of the Tucson British Car Register. All words and photos copyright Jeff Simpson. 

I group Lucas distributors into three major groups, I know there are lots of exceptions, but English 

cars of the age we are dealing with tend to fall into one of these groups. The oldest are the “D-” 

type, such as “D2”. These have kind of a vase shaped body and the advance/retard knob. The next 

generation is the very common “D2-” type, such as the “D25”. The body of these units have flatter 

bottoms and still have the 

advance/retard adjustment knob. Lucas supplied these units to many different manufactures for 

many years. Although there are a maze of different part numbers the components are essentially 


the same. When pressed to improve reliability in order to meet USA EPA regulations they 

developed the first version of the third generation, “D4-DE”, such as the “D45DE”.The body of 

these units is similar in shape to the second generation but the advance/retard adjustment knob is 

gone, along with the points and condenser. Stuck on the side is a big square box which was the 

amplifier of the Lucas “Opus” electronic ignition system. If you have a distributor of this type, it is 

almost certain that by now the only thing that box is doing is supporting the vacuum unit. The wires 

have long since been snipped and the “Opus” function replaced by either a “Lumignition” or 

“Pertronics” unit. Not great but improved. 

While the electronic components where a disaster, the mechanical design was improved over the 

second generation by the complete redesign of the fixed and movable base plates, with its wear 

points and spring problems eliminated, and a new mechanical advance mechanism. The body was 

also better sealed. 

Due to numerous and frequent failures, the “Opus” system was soon replaced. The big square box 

on the side of the distributor is gone, replaced by an external module. While the electronics were 

improved, the mechanical design and the signal pick-up where really excellent. The solid metal 

reluctor 

just spins, the pick-up is well built and mounted on the improved base plate which makes for a first 

class unit. Except that it is connected to the Lucas external electronic ignition module, which are all 

now well past their design life. Replacement modules are quite expensive, if you can find one. So 

the usual fix is to go with a Lumignition or Pertronics unit, but in both cases you are going to lose 

the reluctor and pick-up which are quite good. 

A third option is to leave the distributor completely as is and simply replace the electronic ignition 

module. Fortunately a very good, very reliable, module is readily available from auto parts stores, 

Chrysler dealers, Internet, (look at “ignition control module”) even junk yards, all at very reasonable 

prices, ie. from $15 and up for a brand new one. The unit is still made by Standard Motor Products 

as part “LX-101”, but you will find it sold under a huge range of names. These where the ignition 

systems of most Chrysler products throughout the 70's and 80's, until they were replaced by 

completely computerized engine control systems. They were used on everything from “Hemi's” to 

trucks and will work on 4,6, or 8 cylinder engines. 

Mount the new module on the inner fender in place of the original. Make sure the module is well 

grounded. The two wires from the distributor will need to connect to the two pins as shown. One 

pin is connected to 12 volts via the ignition key, (usually a white wire). The forth pin connects to the 

coil negative terminal (sometimes via a ballast resistor). Use round push-on connectors or a 

connector plug from a junk yard, which provides better weather protection. If the engine does not 

start or runs rough, switch the two wires from the distributor. For very little money you will have a 

very reliable, maintenance free, first rate, electronic ignition. If you have a car using the Lucas 

ignition module you may want to have one of these units in your spares box, just in case. 


Featured Car 

1937 Lanchester 14 Roadrider 

Shea McLean 

Words and Photos by Marc Cherry 

Shea McLean is the curator of the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park and wanted to collect a 

wartime automobile to participate in some of the historical events at the battleship. His search for 

the perfect car took him in an unexpected direction, resulting in him picking up a new passion as 

the owner of a 1937 Lanchester 14 Roadrider. 

Many of you may be unfamiliar with Lanchesters. The 

first Lanchester was exhibited in 1903, but the 

company reached greatness after World War I. 

Lanchesters were elegant and expensive hand-built 

cars aimed at the higher end of the market. The Duke 

of York was a fan of the marque and owned several. 

Hard times saw Lanchester purchased by the BSA 

group and then by Daimler. After World War II, 

Daimler itself was acquired by Jaguar. With little 

innovation over their pre-war cars and few overseas 

sales during England’s ‘Export or Die’ period, Jaguar 

retired the Lanchester brand with the last Lanchester 


eing built in 1955. The 

Lanchester 14 Roadrider was the 

marque’s most reasonably-priced 

six-cylinder model. Even so, it 

was not a volume production car 

as only around 2000 were 

produced. This was exactly the 

sort of pedigreed sporting saloon 

that would have appealed to a 

rakish fighter pilot. 

Shea found his Lanchester 

featured on a barn finds website. 

After Shea recovered the car from 

its Tacoma area home, he 

discovered a beautifully patinaed car would have lost much of its character during a complete 

restoration. The interior leather and wood especially warranted a preservation approach. The 

exterior had been repainted by brush in the far-distant past in the manner of someone trying to 

keep a car on the road despite wartime shortages and rationing. Instead of restoring the car, he 

entrusted the Lanchester to Mike Darby to handle the initial 

mechanical fettling and get the car back on the road after 

many years of dormancy. 

With the Lanchester purchase, Shea received blackout 

headlamp covers and a wartime tax disk. These extra took 

Shea and the Lanchester down a whole new path, as Shea 

not only set out to fit out the car as it would have been during 

the war but also to collect period artifacts and uniforms to go 

with the car. 

When I caught up with Shea at the Cunningham’s Ice Cream 

Social, he was just getting started setting up the car. By this 

past weekend at the SABCC Fairhope show, Shea had 

installed the blackout lights and added deliberately-crude 

white outlines to the wheel arches to meet wartime standards. 

He had also added the personal gear any RAF officer would 

have used as the likely owner of a dashing Lanchester 14 

during the Battle of Britain. Shea’s display even included an 

original Lanchester MK-I submachine gun, designed by 

George Lanchester, one of the brothers that founded the 

Lanchester Motorcar Company. His final touch was the RAF 

officer’s uniform he was wearing while showing the car. 

If you get a chance to speak with Shea at a future event, please do so. This car and its story are 

fascinating. We are fortunate to have a car like this in our region of the Gulf Coast with so few prewar 

cars around and even fewer in preservation condition. 


Last year for the Halloween issue, I heralded the importance of the blood sacrifice in achieving solid mechanical 

results. This year I’m dedicating this column to the lost. I’m not talking about tools destroyed in service. They 

don’t count. If you have a carcass, it’s not really gone. Better yet, if it is a Craftsman carcass, Sears will replace it. 

No, I’m telling ghost stories--stories about tools that are gone. Or are they? 

What about the rattle from the dash that you’ve never resolved? Maybe it’s your 3/8 inch socket that hasn’t been 

seen since you last worked on the wiper linkage. It is gone but it still haunts you and your car. 

Last weekend I dropped a hex bit while 

trying to detach the fiddly tach generator 

that resides at the back of the engine and 

is secured to the head with impossible to 

access allen screws. The metallic bit hit 

several things on the way down as 

evidenced by the metallic ringing it made 

on its journey to the netherworld. 

Unfortunately, the last sound was not the 

satisfying flat clink of it hitting concrete. I 

have looked everywhere without finding 

that bit. I even ran an inspection camera inside 

the bell housing, under the theory that the bit had 

bounced through the inspection port for the 

flywheel. The bit has simply vanished into thin air. 

Science tells us this cannot be so. Dictionary.com 

details how matter cannot simply vanish under 

ordinary circumstances in its definition of the law 

of conservation of mass: 


Conservation of Mass 

noun, Physics. 

1. The principle that in any closed system subjected to no external 

forces, the mass is constant irrespective of its changes in form; 

the principle that matter cannot be created or destroyed. 

Also called law of conservation of mass, conservation of matter. 

However, much farther down the page, a caveat states that: 

The principle does not hold under Special Relativity, since mass 

and energy can be converted into one another. 

I’m certain Einstein has nothing to say about these vanishing tools as the energy released in converting even a small 

hex bit into energy would be far in excess of what the stock cooling system on any of our British cars could handle. 

The complete conversion of a 2 

gram hex bit would likely 

release the same energy as a 41 

kiloton (kt) detonation. Better 

get the Water Wetter. I know 

that this type of mass loss has 

not occurred in my garage as 

this sort of thing is frowned 

upon by my homeowners’ 

association. I’m sure I would 

have received a violation letter 

for not obtaining a burning 

permit for my 41 kt demolition. 

That moves us into the realm of 

the supernatural, alternate planes of existence where good tools go to hide out from hapless owners. Like all good 

hauntings, you will receive ‘visitations’ and other circumstantial evidence of the lost but never any concrete proof 

that the lost tools are still out there. 

Some time has now passed since I gave up on finding my lost hex bit, after exhausting every means at my disposal 

to recover it. I had already forgotten about the lost bit. Yet, on a night like any other, I finally got the Jaguar back 

together and decided to take a short test drive around my neighborhood. As I rounded the first corner, a sudden 

quiet fell over the car and the lights dimmed. Most likely this was due to something under the dash going open 

circuit but chilling nonetheless. Then, without warning, I heard a rattling noise that sounded just like “Hex bit! Hex 

bit!” from under the bonnet. I slammed on the brakes and leapt from the car with the heebie jeebies. I searched 

the roadway and the engine bay but the phantom hex bit WAS NOT THERE! 

Still, I’m convinced it’s around somewhere, waiting to haunt me some more the next time I reach for my hex bit 

that I haven’t gotten around to replacing. . . . 


PANHANDLE BRITISH CAR ASSN. 

Pensacola, Florida 

2015 SPONSORS REGISTRATION FORM 

Pensacola “Brits on the Bay" I 24th Annual AII·British Car Show I April 16, 2016 

OTHER AWARDS, TROPHIES OR VENDORS: Contact PBCA Representative or Tom Schmitz, (251 )961-7171 

SPONSOR_____________________________________________________ 

Organization/Company _________________________________________ 

Address _______________________________________________________ 

City/State/Zip _________________________________________________ 

Contact Name & Phone# ________________________________________ 

Class/(TITLE) _________________________________________________ 

Payment must accompany application. Check # _____________________ 

Make check payb1e to "PBCA" and give to PBCA representative or mail it with this printed form 

to: 

Tom Schmitz 

9609 Soldiers Creek Drive . 

Lillian, AL 36549 

Payment due prior to April 8, 2016 to be included on Display Poster at show. 

SPONSORSHIP WILL INCLUDE PUBLICITY, PRODUCT OR SERVICE DISPLAY BY SPONSOR(if 

requested prior to show) TROPHY PRESENTION,SPONSOR TROPHY AWARD, INVITATION TO 

FRIDAY EVENING SOCIAL AND THE SINCERE THANKS OF ALL THE MEMBERS OF PBCA AND 

THE CAR SHOW PARTICIPANTS. 

PBCA Representative ___________________________________________________________________________________ 

DATE PAID _______________________________________________________ 

PBCA is an Affiliate of 

The North American 

MGB Register. 


Join the Panhandle British Car Association on 

Our Facebook Group!

Smoke in the Wires Oct 2015

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