On Wed, 08 Feb 2006 10:23:11 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
none wrote:
As for the Lucas wiring harnesses, aluminum wire and incredibly cheap
grade vinyl insulation. Or have you never seen a TR4 that'd gone up in
smoke from harness fire?
In the very last years of production at British Leyland that damn
aluminum wire would find it's way into just about everything they
rolled off the line.

I've had countless cars with Lucas electrics dating back to the early '50s
and never ever come across aluminium cable. I still own an '85 SD1 Rover.

Why they should have used this stuff for export defeats me.
In the late 60's and early 70's the british import business was coming
under heavy attack from the domestic manufacturers via lobby induced
legislation to ruin the import business.
Whenever the laws on this side changed to restrict some performance
feature or increase the import levies on foreign sports cars British
Leyland would have to cut cost on their side.(Though having worked for
them back then I believe they were perfectly capable of ruining any
car they got there hands on all by themselves. Just look at what the
did to the Austin Healy line.)
Aluminum wire was simply a cost cutting measure.


Aluminium household wire was around for a very short time when there was
the copper crisis in the UK caused by UDI in Rhoadesia -the UK main
supplier.

IMHO electrical fires in older UK cars was caused by inadequate individual
fusing of circuits - indeed those most likely to be accident damaged like
the lighting ones had often no fusing at all. But the cable was pretty
well common to all cars - in the UK at least. I'll do some more research.