He Bob,
I wouldn't "knit-pick your math!
My point was that although at that time (1960's) all other measurements were
in Imperial, for some strange reason engine capacities were always quoted in
metric cc's
My first car was an Austin 7, built in 1931. (( but I owned it in the 1960's!!
) Engine size 750cc. It was always quoted thus in the UK.
Now it is just a mess. People talk about miles when describing journeys.
Measure shorter things in metres and centimeters. Coloquially talks about
yards and feet. Buy composite boards in imperial sizes but metric thickness (
"an 8 X 4 sheet of 9mm ply" !!) Quote fuel consumption in miles per gallon ,
but buy the fuel at the pumps in litres. Fuel tanks are measured in Gallons,
and you talk about topping up with a pint of oil but it comes in a 1/2 litre
or 1 litre or 41/2 litre pack... I could go on !!
but throughout, in the UK, engine capacities have always been in litres or
cc's, Never in Cubic Inches!
Spitfires were powered by a 27,000cc Rolls Royce engine in 1941 and you cannot
get much more British than that!
Guy
-----Original Message-----
From: Ankitterer@aol.com <Ankitterer@aol.com>
To: Guy.Weller@kencomp.net <Guy.Weller@kencomp.net>;
dbl@chicagolandmgclub.com <dbl@chicagolandmgclub.com>;
spridgets@autox.team.net <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Date: 29 January 2005 07:44
Subject: Measurements and Capacities
In a message dated 1/28/05 12:59:18 AM, Guy.Weller@kencomp.net writes:
In the UK, I was brought up on all the old Imperial Measurements.
I can still remember strange mesurements of rods, poles, perches,chains,
not
to mention pounds shillings pence farthings and so on. All long before
any
form of creeping metrication.
And yet, in the UK car engines have always been in cubic centimeters .
Odd!
Hey Guy. In the 60's you folks still used the Imperial Measurements (My
bugeye has a Gas Tank Capacity of 6 Imperial Gallons and the Cooling System
Capacity was 10 Imperial Pints. There was no translation for either, I
remember that 6 Imperial Gallons was equal to about 7.2 American Gallons.
Assuming it takes 8 Imperial Pints to make an Imperial Gallon, you are looking
at 1.2 Imperial Gallons in the cooling system. Or is that 5.7 litres? It
seems that Great Britain was ahead of us even then in getting to metric. We
still run around measuring things in American pints and gallons. And don't
even think other than in inches, feet, yards, and so forth. And please don't
knit pick my math. These are either straight statements from the Owner's
Handbook or my own brand of in-my-head arithmetic which makes a lot of
assumptions I don't have any business making.
Annice & Bob
1960 Bugeye (Mk. IV in disguise) "The Sprite"
1966 Sprite Mk. III (Still in Boxes) "Trevor"
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