SOL Vocabulary

Updated April, 1997

Terms Unique to SOL'ers


SOL
Scion(s) of Lucas (sometimes S... Out of Luck) (Includes both Sisters of Lucas, and Sons of Lucas)

Scion
n. A descendant or heir.

LBC
Little British Car, Little British Convertible, Large British Car, etc.

PO
The Previous Owner of your car.

DPO
Dreaded Previous Owner (because of the hacks they always seem to have made on your car.)

The Prince of Darkness
Lucas, Lucas electrics, etc.

BPSL
British (Phlegm Sucking) Leyland. A term of, er, endearment, referring to the things they did to destroy the British Sports Car quality, designs and market (With thanks to Scott Fisher)

OSOTP
Other Side of the Pond. (Across the Ocean)

SWORK
Swearing While Working, a common practice.

VIQ
Vehicle In Question

Wanker
Someone who hacks at their car. Sometimes clueless.

British <=> American Automotive Translations

British term                American term
-----------------           -------------
accumulator                 battery
actuator                    switch or servo
Artic                       articulated lorry = "tractor-trailer"
baulk ring                  synchro ring
bonnet                      hood
boot                        trunk
bulkhead                    firewall
choke tube                  venturi
core plug                   freeze plug
crocodile clip              alligator clip
crosshead                   Phillips
crown wheel                 ring gear
cubby box                   glove box or glove compartment
damper                      shock absorber
drive shaft                 half shaft or axle shaft
drop-head coupe             convertible version of 2 door coupe
dumpy screwdriver           short screwdriver
dynamo                      generator
earth                       ground
estate                      station wagon
fascia                      dashboard
fixed-head coupe            2 door coupe
frogeye                     bugeye
Gallon  (Imperial)          5 US Quarts
gearbox                     transmission
gudgeon pin                 wrist pin
hood                        convertible top
jointing compound           gasket sealant
lorry                       truck
mole wrench                 Vice grips
monocoque                   unibody
MOT                         DOT
Ministry of Transport       Department of Transportation
nave plate                  hubcap
nose                        front of car
paraffin                    kerosene
pinking                     knocking or pinging
prop shaft                  drive shaft
petrol                      gasoline
prise                       pry
proud                       above or raised
quarterlight                vent window
rev counter                 tachometer
ring gear                   flywheel gear, or starter gear
roadster                    car that only comes in a convertible style
roundabout                  rotary, traffic circle
RoStyle                     type of steel wheel (as opposed to wire)
saloon                      2 or 4 door sedan
scuttle                     cowl
side curtains               removable side windows
silencer                    muffler
sill                        rocker panel
Shooting Brake              station wagon
spanner                     wrench
split pin                   cotter pin
spring washer               lock washer
squab                       part of seat
suction advance             vacuum advance
sump                        oil pan
thrust bearing              throwout bearing
tickover                    idle
top gear                    high gear
torch                       flashlight
trunnion                    sliding or rotating joint (suspension)
Tyre                        tire
wheel nut                   lug nut
whitworth                   Brtish thread measuring standard
windscreen                  windshield
wing                        fender

Common Auto Abbreviations

Abbreviation                Meaning
------------                -------
AC (e.g. AC Cobra)          Auto Carrier
ARG                         Austin Rover Group
BL                          British Leyland
BLMC                        British Leyland Motor Corporation
BMC                         British Motor Corporation
BSF                         British Standard Fine (Thread system)
BSW                         British Standard Whitworth (Thread system)
BFH                         Big F...... Hammer, AKA: "Bashing Tool"
                             (big, heavy hammer used  "persuading"  stuck parts, etc.)
CD (refers to carbs)        constant depression
DB (e.g. Aston-Martin DB6)  David Brown
M.G.                        Derived from Morris Garage(s)
NOS                         New, Old Stock parts (as opposed to a recent copy)
PI                          petrol injection
SS                          Swallow Sidecars
SU                          Skinners Union (Carbs and Fuel pumps)
TVR                         TreVoR (Wilkinson), the founder of TVR
ZS                          Zenith-Stromberg (Carbs)

Some Common Net Abbreviations

AKA
Also Known As (alias)

BTW or OBTW
By The Way, or Oh, By the Way...
FLAMES ON/OFF
start/end of major gripe or insult
IMO
In My Opinion
IMHO
In My Humble Opinion
ROM
Rough Order of Magnitude (size, weight, usually cost, effort)
RTM
Read The Manual
RTFM
Read The (Fun, Foolish, F.....) Manual
SWAG
Scientific WAG (at least one reason for the guess exists)
WAG
Wild-Assed Guess
TTFN
Ta Ta For Now, AKA: "Bye for now" 


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