The Mellotron Group

It was a 1964 model as I recall. I didn't own that one; it belonged to a friend. We complete rebuilt that car from the frame up as I did with the XK-150, which I did own. I forgot that I (briefly) owned a Triumph TR-3 back around 1971 or so, but it was stolen not long after I replaced the drop-down top, reupholstered it and repainted it. Never got it back. A year later I bought a '59 MGA and we put a narrowed Pontiac rear end in it and a 302 Chevrolet Z-28 motor. There wasn't much Lucas left when I was finished with it. It was a bit too much motor for the car. Often, under vigorous acceleration from a rolling or standing start, or when banging through the gears, the doors would open from the excessive torque. Scary! So I welded the doors closed and put a roll bar in it. That was an improvement, but the frame was still not up to the task, so off came the body and out came the welding torch. I tried everything I could think of to stiffen that frame, but I could never completely solve the torque issue and handling could be a tad unpredictable at times. The thing was a rocket and just plain scared the shit out of everyone but me. It was a cool looking car with flared fenders and huge tires (at the time) and I called it the "poor man's Cobra," which, except for brute power, it was most certainly not. Finally, after a year or so of trying to get it right, I got rid of it.

There was a guy who lived just a few houses down the street named Bill Pickford. My dad was his attorney and he had two Shelby 427 side-oiler Cobras. I got to drive one of them a few times and it was always in my mind that I could build something like it. Wrong.

Pickford died in 1973 of brain cancer. His wife offered one of the Cobra's to my dad for $7,000.00. He bought a Porsche instead. I never forgave him for that, although I had a long-running affair with Porsches (I've had 9 of them and sold the last shortly after I got married.)

Having owned a MGA, XKE and a few other British “Lucas based” forms of transportation I agree….absolutely horrible

electrical system…yet another reason a British car will ~always~ let you down. But they are so damn much fun to drive!!

What year was your E Type Frank?

g

From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com [mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of lsf5275@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 11:12 AM
To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Mellotron M400 Lighted Power Switch WANTED.

I also have rewired a (59 XK-150 and an XKE) and probably two dozen or even more, British motorcycles. Lucas Electronics... "The name goes on before the trouble begins..." Always fun.

In a message dated 2/21/2012 1:55:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, wonggster@gmail.com writes:

When I think of UK and electric I always think of the time I spent pulling solid core Lucas wire out of a friends Jaguar and rewiring the car with lamp cord (speaker wire).