Scooter

A poster from the past with an item that will make you gasp: http://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/03/ebay-find-harley-davidson-powered-toyota-prius-video/

Sam, excellent picture set. Thanks. The Pettah one is particularly content rich. Such a range of vehicles finding their way onto the Island around that time. Over on the BHP forum folk have been contributing some lovely old car stuff from family photo albums. Looking forward to the tram stuff.

Cat, looks like you're really enjoying working on the Disco. Good photos, always useful to others with problems. Have you come across the free Disco Workshop Manual pdf? It's up on: http://www.landroverresource.com/docs/D1_Workshop_Manual.pdf ...Brit vehicles ....and particularly their electrics.....really have a mind totally of their own, don't they!

Meanwhile, couple of weeks ago in Paris at the Motor Show:

Great taxi post, Sylvi. Lots of information here. I recollect seeing somewhere on the web a family page about the Hinniappuhamy family - were they into the food business and three-wheelers or I am completely wrong? Have you guys seen the Charles Waite Morris Minor SL film series? There are 3 or 4 clips from the early 90s on YouTube.....in this one, in the last few minutes, there are shots of yellow top MMs on the road: Had a look around and there seems to be a real dearth of photos of those early yellow tops available, yet those taxis used to be everywhere. Perhaps some AL family albums might be able to supply a few nice pics? And - as an aside - blimey, first I've got that nooby moderator talking about my arse and now this Watchie guy, with the cute curlers in his hair, is begging for my photo. I'm going to be keeping my back against the wall around here, I tell you.

Colombo, 1981, yellow-top Morris MInor taxis....and they tended to come with the non-optional extras of rusty holes in the floor thru which the road could be see, and frequent flat-batteries so the can needed a push start!!!!! Great little motor there, Sam, the A-series, in MHO the best engine for the keen amateur mechanic ever. And by the way, in the bad economic time on the Island in 1971, there were reports of Morris Minors changing hands for 4,000 pounds sterling....an absolute fortune. Hope this is not off topic or some looney will start shouting at me....DILLIGAF?

Supra, what is the topic? have you had a mo to read the whole thread or have u simply dipped in at this point? Who knows...Anyway, here's a little tip for ya from the Chinese Master: "What is over and done with, one does not discuss. What has already taken its course, one does not criticize; what already belongs to the past, one does not censure." Could be a great help to ya in learning how not to bug people. You will remember we have already had to alert you to what seem to be a tendency to prejudge and bully Members here. And, while we're here, what is all this emboldening of other's posts you seem to be fixated with? Real bad form, dontcha know? Anyway, gotta to bugger off back to me campfire for a cuppa and a wad with the blokes, ooooroooo.

Fair go, cobber, us blokes in Oz copped that oil Landcrab bandoogle first, those drongos in Pommy-land couldn't draw-up a car to handle proper like all the trials and tribulations of our sunburnt land and it was down to us chums to point the BMC trouble-hunters to the dip-stick fix....or so we all tell ourselves as we huddle around our camp fire recounting the stories of the old days over a beer or two! Anyway, back to SL.....any genuine locally-induced car problems we can recollect?

Maybe the idea of the polarised socket is to ensure that anything plugged in with a metal outer casing - like an older fridge - can't' get + power to the case and thus be in danger of shorting out to other parts of the car. Just a guess, Cat.

Hi Cat, the old socket is what they call a "polarised" socket. Sometimes they were installed unfused, so careful with what is plugged in. Worth checking if the circuit is fused or not. You have a FANTASTIC electrical supplier over there inPerth called Engeland (the fridge people) who supply all this 12v vehicle power gear...they have some amazing power panels for Landrovers that make me drool and their prices are really good. You can look them up on: http://www.engeland.com.au/welcome.toy Looks like a fun Disc0.

Sam, it's just because I've got so bl**dy old! I'm busy losing my teeth and my hair and forgetting everything else except the cars I love(d). :-) A lot of my interest came because of Dad, who was a real mechanics/car nut. He spent most of his working life driving and fixing cranes, and bulldozers, and trucks and it sorta rubbed off on me. Busses are one of your vehicle interest, Sam?

Sean, must get hold of David Corke's book. Looks fascinating. Thanks for the lead.

It's might be that there were auto transmission type cars in Ceylon pre Sir John's 56 Caddy. For example here is a picture from the Motorbase site of a Lanchester Leda (Lanchester 14) in Kandy that has an EY rergo from the early 50s (is that dating correct?): fs_leda_lanchester_in_ceylon_1969__adj.jpg These Lanchester's (made by Daimler with a 1968cc engine) ) had an automatic transmission made up of a Daimler fluid flywheel transmission linked to a Wilson 4-speed preselect box. Basiically did away with the clutch but you did select by hand the gear that was wanted next. Reckoned to be one of the smoothest systems ever devised. The fluid flywheel did not act as a torque convertor but the system operated in a way that allowed the car to start in top gear (if desired) and it would amble along at a walking pace in any gear. The write up at: http://daimlerandlanchester.wordpress.com/how-to-drive-a-pre-selector/ provides a superb introduction into driving these early autos. Anybody got other examples of early autos on the Island?

Very interesting post, Sam, and great links. What's the source of the 63 text document? (The service vehicle referred to is likely to have been a lorry with a wooden box mounted on a sort of big metal/wood frame that lifted a couple of guys up into the air to service the overhead power lines and to unjam stuck trolley pantographs.) I well remember trolley buses from a London childhood. Some called the trolley buses "Whispering Death", cos you never heard them coming, they were so quiet on the road. Hundreds of ex-London Transport busses seem to have been exported to countries as diverse as Ceylon, Kenya, HK, and Yougoslavia in the 50s and 60s. The AEC busses that came out to Colombo at the end of the 50s must have been really tired after their mammoth service in the Austerity Years. The Brits don't miss a trick! Here at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveumpire/4309170060/ is a picture of one of those units being slung onto a ship in the UK prior to wending it's way to Ceylon. Apparently, and I really don't know anything about this, some of the bus chassis ended up being converted to lorries after their Colombo public transport days came to an end. Significant that you have introduced commercial vehicles to the thread as they have had a vital role to play in Ceylon/Lanka's vehicle history.

And if you enjoy trains and cars and travel and food and Sri Lanka, I thoroughly recommend a visit to Royston Ellis' web page - he is always a good read. http://www.roystonellis.com/index.php

If you enjoyed the CTB and remember the old buses, Sam, here's a post from a guy called Kevin on Royston Ellis' site: http://roystonellis.com/blog/?p=353 "Here’s more from a old friend of mine........... “Prior to the year 1958 the bus service was run by private bus companies. Two of the companies had imported used Double Decker Buses from England. These buses were mainly operated at Sea Level or low lands in the capital of Sri Lanka, known as the City of Colombo. There were two bus companies by the name of South Western Bus Company and Colombo Omni Bus Co. Ltd. Of these two Companies the first Company had British built “Daimler” buses, which were powered by a 6 Cylinder in line diesel engine with a Pre-selector ger box. The second bus company had British built “Guy” buses, which were powered by diesel 6 cylindr engines with manual change sliding mesh gear boxes. The other bus companies used Single Decker Buses both in low lands or at sea level and uplands or hilly areas. The majority of Companies had a mixed fleet of buses with various makes and models. After the 2nd World War (which ended in 1945), the Royal British Army, Navy and Air Force had various makes and models of lorries, (trucks) such as Chevrolets, Dodge, GMC and Ford which were of American make and the Bedford and Austin from Britain. These trucks (lorries) had varying wheel bases, this is the length from the front wheel hub to the rear wheel hub. The trucks (lorries) were sold for a song and most of the private bus companies grabbed the offer and built Single Deck Wooden or Composite bus body structures of various sizes. All the engines on these trucks (lorries) were petrol powered with sliding mesh gear box transmission. In the year 1957 the Government of Sri Lanka then known as (Ceylon) decided to nationalize the road transport bus services. The take over of buses from the private companies commenced from thereon and the nationalization procedure was put in operation with the required documentation and the inspection of the mechanical and body condition to pay compensation, to the private company owners. Thereafter in the year 1958 the entire passenger bus service in the island were taken over by the government of the day. Thereafter, a bill was presented in Parliament and passed by a majority vote and “Ceylon Transport Board” was enacted by an act of Parliament as a statutory body empowering the Ceylon Transport Board to operate a passenger bus transport service. As nationalized bus operation was a new concept to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) the Government requested assistance from the London Transport Board to send experts from its staff of engineers, operational personnel and supplies management, including accounting staff to visit Sri Lanka and assist to form the infrastructure to operate a passenger bus service in keeping with London Transport Board standards. This request of the Government of Sri Lanka was acceded by the London Transport Board by sending the expert staff who helped to construct the buildings such as the Central Work Shop, Regional Work Shops, then training the local Sri Lankan Staff to acquire the knowledge and skills imparted by them in the field of Engineering, Operation and Supplies Management, Accountancy and Documentation on the lines which were adopted by the London Transport Board. The take over of buses from the companies did not auger much for the Ceylon Transport Board as the fleet of buses were in a derelict state. This was the result when the private bus company owners were informed that the passenger bus transport in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is to be nationalized. The bus magnates did not repair and maintain their buses, perhaps due to the pain of mind and the fear of not getting the expected compensation. The nationalized bus service could not meet the Time table requirements due to frequent break-downs and lack of spare parts for speedy repair, due to having various makes and models, which had been almost run to death. In order to overcome this situation the London Transport experts advised the Government of the day to import London Double Decker Buses, which were taken off the road due to a policy decision that vehicles, which had been used for 10 years, be replaced by new buses. This advice was accepted by the Government and the Ceylon Transport Board sought the assistance from London Transport Board. There was an agreement signed to supply Double Decker Buses, which were taken off the road in London to Sri Lanka (Ceylon). These buses were exported to Sri Lanka on the top deck of cargo ships and unloaded onto our Harbour piers with the aid of derricks from ships. The make and models that were sent by London Transport Board were as follows: Code Named 1. A.E.C. RT 2. Leyland RL 3. Leyland RTW 8 Feet Wide Bodies 4. Route Master RM In 1985 the then British High Commissioner assisted the Ceylon Transport Board to obtain 55 Route Master Double Decker buses from the London Transport Board. These buses were very popular with the Sri Lankan commuters as they were very comfortable and offered them a panoramic view of the road and the country side. Of this fleet of Double Decker Buses only six buses are presently operating — the rest of the Double Deckers are now off the road due to want of spare parts. The writer of the post was an employee of Ceylon Transport Board in the capacity of Deputy Chief Engineer Production and Maintenance for 20 years. He had overseas training under a Government scholarship of three years in the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. In the United Kingdom, I was trained at the London Transport Board at Chiswick Works where Engines, Gear Boxes, Steering System, Brake System, Rear Axles, Front Axles, Suspension System and Electrical System undergo complete overhaul. Thereafter, at A.E.C. Commercial Vehicles at Acton Green and Leyland Motors Ltd. in Lancanshire, Midland Red Bus Co. in Middlesex, Scottish Motor Traction Bus Co. in Scotland, in Germany at the Mercedes Benz Factory and in Italy at the Fiat Factory." Sylvi, can you recognise who the writer is from your experience?

Rip, the leather gloves are a must. Good to hear about the HK eye protection. Apart from that you can get away with a long-sleeved flannel shirt and some daggy old jeans........they will definitely get holes in them and you will also utilise some new swear words as the arc splatters! Other things, a cheap little chipping hammer to clean off the slag and you've got the grinder to clean up the welds. All will be looking forward to some pics of your first project. PS And SL electrics, remember standing in a shower in Kandy on my first ever visit and looking at the BARE wires leading into the overhead water heater and thinking "OMG get me outta here safe and unfried!"

Very informative, Sylvi, tx. There's a guy with an interest in the Rowland family and the garage at: http://rowlands-in-ceylon.blogspot.com.au/2009/07/chapter-32.html That Turret Road area must have been quite a car locality. There are mentions around on the web of Kollupitiya Motors, Marlan Motors, Wijaya Motor Store and Auto Alley near by. I can't put a date to these other than they were a few years ago.

Brilliant stuff, Sam. Is that bus what they call a charabang? Wonder if the body was local build? The bikes would have been a big-ticket item for an average worker in those day, I reckon.

Ripper, haven't ever bought a circuit breaker on the SL market, but as I understand it there is more than the amp rating to the breakers. The breakers are also rated on a scale B thru D referring to level of load current which causes a trip . A "D" rating is recommended for arc welding. The "D" rated breaker trips at a much higher load than a "B" and copes better with the rush current you get from the welding transformer coming on line. I don't know what range of breakers is available to you in SL, but it could be worth looking at your present unit to see if it has a letter attached to its rating and maybe see if you can buy a "D" rated one. You might want to check all this with your electrician to make sure a "D" is OK on your wiring. Hope this helps you get back on line so that the merry buzz of the box can be heard echoing from your garage as practise you welding :-)

Cali, can give you one in another part of the world that was. The BMC 1800 Land Crabs got a terrible reputation for blowing engines in Australia in the late 60s yet no similar problems anywhere else in the world. BMC tore their hair out and eventually discovered a pattern where Australian owners were overfilling the oil in the sump in a "just in case and a bit more oil can't be anything other than be better in a hot climate" scenario. Solution? Revised, lower, markings on the Aussie dipsticks! All fixed. Course that didn't do anything towards sorting the crappy 1800 gear change mechanisms that all the world had problems with. So local driving habits - such as the Oz example - may have an inpact on car durability. One thing I notice in SL is a tendency ( I said a tendency) for drivers to lug the car in a high gear which puts a bit of stress on the motor/drive train. Does this have an observable impact on general durability?

Terrific idea, Sam, all this earlier Ceylon/Lanka car stuff is really worthy of collating and recording. Sylvi would be a guy with real knowledge of the history. Sylvi, sorry to hear about family loss. If you can have a think and post up on Sam's topics it wil be an excellent contribution to this thread. Over on BHP, Sidindica has put together a stunning thread on the history of the Indian automotive industry...he's really interested in the smaller cars and what he's done is mix the automotive history with the cars and movies and generall news of the periods....fascinating stuff: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/74056-revisiting-indian-automobile-industry-past-present-future.html MIght give us "historians" some ideas, eh? Staying with the local car history, here's something I came across recently, talk about bad timing for a project! "Sunday Times (Perth, Australia) April 1939 Ford Factory Opened in Ceylon A new assembly factory and branch headquarters has been opened by the Ford Motor Company of India Ltd in Colombo, the capital of Ceylon. The establishment, the only one of its kind in this British Crown Colony was formally opened by the Hon. G. C. 8. Corea, Msc Minister for Labor. Industry and Commerce for Ceylon. All Ford cars sold in Ceylon are of British or Empire manufacture, and the new factory win draw the whole of Its supplies from Ford Works, Dagenham, and the Ford factory at Windsor, Ontario. Canada." Wonder what happened to that plant? Did it survive The War? I remember reading about either Hong Kong or Singapore and how after the Japanese invasion the Ford plant there was used to make and repair trucks for the Japanese military. Maybe the Ceylon Ford one - if it ever got off the ground - built vehicles for the Allied Forces?

Can be worth a visit: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/forum.php

You are absolutely right, Sam, it's a Ford Prefect. And it's probably a 107E Prefect. See the dogleg chrome strip on the front mudguard. This was the 100E body shell but using the Ford Anglia 105E motor/4-speed gearbox package. have driven these and they were quite a nice little package. Ford marketed the 107E to the more traditional buyer who didn't like the radical raked rear screen on the 105E. Good pick up there, Sam.

mmmmm........it's just a forum...................however, bullying ain't part of my code.........