Annoying Little Whatsit

[B.P.Bird]

The 2" Smiths instruments on Ace, Aceca and Cobra were illuminated by means of an external light bulb which shines on to the dial by way of some small windows in the case. These bulbs were held in a bracket. Here is one:



And another view:



They are and were in period, an aggravating object given to sulking in the dark given the slightest vibration. Some careful assembly and some tidy soldering can make them reliable. In any event that is the way Thames Ditton built them and to complete the dashboard, for AE 22, I am in need of two - anyone got any spare ?

Dashboard awaiting wiring




Barrie

[AC Ace Bristol]

Barrie

We all experience the  intermittent  unreliable  lighting  of these remote bulbs due to vibration, interesting point  you make
regards  soldering .
I have always established best location to illuminate two gauges then secured to the u bracket using the brass knurled nut,
Are you suggesting that  one  then solders the remote bulb holder to the U bracket ?.
Makes sense, as it would both  improve securing the bulb holder and improve earthing .   I have never noticed any solder marks on the Lucas instrument U  brackets on BEX333.
Easy to fabricate the strips and  solder a bulb holder in place...   Bulb Holders are available from  Holden and Auto Sparks to name but two suppliers.

Interesting observation  Regards the handing of Rev Counter and Speedo.
On checking through many photographs of  Dashboards of very early Aces, the Rev Counter was located towards the centre
of the car, then swapped place with the speedo. 
Was this change over due to the Ace being a natural development of John Tojeiro's  racing special , before  evolving into a  successful road / race car.  When possibly the speedo took precedence over the Rev Counter to comply with Road traffic act?

Sorry to shoot off at a tangent ..  ..  .. 
Good Luck with finding a couple of NOS or good Second hand Lucas   remote instrument  bulb  holders.    If anyone has a source of supply please let Barrie  know as there are many other Ace/ Aceca  Custodians  who could be interested.

Keith

 

[B.P.Bird]

Well I have been digging for the last day or two without much joy. There are other lighting brackets to be found on other period cars notably Austin Healey. This link takes you to SC Parts, see items number 8 and 14 on the exploded diagram - use the magnifying button which makes things clearer:

https://www.scparts.co.uk/sc_en/british-cars/austin-healey/austin-healey-bn1-to-bj8-1953-1968/electrics-ignition-system-heating-and-dashboard/instruments-bn1-bn2-bn4-bn6-bn7-bt7-and-bj7.html

However their prices are astronomic.......

Then there is this which I found in one of my boxes. Not original, but a better engineered solution, but where did it come from ? You might suppose Smiths themselves ? Any ideas anyone ?



Barrie

[B.P.Bird]

The mystery deepens - Graham Stuart sent me this:



It would easily convert to the A.C. application and is obviously from the same source, just a slightly different mounting arm. Graham thought it might come from an early Land Rover, does it look familiar to anyone ?
Barrie

[B.P.Bird]

Keith,
The soldering required is at the base of the bulb holder where there is a poor joint with the mounting arm. A small length of earthing braid joining he two makes for a reliable earth.
Meantime I came across these. Not many available, but an aircraft quality part which takes the same bulb as the Smiths original part. You do need to straighten out the 90° bend in the mounting arm. The problem of the poor earth has been solved here by providing a separate earth tag and not relying on the mounting arm for an earth:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=hh+smith+aircraft+lamp+bulb+socket+holder+p%2Fn+1910+&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=HH+Smith+Aircraft+Lamp+Bulb+Socket+Holder+P%2FN+1910+%28lot+o...++HH+Smith+Aircraft+Lamp+Bulb+Socket+Holder+P%2FN+1910+%28lot+of+6%29++&_osacat=0

In another happy twist to the story an anonymous enthusiast has sent me some original type bulb holders. Thank you so much
Barrie