The "Alcyl" centralised
lubrication system
According to the Parts
Specification Lists, the early FWD cars (FA and FB type, up to about July 1928)
were fitted with some 19 Tecalemit grease nipples.
This 1928 advertisement shows that the successful FC type TT team cars of
that year were fitted with the Tecalemit non-centralised system. However, the later FD
and FE types were fitted as standard with the "Alcyl" centralised
lubrication system, which consisted of an oil container mounted
on the bulkhead in the engine bay, which fed a number of chassis components,
including:
-
vertical steering shafts
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brake cross shaft
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handbrake pivot
-
rear suspension bearings
The FWD Instruction Book
states on page 45: "Lubrication. The owner has been
relieved of a considerable amount of lubrication on the chassis portion of the
front wheel drive Alvis, as he would have realised, as soon as he received the
car, that oil is conducted through the container on the engine side of the
dashboard which is conveyed through flexible metallic piping to nipples on the
various articulating parts. Certain parts, however, cannot be treated in
this way you will, therefore, have to use the grease gun for the top and bottom
of steering pivots."
The manual identifies the centralised system lubricant as
Castrol "F", for which the modern equivalent is Castrol XL30.
Some useful original Alcyl
literature can be found at the following links:
Alcyl System large brochure 1928
Alcyl System small brochure
This has detailed technical illustrations of piping and fittings.
Alcyl system 1928 price list
The photos below include several of chassis
7315, the car bought by Professor Hama and now in the Honda Museum. These
photos show the car while it was with Ashton Keynes Restorations, who undertook
a meticulous restoration of the entire car, including the whole of the Alcyl
system, traces of which had been found on the chassis. The photos include
some original and some reproduction components.
Click on
thumbnail to view higher resolution image. Right-click to save to file.
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Chassis 7290 (ex Tom Wright, then owned by Barry Bowyer) |
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Original Alcyl container on bulkhead. |
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The Honda Museum car - reproduction oil box with beautifully engraved labelling. |
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Whole chassis seen from rear, with Alcyl piping visible. |
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Driver's side brake cross shaft bearing. |
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Feed to offside rear suspension bearing |
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Vertical steering shaft, nearside |
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Brake cross shaft, nearside |
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Feed to nearside rear suspension bearing |
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Original (left) and modern (right) |
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Ashton Keynes Restorations found a suitable plastic pipe that was routed inside the helical would armouring. |
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Two different connecting bolts |
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Two Alcyl bolts - numbered 3 and 5 |
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