Archive for category: 6 cylinder cars

The Bristol 400 side lamp was Lucas type 1145 and part number 52070A (chrome plated body). That was a continued use of a pre-war design of lamp (type 1145, sometimes with a black finish body), which itself was a variation on a similar but larger/longer lamp of the same style that was introduced in about 1935 (Type 1150, usually chrome plated body – used by Humber on their 12 and 18 HP models from 1935 to 37)

A similar lamp was used by Ford on their English built V8 models from about 1935 onwards. That was probably made by Butlers and is quite like Lucas 1145 at a glance but shares no parts with it (Lucas lenses are horizontally ribbed, Ford lenses have raised lumps on either side of a central groove)

Lucas 1145 was used as follows for production models (other occasional uses would probably have been seen from coachbuilders or on specials):

• Bristol, to 1950
• Commer, 30 cwt and 2-to-6-ton, normal control (Superpoise), 1939 to 1947 (with a likely pause in the use of that lamp during the war on the equivalent military requirement models)
• Lea-Francis, 1948
• Vauxhall Big Six, 1934 to 1936

(Note that the non-Lucas information has not yet been checked against documentation)

I have attached two small photos showing out of date images from eBay auction listings.

Hugh Boultbee