Wheelworks – Speaking English in England

Working around cars especially sportscars you inevitably will find yourself in the company of English made Automobiles. When trying to fix these cars your may have to resort to a repair manual or you
may watch a YouTube video made by an English Chap. Even though theses manuals were printed in English or the Chap may speak English I have found myself struggling to understand what they were trying to describe. The English do not use the same terms we use in the United States to describe car parts. The difference between American and English mechanics is probably best illustrated in the 2019 Indianapolis 500 when Fernando Alonso failed to qualify. One of the many mistakes was the English mechanics working on Alonso’s car used metric measurements for the setup when they were supposed to use inches. The resulting gaffe had the car dragging the underside as it made its way onto the racetrack. This along with other mistakes lead to Fernando Alonso not making the race.

Just in case any of you are sent to England to be on a racing team I thought I would help you out with a dictionary of English car terms and what they mean in English or at least American English — see how it can be confusing.

Read More in the June Edition of The Wheel —->