I think that's correct. Weapons, planes, etc. that American manufacturers make for sale to foreign governments are metric to assure compatibility with the world's militaries. Same with NASA. Our space capsule probably could not have hooked up to the International Space Station if everything on it was Imperial dimensions. Bob
I have full sets of both SAE and metric here. Working on rusty old bolts that used to be SAE, sometimes the metric wrench fits better, or can be pounded on with a hammer. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Speaking of metric, check this out https://para-rigger.posthaven.com/top-ten-car-producing-countries-1950-2019
Just another way tool manufacturers can use to sell more tools. Metric, standard. 6 point, 12 point. Torx, rieb, ect.... It keeps the average guy from working on things. Be it cars, or whatever.
All my treasured normal american wrenches and sockets are in my best drawer. All the Whitworth stuff is in the honored top drawer. All my metric stuff is in an ammo can on the floor somewhere.
Funny, all my SAE spanners are in a box under the bench and haven't seen the light of day for at least 10 years. I also find it funny the States is the last Country stuck in the Imperial system even after fighting and beating the British over 200 years ago to escape their bonds. Even my OT LS3 is all metric.
Most of the trucks I repair at work are now metric. All of the Diesel engines are metric. The only time we see anything standard, might be on suspension systems, but even those are far and few between anymore. When I’m out buying vintage tools for my collection, I look for metric stuff for work and standard stuff for home/farm use. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I bought my first set of metric wrenches in 1990 because the OT '85 Chrysler my wife bought had 2 metric bolts holding the AC compressor on the engine. They were the only metric fasteners under the hood.
I have been a huge fan of made in US of A , for many many years . I own an old Harley , mainly because it was build in America . As said previously it’s not all SAE fasteners . I have guns , expensive guns from the 40s and 50s era , same thing . My most shocking experience of late came as Andy has said , Cummins Diesel , every fastener is metric , every casting is off shore and my block has CHINA cast into it . Does this mean it’s junk ? By no means there are very high quality parts from off shore suppliers . You get what the supplier demands , the dollar sign is king in sales . If you are a company paying for a product to be sold in the US of A , Damn it demand it to have at the very least all one design/type of threads , don’t mix the bastards up and cause me to make up new potty words working on my grand kids bicycle !!!!
Don't worry, there are still two other countries that aren't metric yet: Liberia and Myanmar. So you're in good company. (BTW I use both, all my old car stuff is SAE UNF/UNC and thankfully we can still buy it here at fastener supplies.)
My brother bought a '59 MGA in '64 and the whole car was metric; except for the engine! It was sae entirely.
"There are two kinds of countries, those who use the metric system, and those who have walked on the Moon 6 times."
I had some bolts on my 47 Lincoln that SAE sizes didn't fit, but metric did. Original bolts, hadn't been touched since 47 when it was built. Now, they may have actually been an odd SAE size that is no longer used, but the metric sockets and wrenches fit perfectly. And they were quality fasteners, too, they screwed right out and the threads looked new. What I hate is vehicles that were built during the supposed changeover. You may have a metric right beside a SAE fastener, so you have to have the whole tool box handy to fix anything. And I hate all these odd fasteners in use today, especially Torx. My Freightliner is full of the damn things. In some spots they are OK, but going into a aluminum or cast iron housing, more often than not you'll twist off the Torx bit or round out the fastener, or worse yet, twist them off. Give me a 6 point hex head any day!
MGA's were never metric. This link from Moss Motors details the history of English fasteners. www.mossmotoring.com/whitworth-system/ Metric wrenches sometimes would work on Whitworth bolts which led some to believe the bolts were metric.
funny, in 1974, they were telling us to get ready for the new "right" way: metrics. everything is base-10 and it's much easier. didn't really catch on. maybe they're trying again!
This reminds me of a physics exam from college days. The professor gave us all the information like lengths in english units, accelerations in metric, mass in old apothecary units, and ultimately wanted the answer which was a velocity in furlongs per fortnight. Go do those conversions...
I remember when I got into the trade and there where still a bunch of amc/Chrysler keeps on the road. you would have your whole tool box on the bench as the entire truck was a mush mash of standard and metric .
Well it would prove you knew your stuff however I would use something like that as a bonus question or extra credit. You were training for the so-called "real world" so you should have been tested within those parameters.
That was old school engineering school for you. We learned other subjects from lectures in english units, as the professors were 30s era college, but because the push was on as mentioned above to metrify the U.S. we would have exams in SI units. Funny thing, most of my career I used english units. Oh well just retired, so now I use whatever I want to
Smoots! A unit of measurement named after Oliver Smoot, a fraternity pledge at MIT who was laid end over end to measure the length of a bridge.
As far as anomalies in the metric world, when I try to adapt seatbelts into my car, whatever donor car I come across, they are fastened with 7/16" fine bolts. Also, wheel diameters are in inches but tire width is millimeters. Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The Jalopy Journal
