Zeta (automobile)

Lightburn is the name of an Australian engineering company that manufactures mainly cement mixer, but also washing machines. Owner is Harold Lightburn. Mid -1960s to operated the company a short time as an automobile manufacturer and produced the odd shaped Lightburn Zeta sedan. The car originated in the washing machine manufacturing in Camden Park in Adelaide and in 1963 at a price of AU £ 595 offered. The production was set in 1965 and 1966, the last cars were sold. Overall, fewer than 400 cars emerged.

Models

2 -door sedan, two-stroke engine with 324 cc Villiers, four-speed manual gearbox ( 1964-1965 )
2- door luxury sedan, data as above ( 1964)
2- seater sports roadster, two-stroke engine with 493 cc displacement from Sachs, four-speed manual transmission (1964 )
2-door pickup, mentioned in contemporary brochures; some vehicles were delivered for the Hyde Park fleet of Sydney City.
2- siziger, electric " Runabout ".

Technology

The Lightburn Zeta sedan was how the pickup, driven by a one - cylinder two-stroke engine from Villiers with 324 cc displacement. The force of the front -mounted engine was passed via a four-speed manual transmission to the front wheels. The rear wheels were suspended individually on towed trailing arms. The car hatchback had no tailgate. To get into the trunk, the seats had to be removed, which, according to a relevant advertising was particularly easy. The chassis was made of steel, the body of fiberglass. The interior was relatively large, but sparingly furnished. The windshield was made of safety glass, the side and rear windows made of Perspex. The doors were also made of steel and had sliding windows.

The Lightburn Zeta Sports had a two - cylinder two-stroke engine of Sachs, who drove the rear wheels. This engine produced 19.5 bhp ( 14.4 kW) at 5000 min-1 and drove the wheels through a four-speed manual and semi- axes. This engine was originally built for the Messerschmitt Tiger Tg 500, had 70 mm bore and 67 mm stroke and was interlocked with the transmission. Only 48 pieces originated approximately 1960-1961, but were held back until 1964. Ultimately, only 28 pieces were sold in 1964 ..

According to the specification sedan and pickup with Michelin tires size 125 R 12 were equipped. The Villiers- four-speed gearbox had no reverse gear. To reverse, the engine has been stopped and started in the opposite direction again, so were four gears available for the reverse journey. The gasoline -oil mixture ran from the tank before the dashboard by gravity into the carburetor. As fuel gauge was a transparent tube, which was conducted from the tank bottom through the dashboard. A test of the car magazine Wheels says of the fuel gauge that "they indicated anything between full and empty, depending on the inclination angle, throttle position, and probably the Greenwich Mean Time ( GMT) ."

The tiny sport model that did not look dissimilar to, also built in Australia Darts, had a two-cylinder engine with Sachs splinted gear. The design of its body based on the Frisky the British manufacturer Henry Meadows ( Vehicles) Ltd.. The car with fiberglass body weighed 400 kg and had 10 "wheels with drum brakes all round. As the dart had no doors or bumpers of cars.

Market success

" With the Zeta, HOWEVER, what failure engineered into the product from day one. " (Eng.: When Zeta but the failure was already installed from day one in the product. )

Not only the unique design but also a bad time planning contributed to the commercial failure of the car: He was at the same time presented as the Morris Mini, the AU was only £ 60 more expensive than the Zeta. Therefore, only 363 cars were sold from 1963 to 1966, in which the 28 Zeta Sports are already included.

512573