At first I thought this a practical joke, but it is true. Under European Union directive 80/181, at the end of 2009 it will make the use of imperial units of measure illegal. The ban will apply to all products, packaging, advertisements, magazines, catalogues, etc. At the end of 2009 it will become illegal to make any mention of imperial units. You won't be able to buy - legally - a BSF or Whitworth or any other imperial unit nut, bolt, tap, die, studding etc. etc. The implications for this to our hobby, heritage railways, steam/traction engines, model engineers, the list goes on, even getting spares for repairing that old lawnmower or other piece of equipment you have are obvious. This could be the biggest threat yet to us, suppliers, exporters etc.
There is an on-line petition to attempt to secure permanent derogation from this directive to which you can add your name to register your objection. It is http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Metrication/
Additionally you can write to your MP or anyone who may have some influence.
We cannot ignore this.

Hi Dave,

Hasn't the EU only this week decided not to go forward with directive 80/181. There was a piece on television news regarding the Metric Martyr - the late Steven Thoburn. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6637587.stm

Interesting comment in this piece from Roz Denny, spokeswoman for the UK Metric Association. Perhaps the movement as a whole should be lobbying her as she appears to be comparing the continued use / sale of imperial measurement items in Britain to its past involvement in the slave trade!

Jeff
A committed get Britain out of the EU supporter

I believe the expression you are looking for is

"Bollocks to Brussels"

Steve

What a result, I managed to get past the rude word filter

Well said Steve. Exactly how does one metricate 5/16 BSF X 1 1/4 anyway and no, I really don't want to know!

Oh, I knew it would come to this...

The directive 80/181, as I understand it, has been modified so that dual labelling can continue indefinitely. It's ok to label a bag of apples in kilos or pounds, an apple is still an apple, but how do you dual label a BSF thread? We have still got to watch the Brussels Brigade carefully until they make it 'crystal clear', which will be a first.
Steve Martin has got it spot on. I say Steve for PM.

Thank god for the USA for they are are the only nation that has, indirectly, stopped the metricfication of this island.
When in the US last year driving the Austin, the old car crowd out there told me that they would send a message to the EU that they would '' bomb the hell outa those pesky bureeeecrats in Brussels for us Brits'' so there is your answer.

Chris

I am sorry to take a contrary view but I think this thread needs a little clarification.

When the EU talks about prohibiting other than metric units they are talking about the description of the 'quantity' of the goods not the description of the goods themselves. If we buy a quantity of 5/16 BSF bolts then it is the quantity that we buy that needs to be expressed in metric only not the specificastion of the product. If we buy them by weight then they need to be sold in grammes with no reference to Lbs.

Since most of these items are sold by count and our counting system is decimal, as is the metric system,( thank goodness ) then it will have little or no impact on our hobby. Our tyres are already metric, we buy oil and petrol in litres, we measure our engine capacity in cc's and we pay for everything in decimal ( metric ) currency, we have been 'metric' for years, and I get a sneeky feeling that metric measurements were used by Austin in the 20's and 30's. The straight lengths of the chassis rails are 2 metres long, coincidence?

Let's concentrate of matters that do effect us like still being able to use our cars in the decades to come when all our roads are full of plastic, throw away, motors which although are labelled 'green' as they can be recycled using quantities of energy we know that A7's are very 'green' in those terms as they are recycled by 'Meccano' methods.

Happy days !

.

Malcolm

I can only respond with 'here bloody here'.

Mike

Hi Malcolm,

Thanks for clarifying that. I have to say though that I was under the impression as it appears was Dave Waller that the directive was intended to be more far reaching than you suggest. There have been a number of articles in the motoring press and other journals in recent months suggesting that the directive would make illegal and therefore a criminal offence to manufacture, promote, package and sell any non metric item, for example a BSF / Whitworth imperial threaded tap & die / nut & bolt / stud / spanner etc. If this were true and the various journals I read thought it was, it would have had a devastating impact on my two lifelong passions - vintage road transport and steam railway locomotives - all of which contain a plethora of non metric components. Contrary to what my previous post appears to suggest, I have no problem whatsoever with metrication in the modern world, precise measurement is a very important part of my everyday business and has been for 30 years - I work exclusively in millimetres, order materials in grammes. My grumble was with the Bureaucrats in Brussels, deciding at a stroke ( if it were true) to rid the EU of any newly manufactured item now exclusively available in imperial measure and substitute it with a metric one and the possible implications of such a law on selling second hand non metric items.

Jeff

The tyres on my car have a metric width(cm) but the diameter in inches, printed on the sidewall. However my bicycle tyres are totally metric. No confusion there then!!

To clarify a point, I have no problem with the metric system. I grew up with it and had to "learn" the imperial system at a later date. I have spent a lot of time in measurement, both on production lines and also as an employee of a UKAS accredited calibration laboratory. During that time a number of problems arose with regard to a lack of standardisation of measurement units. Of course Whitworth and others arose to make mass production possible and in more recent times there have been attempts at some rationalisation of the various systems. Engineers generally use SI units which use the metre as the unit of length etc etc. The metric system is not some new fangled idea, it has been around for hundreds of years, but not realy so much in this country. There are several examples of metric measurements in use BEFORE our cars were made. I have some old reference books on car design that use metric units that were published before the 1st world war!!
The point that was being made by some of us was (subject to clarification) we should be allowed to choose our method in the sort of situations we encounter , such as imperial measurements on a restoration project etc etc. I have not seen the document but there appears to be a "discussion" over what it realy means?
I think maybe some frustration was being vented over a buerocratic system that upsets some of us!
We all will have our own opinions on a highly emotive subject such as Europe, which certainly gets people talking!
As a person I welcome all people from any country in the world, in fact I have some good friends from France arriving on Wednesday, but on a different level I would prefer my government to be in this country and have authority and power!

Enough politics I think, perhaps Mac should tell us off and remind us that its an Austin Seven forum and not for politicall discussions .

Steve
Metric enthusiast.
Not a Brussels enthusiast.

p.s my tyres are imperial, so are the ones Malcolm sold me .

As you probably all know, I'm now living in France. You can't even get mints here that are 'Imperial'



(just thought I'd chuck that in so this discussion doesn't get too serious)