Car parts translation for JohnS Esq.

[Dare]

.
A little help for our British friends in proper and
correct translations for some common auto terms

British <=> American Automotive Translations

British term                American term
improper usage            correct usage

accumulator                 battery
bonnet                      hood
boot                        trunk
bulkhead                    firewall
core plug                   freeze plug
crosshead                   Phillips
cubby box                   glove box or glove compartment
damper                      shock absorber
drive shaft                 half shaft or axle shaft
dynamo                      generator
earth                       ground
estate                      station wagon
fascia                      dashboard
frogeye                     bugeye
Gallon  (Imperial)          5 US Quarts
gearbox                     transmission
accumulator                 battery
actuator                    switch or servo
Artic                       articulated lorry = "tractor-trailer"
baulk ring                  synchro ring
bonnet                      hood
boot                        trunk
bulkhead                    firewall
core plug                   freeze plug
crocodile clip              alligator clip
crosshead                   Phillips
crown wheel                 ring gear
cubby box                   glove box or glove compartment
damper                      shock absorber
drive shaft                 half shaft or axle shaft
drop-head coupe             convertible version of 2 door coupe
dumpy screwdriver           short screwdriver
dynamo                      generator
earth                       ground
estate                      station wagon
fascia                      dashboard
fixed-head coupe            2 door coupe
frogeye                     bugeye
gearbox                     transmission
hood                        convertible top
jointing compound           gasket sealant
lorry                       truck
mole wrench                 Vice grips
Ministry of Transport       Department of Transportation
nave plate                  hubcap
nose                        front of car
paraffin                    kerosene
pinking                     knocking or pinging
prop shaft                  drive shaft
petrol                      gasoline
quarterlight                vent window
rev counter                 tachometer
ring gear                   flywheel gear, or starter gear
roundabout                  rotary, traffic circle
saloon                      2 or 4 door sedan
scuttle                     cowl
side curtains               removable side windows
silencer                    muffler
sill                        rocker panel
spanner                     wrench
split pin                   cotter pin
spring washer               lock washer
sump                        oil pan
thrust bearing              throwout bearing
tickover                    idle
top gear                    high gear
torch                       flashlight
Tyre                        tire
wheel nut                   lug nut
windscreen                  windshield
wing                        fender
hood                        convertible top
jointing compound           gasket sealant
lorry                       truck
mole wrench                 Vice grips
monocoque                   unibody
Ministry of Transport       Department of Transportation
nave plate                  hubcap
nose                        front of car
paraffin                    kerosene
pinking                     knocking or pinging
prop shaft                  drive shaft
petrol                      gasoline
prise                       pry
proud                       above or raised
quarterlight                vent window
rev counter                 tachometer
ring gear                   flywheel gear, or starter gear
roundabout                  rotary, traffic circle
saloon                      2 or 4 door sedan
scuttle                     cowl
side curtains               removable side windows
silencer                    muffler
sill                        rocker panel
Shooting Brake              station wagon
spanner                     wrench
split pin                   cotter pin
spring washer               lock washer
squab                       part of seat
suction advance             vacuum advance
sump                        oil pan
thrust bearing              throwout bearing
tickover                    idle
top gear                    high gear
torch                       flashlight
trunnion                    sliding or rotating joint (suspension)
Tyre                        tire
wheel nut                   lug nut
windscreen                  windshield
wing                        fender

[Ian]

Ahem Dare, there's a few on your list that you copied from real English,
battery
Phillips
dashboard
 A spanner is a spanner, a wrench is an adjustable spanner.
Cubby box. Where on earth did you get that one ? We call it a glove compartment too.

              

[John S]

You're right Ian,  with our US cousins even making up our own English words how the hell we supposed to know what anything is called anymore? 

Any guesses about how long it will take for American to fully be a language in it's own right, 15 years - 50 - 100 or more?    

It's on the way though when you have to get word translations (not dictionary meaning) from search engines. 

Just so you know Dare this is what 'Fender' means to us over here:-  a low metal frame around an open fireplace that stops the coal or wood from falling out. dictionary.Cambridge.org
 

 

[Wizzo]

Correction

A wrench is an adjustable spanner.
Ian is a spanner.

 

[cosworth151]

roundabout  =  circular parking lot

Oxygen bottle on torch cart  =  hangover cure

[Dare]

American as a language had it's chance John,it's
soon to become a 2nd or 3rd language over here.
50 years American and English will go the ways of
Latin here.

[Ian]

  Back there are we Wiz. 

[Scott]

50 years American and English will go the ways of
Latin here.

    Ok Dan (Quale).   

[lkjohnson1950]

That's reality. In Arizona this year there are more Hispanic students enrolled in public schools than Caucasians. Some time in the next 20 to 50 years the populations of California, Arizona, New Mexico and possibly Texas will be more than 50% Hispanic. The Winds of Change are upon us.