I came upon the phrase ‘the mechanic’s gallon’ a while ago. Teams in the 60’s were trying to save weight and make the car as light as possible, inc. putting as much fuel in the car at the start of the race so that it lasted JUST to the end. This generally worked but a few times ran out of fuel with a few laps to go. So unbeknownst to Colin Chapman, the mechanics when fuelling the car would add an extra gallon, just to make sure it was enough, hence the ‘mechanic’s gallon’!
https://mechanicsgallon.blogspot.com/
Doug Garner on Lotus and F1, recorded September 2021
In the first of a new series of interviews Gary talks with Doug Garner who was at Lotus from 1966 working on the Lotus Elans, moving into the race workshop at the end of 1967 and was straight at work on the Lotus 56 turbine Indycar! His first race car. After 1969 he moved on to the Formula 1 team working on the Lotus 72.
Download the recording here, or watch the interview on YouTube.