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
Today we chat with Gold Leaf Team Lotus mechanic Doug Garner who tells us about how he got started working for Lotus Cars before being poached by the race team next door to work on his first race car, the type 56 Indycar.
After Indy 1968 he moved on to the F3 team to work on the 41X with John Miles driving. For 1969 it was back to Indy with the type 64 and drivers Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt and Mario Andretti. After that it was into building and racing the legendary Lotus 72 in 1970.
You can listen to the recording here or watch Gary's interview with Doug on YouTube.