That would make a nice model railroad scene. I do,however, shudder (or maybe just shiver) to think of an outside inspection pit in a Michigan winter.
Agllcisms? You mean like the boot, the bonnet and the sticker under the hood cautioning that this vehicle was wired negative earth? My cousin had one. She approached it with a hearty chuckle, did a lot of her own wrenching and was able to get most of the parts from J.C. Whitney.
I had a 1958 Standard Motor Ltd., Triumph TR-3A with Lucas 6 Volt Negative Earth electrics, and a pair of SU HD-4 carburettors. I loved that beastie. It kept me busy tinkering every day. Had to retune the SU's every time the ambient temp changed more than 10F degrees.
One of my high school buddies had a British motor car. I was helping him install an 8 track sound system. We had to fabricate some plastic mounting brackets to insulate from the car chassis to install it under the dash. Then wire it with the 8 tracks plus voltage wire going to the chassis and the negative going to the accessories relay.
Undated photo of two little boys dressed just like their dad at Carter Boys service station in Hermleigh, Texas.
Apparently, "duck work" is an archaic miss-spelling of "duct work" or "ductwork". "Duct" is often mispronounced as "duck."
"Duck Tape" is a brand name. An excellent marketing spin. Someone was very smart in grabbing that one. Either way, it came to public notice as named for it's use, duct tape. For taping joints of ductwork. Personally I prefer the aluminum HVAC type available these days. Old style duct tape tends to dry out as the years go by, and will end up failing at some point.
...and, as proven time and again by our revered Red Green, the other 1001 uses, including building a giant goose out of it. Or taping together two Hyundai Ponys to create the "Humdinger". I doubt its inventors would have thought that duct tape would be transformed into a cult icon...