Air intake mesh

[Arbington]

Could anyone advise me. My series 1.5 bonnet is dismantled and soda blasted for paint.

Should the rectangular air intake mesh in the nose be black and likewise the frame? Or should it all be body colour ?

The car is Old English White

Thanks

[jag68]

I assume that you are referring to the screen that is directly in front of the radiator. According to the JCNA judging guide for Ser 1.5 cars the screen is cadmium plated with cad plated hardware, and the frame is painted gray (Plasti-Kote Light Machine Gray) and secured to the bonnet with silver cad Posidrive screws with oval (some say round) screws (presumably also cad plated.) It has a black horsehair strip at the top, where is butts into the bonnet. They are not painted body colour.

I'm not sure some of that is correct. On my '68 1E17808 which I can't verify is completely authentic as it has been apart, the bottom two holes per side (into the lower bonnet shroud) are 1/4" bolts - there is no "blind" screw clip on the inside of the shroud to accept a screw - its just a 1/4" hole (2 per side). On the lower shroud of a '67 I'm restoring it has the blind screw clips, so there must have been a change over point somewhere. Washers on mine are round - not oval.

[Arbington]

Many thanks