Brake Discs Dust Shield

[CTDavies]

Hi, can someone let me know if the brake disc dust shields were zink plated or painted when E-Types left the factory? I am reaching the stage where I need to know this for my own home restoration. Any advise is grately appreciated. Chris

[skiday]

I have a book called 'Factory-Original Jaguar E-Type' and on page 104 it shows a picture of a S2 with Girling brakes and the dust shields are zinc plated. This cannot be an absolute guarantee of originality, but it would be a good guide. It looks un-restored. I don't think I should reproduce the photo without permission.

I painted mine with POR15 and their 'Chassis Black'. My mechanic (we fell out) said at the time it would burn right off as they get so hot, but I'm pleased to say it has not. So far, so good. I am not overly burdened by originality.

[D COUPE]

And rightfully so Andrew. With hind sight originality was not
always the best way. Im sure there are owners who have the
burden but I like yourself realise that modern finish and looks have a place in restorations

[CTDavies]

...but I like yourself realise that modern finish and looks have a place in restorations

@D COUPE, This is precisey where I see the beauty of using modern materials available today; you can recreate the original looks and achieve a more durable and better quality finish than in 1969.

@skiday, thanks for that pointer, I also have that book but never really paid much attention to that image, as that car apparently is restored, which is given away by the plated wishbones.

After an extensive internet search I have come across these images of a 1969 Coupe which might probably show a mostly untouched engine bay (apart from a few components that have obviously been replaced). Here you can see that the wishbones are black as well as the rear radiator housing and the radiator expansion tank.
Of course nickel plated wishbones with a chromed rad housing and a polished brass expansion tank look much more snazzy than everything in semi gloss black, but researching how the car actually looked when it left Coventry and recreating that look is, for me, half the fun. Unfortunately the disc shields are not visible here. Maybe Peter Crespins new book, to be released early next year will shed more light on this subject.
I'm probably contradicting myself here as I am trying to find out which colour some individual parts had back in '69 but then want to paint the body in a different colour, one that wasn't even available then. So authenticity only goes so far, even for me...

[skiday]

I thought wishbones should be plated, not black. :?

[1954Etype]

I would not agree that this car is a good example of an untouched car. Look at the overspray, the inside of the undertray is painted black (should be body colour), the radiator grill should be silver, the bonnet balance links should be plated (not sure there shouldn't be a gas strut?), forward wiring loom entry looks bodged, even the bolts on the wishbone clamps are painted black. I could go on....nope, not a good example.

[CTDavies]

Ok, these images also come from the www, so I hope it's safe to use them here.

On this first one you can see the shield on the very left. To me it looks as if it was plated at one stage. I can't really make out any colour of the wishbones. Haddock says that front suspension parts came either plated or painted black.



Too late for me now, anyway, as my parts are away for powder coating.

This car was also listed for sale as a fairly untouched example, so I'm showing some pictures here of the engine bay for further discussion.









I bumped into a very friendly ederly gentleman in a book store at the N?rburgring a few weeks ago and we got talking about XK120-150s and E-Types (he owned them all). He said 'paint it all black', everything in the engine bay was black. If Haddock says the parts were both and this man says it was all balck, I guess I'm safe going for a black powder coating on all front suspension parts including the dust shields.

[christopher storey]

I am afraid it is wholly incorrect to say "everything was black" . And Haddock, interesting though it is, is far from authoritative . The wishbones were always cadmium plated . And by the way, the car you show in the most recent pictures is an amazing mishmash, with 3.8 inlet manifolds ( or possibly XK150S) , an American S2 rear exhaust manifold , S2 radiator fans (although what the radiator is is uncertain ) , a top hose outlet which looks as though it might come from a 3.8 , an XJ6 dipstick ,and so it goes on. You are right to do what pleases you

[Heuer]

This guide to S2 originality is fairly definitive: http://www.jcna.com/library/concours/2006/e-type2.pdf and the first few pictures show cadmium plating. Unfortunately the JCNA guides do not specifically cover suspension or under body components.

[osgii]

By the way, how long a zing plated spare part can resist again rust? I know that hot galvanizing protect metal up to 30-40 years, but what about electrolytic zinged metal?

[CTDavies]

I think I'll give up on posting pictures of unmolested cars I have found on the internet; this is getting quite embarassing But thanks to all for pointing out those errors. It just proves you can't take for granted what you find on the www.

But a big thanks to Heuer for the JCNA Guide - that's just what the Doc ordered. The images there are actually so good I could see that the stub axle carrier should also be plated as well as all fulcrum brackets. So I made a quick call to the powder coating company to find out they hadn't started yet, so everything was halted until I can mail them a detailed description of what needs to be coated and what plated. That was close, but thanks to Heuer I was able to turn things right at the last minute.

I've been looking around on the internet for Peter Crespin's book Enthusiast Restoration Manual, but from what I can see, it either hasn't been released yet or is currently not available. I'm hoping it will answer more questions regarding the colour and finishes of various components. It will be available at Amazon in January 2013.

[miles5]

Based on a conversation at JD Classics on Saturday it would seem the earliest cars suspension components where hot dipped in an oil bath as at the time Jaguar did not have access to plating/didnt want to pay.

Just passing it on.