Originality Question

[daykrolik]

After examining "Black Beauty," the 100 point '66 OTS which just set the auction record in New York, I can't help but be curious about two "originality" questions, since I have a '67 myself. Black Beauty had the round white, red and black "Replace Your Wipers. . ." sticker in the middle of the wiper motor. The aluminum number tags on each of the carburetor float bowls were silver in color. I don't believe I've ever seen that sticker on an E Type wiper motor before and I've seen some of those tags which are blue anodized.(They were blue anodized on my original XK 150.) I am certainly no concours expert and don't want to rekindle a debate which may have raged before, but I would appreciate input from some of you folks who are experts. Should the sticker be there and should the tags be silver or blue? Thanks.

[johnney]

The float bowl tags should be silver (They are made from aluminium) I personally have never seen these in any other colour on an E Type. As for the replace your wipers sticker maybe somebody else can answer that, I can't say that I have ever seen one myself.

[Heuer]

Check our 'Factory Fit' thread and you will see the SU tags were plain aluminium.

As far as I know the Factory were not in the habit of attaching unnecessary name tags/labels/stickers to the E-Type unless they were delivered as part of the assembly (different at various times) e.g. Lucas Screenjet, Lucas battery, Triplex Laminated screen, Smiths blower motor, Lucas coil, Champion plug caps, Smiths/Lucas instruments and Marston Excelsior radiator. I am fairly sure the 'Coopers' filter sticker on the air cannister is not Factory as it is an AC Delco assembly and I can't see Lucas putting a Trico sticker on their wiper motor assembly. Ditto the Bluco anti-freeze sticker on hoses or any other trade names. Most of these were probably added when the car went in for service - service parts included a sticker which the mechanics were proud to attach to prove they had actually done something!

So assume no 'stickers' unless they can be proved to be Factory and bear in mind some are date specific (e.g. Triplex Laminated and Lucas coil stickers).

[daykrolik]

Thank you for your replies.
I think the idea that people who worked on the cars added the stickers makes perfect sense and is correct. Apparently no concours points are deducted.
However, if you look at the 4.2 Factory Fit photos in the forum, the tags on the carburetors are clearly blue. The 3.8 tags are silver. I've always been curious about this because I can assure you that the original carb tags on my XK 150 were blue anodized aluminum. The blue coating could have worn off in many cases and, of course, it's possible that the original tags were both blue and silver. Many of the E Types I see are totally missing the tags. An interesting question for the purists.

[rfs1957]

Awaiting the denouement of this one with baited breath ; the 50's-60's-70's British motorcycle industry (whose products I knew intimately, as a horny-handed son of toil, before I saw the light) mirrored very closely the manufacturing techniques and finishes of the British car companies, and I cannot think of a single instance where ANYTHING was colour-anodised. Is that poor memory, or fact ? I find it hard to believe that SU would have used a process (and it's a cheap process) pre-E-Type that then found no application anywhere, by any supplier, on the next generation of cars ? I can't think of an instance where Ducati, to take another example, used it until the mid to late 80's, perhaps with the 750F1 and then 851 ? My guess ? American serviceman with a mate in an aviation plant.

[daykrolik]

Rory,
I do not purport to be an expert on metallurgical processes. I worked on the 1959 XK 150 I purchased in 1964 since it was brand-new. The SU float bowl tags were a metallic blue in color, which looked to me to be anodizing. It may be a different process, but it is certainly not paint. When I sold that car earlier this year, those original tags were still intact, and definitely blue. As I mentioned, the Factory Fit photos for the 4.2 on this forum clearly shows blue tags that appear to have a similar metallic blue color. You can still buy aluminum tags used in laboratories with the same metallic blue coating. Is it possible that SU bought and used some of those? That's why I'm "asking the experts."
Day

[Simon P]

Just to further add to the confusion, the tags on my 1969 S2 have always been a kind of pale lime green....

Edit: As if to prove a point. Prior to restoration and untouched since 1988: