Trico Reservac stencil

[Heuer]

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon trying to create a decent stencil pattern for the Reservac printing.


I started by using a rough tracing Jerry Mouton made of his original to give me the correct scale (Jerry misinterpreted 'REGD' as a number):


I used this restored example as a further guide and now we know the correct location:


A bit of research revealed the font was 'Stencil Gothic' which I downloaded and used Word to get the correct font size (72 and 36 point) and layout.:


I then trawled the net until I found the correct Trico period logo:


I used Paintshop to add the bridges and pasted it all together:


You can download the PDF file from our Knowledge Base or here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0h5bzi89pmro4 ... 9.pdf?dl=1

When printed "Actual size" (do not select fit to page, scale or other option in the print programme) it should be the correct size to have a Mylar (thin and flexible as paper) stencil made. As some printers and various paper sizes can change the scale so you may need to resize the image - width of text from outer edge of 'R' and 'D' on bottom line is 6"". The quote from 'The Stencil Studio' http://www.thestencilstudio.com/ comes out as follows:

All our custom stencils are hand cut from 125 micron Mylar. Mylar is flexible, reusable and suitable for use with any type of paint. Mylar is as thin and flexible as a piece of paper, but strong, washable and re-usable. Mylar is not a rigid plastic. The price is ?15.00 plus VAT Plus P&P. Please note that custom stencils are cut to order, please allow approx. 1-5 working days to cut your stencil plus shipping times as listed above to give you a rough idea on lead times. If you need your stencils urgently then please let us know and we will do our best to meet your deadline.

Contact Clare at the Stencxil Studio if you want a copy: info@thestencilstudio.com

Stencil looks like this (not actual size which should be 6" wide R to D of bottom line):

[abowie]

Well done that man!

[Heuer]

Just been sent another photo, this time unrestored:

[Mark Gordon]

David, my friend, I'm afraid that you've been infected by the same bug that compelled me to clean and paint my gearbox (you know, that thing that can't be seen once re-installed into the car) and the rear engine mount spring and support collars (totally invisible once back in place) while everything was out for engine rebuild. You need to spend your spare time pushing the loud pedal rather than a paint brush.

[Heuer]

I would if I could Mark but the temperatures here are hovering just above freezing which means all the roads are salted. Even a 2 mile drive leaves the Range Rover covered in a horrible grey coating so I hate to think what it would do to the E-Type. It is too cold to work in the garage for any length of time even with the heating on so the E-Type's and the Elan will not be going out until March when hopefully the rain will have washed away the salt and grit. My office is a lot more comfortable at the moment. On the other hand it is not too cold to go out shooting on the local Estate which is what I will be doing tomorrow - in the Range Rover!

[Mark Gordon]

Good for you! One daughter is going to be in town this weekend and we may try to get in a round of sporting clays if the predicted snow/sleet/freezing rain/rain (in that order) doesn't quash the plans.

[Simon P]

From the look of the unrestored one, I think the only thing we can safely say is that no two were alike!

:D

[PaulColeman]

Did all cars have this on the tank or was it just the early cars?

Paul.

[Heuer]

Bob Stevenson sent me these two pictures to add to our library:

[Heuer]

Bob Stevenson has come up with another picture, this time from 'Sports Car Graphic' September 1962 of a very early car - OSB in fact - which seems to confirm the 'Stencil Gothic' font is correct and also gives a nice view of the position and alignment:


Finished stencil should be here tomorrow so I will replace the draft version in the download link.

Question: has anybody seen this graphic on a 4.2 car?

[Dave K]

David,

This info is great but it's giving a whole heap of extra work to do on my car
:D

Dave

[Heuer]

Asked Richard Smith about which cars had the Trico stencil and his reply was: "The stencil is a good idea, it is so faint even on original Californian cars, but my experience is that it went up to and including 1965 4.2s"

[1954Etype]

Oh great, now I've got to take mine off and stencil it!

[Heuer]

Final stencil graphic from 'The Stencil Studio' is now available here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/849 ... tencil.pdf

If you don't fancy cutting your own please contact Clare at 01453 731233 or info@thestencilstudio.com and they will make you one based on the pattern they now hold. Total cost will be ?22.98. Use 3M Spray Mount to attach to tank before applying paint.

[MarekH]

"....now I have so much more work to do...."

Angus/DaveK:- if there is no evidence that you ever had a Trico stencil on your reservac, why should you be adding one now? By definition, if it was piecework, then one operator will have returned a slightly different result to another, so even if it had been present, applying the exact same stencil "too correctly" will not be "restoration", but altering your car, possibly to something that it never was.

Do we even know whether ALL pre1965 cars had a stencil?

kind regards
Marek

[Heuer]

Pictorial evidence shows the Trico stencil existed from the earliest cars onwards - how far onwards is something we are trying to determine but Richard Smith says "end of 1965" so until more evidence is received from 4.2 owners we will stick with that. Clearly Trico meant all Reservacs to be stencilled otherwise they would not have gone to the bother of a) making the stencil and b) employing people to paint it. If we adhere to the JCNA concours judging rules it is now down to someone to prove the stencil was not applied to their car Reservac. As for applying the exact same stencil "too correctly" I think we will find that every one is going to be different, much like the originals are although after doing a 100 or so someone might get quite good at it!

[Simon P]

Stencil looks good!

:D

[Dave K]

Marek it's a bit too late for me to be thinking about altering my car now because if the upgrade for an E-Type exists then I have it.

Dave

[Heuer]

Dick Russ emailed me to say he had the stencil cut out as a decal and it was, as a result, a simple fit to the Reservac. A bit of lateral thinking there!


Only thing missing are the bridges from the Trico logo it seems.

[Dave K]

It looks good, perhaps a little too good!

Dave