No flames from here but Sprinzel had two black Bugeyes in 1960, one for the
Acropolis in May and a new shell for the RAC in November. I agree with
your listed colours but many unlisted colours were also available to
special order. Also FYI our CKDs were painted locally and the colours were
named after international circuits eg: Monza Red, Rheims Blue, Nurburg
White. These CKDs also had an extra VIN plate listing chassis no (per
shock tower), engine no. and colour which also included a code to show the
paint manufacturer (ie:Dulux, Spartan) and the paint type (ie: enamel,
acrylic lacquer).
Hi Folks,
Am sure there are a couple of folks who wonder how long we would stay out
of
this, so now is the time. Flame shields up and all those other things.
BMC Body Service Parts List #AKD3567, "Key to Body Exterior and Main Color
Combinations, from Start of Vehicle Production" (H-AN5, AN6, AN7, G-AN1
and
AN2) The only colors for H-AN5's (production time not listed) are:
Whitehall (Nevada) Beige (BG.4)
Iris Blue (BU.12)
Speedwell Blue (BU.1)
Dark Green (GN.12)
Leaf Green (GN.15)
Cherry Red (RD.4)
Old English White (WT.3)
Primrose (YL.3)
BMC Sales Flyer Publication No. 1590 personally acquired from a dealer in
Nov.
1959 lists the colors for that year as Cherry Red, Old English White,
Speedwell Blue, Primrose and Dark Green.
BMC Sales Flyer Publication No. 1590/B personally acquired from a dealer in
Feb. 1960 list the colors for that year as Cherry Red, Leaf Green, Old
English
White, Iris Blue and Nevada Beige.
Note, both of these flyers have a Black Sprite on the cover but as you will
notice that color is not in any of the above list.
These are period publications from BMC, are they correct? We think so.
Having spent most of our working life in data/documentation managment we
have
the greatest respect for those folks who have searched the archives and
made
the effort to reconstruct the details and history of our cars. From this
same
experience we know how easy it is to miss one digit or letter thereby
changing
the events. From a number of writers it has been observed that BMC was not
the most diligent of record keepers and we should keep that in mind
reguardless of the author. There is also the case of year of manufacture
vs
model or delivery year. If you purchased a 1999 F**d in November of 1998
would it be a 1998 car or a 1999 car that was produced in 1998? It is
apparent that factory production always leads delivery but production date
does not make the model year, at least in our opinion. Granted that
European
car manufactures were not into the model year cycle that U.S. makers
were/are
but at that time they were trying to give the U.S. buying public that
impression - thats from experience. Final comment on our favorite color
Nevada Beige. Although it has been cited that this color was put into
production in Jan. 1959 we do not believe this. Having been very much into
the sports car world in that time period we do not recall ever seeing this
color prior to 1960. In deed our two cars in that color got a lot of
attention when we showed up at events in Feb. 1960, not necessarily
favorable
attention but attention. Until we meet an original owner that purchased a
Nevada Beige car in Sep. 1959 or earlier we will stick to it being a 1960
color.
Sorry to be so long.
Bob and Annice
1960 Sprite (Mk IV in disguise)
In a message dated 3/13/99 7:17:57 PM, TYPE79@ix.netcom.com writes:
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