Andy Thanks for the large sampling!
In message <Pine.SUN.3.91.951025211816.12573A-100000@unix2.nysed.gov> Andrew
Mace writes:
>
> I think I'm mostly with you on your theory. I noticed a later message
> seemed to peg it somewhere not too far after my own TS71909L. It would be
> a pretty expensive piece either way; if the older tools wore out, say,
> mid-1960,
I believe my car was made in may or June of 1960. So far the tooling change
does look like its within the first five months of 1960.
it might well have made sense to come up with a new, slightly
> cheaper-to-make apron. I also suspect that this is when the smaller,
> smooth letters came to be placed on the apron, to commonise with other
> models (such as the Herald) using the same letter set. This theory is
> borne out by my own small sample, but I wouldn't stake my life on it.
My rounded nose apron has the ribbed letters as did the two with rounded noses I
saw last weekend at the Pasatiempo British car meet.
One thing that will scue this poll are repair parts. The dealer parts shelves
were stocked with the earlier style front apron when the changeover occured.
These parts got used up as cars came in with front end damage. So some smooth
nose cars had to have had their front valance replaced with old stock aprons in
factory primer. They got sprayed the original factory colour and from that
point on who can tell if it were original or not.
I think the shape of the nose should never come up in concourse judging.
>
> Along similar lines, people for years have also argued about front aprons
> with NO letters. I know some people swear this is how their cars came
> from Coventry, but I tend to suspect that a no-letter apron more likely
> was the "standard" spares condition by the mid-1960s, perhaps to
> accommodate either set of letters -- ribbed or smooth. The holes for each
> set, of course, are quite different.
This theory sounds plausable to me. It would be a way for dealers & body shops
to deal with minimizing invetory of expensive bulky parts after the smooth
letters came out. One could build upon that theory and guess that the dealers
probably always put letters on and independent body shops may or may not have
drilled holes & put them on.
>
> The only reference point I have to back up the non-original "no letters"
> front apron is this: my ex-brother-in-law's TR3B (TCF1621L, I think) had
> no letters on the front apron. However, when he and I first went to look
> at it, we looked it over very closely, as the semi-metallic
> not-quite-apple green color was definitely non-stock. As I recall, it was
> rather easy to find the reddish primer color on the underside of the
> apron -- the same color used to prime replacement sheet metal for so many
> years.
If there was no other colour between the green and the primer, its probably
replacement. I occasionally hear from people who have no letters and swear that
there are no holes, no bondo and no sign of welded up holes. I have noticed
though that these people seem to own early 3Bs. There may possibly be more than
a coincidence there but without data who can tell.
The dark red primer you were mentioning was their standard primer colour. My
factory signal red had brick red primer under its paint and it had no sign of
ever having been in an accident (except that the windscreen was pulled back once
damaging the scuttle). I have seen that primer colour under every paint job I
remember seeing primer on.
Thanks again for your data and insight!
TeriAnn
|