[Healeys] Copper Coloured Armstrong Shocks

[Rich C]

Hello all,

Over the years I've observed a lot of copper coloured shocks on big Healeys
and other BMC cars of the '50's and ;60's. I have never been able to prove
these to have been installed originally, but have often wondered as to their
identity or meaning. Some folks have a theory that they may have been part of
the BMC "Gold Seal Factory Replacement" scheme of the period. However, I've
seen Gold Seal remanufactured items and they were painted gold, not copper.

Recently I was talking to a friend who was born and raised in the town of
Abingdon, in the U.K. and in his early driving years often visited the
Abingdon Competitions Department on Saturday mornings where one could purchase
factory approved items right there over the counter. He tells me that the
copper painted Armstrong shocks indicated they were revalved and were
considered a heavier duty shock for competition work, and he'd bought a set to
upgrade his '65 MG Midget. A chum of his bought some to upgrade his '68
MGB/GT, and so on.

Why I'm asking this now is that I'm currently doing a restoration on a
relatively low mileage '54 BN1 that's been off the road for over 40 years. It
has a virtually fresh full set of copper painted shocks, and I'd hate to be
changing this out if it's a legitimate part of the car.

Has anybody else any experience or comments about this? (Yes, I know what it
says in the Concours Guidelines.)

Rich Chrysler