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PeterN
United Kingdom
240 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2017 : 22:07:06
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Just for information for anyone contemplating an engine repaint, here are a couple of pictures showing the end result when using the S&V green paint (undercoated black).There's no indication of the shade on the S&V website but I'm very pleased with it as I feared ending up with too lurid a green. The 3rd picture is of the former paint.
Peter 1930 M type MG 748 2M/1506 |
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Matthew Magilton
Australia
179 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2017 : 04:13:06
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Peter, can you get a daylight photo please? May show the green a little better.
Matthew. |
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Fred Boothby
United Kingdom
367 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2017 : 17:51:18
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Please excuse my ignorance , but what is the correct colour for MMM engines ? I though all were red . My J2 is , of course blue - 'cos it's a racer ! |
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Bruce Sutherland
United Kingdom
1580 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2017 : 18:18:27
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Peter, This should help: Home; Triple-M Register Document Downloads - Technical; Body Paint colours.
Bruce. (PB0564) |
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Npdavea
United Kingdom
273 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2017 : 20:54:37
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I always understood that 4 cylinder MMMs were red and six cylinders green as were the other 1930s 6 cylinder MGs. My newly painted NB engine is shown and this is the same colour as an SA that I owned a few years ago.
D P Allen |
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sam christie
United Kingdom
3116 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2017 : 22:25:11
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This was researched in depth some years ago (I believe by Lew Palmer). This theme has also been discussed on previous threads. There is a common assumption that because most engines are red then all engines must be read.
There is strong evidence that M-type engines (from examples hundreds of miles apart which have never previously been 'restored') were a dull green over a grey primer. A high proprtion of M-type engines are now red (possibly most) because the assumption has gone so far that it is now self fulfilling. Some M-types even have red Minor engines.
I think Peter is right.
Has anyone researched M.G. D-type engine colours?
Sam |
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Oz34
United Kingdom
2580 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2017 : 23:05:08
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David, it has always been my understanding that 2 seater engines were red, both 4 & 6 cylinder and that 4 seaters, again whether 4 or 6 pot, were green. On that basis your car would appear to correct with a green motor.
Having said that, the well known & very original looking PA 2 seater barn find that surfaced a year or two ago had a green engine
Dave |
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Andrew Fock
Australia
382 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2017 : 23:55:27
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NA 0279 is a four seater. While the engine was repainted in the 1970 (the car was in a garage with a stripped diff from 1943 till then and is only a 3 owner car) the bell housing and the front engine mount are in the original paint. This is clearly red.
Andrew
NA 0279 PA 1294 |
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sven
Sweden
438 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2017 : 07:44:31
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Hi all I think I am right in saying that MMM engines were built by Wolseleys and transported to Abingdon. I can't believe that M.G. specified engine colours depending on the body they were to be mated to. They were probably just fetched from the storage and the relevant number put on the guarantee plate. The register list of chassis numbers and engine numbers bear this out.So one batch was red and another green.
The blue for racing cars has been refuted in several threads on this forum. The SW engines were very unmodified Morris and are quite a different story. Kind regards Sven |
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Westbury
United Kingdom
2055 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2017 : 10:18:46
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My own view is/was as Dave's however,my first NA which I bought way back in the early sixties was a very original four seater with it's original engine in red.There was no evidence of any other colour.Again, a very original four seater PB which I owned in the sixties had it's original engine in red. Over the years I was always tempted to repaint my MG engines in green which is my favourite colour for any engine but always stuck to red as it seemed to me to be the 'proper colour'.
Come to think of it I cannot remember seeing many triple -m engines in green at all.
I remember reading somewhere that the racing engines were very often left unpainted as there was little time for such niceties and in any case it did not seem so important at the time.
Chris |
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Westbury
United Kingdom
2055 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2017 : 10:23:32
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Should have added that the only MG I have owned (briefly) with a green engine was a 'D' type.(obviously a four seater).
Chris |
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Fred Boothby
United Kingdom
367 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2017 : 16:02:56
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Maybe the engine division of Wolseley used the system later employed by Lotus - using whatever they had in stock at the time " Oh, we have run out of green engine paint . Never mind , this batch will have to be red ! " Just to upset the purists , I think I will paint my next engine Fergusson Grey . Why ? Because I have a lot of it - and Coventry-Climax engines were that colour. |
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PeterN
United Kingdom
240 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2017 : 17:34:58
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Oh Gawd. I never intended to open up the "what's the correct engine colour" debate again. It's painfully obvious after reading all the previous posts, going back years, that we really don't know. I only wanted to show what you get if you use the S&V green paint. At the moment the car is up on ramps whilst I struggle to get the new toe board into place, but I will post other pictures once I can get it out of the garage. FYI I chose green based on Sam Christie's previously published thoughts.
Peter 1930 M type MG 748 2M/1506 |
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LewPalmer
USA
3252 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2017 : 03:43:53
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Remember, the factory was never concerned with "originality"!
Lew Palmer PA1169, PB0560 |
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Mike Allison
United Kingdom
196 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2017 : 10:29:08
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Hello everyone,
The subject of engine colour keeps cropping up, but the official story, which I got from the Factory when I worked there is as follows: The early 14 hp cars were in "battleship" grey, but by the time the Mark IV came along the cylinder heads, which were re-worked at Edmund Road, were painted blue, a light shade, but otherwise unspecified by Jack Lewis, who actually did the work. The 18HP cars originally had grey engines, although this was later changed to emerald green, at a date unknown. The M-types had originally (1929) grey engines, but this was changed to red after the move to Abingdon in 1930. F-types all had green engines, as used by Wolseley. It was a bright green, described as "Lime" in the records. After this all MMM engines were red, the dark (cardinal)red which was used until 1966. Racing engines were, according to both Jackson and Hounslow, not painted (Hounslow actually said "we never had the bloody time for that sort of titivation!") The Bira K3 had a blue engine, at Chula's instruction, and I think the F2, Fidget, also had a blue engine. The red engines continued with the T-series, but the SVW cars all had green painted engines. I have tried many times to pass this information on, but everyone does what they want with their own cars in the end.
Mike |
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sven
Sweden
438 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2017 : 11:49:31
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Mike A thank you for this important and very clear note. Perhaps Mike's post should be added on the download section as "Engine colours" to help future discussions. Kind regards to everyone regardless of engine colour.
Sven |
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