Hi, just restoring a xk120 ots and was wondering what the correct color is of the smiths heater below the dash. Especially the part with the two little doors. Thanks for the help. Best regards Ewout
See attached picture.
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certainly my XK120 DHC the heater was black?
this is more the colour of the MKV version?
The heater in my November 1953 OTS was a silver color like Dickās. Rustoleum makes a rattlecan paint called āstainless steelā which is a close match to the original silver color.
There is a T-shaped metal attachment (not shown in Dickās photo) that directs heat to the cardboard defroster tubes. The T-shaped attachment is painted black.
These heaters are notorious for eventually splitting and rupturing. The brand new one fitted to my XK120 OTS as part of a recent restoration has just split open. BTW it had a black wrinkle painted finish as supplied by a recognised XK120 restoration business. It took me two runs to figure out where the puddles of coolant that appeared on the garage floor half way down the car were coming from. The carpet is currently out of the car and has had a large fan running constantly in the footwall for 3 days to dry out the coolant that has soaked the transmission tunnel carpet and everywhere else the coolant could run.
I hosed under the car thoroughly. I hope that all the coolant concentrate that is lying around in hidden nooks and crannies will not remove the paint and lead to long term corrosion, probably only be surface rust anyway.
Do your research, wish I had before agreeing to have a heater installed. XK120 heaters are generally ineffective and a waste of time, with the potential to do damage. If you were planning on running the car in cold wet conditions you might need it for safety to keep the fog off the windows. Google āleaking XK120 heater core (or matrix)ā and youāll see what Iām on about. These heaters are evil ļ
Thanks for all the valuable input! Silver/grey it will be. Best regards Ewout
For reference, here is one from my 1950 Mark V in its original color.
The Smiths MA sticker is available from Austin Healey sources.