[E-Type] Differential color

E-Type
1

I’m new here,having purchased a 66 S1 OTS several months ago. I’m
doing what I call a rolling restoration with a shop here in Orange
County that is very familiar with e types. I’m starting with the
irs assembly. My question is what is the correct color of the
differential? I have searched the archives and it looks like the
answers are all over the place. The shop says just paint it black,
which is what some of the posters in the archives say. Other’s say
it is a reddish orange I’ve read stories that the diff was dipped
in glyptal and then given a light coat of black which then flaked
off leaving the glyptal color. I’ve also read that the current
color of glyptal is no longer correct. Other suggestions are to
mix Rustoleum red with Rustoleum red primer to get the correct
shade. The next question is, if red/orange is correct what is the
color of the end cover plate? I’ve read black and I’ve read cad
plated. As you can see I’m very confused. I’m not bulding a show
car, but I would like it to look like it came off the dealer
showroom floor. Thanks for everyone’s help.

Sherman Kaplan
1966 e type OTS
Mission Viejo, Calif.–
Britcar82
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2

In reply to a message from Britcar82 sent Sat 21 Sep 2013:

Sherman,

We just went through a long thread about this, you should find that
for more information.

My '64 was glyptal color from the factory. Others swear theirs was
black. No clear documentation from the factory about it, but no
JCNA concours will judge the differential. I believe you can take
your choice between black and glyptal, but I can assure you that at
least one 3.8 had a glyptal differential. No chance that it was
ever painted black and flaked off. I can see it more likely that
somebody 40 years ago took the diff out of a car and painted it
black.

I can’t guarantee the color of the end plate because I took it off
and repainted it hammertone silver but I don’t strictly recall what
color it was before that.

Whatever you decide, there will always be an E-Type expert who
insists you have it wrong. So take a stand on what you think it
should be and make it as you like it.

Jerry–
Jerry Mouton '64 FHC 889791 ‘MIK Jaguar’
Palo Alto, California, United States
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3

In reply to a message from mouton sent Sat 21 Sep 2013:

Orange. It’s not called the pumpkin for nothing! It also looks
far cooler to my eye; painting it all black obscures detail
and smacks of used car lots.
The back plate is satin black powdercoat the same as all the
other metal bits.
I have zinc plated all of the brake components.
See my blog post for today; I put my IRS in this morning.
http://www.projectetype.com/index.php/the-blog--
Andrew B, 1967 S1.5 FHC, 1964 S1 OTS www.projectetype.com
Adelaide, Australia
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4

In reply to a message from Britcar82 sent Sat 21 Sep 2013:

Hi Sherman,
I am not sure what glyptal is, never heard of it down here? My 65
Mk2 I have owned 40+ years, was a beauty to restore, as it had
remained mostly factory original, 100% all there and is replicated
faithfully today as it came out of the factory. My 67 E Type had an
unmolested diff in it and was identical to the Mk2 in paint finish.
The diff housing is Red Oxide, a burnt reddy - brown colour, flat
finish and was very easily colour matched in appearance by using
what we know down here as ‘‘cold galv’’ the colour being Red Oxide,
Grey is the more common colour and usually used as a zinc rich
primer I think? The backing plates were both gloss Black, as was
the shaft covers and the axle shaft housings on the Mk2. Hope this
helps?
Regards,
Rob–
The original message included these comments:

irs assembly. My question is what is the correct color of the
differential? I have searched the archives and it looks like the

–
Gumnuts: 2 x E’s, Mk2, S type, XJ Ser 2 & others
Perth, Australia
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5

In reply to a message from Gumnuts sent Sun 22 Sep 2013:

Info on red Glyptal here:
http://tinyurl.com/nw8g7mc

and here:
http://www.glyptal.com/Glyptal_Product_Data_Sheets.htm

It is used to seal castings so the inside of a diff, gearbox
or engine for example. Not sure why you would put it on the
outside but Jaguar seemed to think it was a good idea.
Colour is the same red as it has always been but also worth
noting it is/was available in black, so the Factory could
have used whatever they were sent.

David–
The original message included these comments:

I am not sure what glyptal is, never heard of it down here? My 65

–
David Jones, S1 OTS
Nottingham, United Kingdom
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6

In reply to a message from Heuer sent Sun 22 Sep 2013:

Glyptal is also used by electrical motor rewinding shops
to insulate/fix the coils. You may also be able to find it
in an electronics shop as it used to also be sold as
‘‘Corona spray’’ to stop the HV coils from arcing.

The inside of my diff was still intact, so I only wanted
to repaint the outside, and since I couldn’t find Glyptal
in anything less than a 4l can I mixed some Black and Red
Hammerite to tone the Red down a bit. It isn’t the correct
Orange, but also not quite the ‘‘bling factor’’ that the
plain red was either. I have also read on the XK list that
mixing Rustoleum Brown and Red mix to a pretty good match
for the original.

Note: Rustoleum/Hammerite is ONLY for external (i.e.
decorative) use. I would never use anything other than
Glyptal or an equivalent spec product on the inside of a
diff/gearbox/block. In fact, unless you have had to grind
and weld such a casing it isn’t necessary - the original
coating will suffice - Glyptal is incredibly tough, and
there isn’t any wear, it was only used to seal the
castings and bind any sand that didn’t come out at the
shaker table.

The reason it was on the outside may be that they couldn’t
be bothered to mask the parts, or just that it was common
practice. At the foundry that I worked at parts were hand
brushed after the shaker, and smaller parts even the size
of, say, a diff were hung on a wire and dipped before
baking, then they went to the machine shop. The machinists
would curse the foundrymen if a machining process revealed
a pocket of sand under the Glyptal, as the sand would dull
the tool faster than the CI would sometimes meaning
replacing a tool mid process AND if the sand inclusion
went past a machined surface then it would have to be
fettled, recoated with Glyptal, then often back to the
same machining stage to clean up the Glyptal. This
additional time was booked as a delay at the machine shop,
rather than the foundry, so it also affected their
efficiency figures. The shop I worked in was very low
volume, mostly one offs, but at Jaguar the machinists pay
was probably piecework based, and you can bet that the
additional cost of the Glyptal on the outside was offset
somewhere farther down the line.

Andrew–
The original message included these comments:

It is used to seal castings so the inside of a diff, gearbox
or engine for example. Not sure why you would put it on the
outside but Jaguar seemed to think it was a good idea.

–
1968 3.8S
Zurich, Switzerland
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7

In reply to a message from mouton sent Sat 21 Sep 2013:

My 61 pumpkin was a reddish-orange color that can best be described
as Chevy Orange, not the brick red color of modern glyptal, though
that darker red could be seen inside the diff case. I am positive
it was never painted black, as the rough casting on the outside had
NO remnant of black paint in any nook or cranny…anywhere. Even
after I chemically removed all paint, and had the casing boiled,
etc., there were still specs of color left…red-orange, not
black. I’ve only recently seen some restorations where a similar
shade to mine is used…wish I knew what it was.–
The original message included these comments:

My '64 was glyptal color from the factory. Others swear theirs was
black. No clear documentation from the factory about it, but no
JCNA concours will judge the differential. I believe you can take
your choice between black and glyptal, but I can assure you that at
least one 3.8 had a glyptal differential. No chance that it was

–
Bill Gutierrez, '61 OTS '73 OTS
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8

In reply to a message from Britcar82 sent Sat 21 Sep 2013:

Thanks to everyone who responded. As it looks like either choice
is correct I’m going to go with the glyptal for the case and a
black end cover.

Sherman
66 E Type OTS–
The original message included these comments:

I’m new here,having purchased a 66 S1 OTS several months ago. I’m
doing what I call a rolling restoration with a shop here in Orange
County that is very familiar with e types. I’m starting with the
irs assembly. My question is what is the correct color of the
differential? I have searched the archives and it looks like the
answers are all over the place. The shop says just paint it black,
which is what some of the posters in the archives say. Other’s say
it is a reddish orange I’ve read stories that the diff was dipped
in glyptal and then given a light coat of black which then flaked
off leaving the glyptal color. I’ve also read that the current

–
Britcar82
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

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