Well, it’s obvious they HAD red paint. 
Cheers!
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My passenger glove/map box door has a very nice British flag emblem on it. In addition, my taillight lenses are all red. Is this because it is a LHD?
I spent a considerable amount of time photographing my tool chest for Roger Payne as he was completing his recently released book. He made no comment that the pump handle was to be covered in black paint. Therefore, I am questioning if it should be black or simply varnished? He did say there was no polished handle on the starter crank. It was simply all black.
One final comment, I also believe that the rear license/identification box surround should be black and not body color.
Adam, Over the 1945 to 1949 period of Mark IV production there was many detailed changes made to the various tools, including the C.997 Tyre Pump of which the colour of its Handle is the most visually obvious. Your Mark IV is a November 1947 dom, thus correctly has a ‘clear varnished’ timber handle, as do all C.997 Tyre Pumps from their 1936 SS Jaguar introduction up to April/May 1948. From April/May 1948 onwards - and my research conclusions are not yet to my goal of single month accuracy - the timber handle was now painted Black and stayed that way for all later Mark IV, Mark V and XK120 C.997 Tyre Pumps. There are other changes made to the C.997 Tyre Pump over this 1936 to 1954 period of SS Jaguar and Jaguar usage, but the colour of the Handle is readily apparent in such photos where greater detail cannot be seen. I didn’t comment on the Clear-Varnished handle in the GBP99999 Mark IV tool kit, as there were many many errors, and indeed although declared as a ‘1948’ whose to know if it was made before or after April/May 1948…
The car’s colour scheme was widely known as the Strawberries & Cream car. 
The former owner is a fabulous guy.
Ps. Just noticed that the fog lamps were incorrect. 
Hi Tim,
Awww, now you’ve done it! Even with all the xmas eating I am suddenly filled with the urge to get some Strawberry cheesecake! 
Cheers!
I can’t imagine anyone in Post WWII austerity coping with a red car, let alone a Red & Cream car. Yet, the only known photo of a two-tone MKV at the Factory was in this colour scheme. 
Enjoy your cake.
Not usually a fan of two tones: I like that one!
What, no white walls and red brake drums? How about red flocking and red felt for the tool tray. 
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White walls would be too much…
Yes, the mushroom gear knob is essential for all double helical boxes, as the gear lever has to be pulled up to move into the reverse gate. Mine had the later ‘flower pot’ knob and my hand would slip off when moving to reverse. It can be funny, but only if you have a passenger with a sense of humour. Because of the strength needed to override the detent spring, your hand can fly up and smack the passenger.
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That is very funny when you can blame the car. 
Tim
What about the windscreen wipers on this expensive restoration?
I might have missed something, but I am wondering if those wipers would work in their current set-up? In my '48 MkIV they work their slapstick action in parallel sweeps and unless the linkage has been modified on the passenger side on this car would it not sweep the rain off the bonnet?
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It should look like this. I bet yours does too. I did wonder about the wipers when I saw the car.
Though don’t each of the wipers have to be engaged by the large silver knobs on the dash? I’m not sure quite how they operate?
The wipers are fine except that they should be parked off the screen to permit the windscreen to open. Preferably with symmetry, one to the left the other to the right.
Peter
Nice to see that the gentlemen have all parked their umbrellas and pocket squares at the correct angle! I like the hats too, two trilbies and a coke! 
Tim
The more I read these posts… the more I lurrrv the looks of a MkIV!
Nothing particularly safe or ergonomically desirable about the engagement of the wipers. You need to push the knob in on the driver’s side (right side on RHD cars - is it on the right or left for LHD cars?), then turn the blade up about 45° to engage the spindle in the dog clutch - a pin drops into a keyway - which simultaneously closes the wiper switch. You then have to do the same on the other side manually and the wipers will then oscillate in parallel. The trailing/slave/secondary arm does not switch the motor, so if you raise it and engage it, it will just sit there looking forgotten, or like the victim of a broken wiper system.
(I’ve detailed this for the readers who are not familiar with the wonderful array of quirky bits adorning the Mk IV.)
There are some problems with this setup. Firstly, to engage the primary blade, you pass your hand through the spokes of the wheel, hoping you don’t have to do some sudden steering correction - so you plan ahead. You can, alternatively, reach around the back of the the rather large wheel but that is awkward too. Secondly, the blades are easily parked below the 'screen frame for the 'screen to be opened, but you cannot turn them back onto the glass because the blades catch on the edge of the frame. If you force it, you will slip the arm on the spindle. You need to stop and get out to reset them on the glass. Also, closing the 'screen on the run can trap the blades as they can creep up into the windscreen aperture by vibration and wind.
One has to try and imagine that the driving conditions of the day would not necessarily make these tasks a danger or a significant inconvenience.
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All very true Peter. What’s more, with the cars in the two photos above (that are not MkIVs) the wipers were even more awkward. In the SS Jaguars the action of disengaging the clutches was the reverse of what you described and you pulled the knobs rather than pushed them to disengage. This of course caused the blade to be even more disinclined to pass over the windscreen frame than it is in the MkIV. However it did have one slight advantage in that the return spring did not tend to switch the wiper motor on at times when you didn’t want it whirring away doing nothing.
Peter
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