These all have two large round nostrils, instead of an ‘arc’ which forms the top of a much more detailed nose, the replacement eyes appear flat and far less intense, etc. Just a simpler design.
I am confident I was being WAAY too picky, especially for a guy who loves most of the original patina on my car.
I looked at all the images on the search results for, “motif c16336”, and ONE image looked just like mine, from Norman Motors Ltd, in London. I called and spoke with Ken and George, asking if the picture was old, or if it represented their actual stock. They told me, “…these came from an original Jaguar parts supplier over 27 years ago, when they closed production and Jaguar was not interested in making anymore”.
It was slightly more $$ to ship, but I am 100% happy with the new badge:
It’s identical to my original badge design, and in perfect condition.
I just thought I’d share this purchase in the unlikely event that anybody else is as particular as I was about something which literally no other person will probably ever notice…
Great find Ed! It goes to prove that the real deal is often still out there if you take the time to seek it out. Glad you didn’t have to settle for the craptastic replacement.
Ì don’t think that’s too picky. It jars my eyes seeing some of these poor quality reproductions.palmed off on us as restorers.
Horn push, spinners, motif badge, script on switches. Once one is intimately familiar with these cars, those items stick out like sore thumbs.
Years ago, the first parts I ever purchased from SNGB when they were working out of a barn in N England was a new set of chrome spinners.
Looking at the ugly JAGUAR script bugged me so much that I sold them on and found a proper set of NOS spinners sold by a small supplier in the Uk.
Having worked in the Plastic Tool and Die field for many years, with all the scanning technology that’s been around for at least the last 20 years, and what is available now, which borders on the edge of unbelievable, why the After Market manufacturers can’t get their parts even within a Bull’s Roar of correct is astounding. There are apps for scanning with handheld Mobile Phones that give excellent results, far better than the typical non look alike parts made by the majority of After Market Jaguar reproduction parts manufacturers.
LOL, there’s that Aussie speak again … “bull’s roar” - I find that term rather amusing, Bill. After reading Ed’s commentary and seeing his pics I just had to run out to the shop to check my motif bar medallion which I had replaced many years ago and, thankfully, it was long before the marketplace was being flooded with craptastic repro parts that we’re seeing today - turns out to be the real deal and it’s still in excellent, bright condition. Thanks for the info, Ed, so now we can easily recognize the difference - just like the horn button it’s all in the ears!
Would it be possible that some parts, in particular this emblem and maybe the horn button emblem, are protected by a Jaguar trademark, and the repros are hoping to avoid litigation if it is not an exact copy?
Tom
I sounds like you should be working as an attorney for the vendors of these craptastic parts This sounds like a much better response from them than “we just went with the lowest bid, and expect customers to be grateful that we make anything at all, however bad it is”.
For Model T and A parts, some replacement parts will have the original Ford script logo on the part at the original location. I understand that is done by license through Ford. I wonder if Jaguar offers that to suppliers? From some of what I have read about Jaguar, that may be unlikely.
Tom
As far as Jaguar is concerned - their own reproductions are imperfect, so they might not be able to tell that a “perfect” reproduction is in fact accurate.
It’s likely many of the inaccurate reproduction parts were created many years ago before the advent of modern scanning technologies. But as Jaguar’s own efforts show, it’s up to the producer to put the effort into accurate research.
Admittedly these are for-profit purposes, so there’s a limit to how much time they can put into researching a part. But as long as people buy the inaccurate reproductions, then those vendors can keep making money selling them.
Nice score! Norman Motors is a fantastic parts source.
When the knuckleheads in the Bronx lost the speedometer I sent to be recalibrated Norman Motors came up with an NOS E-Type speedometer for a 3.07 diff. I could scarcely believe my luck.
I’m wondering if anyone re-furbs these? I have a horn button that looks good, but the plastic covering has cracks in it. Does anyone know if that cover can be separated and replaced?
My original horn button was polished of scratches and reused, after I saw how shockingly poor the new replacement was. I think the E-type’s is one of the best looking steering wheels ever put on a car. Another nice one is the Fiat Dino’s.
LOL, there’s that Aussie speak again … “bull’s roar” - I find that term rather amusing, Bill. After reading Ed’s commentary and seeing his pics I just had to run out to the shop to check my motif bar medallion which I had replaced many years ago and, thankfully, it was long before the marketplace was being flooded with craptastic repro parts that we’re seeing today - turns out to be the real deal and it’s still in excellent, bright condition. Thanks for the info, Ed, so now we can easily recognize the difference - just like the horn button it’s all in the ears! 
This sounds like a much better response from them than “we just went with the lowest bid, and expect customers to be grateful that we make anything at all, however bad it is”. 
