My FHC 679187 body J1187 built Nov '51 in pastel green metallic is one of
those with the painted taillight housings. When it came to me it had been
repainted very thoroughly at least twice in two different reds. Somebody
must have really hated that green to hide it so completely. When I stripped
the taillights I found nothing but paint, paint and more paint all the way
down to the original pastel green metallic, and no chrome whatsoever under
that.
Rob Reilly - 679187
Hmmm,
If the period of shortage lasted from Nov. '51 till wel into May, '52, that would be half a year of production, and there should be a lot of cars so equipped out there. May be it was an on again, off again shortage.
Anybody else?
Roar— On Thu, 1/21/10, R_and_J_Reilly xk120us4@sbcglobal.net wrote:
From: R_and_J_Reilly xk120us4@sbcglobal.net
Subject: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: “XK mailing list” xk@jag-lovers.org
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 8:30 AM
My FHC 679187 body J1187 built Nov
'51 in pastel green metallic is one of those with the
painted taillight housings. When it came to me it had been
repainted very thoroughly at least twice in two different
reds. Somebody must have really hated that green to hide it
so completely. When I stripped the taillights I found
nothing but paint, paint and more paint all the way down to
the original pastel green metallic, and no chrome whatsoever
under that.
Rob Reilly - 679187
july 52 ots 672545 painted tail lights----------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:26:41 -0800
From: roarsandnorge38@att.net
Subject: Re: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.orgHmmm,
If the period of shortage lasted from Nov. '51 till wel into May, '52, that would be half a year of production, and there should be a lot of cars so equipped out there. May be it was an on again, off again shortage.
Anybody else?
Roar— On Thu, 1/21/10, R_and_J_Reilly wrote:
From: R_and_J_Reilly
Subject: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: “XK mailing list”
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 8:30 AM
My FHC 679187 body J1187 built Nov
'51 in pastel green metallic is one of those with the
painted taillight housings. When it came to me it had been
repainted very thoroughly at least twice in two different
reds. Somebody must have really hated that green to hide it
so completely. When I stripped the taillights I found
nothing but paint, paint and more paint all the way down to
the original pastel green metallic, and no chrome whatsoever
under that.
Rob Reilly - 679187
In reply to a message from R_and_J_Reilly sent Thu 21 Jan 2010:
Hi there please assist me on this one… Given the appearance of
your tail light housings, I thought I would do some digging on
xkdata. There are numerous FHC 120s shown in apparently unrestored
condition from all parts of the globe that were manufactured during
the strike, yours seems to be the only one to exhibit this
configuration. can you provide any other cars/photos incl ser #s
produced during this period which conform to yours? This issue has
been around for along time but there is precious little to go on. I
understand that your car was produced for the French market…might
this have any bearing on the painting of the housings? best
wishes. Godfrey–
godfrey
pender island bc, Canada
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Godfrey,
I have seen another relatively unmolested example with the body-colored taillamp housings. I don’t recall the exact serial number, but the car was an early 1952. March manufacture seems to stick in my mind. As Roar points out, though, you’d think that given a half-year of production out of a four-year steel-body production run, that you’d have about 1/8th of the cars with body-colored housings, but they seem to be much rarer than that.
“Mark 1” Mark Stephenson Phoenix, AZ
52 XK120 S673129; 59 Mark 1; 84, 85, 86, 95 XJ6-----Original Message-----
From: owner-xk@jag-lovers.org [mailto:owner-xk@jag-lovers.org] On Behalf Of godfrey
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 8:09 PM
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Subject: Re: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
In reply to a message from R_and_J_Reilly sent Thu 21 Jan 2010:
Hi there please assist me on this one… Given the appearance of
your tail light housings, I thought I would do some digging on xkdata. There are numerous FHC 120s shown in apparently unrestored condition from all parts of the globe that were manufactured during the strike, yours seems to be the only one to exhibit this configuration. can you provide any other cars/photos incl ser #s produced during this period which conform to yours? This issue has been around for along time but there is precious little to go on. I understand that your car was produced for the French market…might this have any bearing on the painting of the housings? best
wishes. Godfrey
godfrey
pender island bc, Canada
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Thanks, Les.
Charles #677556.----- Original Message -----
From: lesmcdon@bell.net
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
july 52 ots 672545 painted tail lights
In reply to a message from Bishop sent Wed 27 Jan 2010:
Ok but according to factory docs’ 672545 was dispatched Aug 1
1952, well outside the window of the strike. Godfrey–
godfrey
pender island bc, Canada
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Mark S;
So, if we buy the JCNA “dodge” (parameters) “which have been
accepted for inclusion in the guide, primarily being that it must be
proven using factory photos or technical bulletins or similar factory
material.” And since there is no information in the TSB’s,
no “factory photos” (that I am aware of) or other “factory material” (that
an average XK Owner might have access to), then the Painted Tail-Lights
are “Not Original”…
Case Closed… Out the door. You can’t play in any Concours games…
There we have it, in a nutshell…
Charles #677556.----- Original Message -----
From: “Mark Stephenson”
Godfrey,
I have seen another relatively unmolested example with the body-colored
taillamp housings. I don’t recall the exact serial number, but the car was
an early 1952. March manufacture seems to stick in my mind. As Roar points
out, though, you’d think that given a half-year of production out of a
four-year steel-body production run, that you’d have about 1/8th of the cars
with body-colored housings, but they seem to be much rarer than that.
“Mark 1” Mark Stephenson Phoenix, AZ
52 XK120 S673129; 59 Mark 1; 84, 85, 86, 95 XJ6
Godfrey;
It could be dispatched in 1956, it wouldn’t matter…
It’s the “Build Date” that’s important…
672545 was BUILT in July 1952. Total range of LHD OTS’s built in July,
672473 to 672778… Technically, this puts 545 about mid month…
Charles #677556.----- Original Message -----
From: “godfrey”
In reply to a message from Bishop sent Wed 27 Jan 2010:
Ok but according to factory docs’ 672545 was dispatched Aug 1
1952, well outside the window of the strike. Godfreygodfrey
pender island bc, Canada
672545 was built July 52 and shipped Sept 1 52 [I have confirmation of this directly from Jag]----------------------------------------
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Subject: Re: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
From: artrageus@shaw.ca
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:36:26 -0800In reply to a message from Bishop sent Wed 27 Jan 2010:
Ok but according to factory docs’ 672545 was dispatched Aug 1
1952, well outside the window of the strike. Godfreygodfrey
pender island bc, Canada
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In reply to a message from lesmcdon@bell.net sent Wed 27 Jan 2010:
Thanks, Les and Mark, I was beginning to wonder if I was the
only one.
I have a photo of the car taken when it was less than a year
old, and though it is B&W, the taillight looks like the rest
of the car, which was pastel green metallic.
I don’t see this as having anything to do with the French
market. I’m not aware of any strike. Years ago Bruce
Carnachan wrote in the CJA bulletin that he believed it was
to do with a nickel shortage during the Korean war. I
believe Mark VII’s also got painted taillights for awhile.
Bear in mind that from the 50’s up until the mid 90’s when
we began to follow the Corvette people in caring about such
details, there were a lot of used taillights around, and
anybody wishing to liven up their car would change their
dowdy painted ones for chrome. On the other hand, the chrome
ones used to peel a lot, while the painted ones held up as
well as any other painted part, so possibly that is why mine
were still on it when it came to me. When I saw Bruce’s
article, I decided to leave mine painted. That was probably
the beginning of my interest in pursuing such things.–
XK120 FHC, Mark V saloon, XJ12L Series II, S-Type 3.0
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Les and all,
What about the passenger side grab bar, - plated or not?
This discussion has centered around the tail light housings.
What about the grab bars? Did no chrome grab bars coordinate with painted tail lights? Did painted tail lights go only with certain body colours?
As said before, 672229 had no chrome on either tail light housings or grab handle, and I am clueless as to what the coating on the grab handle is. 672229 came in “Cream” from the factory.
Roar— On Tue, 1/26/10, lesmcdon@bell.net lesmcdon@bell.net wrote:
From: lesmcdon@bell.net lesmcdon@bell.net
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 8:51 PMjuly 52
ots 672545 painted tail
lights
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:26:41 -0800
From: @Roar_Sand1
Subject: Re: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.orgHmmm,
If the period of shortage lasted from Nov. '51 till
wel into May, '52, that would be half a year of production,
and there should be a lot of cars so equipped out there. May
be it was an on again, off again shortage.
Anybody else?
Roar— On Thu, 1/21/10, R_and_J_Reilly wrote:
From: R_and_J_Reilly
Subject: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: “XK mailing list”
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 8:30 AM
My FHC 679187 body J1187 built Nov
'51 in pastel green metallic is one of those with
the
painted taillight housings. When it came to me it
had been
repainted very thoroughly at least twice in two
different
reds. Somebody must have really hated that green
to hide it
so completely. When I stripped the taillights I
found
nothing but paint, paint and more paint all the
way down to
the original pastel green metallic, and no chrome
whatsoever
under that.
Rob Reilly - 679187
The 1954 Melbourne Motor Show XK120 DHC had Battleship Grey PAINTED
taillight housings.
This XK120 DHC 667120 was manufactured in October 1953 - so somewhat later
than date range suggested. Maybe being a RHD “standard-spatted” car in
conservative Grey was less worthy of rare flashy chrome at that time?, but
again a Motor Show car surely would have chosen chrome if available.
I did many many miles in this car back in 1970s/80s when registered with low
Victorian Number-Plate 1-071 which on sale of DHC, I retained plate to go on
my E-Type. The XK120 DHC was then super original, with all paint including
tail-lights excellent condition original, although one fast drive to the
Adelaide F1 Grand-Prix causing a blown engine which resulted in fitting a
“B” Type Head (ex-my 3.8 Mark 2), but with original W9998-7 Head staying
with XK120 in boot when car sold, that I understand new owner sold off
separately thus unlikely to ever be reunited with XK120.
Roger Payne - XK140MC OTS; E-Type 4.2 S.1 OTS; DSV8.
Canberra.-----Original Message-----
From: owner-xk@jag-lovers.org [mailto:owner-xk@jag-lovers.org] On Behalf Of
Bishop
Sent: Wednesday, 27 January 2010 6:46 PM
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Subject: Re: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
Thanks, Les.
Charles #677556.
----- Original Message -----
From: lesmcdon@bell.net
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
july 52 ots 672545 painted tail lights
Passenger grab bar painted> To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Les and all,
What about the passenger side grab bar, - plated or not?
This discussion has centered around the tail light housings.
What about the grab bars? Did no chrome grab bars coordinate with painted tail lights? Did painted tail lights go only with certain body colours?
As said before, 672229 had no chrome on either tail light housings or grab handle, and I am clueless as to what the coating on the grab handle is. 672229 came in “Cream” from the factory.
Roar— On Tue, 1/26/10, @leslie_McDonald wrote:
From: @leslie_McDonald
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 8:51 PMjuly 52
ots 672545 painted tail
lights
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:26:41 -0800
From: roarsandnorge38@att.net
Subject: Re: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.orgHmmm,
If the period of shortage lasted from Nov. '51 till
wel into May, '52, that would be half a year of production,
and there should be a lot of cars so equipped out there. May
be it was an on again, off again shortage.
Anybody else?
Roar— On Thu, 1/21/10, R_and_J_Reilly wrote:
From: R_and_J_Reilly
Subject: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: “XK mailing list”
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 8:30 AM
My FHC 679187 body J1187 built Nov
'51 in pastel green metallic is one of those with
the
painted taillight housings. When it came to me it
had been
repainted very thoroughly at least twice in two
different
reds. Somebody must have really hated that green
to hide it
so completely. When I stripped the taillights I
found
nothing but paint, paint and more paint all the
way down to
the original pastel green metallic, and no chrome
whatsoever
under that.
Rob Reilly - 679187
Charles,
I think you just told me I can’t show my car, BUT, -
I also have the undocumented non-chrome-plated grab handle, so there I have two minuses. Don’t two minuses cancel each other and become a PLUS!? 
then the Painted— On Wed, 1/27/10, Bishop Bishop-13@Texican.net wrote:
Tail-Lights
are “Not Original”…
Case Closed… Out the door. You
can’t play in any Concours games…
There we have it, in a nutshell…
Charles
Thanks Les,
Now we have two OTS cars within a couple of months of each other that have non-chrome tail lights and grab bars.
What does the finish on your grab bar look like?
Roar— On Wed, 1/27/10, lesmcdon@bell.net lesmcdon@bell.net wrote:
From: lesmcdon@bell.net lesmcdon@bell.net
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 6:36 PMPassenger grab bar painted
Les and all,
What about the passenger side grab bar, - plated or
not?
This discussion has centered around the tail light
housings.
What about the grab bars? Did no chrome grab bars
coordinate with painted tail lights? Did painted tail lights
go only with certain body colours?
As said before, 672229 had no chrome on either tail
light housings or grab handle, and I am clueless as to what
the coating on the grab handle is. 672229 came in “Cream”
from the factory.
Roar— On Tue, 1/26/10, lesmcdon@bell.net wrote:
From: lesmcdon@bell.net
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight
Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 8:51 PMjuly 52
ots 672545 painted tail
lights
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:26:41 -0800
From: @Roar_Sand1
Subject: Re: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight
Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.orgHmmm,
If the period of shortage lasted from Nov. '51
till
wel into May, '52, that would be half a year of
production,
and there should be a lot of cars so equipped out
there. May
be it was an on again, off again shortage.
Anybody else?
Roar— On Thu, 1/21/10, R_and_J_Reilly wrote:
From: R_and_J_Reilly
Subject: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight
Housings
To: “XK mailing list”
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 8:30 AM
My FHC 679187 body J1187 built Nov
'51 in pastel green metallic is one of
those with
the
painted taillight housings. When it came
to me it
had been
repainted very thoroughly at least twice
in two
different
reds. Somebody must have really hated that
green
to hide it
so completely. When I stripped the
taillights I
found
nothing but paint, paint and more paint
all the
way down to
the original pastel green metallic, and no
chrome
whatsoever
under that.
Rob Reilly - 679187
I dont have it handy but from memery it is greyish enamel I will have a look at it this weekend and advise----------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:43:29 -0800
From: roarsandnorge38@att.net
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.orgThanks Les,
Now we have two OTS cars within a couple of months of each other that have non-chrome tail lights and grab bars.
What does the finish on your grab bar look like?
Roar— On Wed, 1/27/10, @leslie_McDonald wrote:
From: @leslie_McDonald
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 6:36 PMPassenger grab bar painted
Les and all,
What about the passenger side grab bar, - plated or
not?
This discussion has centered around the tail light
housings.
What about the grab bars? Did no chrome grab bars
coordinate with painted tail lights? Did painted tail lights
go only with certain body colours?
As said before, 672229 had no chrome on either tail
light housings or grab handle, and I am clueless as to what
the coating on the grab handle is. 672229 came in “Cream”
from the factory.
Roar— On Tue, 1/26/10, @leslie_McDonald wrote:
From: @leslie_McDonald
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight
Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 8:51 PMjuly 52
ots 672545 painted tail
lights
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:26:41 -0800
From: roarsandnorge38@att.net
Subject: Re: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight
Housings
To: xk@jag-lovers.orgHmmm,
If the period of shortage lasted from Nov. '51
till
wel into May, '52, that would be half a year of
production,
and there should be a lot of cars so equipped out
there. May
be it was an on again, off again shortage.
Anybody else?
Roar— On Thu, 1/21/10, R_and_J_Reilly wrote:
From: R_and_J_Reilly
Subject: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight
Housings
To: “XK mailing list”
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 8:30 AM
My FHC 679187 body J1187 built Nov
'51 in pastel green metallic is one of
those with
the
painted taillight housings. When it came
to me it
had been
repainted very thoroughly at least twice
in two
different
reds. Somebody must have really hated that
green
to hide it
so completely. When I stripped the
taillights I
found
nothing but paint, paint and more paint
all the
way down to
the original pastel green metallic, and no
chrome
whatsoever
under that.
Rob Reilly - 679187
In reply to a message from lesmcdon@bell.net sent Tue 26 Jan 2010:
thank you everyone for a necessary spirited discussion on this…if
the Melbourne show car was built in 1954, and the first one we know
of was built Nov 51, there HAS to be more to this conundrum. No one
from within JCNA is suggesting that if your car has painted tail
lights or grab bar or both that it is disqualified from
competition… what we are desirous of establishing is the window of
when they were on the cars,which models and for how long.In
fairness to everyone there are many details which need to be
verified,and placed in a time window, so that future enthusiasts
may have the ongoing benefit of our cumulative research. We are all
breaking new ground here.Are there any extant photos of the '54
Melbourne car at the show? This would be most helpful. best
wishes Godfrey–
godfrey
pender island bc, Canada
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Charles,
The painted tail lamp housings were on the Amish cars…
just spoofing…
Regards,
Rick____________________________________________________________
Love Spell
Click here to light up your life with a love spell!
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=pg-ET2nKyXLAK2ZjeadtkQAAJ1DGrNcIfGwvGZUgVOVC0tOpAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARwAAAAA=
The 1954 Melbourne Motor Show XK120 DHC - 667120 was actually made in
October 1953, and dispatched new to Brysons Melbourne on 16 Nov 1953
(typically 2-3 months shipping), and was displayed at Melbourne Motor Show
in March 1954 by Brysons (Australian Distributor for Jaguar for Vic, Tas,
ACT and NSW - and later SA also).
There is a BRYSON Industries photo of 667120 on display at Melbourne Motor
Show, shown in Elmgreen/McGrath book “The Jaguar XK in Australia” on page
94, but tail-lights are not really visible without imagination on the
1/4front-3/4-rhs picture at magnification/printing quality that I can see.
Maybe someone has other pictures as Bryson’s tended to commission a lot of
formal/studio quality photos of which many still survive.
However, as advised before - I spent many years/miles with this car when it
was in Canberra owned by my long-time friend Doug Young, and the tail-lights
being painted was a specific issue we looked into, then being advised the
post-war shortage of Nickel. We did examine them very closely and agreed
Gunmetal Paint was both original, and painted directly onto die-cast
unplated lamp housings, and with no signs that I recall of any primer, I
also seem to recall that paint had excellent adhesion - but we are talking
about 25 years ago.
667120 was then, a really excellent/original XK120 with about 50000 miles on
it. I will touch base with Doug (currently on holidays in Hawaii) and see
if he can add to/confirm my recollections or if he has any good colour
photos from his ownership period in 1980s - he hated the Battleship Grey
colour and was going to repaint BRG until deciding to sell, as he really
always wanted an XK140 dhc, but this XK120 dhc was in just too good/original
condition not to grab when he heard of it possibly being for sale.
But again - maybe Tail Light situation was different for different markets.
USA has a reputation for a high Chrome preference that was not shared in
UK/Aust/NZ - so maybe Jaguar took advantage of this for a RHD XK120 sold new
in Aust???.
Roger Payne - XK140MC OTS; E-Type 4.2 S.1 OTS; DSV8.
Canberra.-----Original Message-----
From: owner-xk@jag-lovers.org [mailto:owner-xk@jag-lovers.org] On Behalf Of
godfrey
Sent: Thursday, 28 January 2010 3:12 PM
To: xk@jag-lovers.org
Subject: RE: [xk] XK120 Painted Taillight Housings
In reply to a message from lesmcdon@bell.net sent Tue 26 Jan 2010:
thank you everyone for a necessary spirited discussion on this…if
the Melbourne show car was built in 1954, and the first one we know
of was built Nov 51, there HAS to be more to this conundrum. No one
from within JCNA is suggesting that if your car has painted tail
lights or grab bar or both that it is disqualified from
competition… what we are desirous of establishing is the window of
when they were on the cars,which models and for how long.In
fairness to everyone there are many details which need to be
verified,and placed in a time window, so that future enthusiasts
may have the ongoing benefit of our cumulative research. We are all
breaking new ground here.Are there any extant photos of the '54
Melbourne car at the show? This would be most helpful. best
wishes Godfrey
godfrey
pender island bc, Canada
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