You'll probably get 75 different answers, so good luck sorting them out!> I am in the process of replacing the water pump and thermostat on
> TC/7915. I was doing some research as to what color is what and have a
> question for the list. The color guide that I was looking at says
> that the t-stat and elbow should be black. I have seen pictures of
> both black and red. I also noticed in Sherrell's book that the
> aluminum water outlet manifold was left unpainted. Your comments
> would be appreciated. Thanks!
Back in the late '70s and early '80s when I was doing articles on
originality for TSO, I came across old black & white factory engine photos
showing what appeared to be a variety of color combinations. Whether they
were all production line engines or whether some of them were dolled up
for the photographer is unknown. My conclusion was that *most of the
time* the engines were completely assembled before painting, so the
thermostat housing and all the aluminum parts ended up engine color. I
have no idea whether that was the correct conclusion, but it was supported
by the best evidence available at the time.
Personally, I prefer to leave the aluminum parts unpainted, and to paint
the various brackets and odds and ends of small parts black to contrast
with the red engine paint, but that's just my preference.
By the way, some TC water elbows were cast aluminum alloy, some were cast
iron. I've never seen anything to indicate which was used when in XPAG
production.
--
Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 XPAG7430 NEMGTR #2271
Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO CT3479E
fold@bcpl.net