Aluminium Nacelle / Switch Cover / Cowling
 

anybody ever seen the two halves in aluminium?

I just received one. Very impressive. Will last longer than the car!

why did Lucas went with plastic then?

Interesting, post some pics Jose.


Bakalite was very in vogue at the time, easy to mould, hard wearing (due to the asbestos content) and cheap, so it was the thing to use for many things.

TilleyJon, here's pictures. I am removing the paint from the top half, that's why it looks messy.

it is from a RHD manual overdrive car with the Turn Signals switch
on the right side and the overdrive switch on the left.

Not seen one before, what model and year is the car ?

Don't know what car it came from. All I was told was "you are buying bragging rights" . I can read the phrase "Kraft" in one half and "ENG" on the other. Metal Kraft England?

I can hear the pages turning in George's library, maybe he can shed some light on these.

the parts not only look very old, they also smell very old, as in a 60 year old Barn Find car. I had to wash them with degreaser and detergent. Let's see if George comes up with some info.

here it is with all paint removed and next to a Bakelite part which looks so flimsy compared with the aluminium part.

Without a part number it is a fools errand to chase it. I have not seen any bulletin about a change so it is entirely possible the material was changed at some point but if all would interchange w/o modification then the part number would not change so no trail. The E types used metal covers until 1968 or so. I did not realize the part was ever Bakelite as the ones I am familiar with are plastic but there were other models that used a similar cover. It could be a prototype or perhaps from a 3.8L Mk10 (which had heavier parts than other cars--I will look. I think the real test will be if all of the guts from the plastic Nacell fit properly into the alu. one. Also the cover is a tight fit at the wood and perhaps a squeak was a problem with metal--that plus alu. is conductive! Best of luck--why not ask the seller why he made his statement/

Bakelite is a plastic, it was the first synthetic plastic to be produced. and was used for it's ease of moulding, heat resistance and non-conductive properties, as far as I am aware all Mk2 Nacelle's are Bakelite, as were the switch knobs, this is why they did not deteriorate much, Bakelite is very UV stable, it does oxidise which is why it goes a browny shade, this can be polished off and the parts are as new.

Could be a prototype as you say George, but someone went to quite a lot of trouble to cast one in aly, would be interesting to know why and what for.

The Mk10 used part C16790/1 which now supersedes to C16792 which is the same part no for the Mk2.

the clear window, the overdrive emblem, and the turn signal and overdrive indicators assembly from the plastic nacelle fit exactly and perfectly in the aluminium nacelle. They are identical. I found another lettering punched into the metal, it reads "K88".

I finished sanding the top half and will prime it today. After I'm satisfied with the priming, I will paint it and assemble it and post a picture.

Well I did take a look--the MK 2 used at least 3 different upper nacelle numbers and 4 lower ones--some of this is OD related of course The 3.8L Mk 10 used one upper and 2 lower and the illustration in the parts manual looks exactly like Jose's picture with the starburst reinforcement pattern. The 4.2 MK 10 a different upper and one of the 2 for lower was the same. The DS 420 used a unique upper lower although they look the same. There are no technical bulletins or spare part bulletins that address a materials change but the J12s do show supersession to the last parts in the catalog(ue)s.

Tilly old switches at least in NA can turn almost clear but def. opaque. Steering switch covers do turn dull but not brown. In fact they dull over time exactly like the horn push bar. Let's agree that the cover on the plastic WW bottle motor is Bakelite. Those do turn brown and will polish although I have never been able to make them gloss black again without cheating! Sure may be wrong but all dull Bakelite I have seen has a sort of strata in it.

but none of the ones for MK10 say "metal"? The one I got has the Turn Signal cutout on the RIGHT, and
the overdrive switch cutout on the left. I have never seen a Jaguar with a turn signal switch on the RIGHT.

I hear you but to be honest the cut out on the left side is not large enough for O/D as I see the image. Does that small slot on the lower nacelle seem to be cast or cut out? Also something to consider is there were Police cars which may have had a different spec for switches as well as the DS 420 which were almost a throw back to coach builder times.

George I just looked at it closely, it is cast, not cut. Both cutouts on the lower half look cast.

Look at your car--is that large enough for a switch to work--looks very small compared to the 3 cars I am looking at right now---they have a cutout in the top and bottom for both switches. O/D is smaller but still larger than your pic.

I did, the cutouts are too small. Would have to enlarge both. My car is LHD, shifter on right, turn signals on left.

My question is: which cars came with the Turn Signal switch on the right and the overdrive on the left?

Jose you got me---it is a shame the seller will not share some information with you. As said before there were police and special order cars. I do not know of a production Jaguar that way. jaguar also sold cars to many countries so that may have been a requirement although the parts catalogs do not list such.

WAIT WAIT Wait

According to Paul Skilleter in Jaguar Saloon Cars (ISBN 0 85429 263 20) P. 252 discussing changes to the MK2 he states "A further change in controls had taken place...in June 1960 the controls on the upper steering column were re-handed--that is the flasher/ indicator 'stick' went to the left and the overdrive switch (when fitted) went to the right'. So Jose I now think you have a cover from a very early car (Mk2).

Nice detective work guys, the upper steering column, nachelle, overdrive switch all changed in 1960, upto chassis numbers :-
151465
175682
201086
212639


These were all the first type.


So anyone out there with a Mk2 before those chassis numbers may have confirmation.