Just a quickie if I may.
1968 Mk2 240. What colour should the front brake callipers be?
Thanks in anticipation

 

I might be wrong but I don't think they were painted. They came o'natural in a silver zinc colour which slow oxidized in to a rusty brown.

 

The original calipers would have been cadmium plated, I remember fitting some new ones on my Mark 2 in the 80s. If you buy new replacements now, they are likely to be zinc-plated, as cadmium is toxic to the workers in the factory. Back in the day, with virtually all cars having steel disc wheels most calipers were like this, we only got painted ones in bright colours when spoked aluminium wheels became popular.

Actually nobody seems to have told Mercedes-Benz, because the front calipers on my SLK are rusty all over and would seem never to have been finished properly. In contrast, those on my XE with almost the same mileage are still holding up fairly well with the zinc plating.

 

Yellow cadmium plated as below. Zinc yellow passivate will achieve a similar colour today. Your car would have been after Girling bought Dunlop brake division. See bottom pic.













Picture slightly too yellow biased due to lighting.

 

Here is some additional discussion. Its the rear brakes but same questions. Maybe a viable alternative if you want to preserve the cast iron finish.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...inting-240786/
I hope this is the right way to post a link to a previous post.

 

Glynn - What did you do with the plating on your restoration - did you find a Cadmium plater or go the Zinc/yellow pas?

The throttle linkages however I don't recall these being yellow Cad - they seemed to be a dull grey silver?

 

All brake & clutch parts were done by Summit Brake & Steering & stainless sleeved. They refuse to disclose their process. (It's certainly durable). They just ask you what colour you want. I think they are doing illegal Cadmium plating off site. I plated both master cylinders & clutch slave. All nuts, bolts etc are just done in heavy Zinc/Yellow passivate as appropriate.

Jaguar used both Silver & Yellow Cad. Mainly Silver.


My car. That heater hose union on the water manifold was replaced with new. It broke off when we tried to remove it and we had to cut through & break up the threaded area. Fortunately achieved with zero damage to the aluminium threads. Throttle return springs replaced with new etc.. This is how the engine was delivered from my rebuilder. Rev counter generator replaced. Correct clips on carb drains fitted. Throttle linkage silver.



Clutch slave cylinder. More yellow in real life & not under flash. The hex lower slave stud is now zinc plated. My bell housing thread was stripped. A friends workshop manufactured a stepped stud to fit a retapped bell housing larger hole but keep the external nut etc. standard.

 

Rebuilt caliper / parking brake (XJ6) on my MK2 diff. Thornton power lock.

 

Plated parts other than chrome were silver Cadmium Plated or Yellow Cadmium played like brake calipers.