I was thinking along the same lines. From a manufacturing standpoint, it
seems that you'd want to thread the oil cooler lines through the
diaphragm, attach the radiator to it, and install the engine in the car,
before installing the diaphragm in the car. Obviously, at that point the
car is already painted. So after a few years of this, it's not surprising
that some efficiency expert would decide to pre-assemble "generic-color"
(black) diaphragms, rather than have to keep track of colors or, more
likely, remove the diaphragm after the car was painted, and then
re-attach it (extra labor, risk of scratching paint). As to what exact
date this procedural change was instituted, well... if Clausager is
silent on the issue, we'll probably never know.
Although if anyone has that history of the MG factory (is it the one
called "Aspects of Abingdon"?), perhaps it might contain a clue (such as
dated assembly or parts photos).
Chris Attias had this to say:
>Survey on color--The last GT I owned, a '67, was originally a blue
>car, but had a black diaphram and supports. I stripped it of OEM
>paint, and it was always black. My current '64 roadster (G engine)
>has a black shell, so no telling.
>
>Logically speaking, it may have been that early cars had the support
>assembled with the car and painted body color, but someone may have
>realized early on that it was better to leave it off until the engine
>was installed (does anyone have factory pic of the assembly line?).
>Or they really came in different colors, and the guy on the floor
>grabbed from the correct bin, until the day there was a strike in the
>shoip that made the Iris Blue ones, the whole line came to a halt in
>sympathy, and someone decided it would make sense that they were all
>one color, out of the same bin...
>Chris Attias
>'64 MGB
>'84 Alfa Romeo GTV-6
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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