You wrote:
I didn't repaint the block since it didn't look that bad
and because I presumed the marking was slapped on by some bloke at the
engine assembly plant. Thought it was kind of quaint or something. Jon
Mac,
you know any body with a fat reddish kind of looking finger over
there?
Yes - his name was Dick, only had one eye, one arm and one leg. Lost
the rest on D-Day. He started work at STI shortly after the Suez
Crisis when there was a national credit squeeze and the company
couldn't afford to issue him with a paint brush.
This random marking was quite common and I would hazard a guess was to
determine which block was allocated to engine type build after
machining and painting - i.e. Vanguard or TR. This random marking used
paint, chalk,
chinagraph for permanent identification - or at less stressful times
Dick used his thumb. AFAIK this marking is only intermittent and while
it has intriguing overtones of originality for some owners, cannot be
depended upon for concours brownie points.
Jonmac
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