> The original Lucas "Embossed" dist cap is "BROWN" and not black
I disagree, Fred. The original, 1950s version was cast from Bakelite, which
has a shiny black appearance when it is new. With time and exposure, it
fades to a dark brown. This is the same substance that the control head and
control box are made of, and the dash knobs on a TR2-3
However, Bakelite is a very environmentally-unfriendly process (although
they just called it poisonous back then), made from formaldehyde and
carbolic acid. It was also relatively expensive, so somewhere around 1960
maybe (anyone know the exact date ?) Lucas switched to a different plastic,
with a brown color to it. Apparently to avoid confusion, the brown plastic
was painted black on the outside. Most of the Lucas-branded caps in my junk
box are this type, some of them (mostly the NOS ones) still have the paint
in very good condition but it's falling off of the used ones.
It's been so long since I bought a new cap, I didn't even know they weren't
available with the Lucas logo.
Really ?
Randall
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