I have a question about the color of the heat shield for the Longbridge cars. Per the 2016 Concours Guide, p 33 it states - "The heat shield was painted red (same color as the fan) and had no asbestos inner liner. The reason that the shield is a different color is that it could not be mounted until after the carbs were fitted. The heat shield covers the bottom securing bolts for the carbs. This is why it was not painted with the engine. This is also the reason that the heater tube is not green, as it was mounted after the carbs on the upper carburetors studs."
Has anyone found a red heat shield? my Longbridge from April 57 has a green heat shield and it looks like it has never, ever been red. What is the opinion of other Longbridge owners?
thanks
Well, it does not actually "cover up" the bottom studs, but you can certainly reach them easier without the heat shield in place. You can see the hi-res image from underneath here (click on the opened pic for maximum image size):
https://spcarsplus.com/gallery3/var/albums/LS_BN4_engine_build/Final-push/IMG_1335.jpg?m=1316905154
Obviously these pictures are now old, as am I__and I've slept since they were taken__but if I had found any evidence on that particular heat shield that it was ever red, I would've questioned it. It must've still had been, or shown traces of green paint, so it was repainted green as was the engine. I have a pretty extensive library of Healey Marque books accumulated over the last four (4) decades, and I used everything that was available to me during the research of building that engine. Oh I wasn't concerned in the least about the mechanical stuff, that part's easy and second nature, but determining the finishes of the individual components was akin to participating in an archaeological dig; I was thoroughly invested and I enjoyed it.
The one obvious liberty__that nobody's ever mentioned, here at least__was that I was supplied with a Lucas Sports Coil, whereas a stock coil and bracket would've been engine color too, IIRC.
I think the biggest takeaway here, is that
Albert,
Bertrand, or
Christopher (random guess at the factory worker's names) would've used whatever paints were closest to them at the time, it was just a workaday job for those blokes, never dreaming that someone in the distant future would even care. I know we've seen exceptions to accepted practices and finishes before.