Morris Minor Owners Club

I infinitely prefer the rounded art deco typeface of this M logo to the serif font used in the steering wheel badge. But I can't work out how this badge has been made. The only place I know of it appearing is the bonnet mascot, which is a single casting. Can anybody shed any theories?

looks to me to be a casting then chromed and enamelled

There were two types of bonnet mascot/handle made. The later ones were a single-piece chrome casting with the background to the "m" logo being red paint. The earlier ones were again a chrome casting but with two removable "medallions" each with the "m" logo having a red enamelled background.
What you have there is an early boot badge from which the red plastic reflector has been removed and replaced by one of these enamelled bonnet "M" medallions.
Looks rather nice but won't act as reflector!

Coalmossian wrote:There were two types of bonnet mascot/handle made. The later ones were a single-piece chrome casting with the background to the "m" logo being red paint. The earlier ones were again a chrome casting but with two removable "medallions" each with the "m" logo having a red enamelled background.

Very useful info, thanks. I wasn't aware of that.

Hi,
The material used for that casting was, in all likelihood Mazak (Zamak elsewhere than in the UK) a zinc based alloy which was subsequently Chromium plated, or painted. Lots of car brightwork was produced from this material. We used to call it "monkey metal", probably due to us resenting our inability to repair these castings when broken. Until I saw this post, I'd forgotten what little I'd learned about this stuff in metallurgy. Zinc, aluminium and copper, hence Zamak, licenced in the UK by Maurice Ashby, hence Mazak...I can hear the yawns now, off to bore someone else...Oh, it was pressure die cast...

It's a Morris Oxford MO boot badge which looks like it has had a different badge added. See here (2nd photo): http://www.simoncars.co.uk/morris/oxfordmo.html

Just wondering why Louise M says it's an Oxford MO badge and not an MM or Minor Series 11one?

No particular reason other than it's the first thing I thought of when I saw it

bobble wrote:Hi,
The material used for that casting was, in all likelihood Mazak (Zamak elsewhere than in the UK) a zinc based alloy which was subsequently Chromium plated, or painted. Lots of car brightwork was produced from this material. We used to call it "monkey metal", probably due to us resenting our inability to repair these castings when broken. Until I saw this post, I'd forgotten what little I'd learned about this stuff in metallurgy. Zinc, aluminium and copper, hence Zamak, licenced in the UK by Maurice Ashby, hence Mazak...I can hear the yawns now, off to bore someone else...Oh, it was pressure die cast...

That didn't make me yawn at all! Very interesting reading. I'd have called it "monkey metal" as well. It's what a lot of side / tail light clusters were made off back then isn't it? Yes, I've also found it to have strange tensile properties. It seems to deform or dent in some instances, and completely rupture like powder in others! I'd personally believed it to be nothing more than everything that was left over after all the useful alloys had been made! And it was therefore cheap. Any more info on that would be very interesting to read.

The "M" looks very similar to here...http://www.morrisminorowners.co.uk/sear ... d=newposts
Maybe someone on there can help....and yes, very interesting about Zamak.

Mazak pressure casting and deteriorates very badly

I had a four door Avenger years ago ( my own fault - I know ! ) and that had 'Mazak' door handles - the 'flap' style, and all four of these snapped off in my hand at different times.

M25VAN wrote:The "M" looks very similar to here...http://www.morrisminorowners.co.uk/sear ... d=newposts
Maybe someone on there can help....and yes, very interesting about Zamak.

As I said earlier, the enamelled "M" medallion has simply been taken from one of the earlier-style bonnet emblems and has been glued onto the boot badge in place of a reflector. Compare the round "M" in the boot badge with the one in the following photo and you will see that they are identical, even down to the wee locating lug on the periphery of the circle.
Ingenious!!!! Better than a really naff reflector in appearance![frame][/frame]

Coalmossian wrote:Better than a really naff reflector in appearance![frame][/frame]

My thoughts exactly! Although I think I'd rather have the reflector and convert it to a high level brake light.
But shows the flexibility of what you can achieve with a bit of sideways thinking. Didn't realise there were bonnet mascots with detachable centres. When were they discontinued in favour of the painted castings?

They finished in approximately 1962 or 1963, the newer ones was obviously much cheaper to make as if you ever try to take an old enamel one apart and put it back together you will see how fiddly it is with a spring to hold the two halves together.