Crossmember Colour

[Burdekin]

Is the 142 crossmember original colour the same as the Amazon grey?

[142 Guy]

I am assuming that you are referring to the front crossmember. On my 1971 142 E the crossmember is black - the same color as all the other suspension components.

[Burdekin]

Thanks, just sourced a new one that I need to topcoat.

[140]

The Factory finish was the 'standard' factory beige/grey used for all the body panels in primer. Being an apprentice in the 70's I can never remember the cross member being Black.

[Burdekin]

Originally Posted by 140

The Factory finish was the 'standard' factory beige/grey used for all the body panels in primer. Being an apprentice in the 70's I can never remember the cross member being Black.

The Amazon was grey and assumed the 140 would be the same but was not sure.

[142 Guy]

This photo from Skandix suggests that the cross member was grey with the rest of the suspension parts being in gloss black.

https://www.skandix.de/en/installati...front/2000229/

When I did the resto on my 1971, the photos that I looked at in the service manual and the owners manual all suggested that the cross member was the same color as the suspension parts. Granted, the service manual and owners manual photos are in black and white; but, a cross member that is as grey as the one in the Skandix photo would definitely show much lighter than black in a B&W photo. I scanned and attached the photo from the owner's manual which shows the tow hook locations (and the cross member). The tone of the crossmember sure looks to be identical to the lower A arm which was definitely black - nothing like the tone of the Skandix crossmember color.

Perhaps the crossmember color changed at some point during the production run?

[Burdekin]

Couple of Swedish guys confirmed it is grey and from 73 would be black.