Vintage 60s Roundels (Meatballs)

Hi, all.  

Recent paint damage on both doors on beautifully patina'd paint has me looking for a solution.  The car has been built as a vintage rally car so I'm thinking perhaps I will hide the flaws with roundels.  However great effort thus far has gone into sourcing only vintage parts, keeping it as 'authentic' as possible.  

With that in mind, in the 60s what were roundels made of?  Stickers or paint?  If stickers did they have vinyl or plastic all weather type stickers like we have now?  

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

We restored an original 289 Cobra last year. It didn't have meatballs but I do recall finding information about them on one of the bigger Cobra forums on the internet.

The forum has an "originality and authenticity" subforum which is where I saw a couple topics about it. From what I recall, the meatballs are painted on.

Hope that helps.

Shawn

Trans_Maro said:

We restored an original 289 Cobra last year. It didn't have meatballs but I do recall finding information about them on one of the bigger Cobra forums on the internet.

The forum has an "originality and authenticity" subforum which is where I saw a couple topics about it. From what I recall, the meatballs are painted on.

Hope that helps.

Shawn

That's a great start thanks!

go paint, the only sticky vinyl I remember was electrical tape, what I Liked was the tag light over the number for nite races

GTXVette said:

go paint, the only sticky vinyl I remember was electrical tape, what I Liked was the tag light over the number for nite races

The tag light is VERY cool LOL.

Trans_Maro said:

We restored an original 289 Cobra last year. It didn't have meatballs but I do recall finding information about them on one of the bigger Cobra forums on the internet.

The forum has an "originality and authenticity" subforum which is where I saw a couple topics about it. From what I recall, the meatballs are painted on.

Hope that helps.

Shawn

I've had no luck, if by chance you stumble on which forum it was that might help.  I found one that had an originality sub forum but no threads on the topic.  It's interesting that with all the info on the interweb this remains quite elusive.  I guess that is how things fade into obscurity in life.

" I found one that had an originality sub forum but no threads on the topic "

do you remember what forum that was ?

Thanks

Club Cobra forum.

You may have to read through ALL threads pertaining to meatballs, whether original or not to find that tiny tidbit of information that you need. Something like a guy mentioning that he saw one in a museum and it was clearly painted on.

Sometimes the info you need isn't out in the open and you need to spend some time digging for it.

It's one of those parts of the restoration that some people don't understand or seem to forget. I can spend hours researching a tiny little thing to get it correct.

You might have to spend some quality time on this one.

californiamilleghia said:

" I found one that had an originality sub forum but no threads on the topic "

do you remember what forum that was ?

Thanks

Clubcobra.com

 

 

In reply to Trans_Maro :

If you only knew! LOL 

Thanks for the lead though!  The search continues as my ass goes numb...

Roundels were often painted on, and then numbers painted on them.  

In the 60's, we made our roundels and numbers using Con-Tact paper. A self-adhesive vinyl sold in white, black, in colors and in patterns since the late 1950's, it was sold primarily as shelf and drawer liner, but it had many applications. It was sold mostly in 18"wide x 9' rolls.

Auto World and other accessory firms also sold pre-cut self-adhesive numbers and roundels, some round, others looking like a 60's TV screen, a rounded rectangle.  Check old Auto World, MG Mitten and Haan catalogs.

I think you'd be fine with vinyl roundels, just tell everyone its Con-Tact paper.

Our TR3 has had its meatballs for 60 years. They're vinyl, with hand-cut vinyl letters on top.

Another option is to design a digitally printed vinyl roundel decal to look like it’s old and painted with maybe a hint of the patina coming through. Laminate with a matte laminate. It will cover the blemish, look old and period correct, and you can always remove with little effort. Like the idea and need help, let me know ian@Level11creative.com

Automotorist said:

Hi, all.  

Recent paint damage on both doors  ....

If this may be a recurring event, I would go with vinyls.  Easily replaced if it happens again, probably cheaper than a painter.

Dan

My 1957 Austin Healey 100-6 MM has Mille Miglia "hand painted" vinyl letters in keeping with the make and period of the car. If I had a Sebring car, I'd be in with roundels.