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^ Example D ^
^ Somerford / Minispares Repro Badge ^ |
Downton Boot / Rockercover Badge By far the most common fake Downton item is the famous Downton badge. These were given away to purchasers of complete tuning kits and were also available as a seperate item. The ones pictured here to the right are all out of the same Japanese catalogue dated 2000-2001. Regularly offered on ebay and by certain dealers and invariably described as genuine, these repros are mercifully easy to identify once you know what you are looking at. Original and absolutely genuine Downton badges are pictured below, they will display the following features. I have now identified 4 variations of the original Downton badges that I will soon be describinhg in detail, as I believe the incomplete descriptons in this section may have caused more confusion than they have solved. I am sorry for this.
^ Original post 1963 Badge ^ Unlike the fakes the actual badge is approximately 1.2mm thick, most of the repro ones are between 2 & 3mm thick. The silver lettering on the originals is plated metal (either silver of Nickel depending on the period). The silver ones are partucularly prone to loosing their original silver finish and exposing the brass underneath. The repros are usually (if silver coloured at all) plated with Chromium. The genuine badges (apart from very early examples) invariably had two parallel painted black highlight lines, above and below the DOW & TON, although these are extremely prone to rubbing off, the fakes usually have the same lines highlighted either in solid metal or edged in metal, apart from some very early examples. Having spoken to a number of former downton employees, I can confirm that the badge below is of a type used before 1963, this was the same in general apearance as the above example but had solid upper and lower highlight lines, not the simple black painted ones described below. The two badges are the same size, the difference is down to my scanning methods.
^ Original Pre 1963 ^ The green background should be simple green paint, almost all the repros use some form of cold enamel, this feels slightly soft if you rub it with your teeth, the surface is also uneven, this is particularly well illustrated by the example to the right marked "Example D". An origianl will be perfectly smooth and will invariably have some of the paint missing unless it has been repainted. Repro badges were available from a number of outlets including Mini Spares Centre & Somerford, needless to say these reputable outlets sell them as repros for a sensible price. These repros would make a nice addition to a 60's style car, but do look totally wrong when compared to the originals. The main point to note is the total lack of italicised lettering across the badge, the lurid green colour & the lack of black highlights.
The badge fitted to the boot of UHR 850 the Downton Racer owned by Gaydon
Some reproduction items are sold in good faith, others are out and out fakes, designed to deceive, follow the link to see a really bad one, possibly the worst example I have ever seen. |
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To see the listing click the image
To see the listing click the image |
New Downton Centre Caps & Bonnet Badge. These items are totally Bona Fide, they are available from the current incarnation of Downton. They however have nothing to do with Downton Engineering Works of Wiltshire, that was owned by the Richmonds. Should you want a set I suggest you buy them direct, rather than bidding for them on ebay. One of ebays finest recently sold a set on ebay, the spiel went something like this; "DOWNTON These are original classic downton badges, used by the downton factory on their 'Downton' Converted cars Prodominantly Mini's Mini Cooper's and Cooper 'S' Variants they were also used on Downton Converted MG Midgets, MGB's and the famous MGC's There is a full set of 4 up for grabs here, carefully removed and cleaned from an Ex Downton Show Car High Quality Enameled not a scratch nor a blemish to be found !! 33mm in diameter" The only badges ever fitted to "Original Downton Cars" were the well known
Brass body badge described above!
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Downton "Foil Stickers". Another "Genuine" item offered were these stickers. Printed on aluminium foil they are of good quality and look nice. They are however brand new and not original in any way. These stickers are occasionally sold through ebay as genuine. After you have read this page, You know better. |
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Downton Rockercover & Badge. This is just a standard rocker cover that has been repainted and fitted with a repro Downton badge as pictured above. OK for what it is, but notice it is a very late cover and as usual the badge itself is WRONG! |
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Downton Alloy Rockercover. This is a reproduction of a rockercover that is usually refered to as a Downton Alloy Rockercover. With its distinctive smooth shape it really does look fantastic on any old engine. The truth is, this style of rockercover has little or nothing to do with Downton. Although I have seen a number of similar rockercovers fitted to Single seater Formula Junior A series engines, the fact that they occasionally find there way onto Minis is purely coincidental. As far as I am aware, the only alloy rocker cover supplied by Downton was the standard HRG item offered by a variety of tuning companies. These were however ONLY ever offered by Richard Miles (Downton) London Ltd. NEVER by Downton of Wiltshire. Daniel Richmond considered them a waste of time. |
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Downton "Works" Rockercover. Just some old standard rockercover that has been fitted with a Trefolex badge claiming to be "Downton". These have been available as "Originals" but once again are just repros made up to fool the unweary. |
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Downton Catalogue 1969. A very reputable Mini parts supplier had a number of very good reproductions of this catalogue produced a few years ago, if you are tempted to purchase one of these REMEMBER to ask if it is an original or not. There is an easy way to tell real from repro. On the cover, where it says "M0RRIS" the original "0" looks like this, the reproductions "O" looks like THIS. |
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Downton Miniature Pin Badge Once again these small pin badges (approx 35mm in length) are offered in Japan and some make there way back to the west as "Original items" They definately aren't! They do make a nice Downton style touch, but have nothing to do with the Downton of the 60's. |
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Downton Keyrings OK, I'll admit it! I was got by these when I first saw them. I purchased 2 from Mr Greg Hales of S.F.E (Safety Fast Engineering) in the late 90's and was absolutely delighted with my purchase. That was until I saw the exact same item in a number of Japanese catalogues. I am by no means the only person who purchased one as genuine, and it is reasonable to assume that some of the purchasers still believe theirs to be correct. Buy one by all means, but don't think you are buying a genuine item. You are not! The badge on these key rings is one of the ones pictured above. The all metal version pictured here is also a newly produced item. |
