427 Headlight Trim Rings

[ALF]

Did the 289 cars have the same headlight trim rings with the brass rivet?

I assume yes, as they can be found Austin Healey and Mini from the 60’s as well.
http:Mini-HEADLIGHT-TRIMS-BRASS-RIVET-

[mickmate]

Those are the conical shaped trim ring, Cobras have more parallel sides like Jeffs. 289 and 427 are the same.

[Dan Case]

The rivets that hold the lock tab in the top of the rings are brass. When new they were nickel plated. Freshly polished the plating on the rivets is just barely "yellow" as compared to the British chromium plating that had an element added (yes, platers can add tint tones to chromium plating by adding other metallic elements) to create a very slight blue finish. The nickel gains a definite yellow tint as it ages and patina develops. Waxing slows the yellowing. Polishing lightly restores the 'brightness' until eventually the nickel is polished away.


Buyer beware. Some decades old rim assemblies sold as "NOS" (new old stock) these days are restored to some level of detail parts and not new never used ones. For some years now the low dollar approach to refinishing original rims is replate the entire assembly without taking the lock tab out. This leaves chromium plating on the rivet head. The higher level, practiced by state of the art owners and shops is dismantle the tab, rework the rims, and install a fresh new nickel plated rivet. The chromium plating 'color' will almost always be different than 1960s original. There are people also taking new modern production Lucas brand service parts that don't come with an internal tab and adding some type rivet to simulate the 1960s look.