original paint roadster side panels - need pics

The same goes for the battery cover panel if the brackets were positioned or bent differently.

Red is a steel cover Blue is glass fiber Top line is different in Pics consider these mount on oil tank maybe the oil tank is fastened incorrectly, as Greg implies, or a stud on frame was out of place. Here is two shots of the other side. Potato-patato That's all folks

I used to repair the occasional Jap many years ago, and the decals came with helpful guides to ensure consistent alignment to whatever datum line was available close by - inscrutable as usual...
I've seen Commando tank and sidepanel decals placed in a variety of positions, and when I was doing commission work I simply did as the Customer requested; some giving very precise instructions.
Pre-71 Roadsters/S-Type sidepanels (with ignition lock hole) always had the decal parallel to the bottom edge, and hence the Z-Plate.
Post-71 they just seem to be pretty random - Factory Brochures are my favourite guide, and I don't think they're that consistent.

L.A.B. said:

I wasn't disagreeing or attempting to "prove otherwise" just doubting that whoever did the paintwork for the factory (as I doubt they did it themselves) would have sprayed much if any clear lacquer over Candy as that is already a tinted lacquer applied over a silver(usually) base coat.

Click to expand...

The industry standard for candy paint is that it's a 3 stage process - a metallic ground coat, translucent color coat, and clear. I doubt that the paint shop of the day had robotic painting, it was done by hand by humans with a spray gun. Flaws like orange peel, dust nibs and fish-eye (a lacquer thing) would be inevitable even with an expert painter. Those flaws were removed by wet sanding before buffing. Sanding a candy coat would change the depth and color, that's why clear is used as a buffer. My MKII definitely had clear over the color.

I taught myself how to paint in 1976 with DuPont acrylic lacquer. My Guinea pig was my year old Norton that had a chip in the paint where I had dropped a wrench on it. Been painting ever since.