14 replies to this topic

[adogcalledbear]

Does anyone happen to know the name of the original door number font used by the BMC Works team in the 1960s? I'm an artist/designer by trade and thought this would have been a frequently-asked question, but I found nothing with a quick search.

 

I know there have been variations over the years, and many abuses with cars using different fonts, but the original font had some very distinctive, geometric number shapes. Restored cars with the wrong font always look completely wrong. For example, Graham McConnell's EJB replica looked terrible with it's first set of race numbers, but the revised version looks spot-on.

 

Anyone know the correct font or where to have accurate race numbers made?

[adogcalledbear]

I'm surprised no-one's jumped in on this... maybe I should have posted it in the 'general' section.

 

Where does everyone buy the race numbers for their genuine Works restorations or replicas?

[Cooperman]

I don't think they were anything special. They would just have used what they found available. After all, they were nor specific performance items.

The requirement has been black numbers on a white background to a minimum height and that is all.

 

To the crews and team it was a non-issue. they just stuck the correct numbers on the correct cars before the start.

[Ivor Badger]

I don't think they were anything special. They would just have used what they found available. After all, they were nor specific performance items.

The requirement has been black numbers on a white background to a minimum height and that is all.

 

To the crews and team it was a non-issue. they just stuck the correct numbers on the correct cars before the start.

 

In fact, in the early 60s there was no requirement for black numbers on white, they could be white numbers on black. The black on white only became compulsory in the late 60s or in fact a in the early 60s a background colour at all or even the numbers were black or white.. 

[adogcalledbear]

I don't think they were anything special. They would just have used what they found available....

 

I'd agree that they used whatever was to hand or most popular at the time, but that particular font is very distinctive and seems to have been used by the works from around '62-'66 at least, possibly longer.

 

Take a look at the period race and workshop photos: particularly the zeros, nines, threes, eights... even the straight and featureless stroke for the 'one'... all very geometric shapes, and even with an on-line font-matching tool (yes, I really have tried) modern equivalents don't match. You don't need to be a font-geek to notice that when cars are incorrectly restored with 'whatever race numbers happen to be to hand' such a large and glaring part of the overall picture looks 'wrong'.

 

Many custodians of the original cars (and the better replicas) seem to be finding it from somewhere, I hoped someone might know.

[Pipthepiper]

Hey there. Ive poured over the internet looking for a name to that font and all I found was a pic of each number. I have a replica of AJB 44B and I wasnt about to half ass the numbers on the door. I did however find a fairly accurate picture of all of the numbers from the 60s. They were a great guide but im not entirely sure they are bold enough. Hope maybe these help.

[Pipthepiper]

[Pipthepiper]

[Pipthepiper]

There you go finally .Sorry, Im new to posting pics off photo bucket.

[adogcalledbear]

That's a really beautiful replica Pipthepiper, I only hope mine turns out anywhere near this standard. Do you have a link to more pics on your car.

 

Regarding the font, thanks, that's really useful. Can I ask you where you found the pic of the individual numbers? Id like to take a closer look - it's certainly the closest I've seen so far but still not quite right. I think this might be the font they tried on the 33 EJB replica: it's not quite as bold as the original and the points of the '3' don't extend as far.

[adogcalledbear]

...forgot to say: I'm collecting together as many period photos as possible that clearly show the numbers so that I can get a more reliable answer from an on-line font checking tool, or if that fails, make my own.

 

Most of the original numbers are well-documented, but I'm struggling to find undistorted pics of the 6 and the 9 (not always the same as each other in every font), so if anyone has period photos that show these as close to 'flat on' as possible that would be really helpful.

[Pipthepiper]

Thanks man. If only it ran as well as it looked. I couldnt find anything on the web except that photo. The numbers on the car at the gaydon museum aren't even correct. They're VERY different then the original. I took an original photo to my local sign/graphics shop as i knew all the other fonts just wouldnt do. He was able to make mine up and they look spot on. This one was the best one i could find.

[Pipthepiper]

Now to find you a 6 and a 9 😁

[Pipthepiper]

Actually a 6 OR 9 would do as they seem to always use one and invert it for the other. Ill check my rally cooper book for photos. If you google bmc works mini EBL 56C theres a lot of pics of that 6 on the side straight on

[adogcalledbear]

Thanks Pip. I've had a look at the EBL pics and it's still difficult to see an original image: there are plenty of the replica, but as is usually the case, most replicas get it slightly (or hugely) wrong, so you're just compounding other people's mistakes. For example, if you look at the centre dot on the six, the 'hole' is much larger than the original font. You hit it really lucky in finding such a clear image for yours and your signwriter has made an excellent job of it.

 

An interesting aside is that a lot of the early photos show quite crude edges to some of the numbers, and yet the font doesn't change. I can only guess that the 'works' sometimes ran out of certain numbers and therefore traced around remaining stocks and cut them out of a sheet of plain black adhesive vinyl with scissors.