Hi All,

Just wondering if someone can please help me with a few questions I have regarding the HQ GTS badging.

Im guessing all the early badges where cast in Aust and from what mix? the last time I removed one off my front quarter panel it was quite malleable and not brittle

Did GMH have a chroming component to their operations for their parts and if so where was it/they located? if not, who chromed them externally?

Were they then painted at GMH? and was the colouring always black/silver/red or could you ask for another colour combination?

They were all dated for their year of manufacture?

There is (I think) Cavs 3 cast into the grill badges and what does it mean?

Apologies for the volume but as Im from a different era to my questions, harassing you knowledgable blokes is the only way for me properly gain a "correct" understanding regarding GMH matters and thanks in advance.

Cheers

Thanks

As suspected!

After a bit of research it appears that Old Joseph Lucas did alright for himself from originally being a jobless father of six flogging paraffin oil from his wheel barrow on the street.

Thanks for the Lucas/CAV insight as that has answered the CAV present in the casting under the badging. I have read on another forum that the CAV being present on a another part in discussion was due to it coming off a specific conveyor. Which looking back on now I thought was a pretty good stab in the dark at providing a correct answer.

To the CAV casting being present on the badge.

Charles Anthony Vandervell (1870–1955) CAV Ltd originated in 1904 when C A Vandervell set up his first factory. The company came to specialise in the production of engine parts such as fuel injection systems and electrical equipment for heavy duty vehicles.

In 1926 CAV was bought by Lucas. In 1931, CAV in partnership with Robert Bosch Ltd., became CAV-Bosch Ltd and began making fuel injection pumps for the diesel industry and later fuel systems for aircraft.

Lucas bought Bosch's interest out in 1937 and it became CAV Ltd in 1939.

In 1978 the company's name became Lucas CAV.

Im guessing that tenders were put out by GMH to supply specific parts or a large quantity of parts at a specific time and given CAV (Lucas) has such a diverse range of products and abilities would have had the badging requirements met along with all of the other products they supplied. Lucas would have then vetted the local casting companies in Australia and have them cast under their quality control ect which is why the CAV is present.

From what I can find Bundyweld tubes were first produced in Australia (1954) by Tubemakers of Australia until 1974 when an agreement with Tubemakers was made to spin off Bundy Australia into an independent subsidiary in 1974.