Benelite grille

[BroadspeedGT]

I used to have an account with Arden back in the 90's.
Used to be able to sell as many as a hundred torpedo mirrors ( ARM2F ?) at a good mini show
before the onslaught of the cheaper inferior Chinese ones
Chris

[mk1]

We put up a fight for British manufacture!

GLAD TO HEAR IT!

M

[Hipwell]

I used to have an account with Arden back in the 90's.
Used to be able to sell as many as a hundred torpedo mirrors ( ARM2F ?) at a good mini show
before the onslaught of the cheaper inferior Chinese ones
Chris

ARM2F, the original bullet mirror, chrome plated copper body, no expense spared. Before my time, but we made/sold upto 500 a week in our prime, now maybe 100 per year. People are driven by cost over quality.

I have found a few nice period adverts I will post up.

[mini63]

reviving the thread perhaps........and...I've come to the party late having finally acquired a mk1 benelite, but only after decades of on and off looking...
my question though is whether all the grilles had a makers plate on the catch slat?
I read on another post that not all had the plate?
M.

[mk1]

The answer to your question is NO not all Benelite grilles had a makers badge on them from new. I have seen many with but have also seen many without & without any sign of there ever having been one.

[Pete]

Been digging through my Radford parts that came with my car and realised the tatty grille that came with it is the earlier Benelite with 9 'rolled' slats, not seen one before. Also worth noting some of the earlier Radfords including Ekland's had a modified Austin Cooper grille I think with lamps in, not a Benelite.

[WMU 211G]

My Mk2 grille has no sign of a badge being fitted and the slat where it would be if a badge was fitted is curved outwards anyway.

How many different designs were there..?

[Nick W]

My Mk2 grille has no sign of a badge being fitted and the slat where it would be if a badge was fitted is curved outwards anyway.

How many different designs were there..?

I have the same as this , came from the states

[surfblue63]

I have a Mk2 with badge and a Mk2 without.

Could it be that when the grille was sold through another retailer/supplier the badge was not fitted?

[Nick W]

both with and without here

[foxy52]

My 6 penneth.. I remember fancying a Benelite grille in the 80,s for my 69 mk 2 Cooper.. when I found standard mk 2 grilles with cut outs for aux lights that looked great and were cheaper I bought one instead.....question is how do u tell a proper Benelite without the orig badging ??.. I reckon there must be plenty of copies made over the years.. I to have seen MK 1,s and 2,s with what I consider to be the real deal...also others that look iffy... but then I have seen some great resto,s made from original damaged ones to ...is it also the case that all orig Benelite grilles had an internal lock fitted for bonnet release ?? I have seen these also .. a much better idea I always thought ??. foxy52

[mini63]

The grilles, we took over production some time in the 1970's. We only carried the mini ones on, which were sold through Brown and Geeson.

Quote my Uncle. "The aluminium section (which now NLA) was rivoted together, when all together the outline/shape was cut by hand on a band saw. Then to get the bowed shape, they were stood on in a wooden jig!" Precision engineering at its best.

When were the last grilles made by Arden Accessories?
also, is it possible to pick an Arden Benelite from a Benelite Benelite Grille?

[Workinprogress]

What is the value of a MKII Benelite grille now? With light cutouts.

[Nick W]

What is the value of a MKII Benelite grille now? With light cutouts.

Depends on condition, but would be from around £200,

[Hipwell]

When were the last grilles made by Arden Accessories?
also, is it possible to pick an Arden Benelite from a Benelite Benelite Grille?

Probs 75/76. I have found some original press photos for the mk1 grilles aswell as some technical drawings and patents.

[mini63]

When were the last grilles made by Arden Accessories?
also, is it possible to pick an Arden Benelite from a Benelite Benelite Grille?

Probs 75/76. I have found some original press photos for the mk1 grilles aswell as some technical drawings and patents.

i never appreciated how complex the aluminium section was.

[steve1071]

Any tips on restoring a later mk1 Benelite? Masking up for paint looks like it will be a real pain.

[Aginley]

Any tips on restoring a later mk1 Benelite? Masking up for paint looks like it will be a real pain.

Also interested how to refurb

[mk1]

The way I have done them in the past is as follows.

Clean the grille & then strip all the paint off using good quality paint stripper. The grille I restored was in pretty good condition so it didn't need any re-polishing.

Once it was clean & fresh, I painted the whole thing with a couple of layers of Matt Black, then left it to dry for 24 hours or so. Once it was dry, I took a sponge wrapped in a rag soaked in (a small amount of) thinners & wiped the excess paint off the grille bars with a few strokes, following the line of the grille slats. I then left it so the paint could cure properly & finally gave it a polish with a clean cloth.

As the bars are anodised it is very difficult to polish out any damage as it never looks correct. In my opinion, a bit of damage looks better than a duff repair.

[steve1071]

Thanks Mark, much appreciated. Mine's in pretty good shape but needed a few bars straightening.