If you’ve been involved with American Austins and Bantams long enough, the name Lynn James should at least sound familiar.  There are many great qualities that you probably associate with his name and his work.  He is a man who has an eye for detail and one who pays careful attention to it in his craftsmanship.  Over the years he has reproduced numerous impossible to find parts for Austins and Bantams including gaskets, jacks, intake manifolds, steering wheels, fender skirt trim, and many others.  His latest endeavor was introduced publicly in 2014 on the Austin Bantam Society Facebook group.

One member of the group posted a link to an eBay auction for an older reproduction rooster cap.  In reply, Lynn posted a very interesting series of photos, starting with this one: 

This satin finished rooster cap was an NOS unit which Lynn was lucky enough to come across.  If you look carefully, you can see the original casting flash on the parting line of the piece and the fantastic detail of an original.  As earlier reproductions lack the fantastic detail of the originals and suffer from small discrepancies, Lynn sought to overcome these issues to deliver the finest rooster cap in over 80 years.

Putting his mold making skills to the test, he began the process of creating a three piece mold to capture the entire piece, including the manufacturer identification information on the bottom.  This mold was used to create a wax copy of the rooster for the purposes of casting the caps in the future.

The red wax copy was enough to impress most of us on the group and keep us waiting for superb reproductions to be available.

This week, Lynn unveiled this “polished brass” piece which is the magnificent culmination of his efforts:

While this unit was not made from the mold or wax casting shown above, Lynn guided the foundry in their crafting of this modern reproduction.  In his listing, he has said the cap is ready for you to take to the plater of your choice to have finished.  He has modestly said that they are not perfect, but you should check out the photos above and his listing to judge for yourself.

Click here to see Lynn’s magnificent American Austin Reproduction Rooster Cap