Indian Fuel Tank Oil Caps

[JTR249]

What are the traits that make the Indian fuel tank oil cap original?
-JR Original Indian Fuel Tank Oil Cap.jpg Original Indian Fuel Tank Oil Cap Inside.jpg

[tomfiii]

Properly spaced letters as after market is too close together.

[exeric]

John, is the oil cap you posted the picture of, a genuine Indian oil cap?

[JTR249]

Eric,
The ad says 'antique, original, vintage' and it is from New Ullm, Minnesota. I have purchased used Indian parts from this seller before. There are often lots of used nuts and bolts, smaller parts like linkage, ammeter and things like that from this seller. I have no reason to suspect anything, just trying to make an ID of an original.
Thanks to Tom also. These above look evenly spaced. I have never seen a repro cap either.
-JR

[JTR249]

Starklite Indian Oil Cap.jpg Now I see what you mean. The letters look skinnier too, like HD oil cap embossments.
-JR

[JTR249]

Then, of course, there's Indianrepo caps. I could not find an individual photo to post. This is actually one of the closest I have seen if there are no reproduction caps that ever tried to actually mirror the original ones. I have never seen a Greer's Engineering version either.
-JR Indianrepo Reproduction Indian Oil and Gas Caps.jpg

[JTR249]

Just saw Greer's. Skinny like the others.
Didn't see any at Kiwi.
-JR Greers Engineering Oil Cap.jpg

[exeric]

There is definitely a difference between the first oil cap picture and the reproduction cap, John. As Tom said, the character spacing is obvious and a subtle difference in shape. Thanks for posting this.

[pisten-bully]

...also look at the center rivet inside the cap and also see if the cap has the thin brass sealing spring:

IMG_2111.jpeg

and then the knurling on the outside edge is much finer on an original cap:

IMG_2114.jpeg

[JTR249]

Thanks, Harry.
-JR

[FLFD7]

JR,
Here is a side by side Greer repop and original…

IMG_5338.jpeg

As previously mentioned the characters are closer together on the repop.

Also, the ridges on the edge are finer on the original

IMG_5339.jpeg

And fyi the military caps were just chrome civilian caps painted over, as seen here…

IMG_5340.jpeg

[JTR249]

Thanks, Joe. I didn't know either of these traits.
-JR