Cable Raincoat A2 - opinions wanted

[Geeboo]

I got offered this no label A2, which I believe is a Cable Raincoat contract, at US$500 shipped. working Kwik zip, seems original knit, nice patina, small nipple snap rather than ring snap.
1) I see it HH in the photo, + using Kwik zip - does it implied it is the 1st batch W535 ac23382 ?
2) Is $500 a good px ?
3) I will wear it, I want to use same mustard tone lining just to cover the missing part near the collar & trim the sleeves to my size. that is. Will you repair the lining just near the collar or replace it altogether - I seen one from John Chapman before ?

 

[Roughwear]

Yes it does appear to be a first contract Cable A-2 (ac 23382). The price is remarkably fair. It does need some restoration work. I would avoid shortening the sleeves of this original as it may devalue it should you decide to sell it in the future.

 

[Dr H]

I'd second Andrew's comments about avoiding shortening the sleeves.

 

[Persimmon]

What size is it.
Or what do you believe the jacket size to be. You say the arms are perhaps a little long. Is the rest of the jacket measurements ok for you to wear ?

 

[Geeboo]

The chest is 44", BL is 25", Sleeves is 26", Shoulder is 18.5". It fits me except the sleeves. I am only 5' 7" :<

 

[blackrat2]

Agree don’t shorten it, looks to be nice on the whole

 

[Silver Surfer]

ditto on the sleeves. you may consider replacing the liner, as it looks fragile and you would be stitching into weak material if you tried to repair it. also, i looks like the male end of the zipper starter has separated. this side of the zipper should be replaced in order to wear it without issues. the prob is kwik zippers are slightly different then other makers zipper of the period, thus a talon, or nickel conmar will not mesh with the female side of the kwik. i believe that 1950s aluminum talons will mesh, and possibly others. you will have to do a dry run with the sourced male side before installation to be sure the zipper runs smoothly. the collar fold looks to be stiff and frayed, by way of sweat, so you may wish to soften it with vaseline, pecards, etc. those "no name" cables are real easy wearers, and for the most part were very well made.

 

[Geeboo]

vintage zippers is always a problem. I have a vintage Star 55-J-14. the female side is fine, but half of the male side is missing. I tired to buy a modern #5 brass tooth YKK zipper to trial, when not being sewn, the male side can mesh into it fairly smoothly, but then when unzipped, it is found the YKK was about 1.5cm longer than the original => implying a very tiny bigger teeth of the modern YKK . Even so, I still asked my seamstress to sewn it on, it didn't work, the slider can move up, very sluggish, but then the teeth fell apart right after as they cannot be locked together, failed => trashed.
Then, I buy on eBay an early 50's brass #5 Conmar with a different slider pull [I cannot find the exact Conmar zip , small bridge early 50's brass Conmar, - even I emailed MASH, Japan to ask if they got one]. Thinking both are from the 50's the teeth should mesh; the bottom line is then to replace the original with the whole NOS 50's brass #5 Conmar zip => unfortunately, that happened -> again the teeth of the NOS 50's conmar cannot mesh with the old Conmar, this time the zipper cannot even zip up when not being sewn, just in trailing fit.

 

[Silver Surfer]

yeah, i too have run into zipper matching problems. thus i now have a box of all kinds unmatched of zippers. however, by trial and error, and a lot of patience, you may very well find a mate for the female side.

 

[B-Man2]

Geeboo
Nice A2!!
I would not shorten the sleeves for 2 reasons.
It would devalue a 75 year old WWII artifact.
You are not going to make this jacket a daily wearer as a reproduction would be better suited for daily wear. So keep it as it was made.

 

[Pilot]

What a nice piece of history and jacket...please preserve it well.

 

[Silver Surfer]

there is an alternative to the kwik issue. that would be to replace the entire zipper [very carefully following the original stitch holes] with a brass conmar. brass conmars were used on the "no name" cables as well as kwiks, thus historically acceptable. furthermore, if you replace the liner, you will not have the issue of having to follow stitch holes on the liner as well as front hide side. conmars can be found on greedbay, either just the zipper or on vintage jackets and or clothes. i fully understand purist's point of view, but i would like to mention that a-2s were refurbished during the war, as well as after. point being, i see no issues with bringing an original up to snuff, and making it a wearer.....they were, after all, made to be worn. best of luck what you decide, geebo. and, if you do any work or have work done on the jacket, please show and tell.

 

[jeremiah]

Awesome. I keep hoping one day to walk into something like an old vintage in my size.

 

[Silver Surfer]

btw, geebo, aero, elc, goodwear, and i believe bk have the yellowish brown proper weight and weave liner material in the possible event that you decide to reline the "no name" a-2. the color varied within the cable contracts but was basicly the same yellowish brown that aero used. i would imagine that you would not need more the 1 1/2 yards for a complete liner. using the liner in your jacket will serve as the template for the new liner.

 

[Brettafett]

You could contact ELC and BK, and ask if they would consider restoring this peice of history. If anyone can do it, it would be them. I know they don't normally do this... But they may make an exception as this is a period peice...

 

[Roughwear]

Personally I would not replace the lining. It could be repaired under the arms and at the neck.