General TR Commission Number Plate

[RJS]

Hi Everyone,

During this long winter I have been compiling my list of projects for this summer (big and small). One small project is installing a proper Commission Number Plate (PN 808-130 from one of the "Big Two"). The PO had merely installed a simple metal plate.

My question is how to best emboss or stamp the Comm No., Paint Code and Trim Code onto a new plate? Naturally, I want it to look "factory" and not something an amateur did in his/her garage.

Thanks for your ideas

Bob

 

[DavidApp]

Do you mean these plates? One should be body colour. They look like they were stamped out on a machine similar to the one that would do name tags on railway stations.

David

 

[GilsTR]

Bob if you are looking for body tags like David has shown photo above
you might try emailing:
Frank Angelini
angelfj@verizon.net

he recently made tags for us. Unsure if he is still doing any more.
His quality is excellent. But you have to know your own numbers for him to emboss.
Gil. NoCal

 

[RJS]

Thanks Guys,

I have a TR4A and looking at this:

The PO just riveted-in a blank aluminum plate of the same size with the appropriate numbers stamped in - not original and it's pretty ugly. I see number/letter stamping sets are available from a google search. So, I guess my next question is how to keep them aligned when I go to stamp it? I have the correct numbers already on the current plate (and confirmed on the British Motor Heritage Certificate).

Bob

 

[Geo Hahn]

Mine (TR4) was stripped bare by brake fluid:

So I made a jig from a 2x4 to establish spacing and keep the punches perpendicular:

I used a set of stamps from Harbor Freight. Not a perfect font match to original but I could not find any set that was a perfect match. In particular the flat-top '3' seems to have gone out of favor. The 4s can also have noticeable differences (though I didn't have any 4s):

Good idea to practice first on a some scrap aluminum tp get a feel for how hard to strike.

 

[RJS]

Ah ha! Thanks Geo. That looks like mine so, maybe it suffered the same fate with the brake fluid.

Quick question, are those just penciled lines on your 2x4?

Thanks

Bob

 

[Sarastro]

Yes, exactly what I was thinking. Mine was bare also, when I received the car, but I left it as it was. To me, it was important to have an original VIN tag, so no one ever wonders if it has been monkeyed with--but I understand the desire to have it look good.

 

[Geo Hahn]

...Quick question, are those just penciled lines on your 2x4?

Yes, they set the spacing and make it easy to get the stamp exactly vertical for an even strike. I have also written the letter/number for each strike to try to avoid a mistake.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Mine (TR4) was stripped bare by brake fluid:

So I made a jig from a 2x4 to establish spacing and keep the punches perpendicular:

I used a set of stamps from Harbor Freight. Not a perfect font match to original but I could not find any set that was a perfect match. In particular the flat-top '3' seems to have gone out of favor. The 4s can also have noticeable differences (though I didn't have any 4s):

Good idea to practice first on a some scrap aluminum tp get a feel for how hard to strike.

Looks pretty good to me. One observation, though. Note on the original plate how the first four numbers of the commission number are squared up nicely to each other (as they should be and usually were kept together and likely stamped as a group). Typically, the fifth digit (the one that can be any of ten numbers between 0 and 9, of course) is just ever so slightly askew, as each of those last digits was likely added individually. On your new plate, I especially commend you for getting the paint and trim numbers just slightly askew as well, just like the original. For the OCD types among us, those details make all (ok, MOST OF) the difference! "D

 

[Geo Hahn]

Andy -

Maybe you can help with a question about that repro plate I used - it is not the same as the original. If you look closely at the original you can just see a K from the word KILOS for the weight:

I suspect they may have used the wrong plate - did Heralds use kilos for weight in '64? I found this image on line:

If yes, any idea who sells that plate?

The rest of the story -- when I removed the 'original' commission plate I found a second set of holes, possibly from a plate installed prior to the 'original'. This seems quite possible as the commission number is more than 6000 higher than the engine number - as if the car had been re-commissioned long after the original build. The numbers are correct per the BMIHT records.

There are some other strange things one the car suggesting something happened in Coventry that was addressed some months after the original build.

 

[CJD]

Andrew, I wonder if perhaps they used a stamp with a rotary selector, sort of like a combination lock? The last digit, that gets reselected the most may not have centered as well after a lot of use...

Geo, looking closely, even that last plate does not look exactly like your original to me...

 

[Geo Hahn]

I think they gang stamped the first three digits then did the last two digits individually.

 

[TRopic6]

Yes, I read too that the plates were supplied without the last 2 digits, which were done by hand.

Hey Geo - I see you matched the 'AOA' of the original Paint and Trim stampings - nice detail!

 

[Andrew Mace]

Andy -

Maybe you can help with a question about that repro plate I used - it is not the same as the original. If you look closely at the original you can just see a K from the word KILOS for the weight:

I suspect they may have used the wrong plate - did Heralds use kilos for weight in '64?

Yes, from what I've seen, many if not all Heralds of that period used the same plate with "kilos". Oddly enough, I have seen some later (maybe 1966 or so?) plates with "lbs." instead. At any rate, no weight was stamped in.

I found this image on line:

If yes, any idea who sells that plate?

I can't help you there; sorry! And I can't quite figure out what that stray "K" might refer to!? Overall, there do seem to be several variations on commission plate styles. Some of that might relate to where the car was built, seeing as the TRs were not built on the same line as were all the Herald variants -- including Vitesse, Spitfire and GT6, all of which came down the same line, but I don't know for sure!

Meanwhile, I see another difference between this one and your original: the "Ltd." seems to be missing. At the moment, I'm not finding any images of such a plate in my files.

There are some other strange things one the car suggesting something happened in Coventry that was addressed some months after the original build.

Fascinating, these cars, right?