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TR2/3/3A Commission Plate Number Stamping

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tedwone

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I purchased new commission plates for all four of the TR3s I am restoring because the old ones are in such bad shape (sadly, all four cars were in the process of being parted out). I also purchased two sets of number/letter stamps from Harbor Freight and attempted to stamp duplicate numbers on one of the old plates. I am not able to get the kind of definition that the original stampings had. The Harbor Freight stamps seem to be too broad or don't have enough depth (not sharp enough?). I have tried backing the plate with various materials while stamping, but I still can't duplicate the originals. I am considering taking the new plates to a machine shop, but I don't want a machine shop ruin the new plates trying to get it right. Any suggestions or ideas?
 
I bought a new Comm. No. plate when I was doing my restoration from 1987 to 1990. But then I noticed that the fonts were different. The repros look similar but and not the same. I also considered having my old one scanned so an engraving machine could do it on the new blank plate.
But I cleaned up my original one and it's still there. It's been there from new - 58 years ago. If you're not trying to be "original" with your TR, use the new plates. Only a TRA or VTR concours judge would notice.
 
Yeah, in cleaning my original commission plate up I cleaned the black off of it and now it's completely aluminum with no black. I've come up with this question as well. It would be nice if you could send the place you buy the new plate from the info on yours and they stamp that on the new plate.
 
How bad are the originals? I bought new plates, but if you look closely the repro plates are not exact to begin with. I decided to resurrect my originals...

TR3a before.



Tr3a after.
 
I would keep the original plate, especially if it is still riveted to the bulkhead in its original state. I always wonder about commission plates that have clearly been removed or re-riveted, and I think patina from an original plate is fine. Just my opinion.

Dan
 
Unlike the TR4s, the black portion of the TR3 commission plates are slightly raised allowing a crafty person (like John) to restore a stripped plate.

The TR4 plates are totally flat and (on LHD cars) thoughtfully placed right below the hydraulic reservoirs & M/Cs -- so they are often just bare metal with a stamped number.

CommissionOriginal.jpg


I stamped mine with a simple jig. The font is not perfect ('3' has a round top rather than the original flat top) but the depth and crispness looked pretty good. I think I used a very hard surface under the plate:

commission-stamp_zps4f053252.jpg
 
I tried several times to duplicate my commission plate, but was never satisfied with the results. I finally noticed the letters on the original plate were raised which made restoring the plate relatively easy. A little black lacquer, 400 wet sanding, and clear coat did the trick.














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He also did mine which is why I don't need my plates..... Thanks again John
See the pics in the photobucket link
CJD said:
How bad are the originals? I bought new plates, but if you look closely the repro plates are not exact to begin with. I decided to resurrect my originals...

TR3a before.



Tr3a after.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for all the advice and tips. I might be able to restore the original plates on my three TR3As, but the TR3 plate had been butchered at some point in time and needs to be replaced.
 
On my TR3, I bought a replacement plate from TRF and had it engraved at a local trophy shop. Very neat and tidy, but of course it does not look "stock". Cheers, Mike
 
I bought a new plate too with the intention of replacing the original. Since I had to re-title the car in North Carolina, several of the 'locals' advised (very strongly) that I should re-install the original. Even though I did, it was still touch and go on approval of the title. The inspector had a serious case of heartburn over the fact that I had used some through bolts to secure it. He explained that it should have been left in place with the original rivets. He wasn't encouraging. After several months and numerous phone calls the title finally showed up in the mail.

After all that I sort of like having the old one, with some old paint from an old paint job. Fortunately I kept the original baby blue...

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I use pop rivets to install my plates after a restoration. I have occasionally found some pop rivets that closely match the originals. Most of the pop rivets do not match the larger head originals. But I would guess that even the ordinary pop rivets would come closer to avoiding the extreme scrutiny of the DMV That is not to say that they might still take some offense at it having been moved in first place. But that has never stopped me from removing it for restoration.
Charley
 
Just to play the game, I guess I'll go ahead and pop rivet the plate on. A bit of 'nostalgia' for sure.

Rick...
 
i do have a source for the original rivets.
but......i have to 100 at a time.
so trying to get my money back is always a long sloooooooow process
 
yellowtr3 said:
i do have a source for the original rivets.
but......i have to 100 at a time.
so trying to get my money back is always a long sloooooooow process
Click to expand...

I'm not going to worry about those minor details anymore. I haven't even bother with the standard pop rivets. I'm just happy that it's back on the road with a title.
 
Tr3aguy said:
...I have used them to stamp a few members plates but it has the correct 3 symbol!...
Click to expand...

Looking at their website it appears they may use an open 4 rather than the closed version of the original plates.

05095-impression-web.jpg


Of course, if your commission number has no 4s it is not a problem.
 
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