Re: Ink Stamp on Patent Plates

Posted by su8overdrive On 2014/12/6 17:44:29

One of the previous posters raised my question, why can't we simply have our original aluminum cowl i.d. plates re-silkscreened. It seems the existing reproduction patent plates, regardless of the Packard parts vendor purveying them, are made in job lots in the hundreds in China. If we can't even make fake--sorry--"reproduction" aluminum patent plates in the US anymore, game over. Nothing against the Chinese, some of us are suckers for a lot of those Harbor Freight & Salvage tools for special or rarely done jobs.

There's no "legal" reason, as one poster suggested, against having our existing patent plates re-inked. After all, our entire cars have been re-inked, reupholstered, et al. DMV already has our serial or engine #s, et al.
Sorry, but i'm not putting Chinese knick-knacks masquerading as factory bits on my Detroit-built Packard.

And what nonsense---screwing a fake atop our faded original. I like having my original on my cowl, inscribed in his own hand on July 18th, 1947 by the Packard dealer in San Luis Obispo, CA. Why hide or bury a bit of charm like that in the quest for evermore fakery when we can have the best of both worlds?
Too many surviving vintage/Classic automobiles are what people in the antique furniture world call "married pieces" as it is. If we're going to cover or bury in a desk drawer bits of our cars' soul like the original dealer-inscribed patent plate, we're just inching ever closer to the Chevy V-8 and TurboHydraMatic krowd. I thought those here gathered had a little more class, reverence than that.

So various longtime Packard friends and i found a gentleman here in the USA willing to re-silkscreen our originals, his price obviously depending on how much interest there is. His response below and i encourage you to contact this painstaking pro, a lifetime of craftsmanship including today building a faithful replica of a 105-year-old Curtiss pusher airplane:

Good to hear from you.
I can make the Packard data plate that you need. Just pulling a squeegee across a piece of metal is only what someone walking by might see, but the artwork to recreate the logos and setting the correct type fonts, let alone negative and positive film work, and the screen film needs to be done with care.

I would be most willing to give you a tour of my shop, and show you just how this stuff actually comes together. If you are interested in making your own, give me a call at 509-226-3522, and I will give you all of my supply sources, and walk you thru the process. I am sure; with my help, a considerable investment, and a lot of luck on your part, you could produce a mediocre "backyard hobbyist quality" type of data plate that would look pretty good from five feet, and even better from ten feet.

If you don't want to go through all that, then you came to the right place, and Carl from A.G. Backeast gave you some good advice.

We make the data plate in a couple different ways. Some were screen printed like the originals, but that is why you are standing there with a blank plate, looking at Carl, and now me!, and in a few years, you will be standing in line for me to make another one for you. They just don't hold up. Now if you want a quality one that is going to be around after your last fender rusts off and gets run over by the car behind you, then you would want one that we acid etch.


We accept credit or debit cards, check, Paypal, MO or cash.

PS:
We make all this stuff in the good old USA.
You might want to refer to eBay to look over my store. I have over 550 parts listed there. Look at my 100% positive feedback to see folks who appreciate my quality and price. Read their comments. My user name is hiperlightflyguy. Here is a item number that you can copy and paste into the search box when you get on eBay. 201164909961 Then on the right side of the screen, you can click on "See other Items" . This Packard plate is screen printed like the original.
Please advise.
Thank you,

Jerry Turner nosref@peoplepc.com
NOSTALGIC REFLECTIONS www.NostalgicReflections.com
P.O. Box 350
Spokane Valley, WA 99037
(509) 226-3522