front license plate attachment

Pepsi Mechanic

Pepsi Mechanic

Senior Member
Is there a proper way to have the front license plate installed on an A/AA :confused:.. can I see some pictures of how you guys have them :).. Here is mine
 

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That is fine. If you desire, you can flip the license plate brackets over and mount the plate a little higher to aide in air flow through the radiator. The correct mounting as it was done at the factory is outline in the Judging Standards but again, do it however you like.
 
I mount mine high on the light bar unless I am going on tour and the weather is really warm in which case I take a spare REAR license bracket and mount it upside down sandwiched between the front bumper clamp backing plate and the front bumper bracket. The license plate is then displayed just above the bumper, kinda close to the front fender. I know... it looks like a Chevrolet (gasp!) but it aids in cooling when It's hot out and I don't want to remove my '29 Ohio plate.
 
My dad's '30 coupe, which was Canadian, had an angle iron type middle segment of the headlight bar that contained holes for mounting the license plate. It looked to me like it had been welded in by someone, so when we restored the car I replaced it with a regular headlight bar. Then, I believe that I read somewhere that such a thing was actually factory issue. Now, I don't know what to believe. Does anyone know about this? I was so sure that the piece was non original that I tossed it out--perhaps one more entry in my dumb-things-I've-done list; it really worked well. You can sort of make it out in this photo.

Dadslicenseplatebar.jpg



When I was a kid, I just wired mine to the bumper. Eventually, it would find the exact location it liked the best. Nowadays, since Michigan doesn't require front plates, I just leave it off. If someone wants to know what year it is, they can walk around to the back.

SteveDebPaulonDoloreswithStevesA-cropped.jpg




Steve
 
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steve s said:
My dad's '30 coupe, which was Canadian, had an angle iron type middle segment of the headlight bar that contained holes for mounting the license plate. It looked to me like it had been welded in by someone, so when we restored the car I replaced it with a regular headlight bar. Then, I believe that I read somewhere that such a thing was actually factory issue. Now, I don't know what to believe. Does anyone know about this? I was so sure that the piece was non original that I tossed it out--perhaps one more entry in my dumb-things-I've-done list; it really worked well. You can sort of make it out in this photo.

Dadslicenseplatebar.jpg



Steve
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Yes that stamped headlight bar was used for a short period in 1930. Three Ford letters exist the first saying the bar was being used for some cars, the second saying it would be used on all cars and the third saying it was discontinued. All in a short period of time. The failure rate was very high and it's had to find one that's not broken.
 
Jerry Parr WI said:
Yes that stamped headlight bar was used for a short period in 1930. Three Ford letters exist the first saying the bar was being used for some cars, the second saying it would be used on all cars and the third saying it was discontinued. All in a short period of time. The failure rate was very high and it's had to find one that's not broken.
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I wonder if Ford had lab machines to do stress or vibration test on the parts. Otherwise how did they know so quickly to discontinue the bar?
 
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hmm i run my plate the same as the good looking yellow truck at the top . never had a heating problem or a broken h/l bar . maybe im just lucky in that respect . every one in the "A" club here runs them like that .................. steve
 
Jerry Parr WI said:
Yes that stamped headlight bar was used for a short period in 1930. Three Ford letters exist the first saying the bar was being used for some cars, the second saying it would be used on all cars and the third saying it was discontinued. All in a short period of time. The failure rate was very high and it's had to find one that's not broken.
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Thanks, Jerry.

Steve
 
When I was having overheat problems I built a bumper mount for the front plate. The bottom of the plate rests about 3 inches above the top bumper.
 
I've found that mounting it as Gary shows decreases the possibility of the plate rotating into the radiator and damaging the fins. But as Brent says, the JS show it both ways, depending on the year. And Ford factory photos are inconsistent with the JS.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
I wonder if Ford had lab machines to do stress or vibration test on the parts. Otherwise how did they know so quickly to discontinute the bar?
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The buying public was the "lab". They used it on nearly 1/2 million cars so it was well tested! I wonder just how many they replaced.
 
Marco Tahtaras said:
The buying public was the "lab". They used it on nearly 1/2 million cars so it was well tested! I wonder just how many they replaced.
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That's interesting. The one on my dad's car lasted for twenty-some more years after the picture, including daily driver for my brother thru high school. It seemed quite solid when I pitched it.

Steve
 
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