Radiator splash apron

[Russell Reay]

Picked up this splash apron at a swap meet, because it is in much better shape than my original. What is the purpose of this bracket? My original doesn't have it, and my photos of other cars don't show it. It appears to be factory original.

 

[alexiskai]

If this is a 28/29 apron, that looks to me like someone's way of replacing the welded D-nut bracket, which gets mangled on a lot of them.

 

[Russell Reay]

Here are both the 'new' one, and the original black one. The car is 1930. I just noticed the extra big hole on the right side of the primered one. Maybe this is for a 28-29. Note also the small holes at the top center of both pieces. They appear of a size to accept rivets---but what for?

 

[alexiskai]

Note also the small holes at the top center of both pieces. They appear of a size to accept rivets---but what for?

Split rivets that attach a felt pad to prevent vibration between the apron and the bottom of the radiator shell.

 

[gdmn852]

Hello, I noticed those large holes also on front fenders too, believe they were used at the factory for the painting process, hooks were inserted into them to allow dipping and baking the enamel finish. Oddly enough, on my car one fender has the larger hole and the other doesn’t, but could have been changed in the past .