Sled and Custom Guys come up with amazing things over the years. What is the history of the aluminum plate that hangs from a chain of rear bumper of lead sleds?
It was an attention getter when I was a kid. The sound of that plate banging would always make you look, long before you actually noticed the car coming down the road. Then you always remembered the club on the plate and wished you could be like "one of those guys with the cool cars".
Just saw this online --nice story Dragging The Club Plaque: A Lost Art By Scott Strenzel, aka Scooter from Scooter’s Garage The main man at Auto Round-Up, Mr. Ron Smith and I were talking a while ago. He was telling me that their readership has grown leaps and bounds. And would I re-do a few of the things I threw out years ago. Reason being to let you newer subscribers and over the counter readers get informed and hopefully enjoy old Scooter’s writings… Up first is the lost art of dragging a car club plaque. I might mention here that I know that there are a large number of people with old cars that are not in an organized club. But if you happen to own the accepted style of an old car you too can drag a plaque. And, if you are into this crazy old car hobby as deep as old Scooter, it’s nice to be able to tell the informed or non-car spectators why this is a lost art. If you are in an organized club, maybe you can bring up the idea of your club having custom plaques made. Or, if you are not a club person? Just grab your copy of this publication and order up or Google the following advertisers: Ron & Joyce over at Wirth’s Custom Automotive, or C.J. & Elaine at Brockman Mellow Tone. They both have dragging plaques. Now, for the straight skippies on that getting lost practice. Buy the one you want, or gosh darn it. Make one yourself. They are usually about regular license plate size. First up. There are about 3 or 4 ways of holding your plaque in the center of your rear bumper. Some supplier’s list special $7.00 drag plate mounts. They simply screw clamp on the edge of your bumper and if you place a piece of something like plastic, wood or whatever you can figure out on the outer edge it will not mar or scratch your show chrome. Then, use heavier than you would expect marine stainless steel chains to your plaque. Or you can drill two holes and use SS eye bolts to hook the chain to. Do you have a Rat Rod or Old Skool custom? Just use a torch and braze the chain etc., on or use small C clamps that have patina on them for more Kool. The way it was done was, that most times only cars that were in a car club had plaques. And it seems that they were mostly lowered custom sleds. But no matter, you would want to have your chains long enough to have the plaque actually drag the pavement when you slowed down below maybe 15 mph! The reason is to be “slow n’ low” as you cruised into the local malt shop. The clang. Clink, scrape etc., noises, announced. “Here comes a Kool car and guy with his gal from the Cam Busters Car Club! Get the idea? When you are driving at speeds above 15 mph the plaque and heavy chains will let it fly up some and stay off the concrete until you are ready slow down again to announce your arrival. Plus, it is almost mandatory for that kool of a guy to not have flowmasters, but cherry bombs, steel or glass packs to rack just little before you shut her down. Then you are ready to have the car hop take the order for a couple of chilly barbs, and fries with root beers, for the two of you in your sled. I have to ask if any one knows who and where the “chili barb” got to be famous? Next up. If you were able to cruise “slow n’ low” enough to scrape the bottom of your club drag plaque to where the club name can’t be read, you got a free second plaque! Next up, and Bo Hopkins even knows why, and told me so in a telephone interview years ago. If you don’t know who he is and who he played in a movie? To be frank. You ought not to be in the hobby. Go collect anything not car related. Or possibly if you are real young? Maybe you had best ‘try’ to absorb some of the important things that formed 50’s and 60’s nostaligia era. Ok. Moving on to another accepted way to display a plaque. Now take note here. I did not say drag a plaque. If your club was “bad” or your club cruised in an area that had punks, juvenile delinquents or gangs? There was a different known way to display the fact that you were in a club. In-fact as I have hinted at there was a mega movie that had an old lead sled Merc in it. A guy named Richard got to ride in the back seat, with an above mentioned actor, and behind his shoulder was a plaque mounted on a wooden bracket, bolted down to the flat rear shelf that had the clubs name on it. The reason for this was that this club was two things: 1. In a bad area. 2. Had bad people that might steal it or deface it if it was dragging from the rear bumper. So, if you would not want to drag one? Then just mount it up there. But dog gonnit! No matter which way you do it? KNOW and tell the story to everyone that will listen. It’s the way our old car hobby was and still must be or it will disappear forever! The garage is closed, Harv is hungry.
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the 50s and 60s. It was the height of the car club era. There were dozens of clubs all over the valley. I don't recall ever seeing this "plaque dragging" phenomena, back then. Maybe it was regional. Everyone here displayed them in the rear window
That would be my only reason to join a car club so I could have a plaque to drag Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
We saw customs in Santa Clara (CA) dragging plaques in '50, 'til about '55...we were just getting 'car crazy' then, and would point to chain-suspended plaques with roughened bottom edges... More than 10 clubs locally, we had started a list by '53. LOL I have to say: Car clubs were serious then, and the plaques were displayed with true club pride. San Jose clubs with names like 'Axle Busters', 'Igniters', 'Gear Jammers' and 'Juggers' (Los Altos) were active at the drags, and those clubs had club cars: Drag coups, or dragster types. They meant something then, but gradually simmered down to being 'social', or 'party' clubs, with cars as their identification. I was there from the beginning, and saw the change...once the interest of weekly meetings was gone, there was no reviving it. We tried innumerous times to revive a few clubs, but club interest was no longer 'paramount'. There are 'show car' clubs now...
Drag plates were there and drug to attract attention like the little article said, the low rider guys that came about after used a different kind of drag plate for the same reason to attract attention. It is a pretty easy conclusion to come to when you think about it. Rodders and customizers are all Peacocks in reality and everything is about attracting attention in one fashion or another. I don't agree with the back window thing. I was a Cam Buster and no one would steal anything from us, period. The back window thing was just more of an upscale thing and it meant that your club didn't need gimmics to be cool. Everyone already knew you were coming because your car was that tough.
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