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History Who remembers the car club plaques from the 50s...?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by okeesignguy, Dec 20, 2017.

  1. RichFox
    Joined: Dec 3, 2006
    Posts: 10,020

    RichFox
    Member Emeritus

    More recent than the fiftys. The SDRC plaque in bronze was not common. Given to me by Pete Dean when I was a member. DSCN0087.JPG DSCN0088.JPG
     
  2. level2526
    Joined: Feb 14, 2009
    Posts: 92

    level2526
    Member

    dana barlow likes this.
  3. quick85
    Joined: Feb 23, 2014
    Posts: 3,047

    quick85
    BANNED

    I've been going to swap meets since 1970. I've never once seen a club or generic plaque for sale. A few
    years back my wife & I were at Chicago's Maxwell Street flea market when she asked me to look at
    something. It was the generic plate pictured below. The fellow wanted $8.00 but accepted $7.00.
    I suppose this will be the last one I'll own.

    Z IMG_6913.JPG
     
  4. 32Dan
    Joined: Nov 22, 2017
    Posts: 137

    32Dan
    Member
    from Chino, CA

  5. old man hal
    Joined: Jun 21, 2017
    Posts: 92

    old man hal
    Member

    The Laymen Car Club was started in the fifties in Wilmington, CA. The club died when those guys got married and moved on. In the early sixties we wanted to start the club up again and ask those guys for their plaques and jackets. Most of them agreed and we started the second generation. At that time I had a 57 chevy, now it’s on my 36, just because!! [​IMG]


    Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  6. Gasoline Junkie
    Joined: Nov 20, 2010
    Posts: 337

    Gasoline Junkie
    Member

    A friend of mine makes these, he sand casts them at the shop they come out really good. He's reproduced alot of old clubs' plates from the east coast
     
  7. Bullet Nose
    Joined: Nov 20, 2001
    Posts: 2,570

    Bullet Nose
    Member

    Can you tell if that red (orange?) paint is the "glow in the dark" paint they were putting on some of the stock plaques back in the 50's.

     
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  8. tofords
    Joined: May 26, 2009
    Posts: 1,156

    tofords
    Member

  9. quick85
    Joined: Feb 23, 2014
    Posts: 3,047

    quick85
    BANNED

    It's not "glow in the dark", just a basic orange/red. I just went to check it out and there is no
    foundry name on the back, just 643 embossed on it.
     
  10. Bullet Nose
    Joined: Nov 20, 2001
    Posts: 2,570

    Bullet Nose
    Member

  11. firingorder1
    Joined: Dec 15, 2006
    Posts: 2,147

    firingorder1
    Member

    A lot older than the 50s.

    [​IMG]
     
    prewarcars4me and Atwater Mike like this.
  12. Clik
    Joined: Jul 1, 2009
    Posts: 1,965

    Clik
    Member

    My memories are similar to yours Beaner. I was born in '54 and started paying attention to cars when I was a toddler. I was in Maryland right smack on the DC line and our area was a hot bed for car and motorcycle action. We had the biggest Drive-in movie in the world and within a few blocks were car clubs, world renowned rod shops, drag bike shops, 1% clubs, etc. There were many different car cultures that intertwined. Custom guys ran what we called Drag Plates and half the hot rod knuckleheads of the era wouldn't have been able to spell "plaque"anyway. Any word with a "Q" in it was an affront to their masculinity. They weren't always a cast deal. Sometimes they attached their license plate to a thick steel plate suspended by chains. It was set just high enough to fly at speed but drag over the multitude of speed bumps that establishments installed to deter burnouts and cruising. Dragging a plate over a speed bump was like flipping the bird to the establishment. Cops started cracking down and a plate wasn't allowed to drag or even swing. Some guys welded the chains to keep the look and mess with the cops. I remember some of the country boys, that we'd call rock-a-billies today, having colored truck clearance lights mounted to their drag plates.
     
  13. Gman0046
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 6,256

    Gman0046
    Member

    In Kentucky Good Ole Boys have Truck Nuts.
     
  14. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,625

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    There was a guy that used to go to the Lodi and Turlock meets, had a '50 Merc with a 'drag plaque'. (plaque suspended with 3/16" chains) The plaque was ground off at least 1.5" off the bottom... 'showed class'.
    The saying around Santa Clara/San Jose was: "He's dragging a plaque" ...meaning "he's displaying a plaque," or "he's in a club." It wasn't meant 'literal'. But it sounds like it swayed that way...
    It was said no matter where the plaque was mounted: rear window (where most ended up to prevent theft; I recall a member of the "Wheelin' Saints" telling me the club prez had to order another whole set for guys that had 'em 'lifted'!)
    A few had 'em opposite the side of the license plate, left side license right side plaque. Balanced.
    If you 'let it swing', it had to be centered. (there were RULES!)
     
  15. Rambling Rudy
    Joined: Apr 10, 2013
    Posts: 78

    Rambling Rudy
    Member

    Here's some from St Louis Mo. IMG_0181.JPG
     
    SquirrelTail and LOST ANGEL like this.
  16. In my conversations with Jim he expressed interest in having 3 plaques recast and I offered to contact O'brien's and have him make Jim 3 for his fellow club members and one for myself.

    I just received the new plaques from Dennis O'Brien and they turned out nice. HRP

    T-2.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2018

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