Art & Inspiration TAG TOPPERS

Tag toppers have been around long before most of us started building Hot Rods & Custom cars, let's see what you guys have found, on your cars & trucks or hanging on the wall.

I'll start it off with one I am looking for, Anderson, South Carolina, It was most likely cast at the local foundry or at Old Boy's High School shop class in the 1950's, if you know of one please let me know. HRP



And of course there is the very traditional Hamb topper.



and the Old Fart's Club.

 

Due to having a weak moment............ I'm giving away one of my trade secrets to all my friends and co-conspirators at the HAMB.
I've found that belt buckles can be modified for "tag topper" duty by adding a small eyebolt and a dab of JB Weld. With a little bit of scavenging skills, it's possible to come up with some very unique, one-of-a-kind toppers.
See Exhibit A and B, below.......

 

I'm not sure this one is HAMB friendly but its on my truck.

 

This will go on my Willys someday when it's road worthy. It's kind of a tribute to my dad who never understood my thing with cars. Obviously his name was Frank. This is in Bowling Green, Ohio not Kentucky

 

Maybe another batch ?

 

I saw this one just last night on a buddy's car and thought so much of it I snapped a pic or two. The entire roadster was outstanding, the tag topper was no exception.

 

On my roadster I didn't have room above the tag due to the reverse/marker light so I had to improvise. Beside, the HAMB is my favorite parts source.

 

I've got a HAMB topper on my 40, painted correctly. I had a AAA Hartford CT on my Model A but someone bent it off and absconded with it at a show.
Paul in CT

 

I picked this up at a local shop a while back. I have it on the front of my truck because the plate hangs under the taillight and there's not room for it in between. I need to polish it up soon- the nice ones in this thread and the flash in my photo make it look rougher than I remember.


I saw this one at another local shop, didn't buy it, and then crossed paths on FB with a guy in Oklahoma looking for Tulsa related toppers. Finally made it back to the shop several weeks later and it was still there, so I picked it up, sold it to him, and sent it back to Oklahoma. I Googled it, and found "The 2nd Grand National Meet of the Early Ford V-8 Club was held in Tulsa July 16-21, 1978."

 

@Jeff Norwell was a little to broke to buy one when you had them at LSRU, been kicking myself ever since...oh well. Here's a few I have collected, got a cast Hop Up somewhere around here too..

 

I have a HAMB tag topper on my rod tag.
But the topper my Dad used long ago>mid 1950s

 

I have the HAMB hanger:

 

Here’s a bunch on my ‘29..still prefer the original HAMB topper

Goggle this there is a very interesting story

Idarado mining company had these made in the fifties. I reproduced them for the Telluride Rotary club fund raiser in the eighties

 

Very clever. Snowman ⛄️

 

Paid way to much for this one. I really like it tho. Snowman ⛄️

 

On December 11, 1941, just four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Department of the Army announced that an air base would be established in Greenville, South Carolina.

It wasn’t a surprise. About two weeks earlier, The Greenville News announced that a 2,600 acre site near Conestee had been approved by the Army. About 4,500 men would eventually be stationed there. Daniel Construction Company of Anderson received the building contract on Jan. 4, 1942 and immediately began clearing the site for the anticipated $8 million facility.

The first airmen arrived in late March 1942. By June, the first of the planes and 400 command pilots had arrived. In town, the Army converted Municipal Airport to a glider training facility.

After V-J Day, Greenvillians assumed that the Greenville Army Air Base would close. However, the Defense Department, suddenly faced with the Cold War, decided to enlarge and expand it. It was renamed Donaldson Air Force Base in 1951 to honor Major John O. Donaldson, a World War I air ace from Greenville.

In November 1961, the Air Force announced that Donaldson would close. It was sold back to the city and county governments to become Donaldson Center.

The GAB tag topper was found in a box of trash, it looks like the topper was use as a dust pan, it shows it's age but still looks cool. HRP

 

These badges are from my local AAA, the township I live in. Keeping in mind that Kelly and White Deer Townships are farming communities, the population was never more than 1000, probably far less. So, how we got our own club is a mystery, not even AAA can answer. The PMF was the Pennsylvania Motor Federation, pre-AAA group.

 

Fixed that for you.

 

Hello,

In So Cal, we have seen these old AAA tag toppers on various cars over the years. Some of our parents’ cars had them back in those early days. At the time, as teenagers, the AAA was something too expensive for just out right purchase. Besides the benefits we all see, today, back then, the AAA was not in the cards for most teens.

But, for parents of teenagers that were not automotive inclined, they felt like it was a second helping hand for their teenagers, boys or girls. For us, we needed the money for weekly stuff and gas money for long coastal road trips on the weekends or weekday during the summer.

The AAA has taken on a new meaning for us old folks and even for those that need some help in all things automotive. When our son was traveling with his family, we told him to get a AAA membership for his traveling convenience. He has used the services many times from a new battery to a tow to a dealer for repairs.


We have used the AAA membership since the 80s and it all works down to the access to a free tow service. That is how we initially looked at the AAA service plans. From the initial 7 mile free tow, to a 25 mile, then a 50 mile plan over the years. Now, with the last pre-pandemic long road trips, we got the 100 mile tow plan.

It was not that much more and we got to select where it was going to be towed, if needed. Since the original plan of 7 miles free, we have used it only several times. But, when my wife is visiting her friends and relatives, she needs some help until I can get there.

Jnaki

It has become an insurance gadget for all drivers in So Cal. The tow trucks are not the "tow up in the air" types as most are now flatbed trucks with a wide bed for all vehicles in need. Even for our small station wagon, the flatbed truck secured it down for the 40 mile trip back to the dealer repair shop.

“Don’t leave home without it…” Although we hate the American Express company , the slogan fits this story and will use it in this instance about the AAA services/cards. DMV Registration? Much better and faster than the actual DMV.

It is security in your pocket... car/mind/body insurance at its finest... YRMV

 

After I told a friend about driving up pikes peak with the family in 1993 in an old four-wheel drive suburban (in the snow) he gave me this topper... Definitely has evidence of being exposed to the elements for many years...

 

I bought this one from my neighbor's yard sale.