History How did they or do you mount a club plaque without drilling a hole in the face?

Hi All:

I'm a Lone Wolf no more since I am a proud member of the Flyers Roadster Club. Curious how they mounted club plaques back in the day or how you all do it now without drilling holes into the face of the plate?

I'm just about done polishing the plaque and then I'll paint the field black.

Any ideas welcomed.

Thanks,

Tim

 

Back in the day I always saw them hanging from chains with holes drilled in the top.

 

Epoxy two of these on the back.

 

STRONG double sided tape.

 

P.S.: How do I get me one of those "Flyers Roadster" plaques?

 

I have seen them with shallow treaded holes on the back side in ereas where it's the thickest, go slow and not push through.

 

I countersunk two 1/4-20 allen flathead screws, nutted them on the back with enough thread to allow mounting. Once painted (or in my case, powdercoated) they pretty much disappear.

 

I have done partly like others have said - measured thickness of plaque - drilled shallow hole for 1/4" / 20 stud on back side - using epoxy to secure - if go thru plaque just do not allow end to go out further than face of plaque - touch up paint - be cautious when tightening down to bracket - pics of one done like THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER idea

 

Heliarc 2 aluminum elevator bolts to the back. (@THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER posted elevator bolts in post #3, but they are steel)
Seems like everything I trust to double sided tape ends up on the deck. Used 3M to stick a lightweight clock to my dash (matches my S/W gauges, just smaller @1.75") Clock disappeared, I found it had rolled under the drivers seat while sitting!
HATE to lose precious stuff because of carelessness, "Oh, THIS'll stick it!" Yeah, right.

 

Certain types of 3M VHB (Very High Bond) double-sided adhesive tape are used to hold glass panels on skyscrapers in desert countries. Every type of mechanical fastener would cause the glass to crack.

It is frequently used to hold tempered glass panels on large vehicles such as busses, where the glass is fixed-mount and frameless.

This is NOT the stuff that you get at the hardware store.

 

Bostik ISR 70-03 urethane
This is tough yet remains flexible.

And cleans up with wax and grease remover.
The alloy deck on our trailer is glued down with this , And I have used it to glue mirrors to windshields

 

How about 3M panel bond?

 

Big old 1/4x20 bolts all the way through with acorn nuts facing out clamping S-hooks on the backside and nobody will notice or give 'em a thought.
Trying to hide fasteners seems like it draws the eyes right to it every time.

 

I won’t be home for a few days so no picture but when we had club plaques cast locally we had the foundry add two bosses on the back side. They were about 1/2” diameter and 5/8” tall, easy to tap for 1/4-20 and put on the car with a simple bracket.

 

I don't trust any epoxy where the harmonics of a running and driving car is involved and the use is meant to be structural. So far I like the countersink screw idea best. Paint it black in the field mentioned, gone...

 

Foolish me I thought all club plaques were cast with holes. On my cpe it hangs on S hooks attached to a bracket mounted to the license plate backing and it's been there for 25+ yrs. On my roadster it mounts to a bracket with countersunk SS Allen screws. The plaque is from a club I belonged to in the early-mid 60's before it folded

 

Location of the plaque matters too, if you have it hanging out in the breeze at 70 mph you'll need it stronger than a plaque mounted onto a tail panel or deck lid.
Using the chains gives it a chance to free-flow and bang chang jang when entering your favorite cruise night spot to announce your arrival.

 

Drill the piece if you want it secured.

 

Use Modern Glue And Secure It To A Aluminum Plate..

 

Hello,
It depends on where you want to mount the club plaque. If it is inside in the package tray facing out of the back window, then two simple "L" brackets screwed into the package tray is the base. Then, using double sided tape should secure it for even the most bumpy rides or going over road dips.

I had to use double side tape to secure a long strip of Melamine facing strip, that had a gravity drop straight down to the floor. The original tape was beginning to fade and the strip was drooping. So, I tried the usual 3m clear double sided tape from the drawer. It lasted for a week and then the sticky part of the tape began to lose its strength. Now, I had to use the thicker "Gorilla Tape" double sided tape to secure long piece to the ceiling and it did not droop at all.

So, since then, on another project, I had to use the heavy duty Scotch double sided tape, that was supposed to be the strongest, due to the fact that the Gorilla Tape was sold out. The tape was on the back side of a mirrored door handle that attached to a sliding mirror door. That handle gets a lot of usage daily and the action is to pull it side ways to open and close.

The heavy duty Scotch brand tape was first used, since I had some left over. But within a day, my wife pulled off the mirror handle easily. So, I went to several stores to get the Gorilla Tape version of their double sided "heavy duty" tape. Now, the mirrored handle is rock solid and won't come off using it multiple times, daily.

Jnaki

If the car club plaque is on the outside, then the Gorilla Tape is fine for most uses, but who knows how much the "local" weathering will do to the adhesive. So, in addition to the double sided tape, a small dab of silicone or even "Shoe Goo" above or next to the "Gorilla Tape" should secure it for any weathering effects.

Inside placement, seems like the look of 50s-60 custom cars and hot rods. They did not have double sided tape back then, but just added regular glue of some kind, if they did not want to drill holes.

But, some just like to put them outside for their own purposes. But, why? The club plaques, if mounted correctly inside, will be seen from the rear as well as anywhere else. It will also just be protected from the weather and prying fingers, too...YRMV

 

It really depends on where you can mount one. You have three choices; inside or outside front and outside back. Front is the only truly 'universal' option as the majority of us are probably only running one plate in the rear, leaving the front wide open for mounting. Sometimes it helps make the front look 'complete' rather than having a blank spot that obviously should have a plate mounted.

Rear mount is where it makes a difference which type of car you have. Prewar up until the mid-30s, most cars had taillights on stalks so a mount like post 19 make sense. Up until about '41, splash pans between the rear bumper and the body still weren't common so grabbing onto the bumper bracket for a mount could be easy. After that point it got much tougher, hanging one off chains became popular. Downside is the plaques flop around in the wind and on lowered cars will drag. Not very secure either. I know this is 'traditional' but it always struck me as sloppy, and I know guys who lost plaques this way, either from theft or road hazards.

Inside has its limits too. If you have a '49 or newer car this can work, but the older cars many times have relatively small rear windows and even a 5x7 plaque will block a substantial amount of its area reducing visibility. If you have a convertible of any year, forget about it...

I used countersunk screws, and I also made sure their center-to-center measurement was the same as current 'standard' plates. This makes the plaque a bolt-on in most cases on the front and still doesn't restrict me from the other options. And rather than using chains or s-hooks, give some thought to using hinges on a mounting bracket.

And if you want to use two-sided tape, get the pro stuff available at body shop suppliers, not the parts house stuff. But even it has its limits....

 

What do you think holds windscreens in late models plus firewalls and roof sections while boogying down the freeways. Basically very strong glue.

 

That would be perfect for you my friend.

 

Leverage. A couple glued studs on a cast aluminum plate, square area, vibration, temp changes on an, again, aluminum casting. I mean if you wanna risk it falling off with the year on some interstate highway, go for it. Worry not, I glue plenty of stuff. Been using it a long time. Glued wheel tubs in drag cars. I get it...

 

But wait.......How abouts the All New Amazing " Alien Tape " as seen on TV.
I tell you what , I haven't tried any of it yet , but I just spent the last half hour trying to get the d`;:<" zip lock reusable storage bag open for this picture.
It was a Christmas present from my mother......thanks mom.

 

Don't have a picture but did drill two mounting holes in them and went to a motorcycle shop and picked up a couple of threaded chrome bullet license plate fasteners. They blend right in like they were made for it.

 

When I worked in the sign industry I had a 3M salesman stop in to sell me on the benefits of VHB (although we were already using it). He refused to call it tape. He kept using works like structural adhesive bonding device and I kept asking ' you mean tape?" and he would correct me. It got ridiculously funny.

 

This is from a long defunct club and the owner did drill holes, I assume he probably painted the screw head.



This one is about the same era and it was cast with a reinforced place to drill mounting holes.





Our club plaque was cast the same way, this one was made by Dennis O'Brien (O'brien Truckers)

Dennis made these to bolt o from the top or bottom. HRP

 

Thanks all. I'll post of pict when mounted. I'm going a bit crazy on the polishing and won't stop until it's a mirror. LOL!