VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1931 front license plate bracket

Anybody aware if any of the various regions are making a front license plate bracket (as a fund raiser) that would attach to the bumper bracket?

Thanks

Hello John,

Sounds like a good idea! My 31 sport coupe came with a front license plate bracket. It looks original and hooks behind the front middle bracket. To reproduce it would be a simple task.

Regards, John

I think that I&I has one of these... possibly the Filling Station. Note that they are not original equipment.

The license plate in '31 hung off the headlight bar from two bent metal brackets... they had holes which are triangle shaped, like they were made with a beer can opener.

Hello Bill,

With all due respect! I think your brackets are as original as your headlights!

With Best Regards

Hello Bill,

After checking every 1931 Chevrolet I can find all show your brackets and none have shown mine. I am still looking! My 31 sat in a Chevrolet Dealers show room for years leading me to believe the center bumper bracket was correct. Is it possible there were two types?
I may have to change my headlights also?

Best Regards

John

What bumper are you using? The single bar or the double bar?

I have the single bar!

hi, My 31 has the license plate mounted on the headlamp bar which is correct location. Was trying to see if someone made a bumper mounting bracket (not original) simply because I would like it mounted on the bumper rather than headlamp bar.

The Filling Station sells a replacement 1933 bracket that clamps to the bumper bracket.Part #AF-116 $23.50 also have a 1935-36 clamp on bracket plus others...check their catalog.

Some thought that the 1931 location in front of the radiator core would restrict cooling.....also covers the "face" of the car.

Neither 1931 nor 1932 had an original equipment or accessory front bumper mounted license plate bracket. That goes for the single and double bar bumpers. The only mount was the clamps described by BB that go around the headlight bar.

Hey JYD or others- Were the front license plate clips and hardware chromed or otherwise (painted, etc.)? Thanks for posing the question Don, and thanks for any responses! -The Ol' Coach

Painted black.

The clips are plated for 1932.

I have checked several of my 1931 Chevrolet filmstrips and they show the front license plate clips as being plated as well.

Thanks so much for your replies all!!! Looks like they can go either way. Personally,I think they would look better plated, and I think I will go in that direction. Thanks again! - The Ol'Coach

Skip, When the car were built, Do you think they probably slid the clips on the headlight bar before the headlight bar was bolted to the fenders. I do not plan on taking my bars off to put the clips on, But It sure looks like a problem bending the clips around the bar. Have you tried putting the clips on after the bars are bolted to the fenders? It seems like that the chrome clips could be damaged by bending them around the bar. Thanks

That's a very good question Donald! Yes, you can slide the clips on from the end of the bar. However, to do that the clip would have to be spread open some to clear the flared end of the 1932 headlight bar. So, if you go that route, then the clips will fit over the bar at the correct locations anyway without sliding them on from the end of the bar.

The way that I have seen it done is to spread open the clips just enough so that they will clear the bar. Do this before the clips are plated. Then, when installing, slide the clip back over the bar at the correct location, and then tighten carefully with the license plate bolt and nut. Don't make them too tight however. This system has worked without peeling the plating when done carefully. The key is to not spread the clips too far. Just enough so that they will slip over the bar.

Thanks for the Information skip. I do not have the bolts or nuts for my clips. What size do I need and would they also be plated, Either the bolt or nut,Or both.

Hey Donald! The bolts used for the license plate clips were hex head bolts and they were 1/4-20 x 1 1/4". Also used were 1/4" lockwashers, 1/4" plain washers and 1/4-20" hex nuts.

According to my 1932 fastener catalog, all of the above were cad. plated.

Thanks Skip for the bolt Information. The next thing I have to do Is get the clips chrome plated. It kinds of scares me to be bending them after they are plated when I tighten up the nuts onto the bolts. Hopefully the chrome plating will stay Intact.

Don't bend them very much....just enough to keep them on the headlight bar. The original clips on my car are not real tight on the headlight bar. They can't come off but they will move back and forth if I push on them lightly.

OK, I will get them plated and hopefully there will be no problems.

Skip. I have two sets of license plate clamps. One set Is completely rusted and shows no sign of ever being plated. The other set of clamps are cadium plated and have never been used. The bolts that come off of the rusted set are, Hex head quarter by twenty by one and a quarter Inch In length, And the nuts are square. Even though the cadium brackets have never been used, I plan on having them chromed like you said. We scraped the clamps to see If maybe there was a sign of chrome underneath, But there was only bare metal. I wonder if the square nuts on the bolts, Could be right as the nuts used on the car were square. Also If a person did not put a license plate on the front of the car, Would points be deducted when the car Is judged. I have not found any documentation about the license plate clamps and wonder If there Is any, Except what a parts book may show. :confused:

The 1932 parts book does show the license plate clips, and they list the fastener as being a 1/4-20 hex nut and not a square nut.

As far as the plating goes, you can also go with the cad. plating. I have seen them both ways, but it would be easier to install the license plate clips when they are cad. plated instead of chromed.

On the judging issue, your guess is as good as mine on that one. If the person who judges the car knows that the license plate clips should be there, then they might deduct points if they are not. The parts book and a lot of the 1932 literature/filmstrips does show the license plate clips.

Thanks skip, For the Information. I guess back In 1932 depending which state a person bought their car, That maybe some of the states did not require two plates and even though there was brackets for plates, That they were not always used.It seems to me that the plate Issue Is very open to wheather you have to even have a plate In the front. In washington you only need to have one on the back of any car which
is over twenty five years old. There probably Is other states the same way.