Rivet vs. Screw fasteners on data plate

[84RabbitGTI]

Does anyone know why some data plates are riveted to the firewall and others are held on by sheet metal screws?  My California '51 is the screw kind.

[Terry T]

Operator error!

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

You would have to check dozens of cars built at a facility to determine for certain but I would like to throw out the following comments:

If a vehicle was repainted, it is possible the plates were popped off for clean up & metal screws used because they were easier to work with.

Bodies sent to Portland and Long Beach were sent "white" (no paint, no interior, etc) and tags were not riveted to the body.   & screws again would be easier for mounting.

[PK5321]

Were data plates painted body color or were they unpainted.  I have seen both.  Which was correct from the factory?

[Terry T]

Since the tags were installed during the assembly process, i.e., after paint, they are bare metal.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

At Willow Run, tags were attached when they started out of the fabrication process so they would be painted.  Other plants may have done things differently. 

[84RabbitGTI]

Thanks for the replies.  Fits with what I was thinking. 
Yea, I'm a bit screwy, Terry T!

[JoeKeys2010]

So I have a 49 Deluxe, my plate is bare medal and was removed from the car when I bought it.  I'm getting ready to paint the firewall so should I attach the tag and paint it the body color or paint the firewall and then attach the bare medal plate?  I have a parts car and the plate is attached to the fire wall and not painted.

[joefrazer]

At this year's national meet, the subject of trim tags came up. The chief judge stated that unpainted trim and body tags are acceptable for judging. Originally, however, tags on all cars except for the Darrins would have been painted since they were attached prior to painting.

If your car has "bare" tags, it's probably because the paint fell off over the year. Both of my 47's and my 50K all have tags with paint on them, however, the tags on my 53 and 54 only have traces of their original paint yet the later cars are in much better overall condition. Go figure...