Darrin Body Tags

[pnw_oldmags]

If anyone can post a Darrin Data Plate, Body Tag, Serial Plate I would really appreciate it.
THANKS

[pnw_oldmags]

Found one on the Internet ... Amazing amount of stuff out there!
If the one you have is differenet please do post it.

[Fid]

Were those tags actually on a car or mounted for display?  If on a car, the fact that they are fastened on with bright new Philips screws as opposed to rivets leads me to believe they maybe repros or off a different car.  Interesting to see just the same. I guess I don't know and never really looked - were the Darrin tags originally held on with rivets or screws?
When I see tags fastened with screws I immediately become suspect.

[DTort96646]

I'm the second owner of my Darrin #357, and we sold it new. My ID tags are held on with phillips head screws and a type of nylock nut. They are special flat head screws and my plates were not painted.

[Terry T]

The original screws were sheet metal Phillips pan-head.
The drove into pilot holes with no nuts on the back side.

[joefrazer]

Terry is correct, phillips head screws.

I owned car #30 and it had never been restored. All of the tags showed no evidence of ever being painted.

[Fid]

Thanks gentleman.  Interesting, I wondered if the car body being fiberglass had anything to do with the tags being fastened with screws. Perhaps it did.

[Terry T]

There are 2 locations for the body tags.
On early cars, the 3 were mounted on the horizontal shelf-part of the "fire-wall".  The location was on the right side, about 1 foot inboard.
Later, they were moved to the vertical surface of the "fire-wall", dead center.

I believe that the change was do to the heater.

The heaters were dealer installed, and they could be installed in two ways.  One had the inlet/outlet tubes pointing forward through the fire-wall.  In this fashion, one could readily see the lever to go from heater to defrost and one can see the front face of the heater with the KF decal.  Convenient somewhat but it encroached on foot room for the passenger.

The other instalation (rotate the heater 90 deg.) had the heater tubes pointing upward thru the horizontal surface of the fire-wall  just where the 3 tags are located. 
This installlation aforded more foot room, but operating the lever was a blind operation and one could no longer see the front of the heater.  Additionally, the dealer had to relocate the 3 tags.

I believe the plant relocated the tags to accomodate either heater installation.

Make sense??

[pnw_oldmags]

Terry - Do your tags match the ones I posted mounted on Red??

[DTort96646]

The data plate screws are 10-32 x1/2 truss head cross recess part number GM-446607 and the nuts are 10-32 part number GM-120614. They are listed in the Darrin parts list combined chassis and body manual.

[Terry T]

That's true but early cars were sheet metal screws.

[joefrazer]

Car #30 has the forward pointing heater as well as the tags mounted on the horizontal section of the firewall. Sheet metal screws hold the tags in place.

I'll post a picture or two once I have access to the file where they're stored.

[pnw_oldmags]

Thanks Jim

[pnw_oldmags]

After looking at the 52-53 Dataplates, 54-55 Dataplates and Darrin Data Plates
They all appear to have the same fields. 
Just their tops are different.
52-53Ks say Kaiser-Frazer Corp
54-55Ks say Kaiser Motors Corp
Darrin says Willys Motors Inc
Anyone wish to take issue with this observation??

[DTort96646]

Not me Jim.