Number plate formats

[Peter1963]

I'm looking for plates for my 1963 series 1 FHC. Thought plates might be straight forward....
I'm not so worried about absolute originality but I just wondered if anyone knows what the correct original format was for a late (December) '63 car? (cue a song). It's the rear that seems to have many options.... die pressed aluminium? Cast? Raised white letters on black aluminium back plate? I seem to remember from my childhood that cars all had raised white letters on a black pressed plate.
The other thing I now realise is that standard sized plates are a bit small at the rear and some people offer larger formats particularly for the series 1.
I am guessing that the 4 oblong rubber stoppers in the rear panel are there for the plate to be pressed against and the plate itself fitted with screws. Must admit, it would be nice to not have exposed fixings.
And I thought this would be the easy and quick bit....
Look forward to hearing from the experts.
Thanks.
Peter

[politeperson]

Peter,

These guys know everything about plates. Ask them

http://www.framptonsplates.com/CarPlates.html

James

[Stuart Exelby]

Used these guys in Ireland. Good service, pleased with the result.

http://www.acepeakplates.com/

[Heuer]

Everything you could ever want to know about E-Type number plates can be found here: viewtopic.php?p=41625#p41625

[mgcjag]

Sorry to say Stuart but from the photo the 160E do not line up very well..the 60 look smaller

[Peter1963]

Many thanks Gents
I'll be calling Framptons later today...
You never know - it may even be on the road at the weekend almost 8 weeks to get it registered.

Peter

[Heuer]

Framptons can supply the correct 3.5" rear plate but the the front plate will have a computer generated modern font which looks absolutely crap on the E-Type. You need to contact Tippers who can hand cut the front plate characters in the correct font. If your car has a six character registration number the characters should be 3.5" high, with seven characters they should be 3 1/8" high. Rear plate needs to be custom cut to fit. Avoid white characters (Jaguar specified silver characters) as they quickly discolour from the exhaust.

Read the Factory Fit link posted above and then make your decisions accordingly. Ace Plates, Paul McNaughton and Tippers would be the first call. If you want polished Ace characters then call Framptons but buy your front plate from Tippers.

[Peter1963]

Thanks Dave.
Have ordered a set from Framptons and spoken with Tippers with a view to getting a front stick on from them based on your recommendation.
Will upload some photos to this thread when they are fitted to the car.

Peter

[Gfhug]

Peter, there has been discussion about the best way to apply the stick on plate to get it smooth and correctly positioned. Thoughts like a bit of soapy water spray on the bonnet, or something like that. Search for number plate on the forum and you'll find the suggestions. Sorry, couldn't find the link straight off, but you'll find it useful

Geoff

[Heuer]

Firstly make sure the paintwork is spotless otherwise the smallest bit of dirt will look huge when the plate is stuck down! Best to swab the area with meths or switch cleaner to remove traces of wax which could hamper adhesion. Start marking the correct position with masking tape as the baseline according to these measurements:


You can use a piece of tape vertically to set the left hand vertical line. Then use soapy water or (my favourite) spray window cleaner to wet the paint, carefully peel off the backing and butt the plate against the masking tape which should hold it and stop it sliding down. When you are happy with the position gently squeeze out the lubricant with paper towels and leave it, preferably overnight, before using the car.

The window cleaner works well because it evaporates quicker than soapy water.

[Stuart Exelby]

Sorry to say Stuart but from the photo the 160E do not line up very well..the 60 look smaller

Interesting point - but the characters are exactly the same font, size, width and everything I think it's the shadow on the top that has done it for whatever reason......

[Gfhug]

You can always rely on David to have the answer, thanks

Geoff

[Peter1963]

It's been a while since I received your best advice re number plates - home diy and work got in the way.
So, thanks again for the pics and advice.
The rear is from Framptons - great service and got what I wanted - raised white letters on a black plate which fits perfectly. Your advice re the front stick on was indeed correct - the Framptons front plate didn't have the same font. Went to Tippers (Josh I think). He went to great pains to produce a matching font stick on. He even sent me a proof with the existing rear plate next to it. It took a while but...... great job. Just fitted it tonight.
As far as fitting was concerned I decided in the end to get a decent centre line (see pic below) then a decent horizontal. Trying to achieve the recommended 4 inches above the air intake I found that a piece of masking tape run just above one of the screws holding on the chrome headlight bezel did the trick.
Marking the middle of the plate with a pencil on the protective covering made for a decent mid point.
Plenty of Mr Muscle or similar on the bonnet, a little courage ( it really would be a source of constant annoyance getting this wrong) and plenty of patience et voila.
So now I am legal. Here's hoping for some sunny days to put some miles on it.
Thanks again and hope this helps anyone doing the same.
Peter

[Peter1963]

And for the sake of completeness (!) the rear plate.



Peter

[Gfhug]

Get some miles in Peter! Watch the road as you go as well as looking at that beautiful bonnet ahead of you, then notice people admiring your car. When you stop you'll get some want to come up and admire and after a while you'll feel happy to let one or two sit in to appreciate just what a beauty you have.

They get an interesting variety of admirers. On Saturday we trundled through Cheltenham on our way back from Prescott Hill Climb, suddenly a knock on the passenger window and a slightly inebriated Irishman says "that's a f*****g gorgeous car". No they don't have to be inebriated to admire an E Type, but it is another example of the type of reaction you'll get.

Have fun (as if you need to be told that!)

Geoff

[Peter1963]

Ha! Thanks Geoff. A variety of friends coming to 'pay homage' this week. None of them are Irish or inebriated to my knowledge. I had similar experiences when a mate of mine loaned me his F type just after they were launched. Impossible to not have a small group admiring it where ever we went.
Took a sneeky drive out on Sunday with my son in the chase car (Caterham R400 Superlight) complete with Go pro. Great video and great fun.
Here's to some sun this week.....

Peter

[TGN]

To avoid starting yet another number plate, font, size & placement thread.
Does anyone know the spacing for older style number plates, specifically the front stick on ones

I’ve used 11mm current legislation on mine and I’m not convinced it looks right.
I’m not positive the font is right either.

[Gfhug]

Trevor, please look at the links above from Heuer to see all you need to know and contact Framptons and Tippers as per his advice.
You have black on white whereas they should be silver(/white?) on black for period correctness.

Geoff

[TGN]

I’ve read all the posts I can find number plate related, including Davids and it doesn’t have all the information I need.
Tippers are shut for approximately three weeks, and when open I’ll be ordering a rear plate from them.
Framptons use the modern font so unlikely to help and I don’t suppose either will share the finer details so I can cut them myself

The image is of silver letters on their release paper I haven’t wasted my time fixing it to the background yet.

[mgcjag]

Have a look here https://www.k-type.com/who-was-charles-wright/