F & FE STAMPING

[360gts]

Made a set of steel stamps that are the same font on the FE & F plates.
Here is a sample...keep in mind this is the very first stamp sample done by hand.
I am currently making a jig with the correct spacing of the stamps so that the plate will be stamped the same as the originals.

[swifty]

That looks good , first time I've heard of someone replicating the FE number .... I don't think anyone is doing the FE numbers over here . ( does Tim at minimail ? ) ...... Ken

[Andrew1967]

Think you might have a little part time business there, Dermott

Pretty sure you are correct Ken, no-one else does these to my knowledge.

[360gts]

Guys, happy to help anyone that needs these...just send me your numbers and I will make some...have to figure out what is reasonable price...just want to cover my costs for the making and having them hardened.
It has always been a bit of a "wish someone would make these" for me.
Should have the jig finished soon...then I can make a few.
Andrew, what would think is a fair price for a pair..

[Andrew1967]

Open that one up to the floor I'd say Dermott.

Somewhere around the cost of a replacement stamped engine plate maybe ?

Are there any legal implications like there is with chassis number plate replacement ??

[Craig]

Dermott , those look excellent !! Well Done !

Craig

[rich@minispares.com]

That's a cracking job

I looked into getting some stamps made and it was so expensive I gave up

I would say they have to be 20 to 30 quid a plate for that 'finishing touch'

[Pete]

Guys, happy to help anyone that needs these...just send me your numbers and I will make some...

Playing Devil's advocate just for a minute, though it'd be useful for people with damaged FE plates to replace them with a remanufactured plate (which must be highly unusual) I would have to question the general remanufacture of these plates being made generally available. If someone's lost their original plate through rot ,restoration or accident they're unlikely to know the original number anyway so would have no use for one but I suspect there'd be a pretty good chance those plates could well find their way on to restored cars that the numbers don't belong to!

Very useful for some, for the right reasons, also very useful for some for all the wrong reasons!

[Toby]

The floor and font end numbers can be used to date a shell, yet no record of them was kept in relation to vehicle registration. So from that perspective they would be regarded as less important that say the body number. Yet people do like to have them fitted for originality purposes.

The body number plates can be ordered from Tim and will cost you 12 pounds a pop. As the FE ones look like the are more labour intensive I can imagine that you might want to ask just a bit more for one.

I do have to say that quite a number of people have been waiting some time for somebody to start producing these. So I think you will have your work cut out for you Dermott. Good job, as they look great!

[Pete]

The floor and font end numbers can be used to date a shell, yet no record of them was kept in relation to vehicle registration. So from that perspective they would be regarded as less important that say the body number. Yet people do like to have them fitted for originality purposes.

Yes they're much less important than a body number but lots of buyers still use them to date a shell as part of the buying process, people ask about FE numbers on here all the time!
If I'm not mistaken Tim asks for proof of ownership/Heritage trace when ordering a body or chassis number.

[360gts]

WOW!...didn't think this would generate so much 'chat'.
I am not a lawyer....but I would think these are not considered legal numbers as used by your DVLA in the UK and other registration bodies throughout the world. The VIN etc. is what is considered to be the legal plate.
Over here...these plates this would be considered a part.
Will post a sample finished plate when I get my stamp jig completed.

Thanks to those who were complimentary and supportive.
Yes, it took days of hand crafting these stamps...a few ended up in the garbage LOL!
Cost quite a bit to have them hardened as they were done one at a time to ensure they were not over hardened.

[minimans]

I really don't see a problem? since the number cannot be traced to a specific car they have no value to ID a particular car. If somebody chooses to fit a FE number that is not age related to a bodyshell/chassis number it's going to stick out like a sore thumb.................

PS I have a 67 S shell that is lacking a FE number so I will be looking at pictures of the car Pre strip to see if I can ID the correct number and would certainly buy one from you!!

[360gts]

Happy to oblige
Cheers
D

[bill773mini]

I really don't see a problem? since the number cannot be traced to a specific car they have no value to ID a particular car. If somebody chooses to fit a FE number that is not age related to a bodyshell/chassis number it's going to stick out like a sore thumb.................

Precisely Pete's point, "fake" or reshelled cars stick out like a sore thumb because the FE number is wrong, it's a brilliant way of uncovering the truth about a cars history and originality, with replacement FE numbers it'll be harder to prove the fakes and way easier for the fakers.

I can see the benefits but the down side outway the good by some margin in my opinion.

Bill

PS, great work on the Dermott though

[rolesyboy]

Love it. What a great job! Well done.

[evonaut]

my FE plate was badly corroded, although the number was just about readable, and I did look into finding a replacement.

There was nothing available so had the old plate re welded into to the inner wing. now its been sprayed, i'm very happy with the decision as it offers an accurate clue to the car's age, including the corrosion, as opposed to many of the panels which have been replaced.

saying that, would have fitted a new FE plate, at the drop of a hat, if they had been available 6 months ago.....

[rolesyboy]

Yep, same here. Inner wings were a mess. My FE plate was corroded on 2 corners so you could still read the numbers and spot weld left holes where removed and so I would welcome a replacement for my shiny engine bay. Bring em on

[Gray]

With Engine and chassis plates available I see no great problem with the sale of FE plates, if you were faking a car then you would just remove the FE plate so hiding the date. Like Tim does keep a good record of who and where the plates are sold to and ask for copies of V5's to go against the plate, although this is not really relevant with there not being a proper record of the FE numbers. Nice work, this is the whole reason I love this forum the skills that the members show totally amazes me.

[rich@minispares.com]

I don't see the problem with repro FE plates

previously to the ones on this thread, it has been possible to get ones made by CNC'ing the plate out of either steel or brass - so (expensive) one offs have been available for a while

[mk1]

I totally agree with Rich. If someone was going to go to the lengths of faking a shell to the Nth degree there have been ways to do this for a long time. Generally speaking people do not use the FE number to date a shell, some people do, but the vast majority don't.

I do take on Pete & Bill's points, but don't think that a repro FE number would fox either of them for too long. TBH I doubt it would "fool" most people once they REALLY examined them.

I would suggest that it is easier & more likely for a "faker" to switch a genuine FE numbers from 1 shell to another & that this has probably been done in the past.

As far as i am concerned an FE plate is simply a part of a car it does not constitute part of a cars identity. I am sure that there will be a lot of people who will be very pleased to use one of these in their restoration. I would certainly have used one of these on the floor of my Speedwell car as the original was really skanky. As it is, it just got skipped, I did however very carefully transfer the original FE number from the rusty inner wing to the new replacement inner wing.

As far as price is concerned, the guy who I sold the engine capacity tag dies too sells them for £20+ a piece, as these FE numbers would be 1 offs & the tools had to be hardened I would have thought that £25 a piece would be reasonable. It would be an idea for Dermott to keep a record of who has bought one & the number in question though.