In a message dated 97-07-16 17:08:28 EDT, difejo@consumer.org (John Di Fede)
writes:
> Also, there is a number on a tab connected to the windshield frame on
> the drivers side. I don't believe it matches the commission number
on
> the left hand door jamb. Should it?
John:
Yes, these numbers should match, and they both should match the commission
number on your title. I don't know how the law reads in NY, but in Tennessee,
having a mismatch between the two tags and/or your title is sufficient to
have your car confiscated by the local law, never to be returned, no matter
what documentation you can provide. Believe it! It happened to a young man in
Knoxville not too many years ago. After reading in a magazine that the
numbers on the dash of his American car should match, he checked his car and
found the dash plate missing. He then took the car to the sheriff's office to
ask about it, and his car was taken on the spot. He had to call his parents
to come get him to take him home. The only recourse open to him was to sue
the dealer he bought it from.
If you need to get a commission plate for the door jamb, they can be bought
from TRF, and probably other suppliers as well. If you need the window plate,
I don't think they can be bought, but I can tell you how to make one. Go to
the local Radio Shack, and buy a small plastic box, blue, with an aluminum
lid (they cost $1.19 in TN). This is the box used to house small electronic
projects. The lid for the smallest of these is an exact match for the plate -
even the screw holes match. All that is required is to cut the lid to the
right length, softly round the corners where you made the cut, and take it to
an engraving shop to have the numbers engraved on it. Place the plate over a
small dowel rod, and bend to match the original, using finger pressure. Paint
it flat black, drill out the rivets holding the old one in place, and pop
rivet the new one in. If you choose the right style of engraving, it is
indistingishable from the original (I've never, ever, never no way done this
myself, you understand, it might just be illegal!).
As for the two number plates on the firewall, every TR6 that I have looked at
for this, either had two plates, or one plate and the holes for a second.
Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN
'71 TR6---------3000mile/year driver, fully restored
'71 TR6---------undergoing full restoration and Ford 5.0 V8 insertion - see:
http://www.sky.net/~boballen/mg/Masters/
'74 MGBGT---3000mile/year driver, original condition
'68 MGBGT---organ donor for the '74
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