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Old Oct 6, 2010 | 04:55 PM
  #1  
droptopcad's Avatar
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Cowl Tag

Does anyone stamp new cowl tags. I'd like to change my body & interior color
Old Oct 6, 2010 | 05:11 PM
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Oh yes they do!!!!! Can you say counterfeit? Many Matching number cars have been "BUILT" or "CONSTRUCTED" to suit the owner. The trim tag is made, the block is stamped, then off to the high-end auction it goes and fetches mind-blowing money. Then, the lawyers get involved, the "EXPERTS" are hired to "AUTHENTICATE" or debunct such and then the real fun starts. Trials, law-suits, buy-backs, all the gooooood stuff. If you really want to have one made there are several people who will do it----look in Hemmings Magazine under "Services Offered" or in any "Parts for Sale'' section under "Trim Tags". And, yes they even sell the "correct" rivets. "Oh what a web we weave........".Until next time.....Dave.
Old Oct 6, 2010 | 05:19 PM
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The upside of doing this for an honest person is zero. The downside is infinite.
Old Oct 6, 2010 | 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by droptopcad
Does anyone stamp new cowl tags. I'd like to change my body & interior color
So change your body and interior color . . . but don't change the tag.
Old Oct 6, 2010 | 06:21 PM
  #5  
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I am unclear as what what honest motive there might be behind wanting to change one's trim tag.

- Eric
Old Oct 6, 2010 | 06:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 6inarow
The upside of doing this for an honest person is zero. The downside is infinite.
Couldn't be said better!!
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 04:21 AM
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I'm sorry I asked!

How much if any do I reduce the value if I don't restore to original colors, but use the colors offered for that year & model?

joe

Last edited by droptopcad; Oct 7, 2010 at 04:35 AM.
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 05:11 AM
  #8  
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How is your car trimmed according to the tag?
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 05:57 AM
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Originally Posted by droptopcad
How much if any do I reduce the value if I don't restore to original colors, but use the colors offered for that year & model?
Probably not much, if any. In judged competitions, such as the OCA National Meet, if stock condition is the standard, points are not deducted if the car has been repainted a color that was also available for that model that year. Paint it candy-apple red or put flames on the sides, though, and you probably will affect the value. But then it becomes a "modified" car, anyway, and predicting the values of modified cars is very difficult because it becomes much more subjective, what people like and don't like, etc.
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 06:03 AM
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I don't think Mr. Droptopcad had any malicious intent here. He just wanted the cowl tag to match the car. Not unreasonable.

But, yes, doing so is exactly what people who ARE trying to commit fraud do...change the tag or the VIN and then claim the car is original when it's not. Better to leave such things alone so that anyone buying the car down the road will know what it was originally and what you did to it.
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 06:22 AM
  #11  
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AACA judging allows any color and interior trim as long as it was an available color for the year. They don't worry about everything matching the trim tag; OCA follows much the same guidelines though in the interest of authenticity, I feel they should match.

POCI allows and actually encourages restamped body data plates to accomodate owner color & trim preference. As long as color/trim are ALL that's changed, I can grudgingly accept it. I don't like it, but I can accept it as long as intent is not to defraud or jack up the car's value.

The trouble is restamping a body dataplate opens the door to change bodystyle and series information, and the ONLY reason to do that is to defraud an unsuspecting buyer or jack up the car's value. The POCI allowed it in response to a bunch of whiny GTO owners, and I can assure you there are nationally ranked POCI cars that are not what their body dataplate indicates.

My personal ethics would not allow me to change a dataplate, but there are plenty of unscrupulous people whose moral compass wouldn't slow them down a bit.
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 06:28 AM
  #12  
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A cowl tag tells (some) about how a car came originally. It tells what color the car was, not what color it is. If you change the cowl tag, you are lying about the car's origin.
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 06:56 AM
  #13  
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I don't believe there will be that much difference in the price unless you have a really rare and desirable car. Just do what ever you want and enjoy. My car is totally different colors interior and exterior from the tag and I guess most are.
Larry
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 07:44 AM
  #14  
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Several years ago I asked a co. about a replacement cowl tag, and he said he would only duplicate my original tag, and wouldn't make any changes.
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 09:33 AM
  #15  
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If the car was originally puke green and you changed it to red or blue, you'll probably INCREASE the value.
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 10:43 AM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by dc2x4drvr
Several years ago I asked a co. about a replacement cowl tag
What's a "co."?
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 11:16 AM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by Diego
How is your car trimmed according to the tag?
Bamboo,black convert. top w/ Saddle.

PNT-50B
TR-979
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 11:24 AM
  #18  
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Originally Posted by jaunty75
What's a "co."?
A covert operative....or it could be a "company" too.
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 11:35 AM
  #19  
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Droptopcad, it's a '70?

Slap on some gold stripes and the color ain't that bad. In fact, the car may even look gorgeous!

(Stripes look incorrect here, though … click on image)

Old Oct 7, 2010 | 02:14 PM
  #20  
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I agree with Diego -- four of the five '70 stripe colors look great with Bamboo. And I guarantee you'll be the only one with a car like that at most shows.

Then again, it's your car, so do as you please. But there's really no good reason to change the cowl plate.
Old Oct 7, 2010 | 05:30 PM
  #21  
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to answer your question yes they can be reproduced, most reputable places will only reproduce the cowl tag exactly as it was originally I think they ask for yours to be sent in), this is for restoration purposes as sometimes the cowl tag is torn up and barely held onto the car.

Can you change the color, by all means yes. But as others have said I would try to choose a color from 1970 if you do change it. I think your color is awesome and I seldom see one that color. I have never seen a 1970 cowl tag that provides the stripe color (though maybe one does) so stripe color is open unless you have documents that tell you what the stripe color was.

In the end its your car paint it what color you want. I almost went with 71 lime green but stuck with the correct 70 blue that it should be.
Old Oct 8, 2010 | 04:15 AM
  #22  
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Originally Posted by Diego
Droptopcad, it's a '70?

Slap on some gold stripes and the color ain't that bad. In fact, the car may even look gorgeous!

(Stripes look incorrect here, though … click on image)

I feel that when the black top is up, the black striping won't look bad, it's when the top is down and the saddle interior is showing, I don't think the black stripping will look that good, and I don't think a different color stripe would look good with the black top. Just my opinion.
Old Oct 8, 2010 | 04:43 AM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by droptopcad
I feel that when the black top is up, the black striping won't look bad, it's when the top is down and the saddle interior is showing, I don't think the black stripping will look that good, and I don't think a different color stripe would look good with the black top. Just my opinion.
Well your opinion is the one that counts! No sense is going with something you don't like just because others do. Seem like we tend to forget why they came with different color combos to begin with!
Old Oct 8, 2010 | 04:43 AM
  #24  
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Here's one with a better stripe:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And here's some thoughts:

- Black goes with anything, so keeping the black top really isn't strange

- Since you don't know the color of the stripes originally, they logically could be gold or black. I think black stripes with that color gives it more of a "yuck!" factor, while gold complements the color quite nicely.

- The best trim for your car, in my opinion, is your tan interior with a tan top and gold stripes. That would mean the only change you've made in respect to the data plate is the top, which isn't a big deal . . . plus I feel you'll be WAY happier with the car overall. Points deducted, so to speak, by a change in top color is not as great as a change in interior color (or a fraudulent change in the data plate, for that matter).

You have a few choices, and none of them really have to sting.
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