Re: IML: 56 Front Plate Brackets

Tony,

I had thought of the transmission change as being related however I suspect that it might be the reverse of what you stated. Both my car and the parts car I have are torqueflite cars, the parts car rather late in the year given the S/N, and both have holes in the top of the bumper. I'll ask about the transmission in the car from which I have been offered the "bottom" mount bracket. You also raise an interesting question about the outside mirror which I hadn't yet looked at closely. Are the two styles interchangeable in mounting, just different in appearance?

Paul, I gather from your comment that the bracket is actually the same, just modified in some way??

Thanks,
Jeff
56 Sedan
Trenton, NJ

From: "Tony Bevacqua" <tonysru2@comcast.net>
Subject: RE: IML: 56 Front Plate Brackets
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:10:51 -0700
Reply-To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Farrar's Imperial with the license on top of the bumper, is probably the
early 1956 and very likely has the Powerflite transmission. The other is
the later model. Notice the outside rear view mirror. Norm's is the later
model.
Tony
1956 Sedan

Subject: Re: IML: 56 Front Plate Brackets
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 19:27:35 -0400
From: randalpark@xxxxxxx
Reply-To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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They were ALL originally mounted above the bumper and in front of the grilles, as in the first car pictured. Most folks don't like that because the beauty of the front styling is partially obstructed.

The base bumper itself was apparently shared with another car (I believe it may be a Windsor), where the plate was mounted in front of the bumper. On these cars, there is a flattened spot in the center of the bumper for the plate to rest/mount against. On Imperials, this flattened spot is covered by a bold & heavy steel plate that gives our front bumper a "pointed" look. This plate is rather exposed, and can accumulate dents and scratches, so I have seen some cars with it removed, revealing the flattened area under it. Mounting the license plate in front of it also has the effect of covering the damage to the filler plate.

Below the middle of the basic bumper are two additional mounting holes for the plate bracket on the "other cars". These holes present the Imperial owner with an alternative mounting spot for the license plate bracket. That is what was apparently done in the second car pictured. It is not a "perfect" spot as it is very low, and the bracket has to be "bought out" rather far from the bumper so that the license plate can clear the pointed chrome filler plate in the center.

I had mounted the front plates on both my '56 and '55 cars in this way. More than once they were torn off entering or exiting steep driveway aprons. In our state, older cars only require a rear plate, so for me this has ceased to be a problem.

It is true, though, that the correct mounting spot on all '55 and '56 Imperials for the front plate is above the front bumper and in front of the lower center portion of both grilles.

Paul W.

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