Etching Logos

Ken Roberts

Supporter
Not sure what you mean about white boxes? I see silver boxes. I like the RCR instead of Superlite. Under make it says Superlite.
 
Not sure what you mean about white boxes? I see silver boxes. I like the RCR instead of Superlite. Under make it says Superlite.

I guess silver boxes, I'm blind. I'll mimic his in a day or so and post a pic. I'll have to ask, but if say we had RCR and Superlite logo and someone didn't want one or the other, can be removed easily.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Ditto Ken’s comments, I like the OEM look and would buy 1. Thanks for putting this together,
 
Just a test run to get some feedback. While I know boxes are expected for something like this, for some reason they make it look more generic like it's for stamping info when it's not.

Thinking of people of having a choice of Superlite or RCR logo when they order since some cars were made before Superlite was created. Still waiting on permission to use either/both logos.
 
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Ken Roberts

Supporter
The Vin area should have a box for stamping because most of us haven't registered the car yet. The VIN is generated upon registration.
 
Can add VIN if you have it or a blank white box if you don't. Anyone have a suggestion on the width of the VIN box that would be big enough if you get it stamped? The width of the tag itself is 3.5"

Slightly different layout on anodized orange.
 
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Joel K

Supporter
Del, I like this last layout. Question for you, can we leave the year blank and have another shop simply put the date in when I go to register the car. In Jersey the date is the date of completion so I would not know until when I go to register it.
 

Scott

Lifetime Supporter
Del,

In my experience you want everything to exactly match the paperwork as the police/inspectors are supposed to look for discrepancies. My MSO had RCR logos, RCR watermarks etc. Race Car Replicas was the signing authority so it manufactured the car, not Superlite. Superlite only appears twice as follows:

MAKE: SUPERLITE
MODEL: SUPERLITE COUPE; SL-C

I also believe its helpful to have the tag look official. I spent a fair amount of time looking at plates to try to make the layout look "right." IMO, that's blank boxes with stamped specifics. I was short on time before my LEO inspection, so I just had the letters printed. Given that I have a typo, I will need to redo it and the final version will have stamped specifics. IMO a purely laser-etched plate doesn't look like something that low-volume automotive manufacturer (or high-volume boat manufacturer, or trailer manufacturer, etc.) would do. Potential issues will vary widely based on the state and the person doing the inspection, so better to be safe than sorry.

Also note that many etching/stamping providers won't produce VIN plates because they don't want the liability or potential legal issues of doing so. Laws vary by state, so don't assume that if it's OK in your state it's OK everywhere.

IMO, you should consider the following; shrink the plate a little (3.5" seems a little big but I'm not near my car to measure), use RCR (or at least have an RCR option), and use blank boxes that allow the customer to take the plate to a local company to have the plate engraved/stamped.

It would be much easier if RCR did this like other component car manufactures do. Note that when I had my cobra inspected in MA everything matched, but the state trooper called the manufacturer to validate that location and style of the chassis number (a weld bead on the chassis) and the identification plate (a etched plate with stamped specifics) was in the correct location and of a correct appearance. Things might have gone very wrong if they heard "we don't do anything... the customer made it up." IMO, it would be great to have a standardized plate in a standardized location.
 

Scott

Lifetime Supporter
One more point... I don't think that the VIN on the MSO is really a VIN. Your state may accept it as the VIN (I know that Montana does), but many will not. I had my cobra registered and insured for 20+ years in NJ. However, when you register a component car in MA you have to start at ground zero and they treat it as a salvage car. I had to produce 20-year old receipts, and the VINs for any donor parts (engine, rear end, etc.). Once I passed the inspection, the trooper assigned a new VIN, attached it to the car and he removed the old VIN (you can't have two different VINs on a car). So you want to bring your own drill and drill bit to remove the plate and hand it to him.

My plan is to add a revised plate after then fact. "VIN" will be replaced by "SERIAL NO" This is why I left so much space for the VIN. This approach provides matching numbers from MSO through the state VIN re-assignment.

Even if your state doesn't require this, you may move or sell it to someone in a state who has strict requirements. Registering in MT is easy, but I wouldn't assume that you'll be able to do that in perpetuity unless you live in MT.
 
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Many great points Scott and I do agree. When my buddy and me were texting last night about it, the VIN stamping came up, decided no blank VIN tag should be offered. If say the car was stolen and Google pointed the new "owner" to this thread and he got a blank one and made his own. It's far fetched, but I know I'd feel better about no blank ones specifically for the SLC. Honestly, picture of VIN on paperwork (or MSO) may be required option to keep things legit.

This idea was just suggested on here and realizing I will need something on mine, decided to see if anyone else would be interested. For Louisiana, only thing that is required for a VIN plate is the actual VIN, rest of info is lagniappe for me, although it's a nice bonus. Just trying to make an ugly VIN plate look nice and not an eyesore is really the idea behind it all for me.

You're right some states use the MSO as the VIN, Louisiana is not one of them either. The last hoop I will have to jump through for registration is waiting on the VIN to be assigned, get a plate made with it and rivet to the car. The trooper comes over to the house a final time to verify VIN is accurate and permanently on the car, then actually hands me my title, registration and plate. On initial inspection of my car, I will also need a MSO tag on the car to prove it's not stolen. This will be easy to do, but I do worry about them contacting RCR as part of the process. I will ask RCR and see if that's happened before and where they tell them to put the MSO tag so I can do the same. If it's in a visible location and the state allows, I will just swap MSO for VIN when it's time. The VIN on the test pieces is just my daily driver VIN to get idea for length.
 

Scott

Lifetime Supporter
I also wanted something nicer than a universal VIN / data plate which is why I created the plate that I did. This site makes a DOT-compliant VIN tag for $13.45. They also have a lot of universal data plates. I don't think a an picture of the MSO does much for you... titles, etc. are watermarked for a reason.
 
I'm a little confused on why I need a picture of the MSO?

BTW I looked on my MSO and it same as yours, has RCR logo with make being Superlite. No Superlite logo at all.
 

Scott

Lifetime Supporter
picture of VIN on paperwork (or MSO) may be required option to keep things legit.

I was referring to your comment above... I completely agree you want to ensure everything is legit... my point was that the MSO was printed on special watermarked paper for a reason and that a photo of it, while better than nothing, doesn’t really meet the standard for which the document was created
 
I agree, just thinking of ways to prove such stuff. Not easy, but like you said better than nothing.

Speaking of MSO documents, I had to go double check my Photobucket to make sure I didn't accidentally upload my MSO after I scanned it. :)
 
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Trevor Hinze and I came to be aware of the Superlite SL-C thru my friend Del who is nearly ready to take delivery of his beautiful grey coupe. I am a small scale manufacturer of some niche parts for the Corvette c5-C7 series and occasionally del and I collaborate on a project outside of the lowly Corvette world. He has been kind enough to post a few of my projects here over the last couple of years as we worked on parts for his car. He came to me a while back with the idea to make a clean looking builders plate/vin tag, and some photos of our efforts so far can be seen above. He has been generous enough to to all of the legwork so far posting photos and getting back to me with ideas and feedback but I decided that as I move nearer to the idea of offering these for sale that it was a good time to create and account of my own and do some of the work myself :) We have nearly finalized what I feel is a good design to offer for sale although it may need some tweaking. Here is how I envision the process of making a custom tag would go: When an owner has been issued a VIN and is nearly ready for their final inspection they would contact me and provide me with their VIN along with some form of supporting documentation to show that they are the rightful owner of said car and then I would custom engrave a plate to match their required year and VIN. They plates themselves are 2"x3.5" American made anodized aluminum plates with 4 holes in the corners for 1/8" rivets ( I can also provide a version with no holes) I would get the plate made within a day or two and get it in the mail. I would charge 30 delivered in the US via first class mail, or 35 for priority mail for the service. If you wanted an additional plate Exactly the same as the first at the same time they would be 20 each if ordered at the same time. Once you received the plate it would of course be your responsibility to mount it with 4 -1/8" rivets or otherwise permanently bond it to your car as most states seem to require. I am by no means an expert on DMV laws and it is possible that this process may need a bit of tweaking to satisfy all of the varied requirements of each state and I could be flexible to an extent. I know that at this point I would not be willing to offer a "blank" plate that could be later stamped or otherwise marked locally, there are cheaper generic plates available on ebay if that is what you are after. With the amount of cloning and other fraud in the world especially for higher end cars such as yours I just dont want any chance that I could in any small way be a part of any such fraud. I am a car guy thru and thru and we have to look out for each other whenever possible. It is also important to note that I am in no way affiliated with RCR. They have agreed to allow me to provide this service but I must make it clear that I am not endorsed or even recommended by them, only allowed to offer the service to their customers. If you have more questions or suggestions fire away and I will try to respond as quickly as I can. Thanks for looking!

Trevor
 
Here's how my VIN tags came out, look even better in person. Next time the car is in the air, I'll attach one of the smaller ones on the frame. I got them in Saturday, so promptly installed them that evening as this was the last thing I needed to personally do for when I get the call to setup a time for trooper to come back out the house the 3rd and final time to verify, take pics and hand me my plate, title and registration. If anyone is interested in some of the plates, send me or him a PM.

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