Data plate question

"G" is the letter. Location in the lower right. I'm holding my original in my hand right now.

Dave V.

I agree.

My original April '65 also has the "G" in the lower right corner - my repop from Marti does not - plus the text font Marti uses for the black overlay is slightly off size. Stamping is a little heavy too, but close enough. He has the stamping spacing spot on!

My original was not painted over, but is not in great shape - I haven't decided if I will put it back on the car or in the safe deposit box.

All in all I am very happy with all the repop tags I received from Marti - only 2 complaints are the door tag not being correct and the carb tag (maybe this came from Pony Carbs - I'll need to check) not having the correct FoMoCo oval stamp - it has Autolite instead.

Marti's service was fast and tags look great.

Edited by - RalphJr on 07/18/2008 08:01:06

Maybe OT and just my opinon, but I would much rather see an abused original tag on a Kar instead of a new repop!

I'm new to this forum and just read the question about original data tag markings. A number of responses indicated that the letter "g" should be found on the lower right of the tag. My Kar was built in San Jose on July 13 1965 and I am the second owner (past 30 years) and my tag does not have the "g". My question... was the "g" on all tags or was it specific to certain plants. I believe for example the San Jose plant tags were gray (mine is) while Dearborn and Metuchen cars were black. Since I am the second owner I have every reason to believe this is an original tag. Can anyone shed more light on this interesting question.

The gray/black tags were used at all 3 plants as far as I know. It supposedly indicated the type of paint used on the car acrylic enamel vs. regular enamel.

Have quite a few examples of date plates, can check them for the 'G' marking.

Thanks for the information, now that you mention it I do recall that the color of the data tag indicated type of paint as you mentioned. It would be nice to know if the "G" was on all tags, just some of the tags, or was a running change that Ford is so noted for. Since my tag doesn't have the "G" and it was a late 1965 production car maybe it was a running change, or Ford may have used different suppliers for the tags. Just another Mustang mystery!

Just to add a little here - my K is a Dearborn car April '65.

I also have an early '66 A code New Jersey coupe (August '65). The buck tag on this car is actually a '65 door tag turned upside down and stamped with the buck info - Ford recycling! This tag still had nice paint / ink on the back side and also had the "G" in the lower right corner of the inked area.

Maybe for did have a different supplier for the West Coast because I looked at an eBay car recently with what appeared to be an original tag with no "G".

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Thanks for the information, now that you mention it I do recall that the color of the data tag indicated type of paint as you mentioned. It would be nice to know if the "G" was on all tags, just some of the tags, or was a running change that Ford is so noted for. Since my tag doesn't have the "G" and it was a late 1965 production car maybe it was a running change, or Ford may have used different suppliers for the tags. Just another Mustang mystery!

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Per The Mustang and Cougar Tagbook by Kevin Marti who is licensed by Ford: The sometimes called the "G" plate was made by an alternate supplier to Ford and used primarily at assembly plants where full-size Fords were assembled. According to Kevin it is likely the "G" plate made up for spot shortages at other assembly plants. The Ford script is also different on the "G" plates.

kar-nut you got me curious. I looked at 2 original data plates I have. The 1st one is from car 5t07t189XXX, may it RIP. It has the G on it and a fatter FORD logo on it. The second tag is the original on my car 5F09C303XXX. It does not have the G and the ford looks thiner.

Edited by - 5F09C on 08/12/2008 17:40:41

My thanks to each of you who responded with data plate information. Just goes to show that there are no absolutes when it comes to documenting a Mustang's originality.... especially if you are not fortunate enough to have all the original paperwork. My 30 year restoration has taken a number of funny turns but with each mystery I have learned a lot from good folks like you.

FORD script on door data plate with "G":

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FORD script on data plate with no "G":

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sixfiveGT oh did not see the gray/black tag thing. My dead 65 Metuchen hardtop had a gray tag(had the G). The under-resto 65 fastback Dearborn has the black tag.

[Thanks to both of you (Kar-nut and 5F09C for the pics and the additional info. from everything that you have provided it appears my tag is original even without the "G"]

Yeper, so you can get a Marti repop <img src=images/icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

My July 1965 K Convertible's from the Dearborn plant DOES NOT have the stamped "G" so it looks like I'm good to order a repro from Marti!

Digging up this somewhat old thread:Does Marti or anyone else have the BLACK data plates available??--I have had mine done and its GRAY and being a DEARBORN car my thinking is that it should be BLACK, my original was painted over and its really hard to tell but evedence of cars a few behind mine and a few in front seem to indicate BLACK--I just read the posting about the difference in the tags being what type of paint was used....??....I remember back in 1966 my Dad bought a Country Sedan brand new in Maryland-(did Metuchen build Full size cars?)and he had an accident that required replacement of the fenders and hood within the first 3 months and it was done at a Ford dealer and when he got it back the Vintage Burgandy paint on the new parts didn't match the rest of the car.....is this possibly the difference in type of paint we're talking about??

I've had and seen many Dearborn cars with gray background warranty plates. Best to contact Kevin and give him your VIN information. Depending on the time the car was made and the type of paint, he should be able to tell you what color background yours most likely was.