The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Mystery holes on left front fender below headlight

When I took possession of this truck, these 3 holes were present just below the driver's side headlight.

http://s160.photobucket.com/user/st...amp;_suid=136517996343708314151842080695

The two holes on the left are 2" apart, with 5" from the "middle hole" to the hole furthest to the right. Thus, the total spread is 7".

I am curious if anyone may have some idea as to what would have been fastened in this location. My 1/2 ton '48 Chevy served as County Road department service vehicle in Mineral County, Nevada until the mid 1960's.

Thanks for any insight on these mystery holes.

LUKE

Lets see here... front of truck from Nevada circa 1950's... could that be some form of extra water cooling bag or other county works truck accessory? I know they were often seen in front of the radiator but I seem to recall seeing some mounted to the side and low for better air flow. But then I was just a kid staring aimlessly out the window most of the time.

county vehicle tag? some kinda reflector?

Bill

For some kind of license plate bracket?

Whatever was there had been removed when the truck was sold off by the Mineral County Road Department to the 1st private owner in the mid 1960's per a phone conversation that I had with him a few years ago.

Here's a guess... I cant see where the third hole is but in some states comercial trucks were required to display a GVW plate like these.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8105/8624860330_8ec524f93a_c.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8259/8623756665_b6c798376b_c.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8400/8623756499_1c88b3b504_c.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8394/8624860834_e2bc1aaee4_c.jpg

I've seen many versions of this type of tag. I have a 1/2T plate like the first one I linked to. It's too narrow to fit across the top of the license plate and looks like it might fit the two holes you've marked in the pic.

The hole spacing (total width is 7") would suggest to me that perhaps a standard license plate may have been fastened there.

For what it's worth, my 1951 MO truck license plate is wider than a standard plate and the holes do not line up with standard plate holes. My guess is that, like VINs, there was no real standard back then. In my opinion this is supported by the elongated horizontal holes seen in most license plate brackets from the era.