Data plates - Original vs duplicate (repro)?

From: Neil E. Amrhein (neil@compu-powr.com)
Date: Fri Feb 20 2004 - 06:15:11 PST

List,
    I have purchased several data plates in the past for various vehicles. All of the ones I have purchased have had unpainted boxes with printed labels like "MFD. BY:", or something similar. This is where the manufacturer name, contract no, etc gets stamped. Is this the style of plate that the army had made for depot rebuilds? This would make sense, since you may be re-building the same model from several different manufacturers.

    Would the Army ever have installed data plates on a vehicle during a rebuild that had the manufacturers name actually printed on the plate?
    For instance, my M274A1's shipping plate only has the blanks (with stamped information) for the "U.S.A. REG. NO.", "MFR. SER. NO.", "DATE OF DEL.", and "INSPECTED" sections. The "MFR. PART NO.", "CONTRACT NO.", and "MFG. BY" sections all have printed on values, like the rest of the plate. I believe this to be an original plate, but have always wondered about it. I'm sure my mule has been out of service for some time, given that it's a 1963 4-cylinder with almost every original part and it has Goodyear NDT's from 1964 & 1965. I'd guess it was not rebuilt while serving the military.
    My father's A5 TOW mules also have the Manufacturer printed on their plates, which leads me to believe they are the original plates, as well.

    Any insight on data plates would be appreciated.

    Another thing I was just thinking about: Why would the "Procurement" section of a data plate say US ARMY (or USA MAT COMM), but the "Depot Maintenance" section say USMC? Could vehicles be procured through Army contracts, regardless of the end user (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force)? Further more, I will assume that the depot maintenance section tells what division of the military actually took delivery of the vehicle? Is this correct???

    Thanks,
        Neil

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1987 Chevrolet M1028A3 CUCV
1963 Kaiser Jeep M274A1 Mule

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