MTFCA Forum

I recently bought a set of roadster hood sockets to go on a barn find tourer backboard like my Henrietta.

This lift-the-dot fastener was attached to one side. The male piece is as usual but I have never seen the likes of the second piece. It certainly looks neater than the usual type. The real puzzle is how was it installed? There are the usual 4 little bend over tags, but no way the get at them to bend them over. The outer cover piece is crimped over the base with four folded in edges. I can't see how they could be formed in place. It has me beat.
Allan from down under. I

Okay dumb question first: was the fastener already "put together" as shown in all the pics? Cause I'm wondering if it was, then maybe the bottom pic is showing it with some kind of decorative cover to hide the part that would normally show the 4 bent tabs? As I recall, that part is very thin, what I'm seeing here in the bottom pic of yours seems to have "depth" to it? Maybe somehow it snapped over everything once the fastener was installed on the fabric. As fabric rots away, perhaps this fitting then became "orphaned" as shown in the pic? Just a not-SWAG!!

Tim, the unit came on the bows, attached to the male stud, with remains of black top material still in place. The male stud differs from the usual type in that the knob on the end is reduced in height, so it does not protrude so far. The four bend over tabs are on the back assembly with the wire spring, and these engage with the usual style thin plate. When installed, the the part with the wire spring usually on the outside, is on the inside, with the backing plate on the outside. This is in reverse to current styles. Somehow, the concealing cap is fitted over the thin four slot plate. It is crimped top and bottom and on both sides, no mean feat with nickel plated brass of the usual thickness in such fittings. I wonder what the tooling looked like. It certainly gives a neat appearance, but I can understand why the simplicity of the later fittings became the norm.

Allan from down under.

That "decorative plate" then must somehow squish down the 4 tags then, like you said, with some special tool to do that. I spent a little time this afternoon trying to research a "vintage" lift-the-dot" fitting all to no avail, hoping to find this unique design. Who knows, Allan, maybe it's so rare you can sell it on E-bay for $100!!

Tim, I'll sell it to you for $50 and you can put it on ebay

Allan from down under.

Allan wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 03, 2024 10:26 pm

Tim, I'll sell it to you for $50 and you can put it on ebay

Allan from down under.