What's the deal with fender quotes?

"Dr_Watson" (dr_watson) 09/05/2014 at 13:19 • Filed to: stripes

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I have only known them as a moniker for the Corvette grand sport models.

However my office parking lot suggests that all domestic manufacturers use them.

Ford:

Chrysler:

So is there some sort of history my GenX brain does not know of behind these things?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 13:27

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Hash Marks were put on race cars to identify them.

Bandit > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 13:32

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What? I really like them. Matte black on gloss is gorgeous.

As Du Volant > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 13:32

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Didn't realize K&N was making mirrors now.

Dr_Watson > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 09/05/2014 at 13:33

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Identity them?? Not following you.

jlmounce > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 09/05/2014 at 13:35

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Yup, this comes from the late 60's, early 70's era of Trans Am racing. Factory teams like the Corvette teams had in many cases three or four identically painted cars running each event. They put hashes on the fenders (specifically the left side as it was pit side) so that the pit crews could tell which car was theirs.

It is predominantly a Corvette thing, but not limited to those cars. The 1995 Grand Sport Corvette was a tribute to that lineage and why up until recently you only saw hashes on Corvettes. Also notice that life the race cars, the 1996 Grand Sport had the hashes only on the left side as well.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 13:35

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different colors mean different cars/drivers. They still do it in Le Mans and F1, but using different objects.

Axial > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 13:37

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I have a pair on the driver's side of my Corvette. On Corvettes, the hash marks were originally used on the 1963 Grand Sport cars to identify them on the track; the number of hash marks indicates the number of the car. They are only on the driver's side since they drove around the track clock-wise, the driver's side facing the stands and pit. The C4 Grand Sport has two hashes in the same location as a reference to this.

The C6 Grand Sport has hash marks on both sides, which doesn't make any sense from a heritage standpoint.

As for everybody else? No idea. Looks cool?

CalzoneGolem > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 13:47

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Dr_Watson > As Du Volant 09/05/2014 at 13:47

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yeah, he put a sticker on each mirror, it's pretty goofy. IIRC the license plate frame also has chrome skulls on it... But hey, I try not to judge individual taste too much. ;)

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 13:47

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it has something sarcastic or ironic to say

Dr_Watson > jlmounce 09/05/2014 at 13:49

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thanks! But didn't they have numbers on the cars?

Dr_Watson > CalzoneGolem 09/05/2014 at 13:50

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lol

CalzoneGolem > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 13:50

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Dodge Nitro Detonator FTW

Dr_Watson > nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul 09/05/2014 at 13:52

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if you put them on both sides I means your engine is "powerful"

BarryDanger > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 14:00

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shamelessly posting my old 510 :(

jlmounce > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 15:31

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When the Corvettes ran LeMans in the 60's, they did not. Interesting to note that the hash marks go a bit further back as well in the Lemans series. They were placed on the drive side so that drivers who raced both left and right drive cars knew which side of the car to run to.

Dr_Watson > jlmounce 09/05/2014 at 17:04

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lol ... Torch should do an article on the history of fender quotes.

Not sure why the challenger has them though, looked up the old trans-am series and it appears Mopar was running Darts and Cudas. And even then they only ran the first two seasons.

jlmounce > Dr_Watson 09/05/2014 at 17:44

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I can't find any solid history relating to the hashes and dodge products, but I've seen several posts on forums mentioning that some think it was originally dodge that was doing this. Again though, no sources that point to that. The double hash is currently the dodge logo of choice, so in that context, it makes sense.

Dr_Watson > jlmounce 09/05/2014 at 18:57

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yeah, I did some digging around after work and could only find solid history for the mustang (because Shelby cobras raced with them as they were mandated "FIA stripes" in the early 60's) and the Chevy connection explained to me here.

All Dodge connection seems related to hash branding that started when Ram broke off. So pure marketing there.

Even though I now know their official name is "FIA Stripes" I will of course keep calling them fender quotes because it sounds more fun. ;)