A little while back I posted some pictures of 35 year old tabs I have. I know they're that old because they're from the interior of my 1972 Corvette. As well as most Corvette's made between 1963 and 1978 as far as I've been able to tell. There's some variations I've seen, some were made in black, etc. Who knows how many cars these were used on through the years....? Once again, here's mine.
While I was in Southern California I went to a place that sells parts for, does repairs and restorations on, and sells, old Corvette's. They do make some reproductions of the the fasteners. They are pretty shoddy though. Not nearly as substantial as the originals. Instead of the off-white color, they're black. Instead of a scalloped-out area where the screw/rivet would go through, they have pegs on the other side that I'm sure wouldn't work worth a crap unless they were glued in. The pattern of the pegs and the way they work is the same nonetheless.
They're really not like Velcro, they're more like the bristle blocks I played with as a kid. On the top of each stem is a ball, and if that ball isn't there, they don't work. When they are working right, it's a very strong connection. They go together with a loud snap, and take a good tug to pull them apart. These repro's don't work nearly as good however.
They're meant to be a semi-permanent connector, because if you are pulling them apart all the time the stems would break off I think. Now IF trimmed down versions of these, or slimmer versions made by the same company were used. Not only do I think they wouldn't survive the production, I think the stems would break off entirely after a while sitting in storage, being moved around and such and only leave little nubs. Like what we see on the 20th C.
I took one of the useless ones without the balls on the stems from the package and crudely cut them down with scissors. I've seen pictures before from the production of ANH that makes the tabs themselves look that off-white color. You can see the difference in color on the silver screws that are at the ends contrasting the white. You can also see the tiering of what looks like the stems sticking up as well. That's what I think I see anyway. If anyone has that clear pic please post it.
Jez, I used your pic of the 20th C tab impressions to put my pic into. If you want me to take it down just let me know. If you look closely, you can see the very same pattern of nubs on the 20th C impression. Is any of this important? Probably not. Thanks for listening to my ramblngs anyway.
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