CA license plates

[2761377]

believe there to be an amendment bill to this section in the ca assembly. this will make the cutoff year 1969. not 100% sure i heard about it this session or the last.

e-mail your all your ca. representatives- if the bill died last session, maybe we can re-awaken it. revise the cutoff to 1975.

rj

[khaledejaz]

e46slc

Pls!! I would love to have them! I can definitely pay for the shippin

[khaledejaz]

Man, ton of info. Thanks guys! I hope I can get a set of plates from someone and slap em on to mine. I still have to transfer the title of my car. I have already taken the car apart and done so much. She will probably get a new paint job before she gets registered, looks like.

Bay area people: I am new to this forum. I think it would be cool if we all try to meet once a month for Saturday/Sunday 4 breakfast/brunch. What do you all think? (Will be my chance to meet some of you 2).

Just last week I was going to downtown SJ to a body shop. As I was driving on San Carlos, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a 02 (beige) right behind me! I waived but I think he didn't notice. What a coincidence!

[khaledejaz]

Man, ton of info. Thanks guys! I hope I can get a set of plates from someone and slap em on to mine. I still have to transfer the title of my car. I have already taken the car apart and done so much. She will probably get a new paint job before she gets registered, looks like.

Bay area people: I am new to this forum. I think it would be cool if we all try to meet once a month for Saturday/Sunday 4 breakfast/brunch. What do you all think? (Will be my chance to meet some of you 2).

Just last week I was going to downtown SJ to a body shop. As I was driving on San Carlos, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a 02 (beige) right behind me! I waived but I think he didn't notice. What a coincidence!

[ingraham]

I know of a 1959 and a 1960 car with original yellow on black plates AHG633 and AHN149.

[Guest Anonymous]

California plates have always been issued in sequence - up through the end of the black/yellow plate series that ran out in '68-69, all series started with AAA 000; also through the same black/yellow series, CA replaced the plates on all vehicles that were registered in the state when a plate series ran out. The end result was that a fair percentage of the new series was issued immediatly when the new plates came out, so cars coming in from out of state after the change-over (and newly sold cars) started with plates well up into the middle of the alphabet.

When the black plates with yellow letters replaced the last series of yellow with black in 1962 I was about 15, and got the job of changing plates on my folk's 55 Rambler and '58 Plymouth wagon - the DMV mailed us two new sets of plates, and we just threw away the old ones. More than a few people hung their old plates on a nail in the garage (I remember my grandfather having 4 or 5 sets), which is where most of the pre '62 plates come from.

Since the black plates were never replaced, black plates are still considered a current plate series by the DMV, which is why they don't fall under the YOM program, and why regular series plates are not eligible to be assigned to any vehicle other than the one they were originally issued to.

There are two exceptions I know of - the PP plates f1 referred to, and ham radio call letter plates. As far as I know, these two series were the ONLY California plates issued to an individual rather than being assigned to a specific vehicle, and as such can be moved to any vehicle registered to the person to whom the plate is issued. Since last of the black plates was issued at the end of the 60's, anyone getting one of those plates had to be at least 16 years old in 1968 or 69 (nearly 40 years ago now), so as us old guys die off, the reassignable black plates will die with us.

One other issue that might be of interest - so far, I don't think CA has outlawed the restoration of license plates, and there are a number of companies around that will restore old plates to "as new" condition. Some of them will also create a replacement if a plate is beyond saving or one is missing, so if you have ONE correct, original plate, it's still possible to wind up with a pair. There's another facet to this area, too - the first "vanity" plates in California were issued during the "blue plate" era, so it's not impossible to get a vanity plate in a current series, then get a plate restoration company to "recreate" a set of blue plate "duplicates". Legally questionable, but doable.

[f1reverb]

had black ones, K6TSZ, on his car until the mid-90s when he got disabled plates because of my mom. My blue PP plates are still in essentially mint condition. You have to be careful when you wax as the paint on those plates isn't the thickest and you could rub the yellow lettering off if you use a cleaner wax too aggressively. The recreation of a second plate if you can't find it probably is a good idea, as if a cop tickets you the DMV will confiscate your plate if there is only one and give you a new set with new letter/number combo.

Oh yeah, any of you New Jersey '02ers need proper NJ vintage plates? I still have the original NJ plates that came with my '69 1600-2 when I bought it in December 1972.

[Guest Anonymous]

If you want to be correct, you want blue plates with yellow lettering. You can get a set made for you at WWW.Licenseplates.tv. They are about $75 but you'll have to have them sent to another state, like to a friend then sent to you. This gets the maker out of harms way in California. When your renewall comes due, swap the sticker to the new blue plate. No worries, my hot rodder friends do it all the time.

[Vroomer]

1969 ended the Black base/yellow text plates and started the Blue/Yellow. My 2002 was originally sold in May 1969.