[Bill H]

Originally Posted by mlewisariz

Just an observation, spent this weekend in so'cal and it seems that the new black plates are all personalized and don't interfere with the old black plate system of letters/numbers. Also in the days of black plates there were no personalized plates to my knowledge.

It may look that way but not all the new black plates are personalized. They also have sequential number & letter plates. I have a set on my Truck, (B340L0).
DMV will mail you the sequential plates, the others have to be picked up at a DMV office. And a quick note:The new black plates cost an extra $40.00 every year due upon paying your registration.It's the California way $$$$$$$$$$$$$

[OG68]

Originally Posted by JC455

The part I don't get is why you need a YOM sticker? In CA, the MONTH of registration goes on the top left box, and the YEAR goes on the top right. As soon as your first renewal comes around, you'd place a 64 sticker over the 63 stamping. Then a 65 over the 64 sticker, then a 66 over the 65 sticker... and so on... So why do you need a YOM sticker?
Every CA black plate I've owned has a 63 embossed into the upper RH box, even if it was a 68 plate letter/number sequence.
To me, it'd be a simple matter of
A) Are the plates NOT registered to another vehicle?
B) Are the plates in good physical condition?
C) Is the car being registered a 63-70 vehicle?
If these three are all yes, use the plates.
I know in some states that the plates are owned by the individual and you register the plates, so they can be transferred to different vehicles, but that's not how it works in CA.

It's probably one of those technicalities written into the law to satisfy some law enforcement agency or county DA. Which is why it doesn't make any sense to the common Joe.

Personalized plates belong to the individual in CA. I've had mine on a half dozen cars/trucks. When I sell one I pull the plates and put them on my next car. You can actually keep them as wall art. or give as a gift. To reserve the lettering you need to pay $25 year IIRC, if not on a vehicle.

The new black plates are a form of vanity plates (Lake Tahoe, Save the Whales, Veterans etc). But instead of your yearly fee going to the charity that sponsored the plate (and tax deductible) the money goes to the state. Not tax deductible.

[hgerhardt]

Originally Posted by 60sstuff

This is exactly what I did (as the local DMV in Fremont instructed me to do) in 2015 for my 1965 GTO that I purchased from NJ.
I found a set of corresponding (for a 1965) Black / Yellow plates that had a 1965 “sticker” on it.
They all have a 63 “stamped”, but it’s the correct sticker they are looking for..

Chris.

All the sticker means is the year in which the registration expires. So every year you sent in your renewal you got a new sticker with the expiration year.

Also, sometime in the mid-70's, CA DMV started the Month stickers to be placed on the LH side, which was the expiration month. Before the Month stickers came into being, you just alternated LH-RH placement of the Year sticker.

SO, for a '65 GTO that was first sold in '64, the first sticker that would have ever been attached would have been a 1965. If the car had been sold after Jan 1 '65, it would have had a 1966 sticker as its first one.

Also, for the Black plates anyway, that was the last series that replaced ALL previous plates. (The 1962 and earlier were yellow with black lettering). In 1963, CA DMV sent every registered owner a new set of black plates to replace the previous ones. Since they started with the oldest cars, you'll see Model T's, etc, with 'A' plates. I had a '59 Ford which started with 'I'. Bart mentioned that his '64's had 'O' as first letter. My '66's had 'S' and 'T' as 1st letters.

[60sstuff]

This is how it’s done correctly to satisfy the DMV and Law enforcement.

The “first year” of registration (sticker) is to be in the upper RH corner.
Aluminum tabs for current month / year stickers.

1965
1966

[92GTA]

When I did mine I just bought the year sticker for 69 off eBay and put it on there.

What sucks is they won't let you reproduce ANY original black/yellow plate with the new black/yellow plates even if it doesn't show active in the system anymore. I tried to get my original plates done in the new black/yellows (didn't have the plates but had the original registration card) and they refused so I had to find a plate that just started with the same 3 letter combo to make myself happy. Took me 3 trips to the CA DMV over 9 months and paying the fee twice for them to get the YOM process correct. They are absolute freakin idiots that work there, and I said it to their face the last time. In the end, they even jacked up the month my renewal was up causing to have to pay a late fee on my registration when I figured it out (because of COURSE they didn't mail me a renewal). CA DMV employees are FULL RETARDS.

[NEW64OWNER]

Originally Posted by mlewisariz

Just an observation, spent this weekend in so'cal and it seems that the new black plates are all personalized and don't interfere with the old black plate system of letters/numbers. Also in the days of black plates there were no personalized plates to my knowledge.

Calif started personalized plates with the blue plates, so yes, no original black plates were ever personalized. Personalized blue plates are fairly rare as we didn't have the internet and most didn't even know this was available

[b-man]

Originally Posted by NEW64OWNER

Calif started personalized plates with the blue plates, so yes, no original black plates were ever personalized. Personalized blue plates are fairly rare as we didn't have the internet and most didn't even know this was available

Bought this set of plates back in 1984 after purchasing this 1956 bus in Washington state and bringing it home.



The bus sat pretty much abandoned by my youngest brother (I sold it to him in the late ‘80s) in the backyard at my folks house for over a quarter century, plenty long enough for the vehicle records and personalized plates to drop off the DMV computer system.

I retook possession of the bus recently, brought it back to life and then headed to my local AAA office to transfer the title back into my name. The same plates were luckily still available so I ponied up my fifty bucks.

I’m happy to have them on the bus again. It identifies the 36 horsepower 1200 engine used from 1954 through 1960, those of us in the old VW hobby understand. Whoever might happen to be behind me in traffic might also get the meaning when I’m accelerating at a snails pace.

Rolling roadblock indeed.

[MUSLCAH]

Originally Posted by TAKerry

Same with my car in MD, I have new antique car plates that I carry in the trunk, but I have YOM tags on the car, they are MD tags however, I cant say for fact but I cant imagine in my wildest dreams that Maryland would let us run out of state tags.

You Nevah know...till you try. What state would be your choice ?

[brut4s]

Originally Posted by Jim Perez

I copied the below info from another thread where I showed my car with plates.
1965 GTO, some thought my plates were not original, starting with "C"
FYI....My car was bought in Salinas California Dec, 1965 by my dad (original owner) The other black plate (MOL 504) is from my 65 Mustang.

Jim


"Also, a "C" prefix black plate is an actual 1963 plate, usually seen on older cars. Most 1965 Cars in CA have an N,O, P, Q, or R prefix. The smaller the town, less dense the population, (like Salinas in the '60's) would have a DMV that had plates that were 2-3 years old being issued to new cars. We had a '64 Ford that had the plate "MXH-xxx". This is a newer plate than Jims, but the car was a Bay Area car (lot's of people)Had a friend who had a '67 Lemans and his plate was "ATL-xxx". The car was from some place like Modoc county, which has a very low population, so it was issued the plates that they had sitting around: 4 year old plates. Just some trivia........."

My 65 starts with DAL. Yes original plates to the car. Maybe larger populated areas went thru the alphabet faster than others.

[TAKerry]

Originally Posted by MUSLCAH

You Nevah know...till you try. What state would be your choice ?

Confusion

[MUSLCAH]

If your Car was from Arizona..... but not a cool as a Black Plate from California...

[MUSLCAH]

So B-Man.......did you spray a coat of clear....to lock in the Patina on the Bus ?

[b-man]

Originally Posted by MUSLCAH

So B-Man.......did you spray a coat of clear....to lock in the Patina on the Bus ?

No, just went over the whole bus with TR-3 Resin Glaze.

The original Dove Blue paint on the dash and inside the cab is cherry. Originally I bought the glaze to polish up the dash but I decided to do the entire outside as well to brighten up the paint and preserve the patina, I’m happy with it as it sits right now.

[hgerhardt]

Originally Posted by brut4s

My 65 starts with DAL. Yes original plates to the car. Maybe larger populated areas went thru the alphabet faster than others.

Those plates could have come from a DMV field office instead of the usual channels of a dealer registering a new car. Each field office has a stash of plates to give out over-the-counter for things like re-registration to a new owner, or out-of-state car getting registered in CA. And that stash could have been sitting at the office for a year before your car got them.

Just saying that's a possibility which would make sense given the letter combination you have on your '65.

[brut4s]

I bought my 65 from the original owner. The car was built and sold in Fremont never left the Bay area. I figure just typical government crap. There is no logical reasoning why they do what they do. LOL!

[geeteeohguy]

Originally Posted by MUSLCAH

Attachment 520005...

B-Man.....would this be correct for my 64 GP.....it came with the car.

Yep. Our '64 Ford had the plate MXH 962.....I've had several cars of that era and they all had L, M, or N for the prefix. There ARE inconsistencies, though. Had a friend with a '67 LeMans With an 'ATL 000' plate.....but it was initially registered in Alturas or Modoc counties, with very small populations, slow DMV's, and overstock of '63 issue plates. The new black plates look great, but are easy to tell from the real ones. The real plates have smaller font on California, and have less yellow and thinner font for the letters and numbers.

[hgerhardt]

Originally Posted by geeteeohguy

........The real plates have smaller font on California, and have less yellow and thinner font for the letters and numbers.

The real (original) black plates had wider font than the modern ones because back then there were only 6 digits. Today there are 7, so they had to make the letters/numbers narrower to cram them all in.

[geeteeohguy]

Originally Posted by hgerhardt

The real (original) black plates had wider font than the modern ones because back then there were only 6 digits. Today there are 7, so they had to make the letters/numbers narrower to cram them all in.

I disagree. Look at a real plate and a new plate side by side. The new plates have a lot more yellow on them due to the slightly wider font.

[MUSLCAH]

As of today....iam 100% legal to display my original to the car ..California Black Plates proudly in the great state of New Hampshire....” Live Free or Die “ .... now the car looks Bad Azz ...

[NYGTO]

That's amazing to me given the amount of regulation and red tape especially from where I'm from.
Looks great and it's nice to see it's possible.