Taking a shot in the dark. I have 2 original blue/gold CA plates from 1972. Looking to trade for anyone with plates from 1969.
Not sure if you are aware but If you are in CA you can purchase vanity plates in the yellow on black similar to original 1969 plates. Costs about $40 from the DMV and you get to choose the what you want on it.
You could always drag it through dirt and beat it up a bit if you wanted the vintage look.
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/wasapp/ipp2/initPers.do
Jay
1969 is the year California transitioned from the gold lettering black plates (with the number, ā63ā embossed in the upper right corner), to the gold lettering blue plates:
There are a few lists on-line which show the approximate distribution of sequence numbers for the black plates, for example:
1963 - AAA to Mxx were used during the first year.
1964 - M, N, O, P, Q, R (lots of overlap in 1964-65) plus a āyearā decal, i.e. 1964
1965 - N, O, P, Q, R (lots of overlap in 1964-65)
1966 - R, S, T
1967 - T, U, V
1968 - V, W, X
1969 - Y, Z
Original 1969 Black Plates (albeit normally beaten up) can be found on-line, starting with Y or Z.
I got totally lucky when I found my car 7+ years ago, it was one of the last '68 S1.5ās, and it still had the original California plates:
I found a guy who stripped down, straightened out, and restored both front and back plates to new condition;
You definitely have options.
Good luck with your search.
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Philip,
As Ed stated, black plates are easily found online from any number of sellers, from eBay to specialized plate vendors/restorers.
Without getting too pedantic, Iāll add some context to his list of issue sequence:
In 63, CA sent major DMVs their initial blocks of the new black plates. For instance, where Iām from, Midway City, our DMV was issued the block of GUZ-GWF. We were a small farming town then and no way went through that many numbers in 63. So there was certainly carry-over into 64 and probably beyond. Once larger cites went through their initial allotment, plates would have come directly from Sacramento (I assume that is until they received their next allotment). But then things get murky. For instance, my MKII was originally sold in San Diego in the latter part of 1964. Its original plates were UOC xxx.
Now, as long as the plates are original and have the correct year sticker (69 in your case), the DMV will register them after validation. So if strict originality is not a concern, you can get any set of black plates.
Hope this helps.
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Definitely an option, but the original issue black plates had a sequence of three letters, a space, and three numbers. XXX 111
DMV wonāt issue a new black plate with that type of sequence, so you canāt get a new black plate that looks like an original issue black plateā¦
May not be a big deal, but the OP might want the more original look
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āYou could always drag it through dirt and beat it up a bit if you wanted the vintage look.ā
I wish there was a laugh emoji!
I donāt know how deep Iām willing to go. My car came with Blue plates on it, from either the first or second owner. The only issue is the sticker on the front plate is from 72.
I know I can get any plate I want, but donāt really need to bother unless I can find one with the 69 sticker.
I am just saying that you can buy black plates, and then buy a 1969 California Year of Manufacture (YOM) DMV Registration Sticker.
For that matter, you could probably just buy 1969 YOM stickers, and put them on your existing blue plates.
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Year stickers are readily available for about $20.
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When you are drafting your post, scan the options bar across the top of the input window for various icons (B for bold; I for Italics, etc). The third icon from the right is a smiley face; clicking on it will give you a bazillion options
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Thanks Ed. I didnāt know you could do that.
One thing that I canāt answer is the proper way to place these stickers.
There are two rectangular boxes on these plates, clearly seen in my pictures above, one on each side of the embossed āCALIFORNIAā.
Current California rules tell us to put a one-time, āMonthā sticker in the left box, indicating which month of the year the current registration expires. And the right box is used for the annual registration sticker, indicating the year of registration. So, my current plate has, āJULā and ā2022ā stickers, indicating that my current registration expires the end of July, 2022.
So the question is, what do we do with our YOM stickers?
I attached my pink 1968 YOM sticker in the right rectangle to show the DMV when I first bought the car and transferred the registration to me. And then I literally covered it with the annual sticker. So, for my back plate, you canāt see the pink YOM sticker.
I donāt have my front plate attached to the car. I guess I could put the other pink YOM in the right box for that plate, whether I attach it to the car or notā¦
That I know the answer to. The YOM sticker goes on the front plate. The rear plate is for current registration stickers.
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Actually, the DMV should give you two metal tabs when you register the YOM plates:
For black plates, the YOM sticker should go on the right-hand indent. Philip, I think your version is an alternate method stated on the DMV form.
They probably wonāt let you register the plate unless the year sticker is affixed at the time of application/verification. Although, police donāt seem to be too fussy about how you actually display them. I have the tabs in the glove box with the registration. So from the outside, my car looks like it was last registered in 64 !!
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Ya mean, like this?
Or this?
Or this?
I try to laugh, every day!
Oops! I see @Craig_Balzer beat me to it! Theres my first LotD!
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