Friday, October 15, 2004

1937 California License Plates for the Truck!



Scored a PAIR of 1937 California Commercial License Plates that are "clear" with CA DMV - now registered to the 1937 Dodge Commercial Panel truck to complete the vehicle's historical authenticity. The lettering on 1937 CA license plates originally is an orange matching "Pantone 1385C", but quickly fades to a lighter orange matching "Pantone 138C". Verification to "Pantone 1385C" was matched to a NOS 1937 CA license plate - consider this reference when restoring or repainting vintage 1937 CA license plates.
(Note: The "P" = Pneumatic Tires; the "C" = Commercial License, however neither the "P" or the "C" are part of the registered license number.)

Year-of-manufacture (YOM) license plates can be re-registered back to any vehicle in California provided that:
~ A matched pair of California license plates must be obtained (a single plate will not work).
~ The pair of CA license plates must be of the same year as the YOM of the vehicle (as noted on the CA Title for that vehicle) and the plates must be legible.
~ The letter/number sequence on the matched pair of plates must be "clear" in the California DMV registration system - that no other vehicle currently has that letter/number sequence assigned to it (DMV checks your request against all currently registered cars, trucks, motorcycles, "exempt" vehicles, emergency vehicles, etc.).
~ It is STRONGLY advised that any "clear" plates be IMMEDIATELY registered to the vintage vehicle at any local DMV office . . . . before the desired letter/number sequence may coincidently be assigned to someone else's vehicle (rendering your vintage license plates ineligible for registration).
~ Before you buy any matched pair of vintage California license plates, make sure for yourself that they are "clear" (do not rely on the Seller's word). Call the California DMV "Special Processing Unit" in Sacramento at: (916) 657-7654 . . . they will verify whether or not your desired letter/number sequence is "clear".

Note: ALL California license plates issued before 1964 are considered "private property" (re: can be freely sold). However, ALL California license plates issued in 1964 and after are considered "state property" and could be confiscated if brought to any DMV office (re: per CA DMV code) . . . just be aware of this.