Ok so I have two project trucks without titles, so I need to try and get a title and was just wondering if I should be looking for a specific plate for my truck. I have 2 53 f100s and am considering a really clean 56 f600 with an excellent sheetmetal that currently has black plates on it with a clean title. The idea may be use the cab/hood and vin/reg on one of the 53 f100s to get a clean title and the "cool" black plates as well. Or would the black plates off of an f 600 show it was something other than a f100

Should a original ca 53 truck have black plates or do should they have YOM yellow plates.

 

Sorry in Ca you'll be made to put a commercial plate on it unless you show up at DMV with a camper on it then you can get an RV plate. Take the VIN to DMV and have them do a title search. They will verify that the truck is not in the system (not been registered in a number of years I forget hoe many) This will put the truck on record as being in your posession. When the truck can be driven it needs to go to DMV for VIN verification. Once verified DMV will issue plates and title. I'm in the process with my 63 Ranchero right now. If you have a friend at DMV like I do they can come to you to do the verification while the truck is nonop.

 

Street Rodder magazine has been doing a series of articles on registering a hot rod or kit car with emphasis on procedures in CA. Next month's issue is supposed to cronicle their experiences with registering a T-bucket kit car. One thing they said was to download all the forms off the internet and take them to the State trooper for your area that handles those type registrations and be sure to ask him which DMV office to go to that is experienced with the procedures. Not all are and those that aren't can end up causing you a lot of grief.

 

Cobra has some excellent info. To add to this, in 53-56, the CA plate was yellow with black letters. The black plate with yellow letters came around 65-70 something, then changed to the blue with yellow, etc.

 

The CA. Lic Plate used on the '53 is more of a Thinner & Wider Oblong shape than the standardized '56 rectangle plate that replace it & both are Yellow w/ Black letters.
The CA. Black Plate w/ Yellow letters came out in '62 .
The first time I remember seeing the CA. Blue Lic. plate was on GrandMama's '72 Runabout Hatchback, but that's neither here, nor there.

 

You didn't ask this specifically, but if any of your trucks does not have a VIN plate on it, you can probably find the VIN on the top of the frame. I found the one from my 1956 F100 on the passenger side of the frame just rearward of the firewall.

 

One other thing to add DMV prefers a frame or firewall stamping to glove box or door tag. They will many times ask if you can show them where it is. I've taken several vehicles by DMV on a trailer and showed the frame stamp and gotten no further questions. Rich

 

Here in AZ you can file for an abandoned title. For a fee an inspector will come out and verify the VIN or ID#. Then a search will be made for a previous owner, if they can be located. They will be asked if they wish to give up ownership or not. If they want no part of it, it will be yours.

 

Laws vary a lot from state to state. Here in NH you don't need a title for anything over 10 years old but registration can still be a hassle without one. My truck had not been registered since the early 80s and all I got with it was a bill of sale. I had to have an authorized person (in my case a salesman at a car dealership) physically look at the VIN on the truck (the plate on the back of my glove box lid) and sign a form verifying it. After that, getting plates was a piece of cake. I still don't have a title but I don't need one.

 

Thanks for the input guys, So in California were the Year of manufacture plates, the yellow with black letters superceded by the black plates, as in you traded in your Yellow plate for a black one? Or would an original CA truck registerd since 53 still be using the yellow plate or at some point would it of gotten the black plates?

 

To my knowledge, a car keeps its plates regardless. You would need to pull some pretty fancy tricks to get those black plates on your truck. I havent seen a yellow plate ever (lived on the east coast for a long, long time) but that doesn't mean that some car doesn't have em. Wait for a guy who knows plates, but you can believe the junk I say for now

 

well it appears from this site the yellow plates were updated to the black ones.

http://www.calpl8s.com/cgi-bin/show....&cat=passenger

But it looks like you can use yellow plates now but you have to get the exact year of servicable plates, I imagine repops would work and it looks like you would have to pay extra fees like personalized plates.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=42092

The yellow plates would be cool, but I will probably just use whatever the dmv gives me.

 

As a native Californian, I can tell you that the yellow plates were the original issue. I still see them around at cruise nights. They would not be changed to the black plates, even for re-registering. The truck would keep the original plate.

California didn't come up with the idea of personalized plates until the early 70's. They were initially only offered in the blue with yellow letters/numbers that were the standard then. It wasn't until some time in the late 80's that the scenic and white plates were available as personalized ones. There is a whole selection of personalized plate formats available now.

The availability of these custom/nostalgia plates is all new stuff to me. I like it. Now, you won't know if a yellow or black plate is original or a repop.

 

Repro plates are frowned upon, as the DMV prefers Original Issue plates that the vehicle owner has purchased from a Lic Plate Collector or other private source, as long as they come up clear when they run them through the system to cheque on that to see if they been stolen or other problems might exist w/ them.

 

If you really want the yellow and black issue plates, sometimes you can find them on ebay or swap meets. I prefer the custom plates myself but I have heard several hot rod buddies who purchased the plates then go to DMV and order custom plates with the same plate number as the yellow original ones. Then when your custom plate arrives simply put the yellow plate on. When the police run the plate it will show registered to you and a 56 truck. You need to find a yellow plate where the numbers will work. Why do I give you guys all these great tips? LOL...