The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk License plate query

Folks -

Okay, got the '47 all registered and legal after paying $367 to the DMV...

Next - I'd like to put an old yellow and black 1947 license plate on the truck. The State of Cal call them "Year of Manufacture" plates; but the DMV droid couldn't tell me if I needed one or two plates - the default was two plates, but if legally, in '47, a commercial truck only needed a single plate, then that would be okay, but it was up to me to find out. So, helloooooooo 'Bolters!

Can any of you truckimotive historians (hysterians??) tell me what would have been "correct" back in '47? I can find a single plate easily; pairs of plates are VERY dear - I only found one set, for $550; that AIN'T gonna happen...

If any of you know of sources for old plates, I'd be interested in checking them out as well.

We're going to drive "Matilda" home today, and show this one-dog town some CLASS!

TIA,

John

Know anyone in the Big House? maybe they can make you one.I be from PA and I brought classic plates for $75.Never have to buy a plate again and if I sell the truck I can sell the plates also for 75 bucks or transfer them to another classic I buy.Not bad,that's about the only good thing left in PA.

Go by your public library and look in thier archives of old photos for 1947 and see if you can find front and rear views of a truck simular to yours.

Dave Hindman, buys, sells and trades California license plates. Call him with any questions concerning California plates. His site

(try Ebay)

Actually if you use this search "license plate california 1947" there's a lot of them.

its your truck do what you want. on my old trucks I only use 1 plate on the back and cops don't care.

Well -

Ho ho, I did this a little while ago and there were only one pair.... I hadn't checked in the last few days... D'oh!

John

I'm pretty sure the CA DMV will require both plates for 1947 YOM plates.

Knedert, Your question is answered here

Okay -

Looks like I can find plates, but my initial query remains, at least until I hear something from David Hindman.... Can anyone tell me if trucks required 2 plates in California back in 1947...

Thanks,

John

"1945 was the only year the [CA] DMV issued only 1 plate which continued to 1946 with a yellow tab for the 1945 plate. "

Knedert, if you would have taken the time to read the link in my post above you would have found out that you need front and rear plates for YOM no matter how old your vehicle is in California! I have YOM plates on my 53 3100 and yes, I had to have both plates. I am also in California.

YOM plate

AD-

Yes, thank you - I did go through the link and I appreciate the information; your remarks about the DMV and differing interpretations are spot-on. What I am telling you, is that when I asked the DMV lady if I needed 1 or 2 old plates, she said that it depended on what was issued with the truck back in 47. If it was issued with one plate, I can use a single plate. That, to me, is an opening - VERY rarely do things break in my favor, so....

All of this still takes me back to my original query - how the heck do I find out what the DMV did with trucks back in 1947.

I assume you have your truck registered commercial, is this correct? Did you have to get a pair of commercial plates, or were passenger car plates okay?

No disrespect to you for my continued queries; if I didn't make myself clear in the earlier posts, mea culpa...

John

No, I do not have commercial plates on my truck and it was the same back in the day. Commercial plates were for the purpose of loading and unloading. You could have commercial plates on a car.

Cars and trucks were treated the same as far as license plates were concerned. In 1947, CARS AND TRUCKS HAD TWO PLATES, FRONT AND REAR!

Knedert (John)

Good luck on your search for plates
Just for fun check out these guys. click They are expensive

I’ve had them make two plates for me. one is a wall hangar.

I would not suggest have some made up with your existing number



Don’t walk into DMV with them either...may end up in Big house making real ones

AD_Pickup
Beautiful truck in that link. YOM plates
I’m not 100% sure but the way the numbers and letter on that plate are configured signifies a California Commercial Plate

DADS50, those are 51 plates with a 53 tag. The commercial plates for the 1951 (used from 1951 thru 1955) plate had COM staked on the left side. Go here to see pics of California plates.

Interesting
A 1951 California non commercial is set up exactly like a current California commercial plates. Same number of digits and one letter.

Our truck definitely look better with the old plates

Hope our buddy up in lake county can find some YOM plates for MATILDA.

$367 bills to register a 1947 chevy truck...

Check out licenseplates.tv
They can reproduce about anything you can imagine and they can be used to run on your vehicle after you jump through the hoops for the folks at the DMV or courthouse where you are at. Reasonably priced, and they can make plates that are identical to any state you need.