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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Restored License Plate

Washington State allows for the use of restored license plates on cars over 30 years old. The plate must be the same year as the car.

I had been toying with the idea of picking up a 1959 license plate for the Mistress*. In researching Washington State plates I learned that up until the mid-60’s license plates were issued with the first letter of the plate designating the issuing county. So initially I thought I should be looking for a “K” plate for my county (King).

There are plenty of plates to choose from on eBay, but I this one caught my eye. It came from Lewis County.

I was able to register the plate this afternoon. It was accepted as is. The condition of the plate is a perfect complement to the condition of the car, a bit scruffy but passable.

John

*So named because she receives more gifts and attention than the wife.


John Backman

Good find John! Couldn't be more appropriate. Cheers - Dave
DW DuBois

John, I've never seen a plate in the US that didn't have the year stamped on it. Did the color designate the issue year in Washington state? Interesting....
George G.

I also have a plate from the year my car was made. "1962" I was told the plate must ALSO have the "stick on tab" from the same year. Much harder to find a good tab. My plate is green with white lettering. The tab is also green with white #s. Best deal in town to have that and not have to register the car every year.

Quite a few years back we were visiting the Cayman Islands. On a walk into town we ended up in front of the Department of Licensing building where I bought a used plate with the numbers "62 652" on it. I don't know if the 62 designated the year of the car or if it was from 1962. The plate is in good condition with no sign of any tab ever affixed to it,so maybe every year a new plate was issued and 652 was the sixth hundred and fifty second car on the Island. I have it mounted on the front plate bracket,sitting on the shelf in my house. I always have been tempted to put it on the car to what reactions I get.

Ray Ammeter

Yes Ray, I forgot about those tabs. That allowed the license plate to be used for several years I guess. In the '50's and '60's, Illinois issued a new plate every year, with a different color. I have a complete set of those, and from the '40's (soybean based cardboard was used during the war years). Metal tabs designating the year are found on ebay often.
George G.

Connecticut has a similar "year of manufacture" regulation. I switched over to the use of a 1962 license plate (set of 2) I found on Ebay; they were in almost perfect condition. 1962 was the last full year that CT used aluminum metal tabs to signify the registration end date; self adhesive tabs were brought into use in 1963. I see very few YOM plates in use here; but I prefer the look to the "classic car" plate the State offers.





Nick Kopernik

New York also allows period correct antique license plates as well. The caveats are, the plate must be in keeping with the time frame of the car's manufacture, IE: in the sixties the plates were blue with yellow numbering, in the seventies it was orange with blue numbering. The eighties were white with blue numbering.

You can also get , for an extra fee, a "vanity plate" which you can choose what you want for your plate number provided it is not already taken. I chose my initials G N H. So the plate was orange with blue lettering. The state jacked the fees way up, so when it was time to renew I re-registered the car and stuffed the G N H plates in my tool box for years.

Fast forward to the 21st century with my 79 MGB, I called DMV to inquire about re-registering the MGB with the G N H plates. For a fee of course, you can have it your way. The rules of the game are, you can only use the car for display events and not as a daily driver and the plate cannot be restored. If it is tattered, it goes on the car that way. NAHH!!!

So I just swap the plates out when I display the car at events

Cheers

Gary
79 MGB

gary hansen

George,

In Washington State the base plates were issued from 1958 to 1962 did not have the year stamped but used a stick-on tag. In 1963 the year was stamped and Washington was shortened to Wash. The shortened state name created such an uproar that in 1965 the state legislature enacted a law requiring the state name to be fully spelled out on license plates.

http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/sphistory.html

Ray,

I registered my plate at the county licensing office (as opposed to a private licensing agent). The clerk was not totally unfamiliar with the process, but it did seem that I was doing more telling than asking. She asked if the plate was the same year as the car and took my word for it. Really glad that I didn't have to find a year sticker. I should add that I already had a generic, but modern antique car plate. That plate does not have a year sticker.

http://staff.washington.edu/islade/counties/index.htm

Another bonus for our LBC's is the fact that no front plate is required in this state.

One last thing that I almost forgot about but noticed a reminder on the DOL web site. One needs to change the license registration for toll passes (Good-to-Go in Washington).

John
John Backman

John,
Years ago I was told the population of each county dictated the letter designation on the plate. Such that King county with the highest population was given "A". Placing less populated counties well down the alphabet. The letter "Y" was given to Jefferson County. I didn't find on the web page how each county was assigned a letter, but it may have been the population.

Ray
Ray Ammeter

This thread was discussed between 10/02/2016 and 11/02/2016

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