"Year of Manufacture" license plates...using original antique plates....

[squidtone]

Hiya Jeepers.
I just bid on some 1950 license plates for my Jeep. Not sure if I'll "win" them, but I plan on getting a set of old plates sometime to put on my Jeep.
One reason is that I like the look of original style license plates for old vehicles. Connecticut is kind of cool because in 1950, the size was not the standard 6 x 12" size we are familiar with today, rather they were 6 x 9.5" in size and even more interesting was the use of a small 3 tab metal plate indicating year with two digits. In connectictut, you are allowed to use "year of manufacture" plates as long as you bring them in for inspection to a DMV first. You fill out a form, they inspect, and if all is okay, you can bolt them onto your vehicle. You must keep your current plates and registration in the vehicle however (I run new "antique" plates which are ugly, so I'll stow them in the toolbox).

Soooo, all this leads up to my questions: Who here has done this?
Who here has "restored" tired old license plates?

If the plates I scavenge are in tough shape I hope to restore them....just looking for tips and tricks. Apparently even in 1950 CT used reflective paints....(CT was leading edge on license plates seemingly...they also pioneered aluminum plates in the 30's).

I'll post pics when I get a set of old plates....

[aboyandhisdog]

Dave, I haven't had to restore mine but I do have 1949 plates that I bought from a guy here in Colorado who sells them.  No idea where he finds them.  The plates I bought ($75 about 9 years ago) were in almost like new condition, however the paints they used back then were only good for one year I think, as it is not thick or very durable.  I sprayed them down with a few coats of a satin clear and they have held up well even being on the jeep full time and in some occasionally rough conditions.  If you do some searching you might be able to find a collector of the old CT. plates who will sell you some.  Good luck!

[squidtone]

I got the plates today. They are beat up pretty good, but certainly fixable to a decent level. Not bad for 15 bucks. I can't quite tell if they ever had clear coat, but there is evidence of it where the screw heads protected those patches. The black paint on the embossing did not have clear coat, so I'm guessing the raw, unstamped plates were clear coated, then stamped, then painted black on the embossing only. I don't think there was reflective beads used. The "year tags"  are these neat 3 tab stampings installed by bending the tabs back. Obviously "56" isn't what I want, so I searched for a picture on the web of a "50", copied it, and made a dxf file to machine up a pair. I have to go to the DMV to fill out a form in person and show them the plates in order to use them.

[squidtone]

Well I was wrong. Forensic evidence shows that the whole plate was covered with reflective clear. But it's 99 percent gone. But I found traces on the black painted edge, letters, and the biggest patch under the screw head location. It seems like the paint binder turned yellow, cracked and fell off mostly. I have an old scope and I put my phone camera up to the eyepiece and you can see the little beads in the remaining patches. So I'll probably just straighten these as best I can and repaint everything and put rustoleum reflective clear paint coating on them.
Wikipedia has pages and pages of all the US states license plates used from the beginning til now. Kinda interesting in a nerdy kind of way.

[Chuck W.]

In Alabama, if you register the vehicle as a Vintage Vehicle and have the Vintage Vehicle plate, you are allowed to display an original year of manufacturer plate on the vehicle. The issued Vintage Vehicle plate must be with the vehicle, but you don't need to display it. I could not find an antique plate like I wanted, so I had one made:

I've never had a problem and, although I carry the Vintage Vehicle plate in the tool box, I have never been asked to show it.

[squidtone]

I've finished the plates and got them installed on my Jeep.
I spent WAAAAY too much time doing bodywork to the plates to straighten them: dent removal, sanding, filler, primer, glaze work, crazy masking, and painting.
I also milled a set of "50" 3 tab tags to put into the black field. The year tags are 0.010" aluminum which was easy enough to machine up in a CNC machine using a picture from the internet for the "font". I painted the year tags the correct green color.
I bought glass reflective beads to coat a wet clear coat (which is apparently how they coated the plates back in the day). It turns out the glass beads kind of turn the whole plate into a "matte" finish which I actually don't like. I preferred the finish before I did that treatment. But I do want them to look "stock" so I can get the DMV to give them a "thumbs up" to use them on my vehicle.
But, the DMV has been closed for two months, and I was tired of waiting to get them inspected. so I just said forget it, I'm putting them onto my Jeep. I'm pleased with the old school look. I took a nice drive around today which was nice because we've had a horrible spring so far....cold, snow, and very late awakening of flowers and tree buds.
Maybe when things get better I'll actually bring them to the DMV to get official, but I don't think anyone will hassle me.

Stay safe!

Dave