saw this at our grocery store today

I'm thinking of making up business cards with the SOC website and my name and/or screen name for the SOC and leave them on cars when I see them. You could put something on it asking them to join the forum if they're not members or even contact you for outings etc.  This way other members will know who you are and we might possibly get others to join thereby making our little group even bigger.

I'm in my 50's, and have only seen a 356 maybe 3 times in my life (other than at car shows).

Of all the "kit" cars, I have probably seen 200 cobras to every 356 I have seen.

And I have only seen 1 550 spyder.

Come to Carlisle and you'll see a bunch of 356s and 550s.

I would sure like to know how they got that 56 plate. CA DMV allows you to use Year of Manufacture plates. That VW is certainly not a 56 pan. CA does not make yellow replica plates either only black. They must of somehow got it registered as a 56 whatever. My VW pan is a 63 so I can use a black 63 plate, which would actually be correct as the yellow plates were all recalled when the black ones were issued. 

@Kahuna

If you know someone at DMV, it's amazing what you can get done...

Ted

It's all about the title first, not the registration. 

I don't know how it happened, but after being built by Henry in 2005, passing through two owners and two states and then a third transferred to Henry's USA rep, my Intermeccanica's paperwork morphed from showing IM as the manufacturer to showing Porsche. The title transferred to me stated "1959 Porsche."

Transferring title to Pennsylvania was a piece of cake. No questions asked by PennDOT. And thanks to PA's year of manufacturer law, she wears an original 1959 PA license plate.

My replica MG TD is titled as a 1952 MG TD. How I accomplished that is a story best told over an adult beverage or two on the back porch of the Mechanicsburg Courtyard Marriott...and not one to put in writing.

majorkahuna posted:

I would sure like to know how they got that 56 plate. CA DMV allows you to use Year of Manufacture plates. That VW is certainly not a 56 pan. CA does not make yellow replica plates either only black. They must of somehow got it registered as a 56 whatever. My VW pan is a 63 so I can use a black 63 plate, which would actually be correct as the yellow plates were all recalled when the black ones were issued. 

What I did was ordered the new 63 plate offered by CA DMV. My dads old plate number from his 58 coupe was available so that is what I used with the "I" replacing the 1. Then I ordered a custom 56 plate with that configuration from a guy in MA.

I would post a pic of it but this new web portal  doesn't allow me to use the [IMG] url format. It's a bummer.

majorkahuna posted:

I would sure like to know how they got that 56 plate. CA DMV allows you to use Year of Manufacture plates. That VW is certainly not a 56 pan. CA does not make yellow replica plates either only black. They must of somehow got it registered as a 56 whatever. My VW pan is a 63 so I can use a black 63 plate, which would actually be correct as the yellow plates were all recalled when the black ones were issued. 

Here's how it works:

The black/yellow plates are good for vehicles from 1956-1962. The plate that is on the car is supposed to a reg sticker that matches the year of the pan. My car is built on a 1960 pan so I found blk/ylw plates with a 1960 sticker on it and had them assigned to my car. I could have taken the 1960 sticker off once I finished the reg process but that would technically be in violation of the YOM rules. If there is no year sticker on his plate it may be a 1956 pan or he just took it off.

I believe U can get any black/yellow plate  for any year car now, i see new cars with the plates, they have changed the rules...i was going to get my personalized plates on my 370Z changed but they want my plates back and drive with a red sticker in back window for 4 months,, no thanks.

When I ordered my custom plates I didn't have to surrender my old ones until the new ones came in.

im waiting for the soccer mom minivan to pull up NEXT to it and unload the kids:}

In WA, if you have YOM plates in your vintage car it limits how it can be inspired/ driven, I took a different approach.

- during a trip to Spain I found/purchased from the DOT for 20euros the vintage plates for a July 1957 speedster. ( originally owned my by grandfather, then father).... In Spain old plates can only be used for show, so all road worthy cars need to display modern plates. (or get a collector special license dispensation, only allowing you to drive the car to/from the mechanics shop... An not paying licensing taxes.  But they get you with astronomical insurance premiums).

- installed them on my replica here in the US ( which is a tribute to my dads car... Currently a trailer queen)

- and then mounted the current WA plate over it... Partially covering the original plate.  wA DOT is ok with this,meat is insured for commuting to work, and I display a cool old plate in my euro themed toy car.  During car show weekends I take the WA plate off, through it in the back seat.  

 I believe other euro countries are starting to follow a similar approach to Spain to collect more licensing fees. You can buy cool German, Portuguese and Spanish historic plates for under 30$.

Been pulled over a few times... But never for having the WA plate in the back seat.

in CA you can get black plates with yellow lettering for any year. The yellow plates did not happen as the state did not meet the minimum number of preorders. The plates on that car look new. It does have the current reg stickers above it which would indicate it is a YOM plate. I guess one would have to ask Kirk if he used a 56 pan. Seems unlikely as they would be very rare indeed. 

majorkahuna posted:

in CA you can get black plates with yellow lettering for any year. The yellow plates did not happen as the state did not meet the minimum number of preorders. The plates on that car look new. It does have the current reg stickers above it which would indicate it is a YOM plate. I guess one would have to ask Kirk if he used a 56 pan. Seems unlikely as they would be very rare indeed. 

 

I paid some serious money for my black on yellow plates and they look brand new. They are not restored, but are in fact original '56 plates, with an original '60 sticker on one of them just to the left of the '56. His car may be a '56 pan so no other reg stickers would be needed, or it could be a 1957, 58, 59, 60, 61, or 62 and he took off the sticker after transferring the plates to his car.

Robert you did not say what year your pan is. If it is a 62 or earlier the original yellow plates are legal in CA for your YOM. They also are required to have a sticker for your YOM. My guess is you are right or someone at the DMV screwed up. What a concept. I have had 5 different opinions on whether or not I need to register my sailing Kayak. They write tickets on Folsom Lake but not on Lake Tahoe. 

Not sure how cogent this is to the original post and followup question, but IL is a SEMA state. Replicas can be legally titled and registered as a vehicle manufactured in the year the car replicates (once all the appropriate hoops are jumped through). So, if you have a manufacturer's certificate of origin (something any builder should be able to produce), you can register as a '5X replica. CA has the SB100 registration which, if I'm not mistaken,  allows the title to be written for the year the car replicates (kind've a modified SEMA deal).

In my state, at least, the allows me to run antique plates. There are all kinds of crazy restrictions on usage for these plates (only for driving to shows, parades, etc.), but I've driven to the west coast twice on them, been stopped half a dozen times, etc., and never had a problem.

Robert can speak more intelligently than I can about this, but I figure: being improperly titled and registered is a possible impound of the car if I catch a cop on a bad day. Improper usage? That's a $120 ticket, and no points on the record. Given that the differential between the cost of antique tags and regular tags is about $125/yr, I'll risk it. Traveling out of state on these plates is even less risky-- I've proven that Nevada (at least) cops have no desire to learn the esoteric idiosyncrasies of Illinois registration laws-- they just run the plates and if they come up good, they'll write the speeding citation (or not) and send you on your way. 

I would imagine that displaying the wrong plate while having the right titling is something that nobody is ever going to write up. If they do, they do. I'm OK with that as long as no points are involved. I always try to look at risk/return-- if the downside exposure costs less than the upfront cost, it's hard to make an argument for abiding by the (revenue generating ) letter of the law. If the downside is a risk I'd rather not run (getting my car impounded or potentially crushed as happened to some improperly titled Cobras), then I'll dot every "I" and cross every "T" no matter what it costs.

I know CA is different, in that plates follow the car not the owner-- but I can't imagine that displaying 1957 plates on an SB100 registered car is going to get any worse than a small fine at the worst, and a nice conversation at the best. I've been pulled over several times just so the cop could talk about the car with me. A cool car is a cool car, and cops are people too. 

As far as the car, Will-- that's a very nice VS. Your statement about only knowing of 3 in your city probably shocks the rest of us, who are all under the impression that Kalifornia is littered with supercars, and cool classic cars.

I always had the impression that you guys all got together after work (at about 3:30 or so) down at the surf-shack for shrimp tacos to talk about cars and catch a wave. Don't ruin my fantasy with reality.

I am mostly concerned about being stopped for lacking a front plate in CA although it has never happened. I also have Big Black Dodge Ram with huge tires and a lift kit of sorts. I got it from my son. He is the one that did the custom work and put tinted windows on it. I have been stopped and ticketed for having front door window tint and not having mud flaps. Pretty chicken **** in my book. I think I may get one of those front plate flippers. 

Stan,

You are mostly correct about California registration, but a Specialty Construction vehicle is not licensed by the model year it replicates, but the year of registration.  Thus, my car is registered as a 2013 Specialty Construction, even though the shape replicates a 57 Porsche coupe.  

The majority of Speedster replicas in California are made and originally registered through Vintage Speedster's registration company as VW's by pan year.  That means they are in violation of the California Vehicle Code, which states that a modified vehicle must be recognizable as the original car to qualify.  My dog isn't in that fight, however, so I am not concerned one way or the other.  

I do know that the chance of a beat cop, i.e, city or county, or CHP officer checking a motorist's license, insurance, and registration, and noticing an illegal registration is extremely remote.  With today's telemetry and computers, they'll run the plate.  If the plate comes back as current, with no wants or warrants on the driver, their concern ends, absent a driver who really flunks the attitude test.

Thanks for the clarification, Jim.

Also, regarding title/registration, you and I agree (because I've read the vehicle code in my state, and you in yours), but this is a hill I no longer want to die on. People believe what they want to believe, and there doesn't ever seem to be an issue... so, whatever people want to do is cool with me (as long as the risks are clearly understood).

majorkahuna posted:

Robert you did not say what year your pan is. If it is a 62 or earlier the original yellow plates are legal in CA for your YOM. They also are required to have a sticker for your YOM. My guess is you are right or someone at the DMV screwed up. What a concept. I have had 5 different opinions on whether or not I need to register my sailing Kayak. They write tickets on Folsom Lake but not on Lake Tahoe. 

 

Earlier post I stated my pan was a 1960 and I have a 1960 reg sticker right next to the '56. Bought a frame from Old Plate Guy that has two recessed places for the current stickers.

Jim is correct....legally speaking since our cars no longer represent VW's so they are supposed to be registered via SPCN or SB100. The fact that VS has built and sold 1000's of Speedsters that continue to be registered as VW's isn't my fight either. I can't see how that would still be a secret in today's day and age. There are definitely bigger fish to fry than what is going on with these cars. If I see a car reg'd as SPCN I know what it is and when I see one of our cars or many of the other VW based cars and they are still reg'd as VW I still know what it is, a replica.

Stan, sorry to destroy your fantasy.

My "city" is what we call a town, 24,000 folks and to me, 4 of these in that size town is fairly unusual, then again, I'm the eternal optimist. (not really!)

We used to wax our boards and catch some waves each evening but that was about....ahem....several... (50) years ago...

and we at hamburgers then (and didn't gain an ounce of weight), not shrimp...

        When I got my car Kirk was pretty cool about getting me a new CA plate registered to my address so I ran that plate for a year and never got stopped.  When I got around to having it titled in NE, it was already plated so I didn't have to pay 7% sales tax on $24k so Kirk saved me a lot of bucks.  It isn't strictly legal but I give them enough tax money to throw away so I didn't care.

      Our state allows YOM historical plates. You pay a one time fee of $79 and never have to pay again.  Mine is on a 61 pan. Nebraska plates for 61 were left over 60 plates so I have a 1960  plate on mine, the closest I could get to 57.  Interestingly, it is titled as a 61 Beetle but under model they put 356 Porsche conv. I guess VW was the parent so it is correct in a way.

     As far as spotting Speedster replicas here in Omaha, never saw one yet.  But one Sunday I saw a 550 Spyder and thought Wow, what a great job whoever built it did. I later found out, it is a real one.

The Spyder--was it on the road?