Princess Plates - DECIDED

[steveo3002]

id go riveted....but theyre a bit spendy, shame the chinese cant get into making them for 99p with free postage 

[captain_70s]

Skizzer:  I've got some pressed plates liberated from a '79 Princess, so someone must have been making them past the early 70s

On the flipside Nisfan has a 80s Stanza with riveted plates!

 

I have original riveted plates on the Doloshites but given the Prinny is a custom job I'd probably go for the pressed ally ones. If you could get pressed plates with the serick font that'd be the best thing evar.

[oldcars]

My 83 Reliant has riveted plates too.

[quicksilver]

Good to see someone taking such an interest in getting the right plates after my rant on the subject t'other day. Sercks are obviously the best plates of evar but in their absence I'd go for riveted as others have said. Whatever you do, don't get the post-2001 font as that's just awful on older cars.

[plasticvandan]

Being how this princess is going to be sooooo far from factory period correct,putting riveted plates on is akin to sticking a gramophone horn in an I pod.

[purplebargeken]

DMB ones in the first instance then riveted if CBA.

[worldofceri]

I've got some pressed plates liberated from a '79 Princess, so someone must have been making them past the early 70s

 

I've driven a Y-reg DAF with pressed plates so at least one commercial dealer was making them in 2001!

[Alexg]

Riveted obv'. They make any 70's car.

[PhilA]

If the car were stock, riveted.
 

However, it is not, and thus the mindset of the alterer, stood in the car parts place looking at plates needs to be taken into consideration.

1) I've made the car to look different because by 1979 it was very nearly Harris Mann space-age but not quite enough

2) hell no, riveted plates are old, my car is booming for the eighties

3) saw one of them metal ones at the garage on an Ital the other day, it was nice but

4) ooh, the plastic ones are cheaper? that sounds good and the font is so 1986

 

So, I'd say, given that, acrylic because you can trim it smaller and mount it flat and it looks more modern.

 

 

--Phil

[Shep Shepherd]

I like the rivet digit style. I recall quite a few mid-1980s cars sporting them from new when I was growing up 

[Ghosty]

Rivet.

[vulgalour]

Well this is awkward because there's some very good points raised about acrylic plates which I'd dismissed as looking cheap and nasty where the other options would look more finished.  For the feel of the car, acrylic or rivet would work though PhilA's point of the theoretical customiser picking out what was up to date AND cheap does ring true for the rest of the concept I'm following, when I put them in that context the rivets seem like an odd choice where today they're the more desirable option.

 

Looking at it another way, I've been smoothing out and decluttering the Princess overall.  Smooth round lights set into the back panel, no bumpers, smoothed out front valance, the smooth Lotus alloys instead of those fiddly wheel trims and the overall lack of chrome does feel a bit at odds with the rivetted plates.  It was why the pressed ones felt more right to me, and yet I can't help but feel the acrylics would work better than the pressed plates.

 

With that in mind, the ideal is probably a Serck font acrylic plate with a black line border and 'Serendipity' in the centre bottom of the plates, that being the car's name.  Everyone knows custom cars have names.

 

Typical Autoshite, I give two choices and pick a third.

[Ghosty]

Acrylic Serck has been done, or something almost like them - over on the blue forum there was an Escort estate with some.

 

[Captain Mainwaring]

Riveted because 1970s

 

This, pretty much.

While pressed plates are cool in the right application, there's too many scene wankers in their slammed VW Lupos using them now.

[steveo3002]

what sort of look are you aiming for?

 

modernised to 2016's ideas or the look of a princess that might have been customised back when it was new or a few years old using only parts from that era? 

 

i guess any car guys back in the day would have been keen to have the lastest plastic plates , maybe a square one 

[mat_the_cat]

With that in mind, the ideal is probably a Serck font acrylic plate with a black line border and 'Serendipity' in the centre bottom of the plates, that being the car's name.  Everyone knows custom cars have names.

 

Will this do?

 

[Louise2cv]

I think a square one would suit the 80s custom look best.

 

But what do I know?

[junkyarddog]

I think a square one would suit the 80s custom look best.

 

But what do I know?

I agree on the square plates,

 

I have a square acrylic one on the front of one of my Viva's

 

I think it looks ok.

[Pillock]

I had a Beetle with black and silver, except the silver was "ribbed". It was a really cool effect. Original 70s plate, marked Hills. I know the whole thing about black and silver being illegal after 1973, and in fact phased out from a few years earlier, but they somehow suit a custom car.

 

I've still got the plates, but unless you want to somehow transfer PPC434L from a car that hasn't passed an MOT in 15 years but was never officially scrapped, they're useless to you.

[eddyramrod]

I had a Beetle with black and silver, except the silver was "ribbed". It was a really cool effect. Original 70s plate, marked Hills. I know the whole thing about black and silver being illegal after 1973, and in fact phased out from a few years earlier, but they somehow suit a custom car.

 

I've still got the plates, but unless you want to somehow transfer PPC434L from a car that hasn't passed an MOT in 15 years but was never officially scrapped, they're useless to you.

I've got 1108 ED, which was "disused" from about 1972, but never officially scrapped.  I even have the buff logbook, and can tell you exactly what it was, as I remember the van very well.  I did enquire about getting it re-issued, but apparently not.  Shame, it would look the cat's nightwear on Huggy!

[vulgalour]

I still don't think a square one will work with a 7 digit plate like mine and I still haven't found a 6 digit or less plate that I both like and isn't £LOTS.  I don't like black and silvers on most cars, even when age appropriate, it has to be the right car for them and the Princess isn't it.

 

What Mat_the_Cat mocked up above is, amazingly, what I want.  I just didn't know it.  That looks right for the look of the car, or as close to right as I'm likely to get.  In keeping with an early 1980s custom rather than something brought up to 2016 tastes.

 

@Eddy:  the Caddy wants something like HUG 834R (Hug Bear) or W4FTY or D15COO

[eddyramrod]

 

@Eddy:  the Caddy wants something like HUG 834R (Hug Bear) or W4FTY or D15COO

...All of which are age-inappropriate for a 1973 car, unfortunately.  In the absence of 1108 ED, I'm happy with EVN 61L, which is what it wears.  At a show last week I spotted EVN 56L, on an MGB

[mat_the_cat]

What Mat_the_Cat mocked up above is, amazingly, what I want.  I just didn't know it.  That looks right for the look of the car, or as close to right as I'm likely to get.  In keeping with an early 1980s custom rather than something brought up to 2016 tastes.

 

Just realised I rather stupidly never pasted the link in there:

http://www.a1showplates.com/

 

It's not called Serck, but their Euro font looks the same as far as I can tell for most of the characters.

[vulgalour]

I equally stupidly didn't ask for it so thanks for the link, I've now ordered a pair.  They're not what I set out to buy initially so apologies to all for doing a forum usual.  They're what I like and feel will fit the car.  If I need my rivet digit fix, I've got the Renault I can rub my face on.

[Dippy]

I'm a bit late to the party, but have ordered a pair of these from DMB graphics for less than £30 inc postage.

May not be the custom look you need though.

 

 

[mk2_craig]

^^^^ replicas of those would look gr8, need some for my XR2.

 

Has anybody suggested trailer board stick on letters yet ? I've used those in the past on solid plates and they look very "of the era"

[Alexg]

Just be cautious with those serck plates. I ordered those for my MK3 Escort and they looked more modern show-plate than retro serck when they arrived. Even the shade of yellow for the rear plate was wrong.

[vulgalour]

I decided against the Euro font, it wasn't Serck-y enough and I just wanted them ordered and done.  So I've gone with a modern font (I know, shut up) and kept things fairly standard but with a little tweak to make them suit the car.  I'll show the result when they arrive.  Less than £30 for a pair of plates that I'm happy with is good enough for me.

[Felly Magic]

...All of which are age-inappropriate for a 1973 car, unfortunately.  In the absence of 1108 ED, I'm happy with EVN 61L, which is what it wears.  At a show last week I spotted EVN 56L, on a Sherpa coupe/cabrio 

 

EFA Eddy

[fred]

Well glad you have decided - for this I will reward you with a MOT'ed and running about ''Cursed one ''  Vulg