Black and Silver Plates - legaility

[wuvvum]

Auto.  Brakes started playing up about 7 years ago so it was taken off the road and I removed the front calipers.  I bought it a new offside caliper last year, but I can't find a nearside one for love nor money (well that's not quite true, Brookhouse can supply one but it'll cost me about 250 quid and I ain't paying that for a caliper).  Various other bits have died in that time as well - fuel pump (it's running an electric pump at the moment), water pump (just fitted a new one a couple of weeks ago), alternator (my fault for jump starting the Renault 6 from it and not noticing that the earth cable had come off the battery).  It also now has some rust.  And the lacquer on the bonnet has gone weird.

[Tam]

My 74 P6 had black and whites on when I bought it. Never really thought about and was never stopped by Police! I guess they don't show up on average speed cameras? Certainly bit of a faff going in and out of multi storey car park as you have to wait until a human actually checks the camera before the barrier will move.

 

1978

 

 

2011

 

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Note the date.

 

image.jpeg

 

 

I wonder if 1975 was when the Perspex 'plates were introduced then.

[Eddie Honda]

£8.50 or £11.50 (personalised). I've just stuck that in the inflation calculator and in today's money it comes out at £79.99 / £ 108.22...........fuuuckin' 'ell. I guess it worked out about a day's pay.
 
 

I wonder if 1975 was when the Perspex 'plates were introduced then.

 
It's have some relation to the British Standards:
 
BRITISH STANDARDS FOR NUMBER PLATES.
 
BS No. Title Publication Date
BS AU 145:1967 Specification for reflex-reflecting number plates 31st October 1967
BS AU 145a:1972 Specification for reflex-reflecting number plates 11th September 1972
BS AU 145b:1989 Specification for reflex-reflecting number plates 31st May 1989
BS AU 145c:1995 Specification for reflex-reflecting number plates 15th November 1995
BS AU 145d:1998 Specification for reflex-reflecting number plates 15th January 1998
 
Found another advert:

1974 ADVERT JAMESIGNS LEEDS  NUMBER PLATES by JOHN, on Flickr
 
Which also adds "Pat. applied for." The patent number is GB 1403583 (A) which was applied for 25th April 1972. https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=GB&NR=1403583A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=19750820&DB=&locale=en_EP
 
So I suppose it's find another advert between then and 1974. Hills mention it as "1975" in their historical blurb http://www.hillsnumberplates.com/index.php/about-menu/hills-history
 
 
Weren't Jamesigns the crowd that originally did the engraved laminated black and silvers?
 
(Similar modern equivalent - Mirror Line, the font was like this with the engraving lines following the stroke of the letters, but I think it was also a laminated in perspex)

[AMC Rebel]

This is the sort of shit I was on about

 

 

[Junkman]

That's awful!

[Guest Hooli]

This is the sort of shit I was on about

 

Capture.JPG

 

it might* be coincidental but that plate reads as 'Knob' to me.

[scruff]

I am so glad I'm not alone in this. I find it amazing people go to mega lengths and expense to restore a car and then slap on some cheap, wrong-font, over-shiny pressed plates from eBay or wherever. 

[Guest Hooli]

I'm chuckling at this thread & doing my best not to mention a 6x4" Black n Silver plate on my '77 Bonnie.

[AMC Rebel]

I'm chuckling at this thread & doing my best not to mention a 6x4" Black n Silver plate on my '77 Bonnie.

Much more excusable than that Mini and will be legal next year anyway which the Mini won't until 2033 assuming the rules don't change again.  

 

Far better than all the accountants riding round on 64 reg Harleys with black and silver plates playing at Sons of Flaming Anarchy in Surbiton.

[John F]

Have they introduced a rolling 40-year entitlement for black & silver plates now? I thought that was ONLY for vehicles registered before 1st Jan 1973.

 

IMO vehicles with registrations later than M-suffix look crap with black & silver plates, whether they're legal or not. So there.

[danthecapriman]

Have they introduced a rolling 40-year entitlement for black & silver plates now? I thought that was ONLY for vehicles registered before 1st Jan 1973.

 

IMO vehicles with registrations later than M-suffix look crap with black & silver plates, whether they're legal or not. So there.

Yes. Practical Classics had an article about it a while back. Apparently it now rolls on with tax exemption.

[Eddie Honda]

Yes there was a thing in the FBHVC newsletter. Due to slack lazyness of those drafting the law, it was an unintended consequence that they can't be arsed fixing.

 

It jerks along with the tax exemption. I wish it would roll, but it jerks in 1 year blocks rather than rolling daily.

[Guest Hooli]

Much more excusable than that Mini and will be legal next year anyway which the Mini won't until 2033 assuming the rules don't change again.  

 

Far better than all the accountants riding round on 64 reg Harleys with black and silver plates playing at Sons of Flaming Anarchy in Surbiton.

Oh good, it'll be legal by the time I fix it then. Except for being 'slightly' too small of course.

[willswitchengage]

Don't do it. 

 

They look horrendously tacky on anything post Ford Model T and were uncommon long before they became prohibited.