Late registration madness

[vicsmith]

There was a D-reg Cortina in Leeds in the same Beige as the Estate, but this was a 4-door.

 

Here`s one way it can happen - an S-reg oval-grille Escort ended up in a scrapyard near me, I made an offhand comment about it to the guy and he turned out to know it`s history, it was stolen while unregistered, from a dealer compound in 1994, run on false plates and turned up 5 years later, intact. It had to be registered to be sold on, so it got the current prefix.

 

I also saw a T-reg mid `80s Corolla at a petrol station in Batley a few years ago, but I think they were just nicking petrol, there was a spate of ridiculously innapropriate false plates being attached to cars being used for forecourt drive-offs at the time, CCTV photos of 52-reg Mk1 Mondeos sellotaped to the counter with "Do you know who these people are?" Stuff like that.

[Richard]

I saw a Mk2 Astra GTE on an R plate last year. I think somebody must have put Astra bits on a Daewoo.

[Guest]

[brammy777]

Obviously a kit, but the weird part being its registered as an Austin....

[/url]

[Guest]

I've seen an M registered Peugeot 205 in Conwy, but I've never managed to get a shot of it.

 

I've also seen K and L plated Amazons - considering the very last 120 came off the line in 1970 (and the 140 series started in '68, so the factory was on an Amazon wind down) that's a fair bit of NOS lying around, unless they were re imported CKD kits that came back from South Africa.

 

I think there's one '59 Amazon in the country as well. It has a 3 speed gearbox.

[Richard]

There was a K plate Farina on here a while ago and I'm sure I've seen another near Perth.

[warren t claim]

IIRC the Ford dealer T.C Harrison had an unregistered Cortina '80 that they decided to shift in 2002 and could be registered on a 52 plate.

[Pillock]

I saw a Mk2 Astra GTE on an R plate last year. I think somebody must have put Astra bits on a Daewoo.

There was a chap on a Mk2 Astra forum who reshelled his GTE 16v using a Daewoo shell, there's not a massive amount of work in it other than the cosmetic bits where they changed the lamp cluster shapes, and the bulkhead had different holes in different places as Astras never had aircon etc. Certainly easier than stripping, welding and rebuilding an Astra shell.

[Torsten2001]

Wandsworth Council is still running 54 plate Montego Estates

[warren t claim]

A tad O/T but back in the day when I was a humble taxi driver I mentioned to a "friend" that I was offered a ckd Maestro and was planning to plate it for private hire. It only took 36 hours before I got an unsolicited phone call off Wirral Borough Council to gently put me right on this folly.

[Richard]

What's wrong with plating a Maestro? Maestros and Montegos were quite popular as taxis in their day. Was it the 1300cc engine they didn't like?

[warren t claim]

What's wrong with plating a Maestro? Maestros and Montegos were quite popular as taxis in their day. Was it the 1300cc engine they didn't like?

Wirral Borough Council are notoriously snobby about what gets plated. The story goes that they rewrote the rules by insisting that there is at least 45" between the read interior doorhandles because Lada's are only 44" so they could ban them from operating as taxis. Mind you we did have a sexy P reg FSO Polonez slip through the net about 8 years ago!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Wandsworth Council is still running 54 plate Montego Estates

Wow, thats pretty impressive!!!

[lancashireclamper]

South Lakeland District Council were very similar, they failed my L reg Astra Estate's Hackney test because "there must be 18 inches between the driver's seat and rear seat cushion when the drivers seat is pushed as far back as the runners will allow" I pointed out that at 5'7 tall the seat would never be that far back as I would be aprox 3 feet from the steering wheel but my pleas fell on deaf ears, stuck 2 bolts in the drivers seat runners and hey presto 1700cc of luton's finest was considered fit to ply for hire, then it failed its next test as my first aid kit only had 10 safety pins as opposed to the regulation 12,

[Albert Ross]

My 1961 Land Rover was registered in 1973 on an L plate, but as a coupe.

Wonder if the Army knew they had one as rare as this?

[MK5 Escort]

Locally there used to be a 52 plate original shape, facelifted Vectra Estate in Moonland (medium grey). On eBay recently, there was even an ex-police Glacier White 53 plate estate.

 

I did once spot a T plate Rover 111i, which I thought was very late. A 'J' plate original shape Metro in white used to knock around here also. I've not seen it for several years though.

 

Our local police did have three 'T' plate mk3 Astra’s once. Our next door neighbours also had a green 'S' plate mk3 Astra GLS saloon. Sadly it suffered relatively minor offside front corner damage towards the end last year and was subsequently scrapped after the insurance got involved. It had only done about 58k miles too. It was spotless until the accident.

 

When it comes to Escorts, there were several 'Y' plates sold. There are two of them somewhere local to me - both owned by elderly couples. Both are metallic blue Finesse models (like the vast majority were at the end of the run). One hatchback and one estate. I have also spotted a 51 plate once, but can't for the life of me remember where. Speaking of 'N' plate late mk5 oval grille ones, there was an estate for sale in Liverpool recently.

 

When it comes to Peugeot 205's, I know there are two white 'P' plate examples down in Shropshire knocking around. If not registered late (I'm sure UK sales ended in 1996), they must be right at the very end of their run in the UK.

 

Wandsworth Council is still running 54 plate Montego Estates

'ruddy hell!

[Pillock]

I thought 52-Reg facelifted Vectras were run of the mill, I've got two locally to me. As with (seemingly) all facelifted Vectras, they're silver and have SRI wheels even though they're not SRIs.

 

I was sat in a carpark yesterday and a X-reg Escort pottered past me, a silver TD estate with an incredibly old lady driving. By that time the Focus had been out three years, that must have been a hell of a discount the dealer offered to shift that!

[Mr Lobster]

I think the last of the Escorts were X platers. Certainly remember having a few W reg Escrots when I worked at Ford.

 

Ford kept the Escort in production for a while after they launched the Focus though - just in case the Focus didn't sell.

[trigger]

My mate had a X plate Escort, It was a pretty well made car buy that point.

 

I think the last of the Escorts were X platers. Certainly remember having a few W reg Escrots when I worked at Ford

As i said eailer in the thread, I saw 51 plate hatchback last week, Still see quite a few Y plates about and even see 52 plate Escort vans as well.

 

I also used to see a 51 plate old shape Mondeo ST24 in white about, I think it was an ex-police car.

[Milford Cubicle]

I've just seen a sheddy Mercedes W124 on a 99 'T' plate, it looked like a proper ringer.

[Mr Lobster]

Escort vans went on a bit later I think? The last of the old shape Mondeos were great - Ford had boat loads of high spec models that they hadn't sold which they offered dealers very cheap if they registered them themselves as demos / rental or whatever. Hence why I was tooling about in a Mondeo Ghia X V6

 

(Which incidentally I blew the engine on on the A56. Appartently if you leave Nottingham in a bad mood after a shit day of corporate brainwashing and absolutely tear the arse out of it all the way home, that knocking noise that develops near Accrington isn't good)

[red5]

I thought 52-Reg facelifted Vectras were run of the mill, I've got two locally to me. As with (seemingly) all facelifted Vectras, they're silver and have SRI wheels even though they're not SRIs.

 

I was sat in a carpark yesterday and a X-reg Escort pottered past me, a silver TD estate with an incredibly old lady driving. By that time the Focus had been out three years, that must have been a hell of a discount the dealer offered to shift that!

The Vectra 'B' was fairly common NOS on a 52 plate, so more about than you think - last models were fairly well specced..

 

Run out Escorts ran for quite a while next to Focus, which was very odd seeing them side by side in the showrooms. A lot of estates with 1.6 LX/Si trim and loads of 1.8 Td's - well, we seemed to shift a load. Same as Sierra syndrome - 'ain't gonna bloody by that - I want a bleeding Escort mate'

 

We actually (Ford main dealer) had a rejected BT fleet car sat in the compound for at least 7 years before someone took a flier and bought, then registered it. Was a proper timewarp job, covered about 14 miles iirc, being pushed mostly. It was a 2.0 Dohc Carb 5dr in white, a misordered BT fleet vehicle which was rejected by the driver. Was supposed to be a EFi engine not the crappy carb one. We tried for about 2 years to return it to no avail, eventually giving up. We never paid for it, so it evolved into a trim spares car for 3 or 4 years, then was pushed into a corner of the old PDi workshop and left. An ex RS tech bought it and rebuilt the interior, registered it and drove it for a while - unfortunatly I can't remember if it had a age related plate or not. Will see if I can get in touch with the chap....

 

There was a chap who set up locally selling NoS Maestro (diesels?) which were re-imported NDK as far as I was aware.

[MK5 Escort]

By that time the Focus had been out three years, that must have been a hell of a discount the dealer offered to shift that!

It wouldn’t have bothered me - I don't care how good the Focus drives. Escort forever...!

 

The last Escort was produced in July 2000. I think the very last one ever built went straight into a Ford museum somewhere, or so my memory serves me watching the local news at the time, which was at Halewood as the last one rolled off the line. I recall seeing a high number 'W' plates around here ten years ago. Stocks must have lasted for a while which is why there are several 'X' and even 'Y' plate examples out there. There's definitely the odd 51 plater out there too, but I'd say you'll be talking single figures, here. I've only ever saw one. How the first owners tracked unregistered ones down so late (or the dealers rather), I'll never know.

 

The Escort van did indeed last a bit longer, as the Transit Connect wasn't quite ready, or so I was told (itself launched towards the end of the 52 plate). The final examples were on 52 plates. I've never personally seen any later than that.

 

Didn't someone here once spot and picture a mk2 Fiesta XR2 on a 'K' plate?

 

The Vectra C was launched in half way though 2002. I was a passenger in a couple of early 02 plate demonstrators when they had just been launched. Ohhh, the benefits of having family working in Vauxhall...! Therefore the old model should, in theory, have finished on 02 plates as I know stocks by then were already getting thin on the ground in preparation - or it was at our local dealers anyway. 52 plates would have probably slipped the net elsewhere (I know I've spotted two locally - a hatchback and an estate as mentioned - both SRi's ironically), but I was genuinely shocked to see that ex-police 53 plate on eBay only the other week. Sticking to the Vectra briefly, there’s a 59 plate VXR out there...

[chaseracer]

Escort vans went on a bit later I think?

Several 02-plates round here, though they're disappearing...

[greengartside]

A guy in the next village to mine has an X-reg Escort. Have also seen a G-reg Mk2 Fiesta (G805 WDX). Are C15 Vans still in production? Have seen an '04 and '07 plate knocking about.

 

My dad had a MkV Cortina on an F-plate, due to the Doovlah messing up the registration transfer or summink....

[Richard]

That's another one I've just remembered, there used to be a Mk2 RS2000 on an X plate in Leven.

[chaseracer]

Are C15 Vans still in production? Have seen an '04 and '07 plate knocking about...

Made until 2005. Apparently, there some 08-platers about...

[Albert Ross]

I'm going to try and find the link, but I saw a thread on a forum somewhere with a Y plated Dark Green Scorpio!

 

Bear with me.....

 

Got it. Almost at the bottom of the page.

User name CombatSapph

 

http://passionford.com/forum/pictures-v ... rpios.html

 

Y489BBC

[retro80sboy]

saw this MK 4 Escort Cabriolet on a J plate recently.

 

[warren t claim]

That's another one I've just remembered, there used to be a Mk2 RS2000 on an X plate in Leven.

There's an X plate RS2000 V5 and Vin tag listed on Ebay every few months.