Plate fonts

[Captain Slow]

I know we're all fans of Serck in here, but I'm after something a bit different. Does anyone know where I can get a set of plates made with the old Unipart font as per 90s Rover press cars - the one that's like Lutz Headline? 

[Weird Car]

This place do a really lovely “pre millennium” font 

 

of course they’re “show plates only” but nothing stopping you putting the original dealership and post code along the bottom*😉

 

https://www.fancyplates.com/constructor.html

 

[Captain Slow]

24 minutes ago, Weird Car said:

This place do a really lovely “pre millennium” font 

 

of course they’re “show plates only” but nothing stopping you putting the original dealership and post code along the bottom*😉

 

https://www.fancyplates.com/constructor.html

 

They do seem to do nice plates - but sadly, not the font I'm after!

[Markeh]

I'd imagine Retro Plates could do it if enough decent photos could be found of one.

[Gompo]

I got mine from a chap called Matt Dickins at this email [email protected]

Not saying he'd definitely manage it, but he went to the effort of finding an old dealer logo for the bottom of mine along with replicating the original font.

[Lacquer Peel]

13 hours ago, Captain Slow said:

They do seem to do nice plates - but sadly, not the font I'm after!

UK Pre2001(c) from Fancy Plates is the closest I've seen to the font you're after. 

 

[mk2_craig]

That looks pretty much like the stick on digits you could buy for tow board plate.

I bet you can still get them from suppliers of caravan and trailer related stuff.

[Tenmil Socket]

1 hour ago, mk2_craig said:

That looks pretty much like the stick on digits you could buy for tow board plate.

I bet you can still get them from suppliers of caravan and trailer related stuff.

Nice colour that Fiesta.

[sierraman]

5 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Nice colour that Fiesta.

Is it a special edition? Can’t picture that colour before, it’s not the same as that metallic green they used to do the Ghia in? 

[Tenmil Socket]

12 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Is it a special edition? Can’t picture that colour before, it’s not the same as that metallic green they used to do the Ghia in? 

Not sure… looks similar to a colour used on MK 3’s.

[mk2_craig]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

Is it a special edition? Can’t picture that colour before, it’s not the same as that metallic green they used to do the Ghia in? 

Correct. “Festival” 

https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1802662

Fascinating* fact, this particular short run model had a unique centre console for reasons. 

[Captain Slow]

11 hours ago, Lacquer Peel said:

UK Pre2001(c) from Fancy Plates is the closest I've seen to the font you're after. 

 

It is nearly right, so nearly I originally thought it was bang on, but the 5 is totally different. And I have a 5 on my plate... hence the thread!

[Lacquer Peel]

Aye it's not quite right is it? 😢

I chose plates with an approximation of the Serck type font when I registered a French vehicle in the UK, it wasn't quite right but it still looks cool. 

[loserone]

11 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Aye it's not quite right is it? 😢

I chose plates with an approximation of the Serck type font when I registered a French vehicle in the UK, it wasn't quite right but it still looks cool. 

[St.Jude]

I just think the printer 3D font you used to get is the coolest font for a number plate. Serck be damned. Yeah, I said it. Fight me.

[HMC]

2 hours ago, Captain Slow said:

It is nearly right, so nearly I originally thought it was bang on, but the 5 is totally different. And I have a 5 on my plate... hence the thread!

Its very character sensitive. The “5” does look wrong. “Plates for cars” also has a number of older fonts and plate sizes, but again certain letters or numbers can end up looking wrong.

[Captain Slow]

3 hours ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Aye it's not quite right is it? 😢

I need S502OOV. The S*0*OOV are right. The 5 and 2 are not. It's frustrating because with almost any other plate I would be sorted.

[Captain Slow]

38 minutes ago, HMC said:

Its very character sensitive. The “5” does look wrong. “Plates for cars” also has a number of older fonts and plate sizes, but again certain letters or numbers can end up looking wrong.

By Jove, he may well have got it. 

 

UK Old 1900 looks right. If they can do the Land Rover badging to the bottom right that might well be it. Thank you.

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, Captain Slow said:

It is nearly right, so nearly I originally thought it was bang on, but the 5 is totally different. And I have a 5 on my plate... hence the thread!

the W and M are also different, note the Rover W/M is quite pointy where the reproduction option shown was a less pointy W/M

you can really fall down a number plate rabbit hole with these differences, but they are also handy for ID'ing a plate, especially if its one of the "key" characters, for example Tippers always used to serif their 1's in a specific manner, so especially if you had a number plate with 1 in it you could tell right away its a tippers plate for example  

[alcyonecorporation]

Or just ask me ya great fanny 

[Eddie Honda]

That "2" looks lonely with that spacing...

Anyway, it's a Hills font.

[brownnova]

I had some made by Donegal Signs on eBay for the 9000 recently (due to the front making a bid for freedom). And whilst it’s close, there are some subtle differences… 

Mainly the mid point of the letters is slightly higher on the replacements and the 9, 6 and O are slightly less rounded. 

[mk2_craig]

They look great though. And well done for resisting the temptation to mis space them as R9 COCK 

[sierraman]

21 hours ago, mk2_craig said:

Correct. “Festival” 

https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1802662

Fascinating* fact, this particular short run model had a unique centre console for reasons. 

You've sent me down a right rabbit hole now… 😂

[Rust Collector]

Can I jump in on the ‘what is this font?’ action?

I cannot find anyone that uses a font which gives the correct ‘2’ and ‘9’.

I dimly remember finding a downloadable font that matched closely, but that was on my old work computer and no idea if I backed it up before I left.

[MrBig]

On 24/04/2025 at 07:27, mk2_craig said:

That looks pretty much like the stick on digits you could buy for tow board plate.

I bet you can still get them from suppliers of caravan and trailer related stuff.

I thought that until last year when I tried to buy some for my trailerboard. For complex reasons I did not have the V5 for the vehicle in question and I had a board with one of those stick on numbers, "easy" I thought, "peel the old ones off and pop to the local motor factors". Not so, I called 4 and none of them keep them anymore. I managed to find a vinyl cutting place on ebay that would do them but obviously had to wait for them to be posted out. I guess the number plate laws have put paid to that practice. 

[mk2_craig]

3 hours ago, MrBig said:

I thought that until last year when I tried to buy some for my trailerboard. For complex reasons I did not have the V5 for the vehicle in question and I had a board with one of those stick on numbers, "easy" I thought, "peel the old ones off and pop to the local motor factors". Not so, I called 4 and none of them keep them anymore. I managed to find a vinyl cutting place on ebay that would do them but obviously had to wait for them to be posted out. I guess the number plate laws have put paid to that practice. 

I can still get them here - or at least I could when I recently (checks notes) semi-recently changed cars and needed a new* plate for the trailer board:

To be fair I’m not sure if the place I got them from will stock any letters other than J.