[dstryr]

I just came across this thread. Looks like I have fairly late Z series plate that came on my 69 GTO, Fremont car shipped to a dealer in Monterey Park, CA.

[65madgoat]

Cool. Yes Z plates are 1969 issue. The 2nd letter B is an early set of Z plates and you will notice they have a 63 stamp on the plates. Majority of Z plates did NOT get the 63 stamp. In fact, even some Y starting letter and even a few X starting letter plates did not get the 63 stamp! Perhaps the DMV figured the 63 stamp was no longer necessary --- or quite simply the die for stamping 63 wore out and did not leave an impression.

[71GP76TA]

I have seen a few 1970 cars with "Z" black plates. I am assuming they were sold in late 1969.

I looked at a '70 Monte Carlo once with "ZZY" black plates. .... "ZZZ" would have been cool.

[65madgoat]

Yes, I have evidence and have seen some early sold 1970 cars with black "Z" plates. And I even saw a late sold 1969 Firebird with BLUE 1970s era "A" starting letter blue plates.

[428ho4spd]

Yep, my friend has a '69 AMX sold new in '70 with original Blue "A" series plates.

[71GP76TA]

Couple years ago I had a '69 GP with blue "A" plates. I figured it was a leftover that was sold in '70.

[geeteeohguy]

The commercial truck plates seemed to run longer. Over the years, I have seen many El Camino's and some pickups and Rancheros, all 1970 models, with black commercial plates. Our own '69 Suburban had a car plate, for some reason, and I still remember it: YAP 170.

[65madgoat]

Yes, black CA commercial plates went until 1972. But a suburban, like a Blazer, or Bronco is a passenger vehicle - thus "car" plates. A pickup truck or el camino would have commercial plates with just 1 number in the plate configuration.

[Jim Perez]

Originally Posted by 65madgoat

Being a super small town, perhaps the "A" letter set of plates still were in their inventory 3 years after their initial release. Highly doubtful being 3 years in inventory of the dealership but one never knows. Would only believe it 100% if it was documented.


Now possibly a photoshopped registration was provided to the DMV decades ago to get those "A" plates on that 1966 Chevy via this special code in the DMV book. This was the only way many people got to put black plates on a car until about a dozen years ago when the Year of Manufacture program started to include 1963 to 1969 black plates. Guys in the 1980s/1990s would photoshop a registration paper to show the black plate set they acquired from a swap meet were "original" to the car.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbo...ctor-vehicles/


In all my years I have only seen an "A" letter set of black plates once on a car newer than 1964.

See, in 1963 =all= cars in CA had to put the new 1963 stamped black plates on their car. So a run on starting letters A through L took place. However, as noted, some small towns, dealerships etc still had inventory of plates from 1963 and they did not go through their allotment as fast. We know this original owner 1964 GTO club member who owned a goat that had "A" starting letter plates originally issued to it in 1964. For an "A" letter set to last until 1966 would be super duper rare and not truly common or hardly ever seen. But again, we all know anything is possible. Without documentation from 1966, one can't say they are original issue to the car. But being a small town I guess it is plausible, but man that would be something for an A letter set to remain in inventory for 3 years.

My dad was original owner of my 65, bought December 65. Black plates
CRD917... Morgan Hill at the time was a low popualtion farming comunity

[65madgoat]

Way cool. Thanks for sharing that 1965 GTO photo!!