Re: IML: Old License Plates in California

[Christopher H <imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am not aware of any CA law that allows a car to be exempt from smog
certification because it has historical plates.

No smog check is required for cars from 1975 or older. This is no longer a
rolling "25 years old"... for now, it is stuck at 1975. But that is why
Bob's '67 Barracuda was exempt. It had nothing to do with his antique
license plates, except that being 25 years old made the car eligible for
both the plates and the smog exemption.

According to the California DMV, "historical plates are issued, upon
request, for motor vehicles manufactured after 1922 which are at least 25
years old and of historic interest." The vehicle is, according to the
vehicle code, of historic interest if "it is collected, restored,
maintained, and operated by a collector or hobbyist principally for purposes
of exhibition and historic vehicle club activities."

Therefore, it would seem that a car built between 1976 and 1980 is eligible
for historical plates but still required to pass Smog Check. And that
"non-parade" use is OK for maintenance drives and such but that using one
for a daily driver is not actually allowed, so do so at your own risk!

FYI, I successfully reattached the original black plates to my '67 Imperial
after it had been re-plated no fewer than three times. Thankfully, I had
original registrations proving these were the original plate number, the car
has never left CA, and I am only the second owner.

Chris in LA
67 Crown
78 NYB Salon


On 10/27/05 2:27 PM, Bob Smith at limoguy1950@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

> I'm unfamiliar with "antique" plates in California (but I'm sure there are
> more than a few that are familiar with them); however, I had Historical plates
> put on my 1967 Barracuda convertible.  It was an out of state car but did have
> California plates on it.  Historical plates can be issued for any car that is
> 25 or more years old and cost an up-front fee of $25.
>  
> There are some limitations on the use; you are supposed to drive it only to
> and from car shows, auto related activities, etc. but as a practical matter,
> knowing the low level of police enforcement of DMV rules (such as 72 hour
> parking restrictions), I drove mine any time and any place for over 7 years
> and never once was stopped.
> An additional advantage is that you do not need to get those pesky emissions
> tests every 2 years which are nearly impossible for older cars to meet when
> they are not driven regularly.
>  
> Bob
> dansgarage@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>> Hi All....I guess this question is for those members in California.....being
>> relatively new here, can someone tell me if there is such a thing in CA as
>> "antique" plates ? and if so, how old the vehicle has to be to qualify? back
>> in NJ I didn't have to get the car inspected and only paid Registration every
>> 4 years, also any car over 25 years old was considered a "antique" and got
>> special consideration, special rates. etc.....anyone who has experience here
>> in California with registering a 1966 Imperial PLEASE email me
>> (dansgarage@xxxxxxxxxxxx) so I can at least go into the DMV with some
>> understanding as to how they are going to mess things up before hand.
>> Thanks all!!!!
>> Dan Melnik
>> 
>> 
>> ----------------- http://www.imperialclub.com -----------------
>> This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please
>> reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be
>> shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
>> Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm
>> 
> 
> 
>  Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.
> <http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylc=X3oDMTFqODRtdXQ4BF9TAzMyOTc1MDIEX3MDOTY2ODgxNjkE
> cG9zAzEEc2VjA21haWwtZm9vdGVyBHNsawNmYw--/SIG=110oav78o/**http%3a//farechase.ya
> hoo.com/>   





-----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  -----------------
This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please 
reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be 
shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm