Historic registration change, private to suffix
Discussion
Old car with ABC123 M (ABC123 is for example), so one would assume 1973.
It was, however, built in 1970 and first registered with a private number plate which it held for three years. When sold in 1973, the private plate was transfered to another vehicle and the car received the new registration ABC123 M issued in 1973.
If this were to today, the newly allocated registration would be per the year of manufature, not the year at the time of transfer. Can anyone with knowledge vehicle registration and transfer practices from early '70s corrobarate this was the norm back then.
It was, however, built in 1970 and first registered with a private number plate which it held for three years. When sold in 1973, the private plate was transfered to another vehicle and the car received the new registration ABC123 M issued in 1973.
If this were to today, the newly allocated registration would be per the year of manufature, not the year at the time of transfer. Can anyone with knowledge vehicle registration and transfer practices from early '70s corrobarate this was the norm back then.
Edited by churchie2856 on Tuesday 10th January 12:55
Edited by churchie2856 on Tuesday 10th January 12:56
I'm not an expert but I have transferred and retained several plates in the past, and follow the classic car scene. You often get classic cars imported as late as the early 1980s that were incorrectly given the registration year plate of the year of first registration in the UK instead of year appropriate to manufacture. To the delight of the importer I expect!
Also, when ex military or MOD vehicles (often Land Rovers) were sold off, they would frequently be given a reg plate of the the year of receiving a civilian number plate. It's why the VIN is more important for provenance really. You're probably right that DVLA wouldn't do that now because of electronic issue of plates and the updating of databases.
Also, when ex military or MOD vehicles (often Land Rovers) were sold off, they would frequently be given a reg plate of the the year of receiving a civilian number plate. It's why the VIN is more important for provenance really. You're probably right that DVLA wouldn't do that now because of electronic issue of plates and the updating of databases.
It used to be the norm that vehicles requiring a registration for whatever reason - old plate removed, imported vehicle - would get a new registration. I recall looking at mid-70s 911s with X-suffix plates for example. As I understand it the practice was changed at the same time as the "new-style" registrations with the year letter as a prefix were introduced.
Before the whole registration process was fully centralised, various districts/regions etc. would treat imports/private reg'/kit cars as they saw fit. It was common to find "new" nos. being issued using different criteria to a neighbouring district. I owned a 1967 Herald imported from Jersey in '72, it was given an "L" reg' - a mate's GT6 was given an age related no.
Despite the process being subject to local, err... standards, I miss the days of the Local Licensing Office - 'twas always good to be able to speak to a knowledgeable individual.
Despite the process being subject to local, err... standards, I miss the days of the Local Licensing Office - 'twas always good to be able to speak to a knowledgeable individual.
droopsnoot said:
It used to be the norm that vehicles requiring a registration for whatever reason - old plate removed, imported vehicle - would get a new registration. I recall looking at mid-70s 911s with X-suffix plates for example. As I understand it the practice was changed at the same time as the "new-style" registrations with the year letter as a prefix were introduced.
Yep, agree with this.It was common enough back then - my first car was a 1977 Belgian built Mini 1000, it was imported into the UK in '83 and was given a Y suffix plate.
The last batch of Rover P5B Saloons were built in June '73 and went straight into storage at Ashchurch MOD, they were held back until needed with most of them being registered on M or N suffix plates, one or two had T plates and it was reported in Classic & Sportscar magazine that there were still five unregistered ones in storage as late as 1988, fifteen years after being built.
The last batch of Rover P5B Saloons were built in June '73 and went straight into storage at Ashchurch MOD, they were held back until needed with most of them being registered on M or N suffix plates, one or two had T plates and it was reported in Classic & Sportscar magazine that there were still five unregistered ones in storage as late as 1988, fifteen years after being built.
It was "common" in so far as there were local registration Offices, which would make mistakes or follow practices that were not always consistent.
Imported vehicles would often get a "new" registration at the point of importation rather than the date it was manufactured/first registered abroad etc
Imported vehicles would often get a "new" registration at the point of importation rather than the date it was manufactured/first registered abroad etc
iDrive said:
It was "common" in so far as there were local registration Offices, which would make mistakes or follow practices that were not always consistent.
Just to back this up, I bought an Alfasud Ti which was the personal property of the Italian Ambassadors wife and was on diplomatic plates. The car was a '76 model, I bought it in '78 and it was re-registered in London with a 'P' suffix (correct for the year of manufacture).So practice seems to have varied depending on location / what side of the bed the person in the licensing office got out of that morning.
Kim
OutInTheShed said:
AIUI, a lot of pre-62 cars and bikes got suffix registrations.
The system got more formal with prefix reg's, and the Q plate was invented?
Before age related plates were issued, some? all? cars that had lost their reg were given A suffix plates - I've seen cars on the L-B veteran run with them.The system got more formal with prefix reg's, and the Q plate was invented?
john2443 said:
OutInTheShed said:
AIUI, a lot of pre-62 cars and bikes got suffix registrations.
The system got more formal with prefix reg's, and the Q plate was invented?
Before age related plates were issued, some? all? cars that had lost their reg were given A suffix plates - I've seen cars on the L-B veteran run with them.The system got more formal with prefix reg's, and the Q plate was invented?
My late fathers Vauxhall Victor that he owned in the early 70's was a mid 1963 year car, but had an old style 3 x 3 non-suffix number plate.
The plan at the time was that only the London Vehicle Registration Offices would issue A suffix plates, the rest of the country would start with B.
A suffix plates were issued retrospectively across the country where vehicles were issued a replacement plate (and in some cases where the vehicle had been manufactured/used/previously registered well before 1964).
Again, there were local anomalies as local Offices didn't always follow the plan...!
Q plates mildly complicated the situation.
For E suffix, the date of the plate changed from 1st Jan to 1st Aug, so there were relatively fewer E suffix vehicles registered.
For anyone with a vague interest in the topic, the MetPol produced a guide which showed all of the suffix an local identifier combinations that had been issued - eg GFOxxxH to NFOxxxH - this allowed Traffic Patrol Officers to spot that a vehicle displaying BFOxxxH was an anomaly, and most likely to be on false plates. Many Officers developed a memory for the combinations, certainly those relevant to their local area.
A suffix plates were issued retrospectively across the country where vehicles were issued a replacement plate (and in some cases where the vehicle had been manufactured/used/previously registered well before 1964).
Again, there were local anomalies as local Offices didn't always follow the plan...!
Q plates mildly complicated the situation.
For E suffix, the date of the plate changed from 1st Jan to 1st Aug, so there were relatively fewer E suffix vehicles registered.
For anyone with a vague interest in the topic, the MetPol produced a guide which showed all of the suffix an local identifier combinations that had been issued - eg GFOxxxH to NFOxxxH - this allowed Traffic Patrol Officers to spot that a vehicle displaying BFOxxxH was an anomaly, and most likely to be on false plates. Many Officers developed a memory for the combinations, certainly those relevant to their local area.
iDrive said:
For anyone with a vague interest in the topic, the MetPol produced a guide which showed all of the suffix an local identifier combinations that had been issued - eg GFOxxxH to NFOxxxH - this allowed Traffic Patrol Officers to spot that a vehicle displaying BFOxxxH was an anomaly, and most likely to be on false plates. Many Officers developed a memory for the combinations, certainly those relevant to their local area.
I used to have a copy of that....if its the one I'm thinking of............had a dark red cover. No idea what happened to it..........was on the book shelf for years from the early 80's onwards........and I thought I'd find it when moving house a few years ago, but didn't.Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff