Re: Ca, Re-issuing Black Plates

[302Z]

I went to the DMV in West Covina, CA this morning to get the Black plates reassigned to my 69 Z. The plates were the ones that were on the car when I pulled it from a backyard in West Covina, CA 10 years ago. The car had been sitting in the same place for over 20 yrs. The rear plate had 1970 and 1971 stickers showing, with the 1971 sticker obviously placed over the white 1969 sticker. Neither plate was stamped 1963. The plates are ZSB XXX. There were no month stickers on the plates. The License plate frames on the car both front and rear were from Hovey Dallas Chevrolet in Gardena CA. From talking with the family that I purchased the car from (original owners), these were the original plates for the car. Unfortunately they could not locate any old registrations or title to link the black plate number to the VIN number. The car was out of the DMV system due to inactivity of registration for so many years, so when I bought it the DMV would not reassign the black plates. Anyway, at the DMV today I got the usual different answer from each person that I spoke with. None of the window people seemed to be familiar with California AB462 that allows the reassignment of the black plate. After the inital person that I spoke with told me " No Way" when I asked to have the plates reassigned to my vehicle, I spoke with a couple of supervisors regarding the matter. Luckily I had printed out and brought with my a summary from the internet in regards to California AB462. After they made a call to Sacramento, they agreed to let my have the plates reassigned, but, ONLY if I could produce a complete, legible, original 1969 California registration sticker. So... I spent 30 minutes chipping the 1971 registration sticker (under strict DMV supervision) to uncover the original 1969 registration sticker. I was then "allowed" to have the black plates reassigned. Bottom line.... You'll need a set of two black plates, in good condition, with one plate showing the California registration sticker for the year of the vehicle that you want the plate assinged to. They also require current registration, insurance, and a $20.00 doller per year "retention fee" for the plates. They didnt seem to be concerned with the sequential issue of plates, in that plates with the letter sequence starting with the letters X, Y, and Z were correct for a 1969 year model car. They were only concerned with the condition of the plates and that the approriate year registration sticker was present. I know this procedure will vary with each DMV office, and each DMV representitive, even though it should be standardized. Funny how a guy can walk into the DMV office with good intentions and get the runaround for something so simple. In light of the states financial problem, you'd think that if I brought my own plates in, along with cash payment, it would be a smooth deal to accomplish what is legal and just. Thanks for the rant....!!!!