Black and Silver number plates

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Black and Silver number plates

Postby Fred Dukes » Tue Apr 21, 2020 8:19 pm

Looking at the DVLA rules on number plates it seems that if you have your vehicle registered as an Historic Vehicle you can put Black and Silver number plates on - it used to be vehicles prior to 1973 - apparently changed in 2015 :roll: https://insidedvla.blog.gov.uk/2015/11/ ... er-plates/
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Re: Black and Silver number plates

Postby rizzo » Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:11 pm

Talking of which, does anyone know who sells them in acrylic or plastic?
HB 1159 1968 10K White
HB 4000 1968 Green
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Re: Black and Silver number plates

Postby thomas » Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:41 pm

Fred Dukes wrote:Looking at the DVLA rules on number plates it seems that if you have your vehicle registered as an Historic Vehicle you can put Black and Silver number plates on - it used to be vehicles prior to 1973 - apparently changed in 2015 :roll: https://insidedvla.blog.gov.uk/2015/11/ ... er-plates/


:rant:

I don't think they look right - black and silver - on anything, they were never common, lesser-spotted only around here, not on cars of our era, HAs maybe but unlikely, HBs, and HCs not. These were on the whole bread and butter cars, dealers would have fitted what was cheapest, most common, and legal at that time.

They're going to look even stupider and out-of-place, an abomination on later rolling-exemption cars, it's just wrong, wrong, wrong. DVLA slipped up on this, post 70-71 cars should have white/yellow reflective pairs, period should mean period, period. I'm not overly concerned about period authenticity when it comes to improved safety -brakes, lighting etc. and reliability, comfort and so on, even a little performance tweak, but appearance, and the memories it evokes are everything.

Black, with white letters, front and rear for pre-70-71; yellow/black rear, white/black front for everything later.

Later.

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Re: Black and Silver number plates

Postby 1972nail » Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:41 am

I agree with Thomas to an extent. Our 1969 Minor originally came with pressed reflective plates and I'm very sure that most new cars of that era would have been fitted with the very latest, stylish and up to date reflective plates too. Black and silver plates would have been frowned upon as being out of date and unfashionable by that time.

However, I found it impossible to get new pressed reflective plates made in the correct font so I opted for black and silver in the correct font rather than some modern font that looked totally ridiculous.

Now my Firenza has black and silver plates for a different reason, I preferred the look of simplicity the monochrome colour scheme gives, and that is possibly what many people prefer even though they don't realise it. They just think it looks better for some reason.

Having said that, certainly any new car models introduced after 1973 should have reflective plates, they just look silly on older plates, and that includes Magnums.

Another aspect of their 'perceived' attractiveness is that there are stories circulating that number plate recognition cameras have difficulty reading black and silver non reflective plates which means you can dodge congestion charges and other offences. I must emphasise that these are stories and necessarily fact.....
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Re: Black and Silver number plates

Postby cooperman » Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:51 am

Have a look at these Colin, there was an exhibitor at Tatton Park who did number plates but I can't for the life of me remember their name,

https://www.raysons.co.uk/VINTAGE_PLATE ... 08797.aspx
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Re: Black and Silver number plates

Postby droopsnoot » Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:16 am

As I understand it, the link between mono plates and historic VED classification occurred while the VED exemption was locked at the 1973 cut-off date. During that period, the two dates were the same, and some official wording linked them together. Once the VED cut-off date started moving again, the plates cut-off came with it for that reason. I don't think it was an intentional change, but I can't remember where I read that.

I'm not a fan of mono plates on cars that wouldn't have had them from new. When reflective plates were introduced, which I think was the late sixties (as opposed to when they became mandatory, which I think was 1973, where the cut-off date came from originally), everyone had them fitted to new cars because it made them look more modern. A lot of people retro-fitted them for the same reason. So if I put mono plates on my 1976-registered Firenza, it'd be something it would never have been allowed to wear in period. And, the rear plate is about the only bit of colour on it.

I doubt the ANPR thing is anywhere near true. You'd imagine there's no difference between the contrast in a white-on-black plate and a black-on-white plate, and very little between that and a black-on-yellow one. Added to that, I recall on another forum that whenever this came up, a poster added the photo of his Rover P5, on original-style mono plates, that had been sent to him along with his NIP for speeding. That dates back years, and I'd imagine technology has made this better rather than worse. You only have to look at the kind of face-recognition that's built in to a lot of phone camera software to show what tech is capable of now.
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Re: Black and Silver number plates

Postby Fred Dukes » Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:46 am

Well that got people talking - don't think Thomas can decide which is best :lol: If you look on the DVLA site the change to white front and yellow rear happened in 1973.
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Re: Black and Silver number plates

Postby Colin » Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:18 am

I think everyone is right on this thread.

The silver on black pressed character classic plates fitted to many of our cars are probably more correct for cars from the 1930s to 50s era, but people fit them because they look good and are discreet - as well illustrated above on Fred's cars.

I fitted raised chamfered edge plastic silver character on black plates to my GT about ten years ago, although as Thomas says the car was probably originally fitted with the latest new and trendy black on yellow / white plates - and those are more historically accurate.

Silver on black or white on black plates just look completely wrong on anything post 1973. For example on a late T registered Viva.

Period publicity pictures from the 60s seem to show quite a few cars fitted with white plastic on black tin number plates (not silver on black).

I would really like to find some proper 60s style white plastic chamfered character on black tin number plates, but they are so hard to find at reasonable price. I think last time I looked the only ones I could find were about £100 a pair!
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Re: Black and Silver number plates

Postby thomas » Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:38 am

I should have read Fred's link before commencing rant. A cut-off of 1975 isn't too bad, it's still wrong though for M, N and P reg. cars. I thought it allowed and would lead to many rolling Historic Status (up to 1980-ish now) cars running around with inauthentic black/white or worse black/silver plates, which would be awful.

Hadn't realised the reflective ones didn't become law till 1973. Clearly they were available and were fitted to some new cars prior to '73, I guess from about 71-ish when they started to appear and were more or less the norm for J or at least K and L plate cars.

Some owners of pre-73 cars with the old black plates and second-hand traders selling them, after '73 would have fitted the newer white/yellow plates, to make them look more modern!
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Re: Black and Silver number plates

Postby Bob perry » Wed Apr 22, 2020 11:19 am

My 66 HA has steel black plates with pressed silver digits, and a silver border, as fitted from new.
To put the modern acrylic reflective ones on would look equally out of place, as much as black/silver ones on later models.
As far as I am aware, NPR cameras pick up either just as easily!!

Not that Viva drivers exceed the speed limits anyway do they?? We 're all good boys aren't we!!
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