License Plate Restoration

smurph

smurph

Senior Member
Does anyone know of a good license plate restorer in the New York metro / Long Island area? Thanks in advance.
 
If you intend to use the restored plate on your car be sure to check that your state DMV will accept a plate that has been restored (some will not).

Charlie Stephens
 
Thanks for your replies.
Tim, by any chance do you have Bob Luczon's Phone #?
Charlie, you're quite right, and NY is one of those states that only approves unrestored plates.
Ron, neat video. Where on earth did you find that?
Thanks to all,
smurph
 
Frank Miller said:
Many guys just get their plates approved and then restore them. Mass is trying to change it now.
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I never really understood why restored plates are an issue. My dad left me the 3/4 ton 67 GMC that his father left him which had the original plates - what was left of them anyway. The rear plate was so rusted all that was left was the tag spaces and half of the state name: "fornia" It had been out of license for 15+ years but stored indoors. The plate was the only thing that was rusted :) After redoing the bench seat (the only fabric in the whole truck) and repainting I took the front plate, made a cast of it, and used the cast to hydroform a new one out of aluminum. Painted it the right colors - repainted the front plate, put them back on the truck after it was and drove off down to the DMV to get the title tranferred and new sticky tags. When the DMV guy inspected it he ran the numbers - looked at the truck, noticed the plates and smiled, and that was it.
As long as the numbers, color, size and fonts are correct...what's the problem?
California let me do it, and this place says no to every freedom you can name. (I'll bet it really turns their crank that I dont have to smog it) :)
 
Have to ask. Why would the states be against you restoring your plate? Surely it's better to be able to read it from a distance.
 
BarracudaBoy said:
Have to ask. Why would the states be against you restoring your plate? Surely it's better to be able to read it from a distance.
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The states probably want to avoid new plates. I think they depend on the old plate to avoid issuing duplicate numbers (but they still check).

Charlie Stephens
 
I used Jim's Old Pl8's and he did a great job. When I got home from my trip to the MARC meet, I noticed that the upper corner had a crack and the paint had chipped off. He said to send it back, I paid a few dollars to have it welded by his friend, and he repainted the plate for no charge. It came back looking like new. Jim's at 132 Crocus Way Princeton, WV 24740 phone 304-324-2342
 
I was just going to say that NY is one that doesn't like restored plates,, but,, I'm glad to see you knew that.. Pssstt,, just don't tell 'em..
 
BarracudaBoy said:
Have to ask. Why would the states be against you restoring your plate?
Click to expand...

That's something I wonder about too. As long as they're authentic, isn't it better to have legible ones than rusty ones?

At least in CA there's apparently a law prohibiting restorations or reproductions.

But realistically, as long as it's a valid number and isn't duplicated (which they can easily check), what's the problem with either a restored or reproduced plate?

Several years ago I bought NOS original 1928 plates for my car. Gorgeous. They passed DMV with flying colors, naturally. But over the course of just a few years the old paint deteriorated something terrible. They became downright ugly, and no longer complemented the appearance of the car. I considered sending them out for restoration, but then they'd be illegal. So I went another route: I ordered reproductions with my number. Yeah, technically they're illegal, but who would ever know? If a policeman ever stops me they'll run the number and find it's valid. If for some wildly implausible reason a cop is savvy enough to cite me because it looks too perfect for a 1928, I still have my 100% original and 100% legal plates hanging on the wall of my garage. They could go right back on the car if I were forced to. But if I get them restored, there's no way to unrestore them....

The repros look terrific, by the way.

As a sidebar, I think that from the DMV's standpoint the bigger fear on repros is that someone orders totally conventional plates, then has repros made with the modern number and uses them as if they were YOM plates, without paying the YOM fees. It sure would be easy to do: get new standard plates, don't put the stickers on, order repros, and in 1 week you have 1928 or whatever year you want plates with the brand-new number. I'm sure that 99.9% of the time if someone were stopped, the cop would simply run the number and not think twice about whether it's a valid format for 1928, or whether it carries an official YOM certification. But that is really stretching the law; at least my repros are exact copies of originals and have the same original number.
 
When I bought my 1930 Town Sedan about 8 years ago, I decided that I wanted to have YOM plates for it here in Calif. I found a restorer in N. Calif. and he told me he would guarantee that the DMV would accept the plates, including the number for like 60 days.
When I got the new plates, I took them along with the current plates to the local DMV office. The clerk examined the restored plates, measured them, and looked in a book for the proper color, etc. for 1930. He also checked that the numbers had not been re-used. I paid my one time fee to assign those to the car and now I just pay the annual registration fee. It was very easy to do and at that time, they welcomed correctly restored plates.
 
TerryH said:
When I bought my 1930 Town Sedan about 8 years ago, I decided that I wanted to have YOM plates for it here in Calif. I found a restorer in N. Calif. and he told me he would guarantee that the DMV would accept the plates, including the number for like 60 days.
When I got the new plates, I took them along with the current plates to the local DMV office. The clerk examined the restored plates, measured them, and looked in a book for the proper color, etc. for 1930. He also checked that the numbers had not been re-used. I paid my one time fee to assign those to the car and now I just pay the annual registration fee. It was very easy to do and at that time, they welcomed correctly restored plates.
Click to expand...

that was my expereince exactly when I did YOM plates on my Fordor 2 months ago.

California doesnt care about restoring, or even making from scratch, plates as long as they are the same as the originals.. color, size, font, everything.. and have the correct numbers. I see lots of repaints on classic cars... The local TCP shop even has the codes for the colors. The new plates are reflectorized now. the car restorers will have a tough time with those 50 years from now :)
 
What does California charge on top of the regular renewal fee ever year if you use YOM plates? This assumes that you added the YOM plates, that they haven't been on the car already its whole life.

According to the DMV site, there is an annual fee for using YOM plates.
 
Rene R said:
That's something I wonder about too. As long as they're authentic, isn't it better to have legible ones than rusty ones?

At least in CA there's apparently a law prohibiting restorations or reproductions.

But realistically, as long as it's a valid number and isn't duplicated (which they can easily check), what's the problem with either a restored or reproduced plate?

Several years ago I bought NOS original 1928 plates for my car. Gorgeous. They passed DMV with flying colors, naturally. But over the course of just a few years the old paint deteriorated something terrible. They became downright ugly, and no longer complemented the appearance of the car. I considered sending them out for restoration, but then they'd be illegal. So I went another route: I ordered reproductions with my number. Yeah, technically they're illegal, but who would ever know? If a policeman ever stops me they'll run the number and find it's valid. If for some wildly implausible reason a cop is savvy enough to cite me because it looks too perfect for a 1928, I still have my 100% original and 100% legal plates hanging on the wall of my garage. They could go right back on the car if I were forced to. But if I get them restored, there's no way to unrestore them....

The repros look terrific, by the way.

As a sidebar, I think that from the DMV's standpoint the bigger fear on repros is that someone orders totally conventional plates, then has repros made with the modern number and uses them as if they were YOM plates, without paying the YOM fees. It sure would be easy to do: get new standard plates, don't put the stickers on, order repros, and in 1 week you have 1928 or whatever year you want plates with the brand-new number. I'm sure that 99.9% of the time if someone were stopped, the cop would simply run the number and not think twice about whether it's a valid format for 1928, or whether it carries an official YOM certification. But that is really stretching the law; at least my repros are exact copies of originals and have the same original number.
Click to expand...

I have a question. You said if you restored plates after they were registered to your car they would be illegal. What do you base that statement on? Can you point to a section in the DMV code?

Charlie Stephens
 
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