I'd like to put vintage 1930 Texas plates on my 1930 Model A coupe. It's registered as an antique in TX now and I know the vintage plates from 1930 can be used. That modern "antique" plate that they give you is really ugly. I already bought a very nice set of vintage 1930 TX plates, only to find out after the fact that due to my ignorance on the subject that they can't be registered, as apparently the numbers on the 1930 plates I have are already in use on a current plate. My bad, lesson learned. They'll make fully restored wall art, I guess. That said, I do have a couple of questions though: -Once I do find a plate that has registerable numbers, do I actually need a set of two to register? I thought I read somewhere that an TX antique only needs to run a rear plate. Do I need to show up at the window with two plates anyway? Will they allow me to register with only one plate in hand? Does it have to be the one labeled "rear"? -These darn things are not easy to find, and on eBay they can be crazy expensive, as eBay usually is. Does anyone know a guy (or lady) who deals in these plates and who knows if they're registerable or not when you buy them? -Lastly, I know this is a long shot, but there are so many users on this site that perhaps someone is interested in this possibility. I bought my car out of California. It was registered there on a vintage 1930 California plate, so the number is almost certainly still registerable there. The plate is in almost pristine condition. If anyone has a very clean and registerable 1930 TX rear plate and would be interested in a swap, please let me know either here or via private message. Thanks for any info and help, it's greatly appreciated.
So in my experience w Dallas county you have to show both plates, but you only have to run one on the back. Of course there are "limitations" on running a YOM plate. Parades, car shows, trips for repairs, car club functions ect... At least thats what they tell ya. Trying to keep the daily driver guys from using them Id suppose. Ive run YOM plates on all my old cars around N. TEXAS for years w no issues. Make sure they are good condition as in no rust, no real "patina" to speak of. They must look new. (At least at my local DMV's disscretion.) If you think 30 plates are bad look what a set of 1929 TX plates go for...
Also, they have a book of all the original color schemes for YOM plates, so make sure they've been restored in the proper paint schemes prior to purchasing. Most plate sellers I've worked with in the past will check on their own to verify whether a plate number is available prior to selling them. So all the plates I've purchased over the years have p***ed with flying colors at the Lubbock, TX DMV, but each county/city can differ as to how picky they are. I'll send you a PM with my buddy's phone number. He's based here in Lubbock and has been doing the vintage plate thing for decades. I just don't want his phone blowing up if I post it publicly.
I bought a 36 Ford coupe about 18 months ago—came with Texas 1936 plates(pair) took them down to the local tax office and the lady said they were too ugly to register the 1936 Ford using them. She provided me with the proper colors for 1936 and had a friend “restore and paint” them to look much better than their initial exposure at the tax office. She said they look nice enuf to register the 36 to legally. Had to have a pair(front and rear) b4 being legally registered!!
I registered mine in Texas with vintage plates. They required both and carefully compared them to the master book they had. Some TX Plates are specific and marked "Front & Rear". Mine were nice patina plates. They told me that they were primarily concerned with reproductions and incorrect colors on original restored plates. They said people try and p*** off all kinds of things. She said they prefer Unrestored, Original Plates" but that wasn't required. I found it to be easy with reasonable fees, they were just very thorough.
I have 1932 Texas plates on both of my ‘32’s. As stated above, I was required to have both plates in hand to register them and they looked in their plate book to verify they were the right colors. I am unsure about the legality of running only the rear as I have been told it’s legal and I’ve been told it’s not. A guy you might check with is Michael Schmitt. His email address is pl8doc@gmail.com. He restored mine and I bought a restored set of ‘29’s from him some years ago. He does (did) really nice work and was easy to work with. He’s in the Dallas area.
Unfortunately for you, it appears you're in Harris county. If so, get ready -per Bluto "my advice to you is to begin drinking heavily". I did some a long time ago, after the local runaround I had to go to the downtown courthouse-drink more---and tell the person that failed kindergarten my situation. Yes, after a loss of many valuable hairs, multiple AA meetings, and shopping for lethal weapons I got them. Never again-antique plates are just fine for me.
A quick, but not 100% guaranteed way to verify if the plate is currently registered is to go to MyPlates.com and type in the plate number as if you're creating a custom vanity plate. It's not always accurate, but I've had good luck doing it this way while holding a pair of YOM plates in my hand while at a swap meet contemplating the purchase. As mentioned above, if 2 YOM plates were originally issued for that year, then you have to have 2 plates in order to register them to your vehicle, even though you only have to display 1 plate on the vehicle. There's a guy in San Antonio that goes by "License Plate Jesse", he's always set up at swap meets with tons of plates. Jesse Perez 210-532-7456
Yup "License Plate Jesse" is the guy to go to........been doing business with him for years, Jesse know his stuff.
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