Is anyone using Historical License Plates?
 

Hi all,

Are any of you using Historical License Plates? I live in Michigan and they look very restrictive.

Ray

I have them on my truck. I don't know about Michigan, but in Ohio, they are pretty lenient on the "rules". I have hauled stuff in my truck and driven it all over the place with no problems. I do go to car shows with it mainly though. When my Cobra hits 25 years old, it will get them also. $35 for lifetime plates. Can't beat that deal!

In Ohio, you can use model year plates in place of the Historical Vehicle plates. You only need the rear plate, so they are pretty easy to find plates for say 1967.

Some states are pretty easy. In Colorado my Cobra got 5 year plates with no emissions for $35. That was the total. (Mine actually cost $15 more per year because I got a vanity plate.)

Some states are very restrictive.

Some states are changing the rules. Nevada says vehicles over 20 years qualify. That means my Dodge Ram pickup truck will qualify in 4 years. I know a guy who has a 1999 Dodge truck that has them on it. It's a little absurd. They want to change it to 1975 and before. Even that is a bit of a stretch.

You may also wan to explore any rules pertaining to Historical License plates. Some states restrict the amount of driving that you can do with them. If you do not plan on driving a lot it may not make a difference, but if you plan on driving the cobra a lot you may not want to go down that road. Good luck.

Here are Michigan rules:

A historical vehicle must be:

26 or more years old
Owned solely as a collector's item
Used only for events such as historical club activities, parades, and car shows
Note: A vehicle registered with a historical or authentic plate cannot be used for routine, day-to-day transportation; however, the law does allow for vehicles with a valid historical or authentic license plate to be driven at any time, including as daily transportation, during the month of August.

I live in Michigan and have historical plates on two of my eligible cars. I don’t drive these cars for daily transport, but I certainly drive them on weekends and tours and such. And have never had a problem. I even shipped the XK120 to England for a 70th anniversary driving event there with no license or registration problems. I like the historical registration because it avoids the annual renewal hassle. The Cobra is on “normal” plates because of the vanity “64 Cobra” label that I don’t want to lose.
A story - I have an acquaintance with a street rod who painted his historical plate to match his car, got ticketed by the police, then got in a shouting match at the license bureau claiming they had told him it would be OK. This did not end well....

Dave,

Thanks for posting. I was wondering how people in Michigan view these restrictions. I was doubting that law enforcement would put policing this at a very high priority.

I am retired, just want to use it for country drives, meeting friends for lunch, and such. I do not want it to be a garage queen.

Ray

I own several vehicles with "Historic " plates here in Alabama. My '91 Unique is eligible here as a '91 from build date or from its "66 Ford Convertible" Delaware title.

I own a '73 Ford F350 dump truck with a Vintage Tag and Hagerty Insurance.

I very seldom drive either.

Going political for a minute.

I just bought 1 1/2 of a '93 Geo Metro Convertible for a daily driver to work. Biden's going to try to kill our sport.

I would wait and see. Just happened to come across a Jay Leno's garage a few months ago in which Jay is going for a ride in Biden's '67 Corvette Stingray that he got new. Biden was VP then and was complaining that the secret Service would not let him drive. He took Jay out for a spin and was going through the gears. He's a gear head like us.

Unless you're specifically targeted for contact, LE is unlikely to
pull you over for display of "Historical Plates". However, when
stopped expect to be questioned about where you're going.
Questions by LE often times are a method of getting you to
self incriminate. If you blurt out the country drive, lunch with
friends answer, that's grounds for tacking on another violation
and the annoyance of fighting it in court.

Know your state rules and have a scripted answer.
That answer should parallel one of the following:

"Just came out of maintenance this is a test drive."
"Going to (or coming from) a car event." - Know the address.
"The car is being moved from/to storage." - Know the address.

In my state they are called "Collector Plates". The only rule is if
you display these plates the car can not be the primary mode of
transportation. This rule is enforced by proving ownership of a
another vehicle and presenting a second car proof of insurance card.

The guys I know who got clipped for "Historical Plates" are people who
repeatedly drive the same route regularly and have been observed by
the same local police multiple times. When stopped, they were unprepared
for the correct answer and stated something like, "Just going to work..."

I've only been stopped once because the guy was curious. However he
still noticed the special plates. Asked a few questions. got a scripted
answer, was satisfied and I was on my way.

It's never an issue, until it is.

That is all........

In NH one can use the original 1964/1965 plates when registered as an antique. So we can "for free" get a waiver with permission to do so... :p

I have them on my 69 NASCAR Cobra here in California but they are difficult to get here as they have so many requirements the car has to meet. Then a few years ago they sent me a letter informing me that I had illegal plates as they don't have the correct number of letters and digits. I called them and told them they were historical plates and they issued them 10 years before that. The woman I talked to actually had a brain and she looked in the DMV computer and told me to forget that letter as it should never have been sent.

Ron

Joyridin spoke up for our Buckeye state, just wanted to chime in to add my 2001 EM, registered as a 67, is wearing historical plate. Supposed to be valid for 30 years.
Also, OH finally got rid of the "front plate " requirement this past year.

Hi Ray,

Key is the age qualification.

I have run historical plates for years and never had a problem and I don't count miles.

If you are out for a drive and you get pulled over and are not part of an event just tell the office you made some modifications and are taking a test drive.

Jeff

I have them on mine, in South Dakota. Rules here are similar, but nobody seems to follow them, or care. I typically DO stop at a gas station every time I take mine out, so I’m not too worried. Like mentioned above- you can always just state that you are taking it for a test drive, or headed to get gas.

“Vehicles displaying historic plates can only be used for special occasions such as displays, parades, exhibitions, tours and similar uses, and may be driven to service stations or garages for fuel and repairs. It may not be used for general transportation purpose unless it displays regular number plates issued by the county treasurer. Regular license plates issued by this state in the same year as the year of the vehicle (this does not pertain to motorcycles) may be used on the vehicle instead of historic license plates, but must be registered through the Motor Vehicles Division.“

I have antique plates on my old cars and on the ERA. Once I told them it was a replica of a 66 Ford Cobra they said I was good to go for an antique plate.

In Indiana there are no restrictions on use with Historic plates but they cost the same as a regular plate.