14 replies to this topic

[soooty]

are vinyl number plates legal on a pre 1973 car. before 1973 you were allowed black number plates with white letters.. which didnt have to be reflective.. so wandered if a vinyl number plate stuck on the bonnet of a 1970 car would be legal. i see lots of them on e-types

Edited by soooty, 13 April 2009 - 08:11 PM.

[Jimmy Hat]

Dont think they are, i think they have to be on a flat surface or something which the Mini bonnet isn't so no..

[yorkshirechris]

AFAIK there are no legal stick-on plates, they have to be mounted on a flat surface facing forwards and the surface of the bonnet on the mini isn't suitable for this.

[soooty]

not for a mini. i have given up having my spine shattered every time i run over a bird *melon*

[mab01uk]

are vinyl number plates legal on a pre 1973 car. before 1973 you were allowed black number plates with white letters.. which didnt have to be reflective.. so wandered if a vinyl number plate stuck on the bonnet of a 1970 car would be legal. i see lots of them on e-types

More info below on this topic from Craigs Plates who still supply stick-on vinyl plates in black/white or reflective to BSAU145d:-

http://www.craigspla...ve-number-plate

http://www.craigspla...wtopic.php?t=85

Edited by mab01uk, 13 April 2009 - 10:11 PM.

[MiniMonty]

What you see on E-Types are not vynil "stick ons". They're painted. And you can paint yours.

I looked DEEPLY into this because I really wanted a number plate on my bonnet.
Yes, I read the pinned post at the top of the styling section "Anybody Have Experience With Later Than 1973 Black/silver Reg Plates On Mini"
but I wasn't satisfied that I couldn't find a loophole.
And I did.
Sadly, for my car (1988) it's illegal whichever way you look at it.

But a 1970 car has what the lawyers call "Grandfather rights" i.e. what was legal when it was built is legal
for it ever after. Like my old '66 Spitfire - it wasn't built with seat belts so it's perfectly legal to drive around without them
until the end of time.

For a 1970 Mini, you can't use a vynil stick on plate on the bonnet and be legal, BUT - the legal way
to do it is to PAINT the registration mark the bonnet using the correct period font (or even a good approximation of it).
If you do it this way you are 100% legal (and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise).

How to do it:
call craigsplates or any of the others that do stick-on plates and find someone who can
do you a stick on plate with the correct font for 1970. Order this and when it arrives scan it into your computer or just
photocopy it a few times. Print a few copies onto card / paper and make a stencil. Either cut the letters out of the paper or cut away
the paper and leave the letters. Maybe do both and certainly do some experiments before you start painting the bonnet !

When you're happy with your method spray a reg' shape background onto your bonnet and let it dry. Now use your stencil and paint the
reg' onto the shape. Sorted.
Reg' on bonnet and completely legal.

You'll have to do your research into whether white on black or black on white was legal in 1970 but the get the
colours right and you're roadworthy and good for the MOT.

Best wishes
Monty

my illegal number plate looks like this:

 mimizero.jpg   146.21K   13 downloads

[soooty]

well i put a black vinyl plate on the bonnet today and it was fine for the mot.

[Jimmy Hat]

MOT worthy and road legal seem to be 2 very different things. You can still get pulled for it if you're unlucky.

[blackbelt1990]

ted_mc_edd's had his painted on for ages... me and him did it with some matt black and OEW... he's not had any trouble, is is 1972-3 ish

although... doing things that draw attention to yourself won't help after you've done it! lol

Ryan

[Globule]

If you did what MiniMonty suggested, then the most accurate font is "Charles Wright", you can buy it off the internet for around £40-£50 or so i think (of course there will be other ways to get it )

Edited by Globule, 14 April 2009 - 09:57 PM.

[blackbelt1990]

If you did what MiniMonty suggested, then the most accurate font is "Charles Wright", you can buy it off the internet for around £40-£50 or so i think (of course there will be other ways to get it )

Take a picture of your current plate.... if it's the right font

Print the photo from your computer at the correct size... usually 2 pages of A4...

Legend

[Dan]

What you see on E-Types are not vynil "stick ons". They're painted. And you can paint yours.

No you can't, not legally. The law regarding registrations directly applied to the body with paint (or vinyl) only covers those vehicles originally intended by the manufacturer to have their registration displayed in this way, which essentially means it applies to E-types and a few other sports cars only. To my knowledge it's only permitted for vehicles registered up to 1967 too.

[SamOzzie]

Or you could just do it anyway and hope for the best
and if u get pulled over say.....sorry officer it was on the car when i bought it, i had no idea
then keep a normal plate in the boot and ductape that on

[62S]

So long as it is spaced correctly, correct font and legible you are highly unlikely to get pulled just for a number plate on the bonnet.

[soooty]

If you did what MiniMonty suggested, then the most accurate font is "Charles Wright", you can buy it off the internet for around £40-£50 or so i think (of course there will be other ways to get it )

whose gonna pay £50 for a font. i'll send anyone that type face for free