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Original California Black Plate

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gsalt57tr3

gsalt57tr3

Jedi Warrior
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There is a 1953 TR2 currently listed on Ebay. The owner is declaring quite proudly that it has the "original" black plates.

The California black plates with yellow lettering were introduced in 1963. Previous to that, the plates were yellow back with black lettering.

But the Yellow plate was introduced in 1956.

Before that, California plates were (I believe) yellow on black and black on yellow alternating years, with a much bolder font than today's plates, with the numbers and letters in a completely different sequencing.

I don't know whether this qualifies as a rant or a history lesson, but I'm done now... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
Um... this guy has received the brunt of our rants before. He was the guy selling the "RARE TR-3B" with a TS62xxx commission number. I've been following his offerings since the TR3B episode with a grain of salt. Everything to him is "rare" "original" and every single car is a "rust free California car".

I don't know how he does it but he manages to turn over a ton of product. I'm figuring 15 or 20 cars a month. He has a showroom a few miles from me that always has 20 cars in it and they are always changing. Mostly buffed-out garage finds and a few Earl Sheib paint jobs.

I can't quite put my finger on what is wrong but something rubs me the wrong way about him. He's not exactly being a shyster but he's getting a ton of dough for cars that are at best "5's" on a 10 point scale. Mechanical stuff is definately not his specialty and from the looks of his garage he's just bolting back on anything he can and pushing them out the door.

I don't know... the glass half-full perspective would be that he's getting a lot of cars out to people that were probably just rotting away somewhere.

A couple of new guys showed up last month at our Triumph Club meeting that had just purchased spitfires from this guy so time will tell if they are happy or not.
 
To sort out if indeed the car is a California original, you need to see the pink slip or registration card. If it is a vehicle type 120...then it is a California car.
Cheers, David. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
LOL, maybe the term "Rust Free Arizona Car" just doesn't have the recognition or mystique that "Rust Free California Car" has...
 
A friend of mine just asked me about a Checker Marathon which was billed as an "original blue plate CA car" and why that was either important or worth more. I explained that since he was planning to license the car in WA, in made absolutely no difference, and if anything the maximum value add for the car was about $35, or the value of a blue plate on ebay.

By the way, I've seen many rusty CA and AZ cars. Anytime it rains and water gets trapped (under a tarp, or when weatherstrip fails,) rust is a possibility.
 
I've lived here 8 years -- I guess that makes all my cars 'rust free Arizona cars' when I go to sell.

Many very fine rust-free cars in our local club, but very few of them began life here... if you look at the population of Tucson in 1959 you'll get an idea why.

PS: Both my TRs are 'genuine Blue Plates' too. Here, as in many states, it is a simple matter to get a year-of-manufacture plate on your car.
 
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