[70nova327]

i was thinking about registering my nova as a historical vehicle, from what ive read her in CA it meets the guide lines and only cost an additional $25. but i did read that the vehicle is only "suppose to be driven to and from shows,car clubs and for restoration purposes" its pretty much my daily driver. has anyone ran into any issues getting pulled over for daily use?

 

[327NUT]

Are the special plates that important? is it worth taking the risk? As a retired Calif. cop I can tell you most street cops won't know the limits on historical plates and really don't care. It's that one CHP cop who does know and doesn't mind citing you for it....thats his job. He's not being a pri-ck it's just the job he does, same thing as some guy driving around in an unregistered veh. The state wants you to pay your registration fee's every year on a daily driver, rules are rules and if you try to circumvent them then you take your chances which equates to $$$$$$$$$$.

 

[AutoGear]

Don't think its just the cop. A friend of my fathers had a 68 mustang driver quality car. He had agreed value coverage (Hagerty / Grundy). Part of his policy stated something to the effect of the car couldn't be the primary means of transportation, and that it had to be stored in a locked garage. The car was vandalized, when the adjuster showed up he noticed that the garage was one of those pop up canvas type 'sheds'. and it had a 'door' (flap) that was secured with a bicycle lock. Lets just say it got ugly and he got some money but not all of what he normally would have. All they have to do is compare the odometer reading from the last time it was inspected, to the reading when theres an accident or whatever. Is it worth getting in an argument over?

In some states, you can use a vintage plate, as long as that number hasn't been issued already. Also, Hagerty/Grundy etc isn't very expensive at all and they take good care of you.

 

[70nova327]

ok when ypu put it like that i guess i wont be doing that... do you have any knowledge on the rule regarding re-plating a car with black plates? from what ive read as long as the plates are in good condition its allowed.

 

[70nova327]

thanks AUTOGEAR you just answered my question as i was typing it..

 

[AutoGear]

Don't forget in Cali, Boyd Coddington played games (according to the state of california) with registering and titling hot rods. He owed them a ton of money when they finally caught on

 

[70nova327]

yeah thats cali for you!

 

[327NUT]

No it's not just Cal. it's every state. You try and defraud the state DMV with a fake VIN or cold plates and you will see your car get impounded and sold for scrap muuuui pronto. Just follow the rules and you'll have no worries.

Coddington's rich, blank check customers were trying to register $250,000 f/glass '32 Fords as real '32 Fords with purchased titles and paying pennies on the dollar in use tax to the DMV. From what I heard the DMV and CHP investigators showed up at Boyd's shop in La Habra and ended up impounding a bunch of hot rods for fraudulent registration.

 

[ogre]

here in michigan we have the historical plates and vintage plates
historical is only for use in car related events; ie shows, club events, etc... they have been cracking down heavy on fraudulent use of historical plates but recently exempted the month of august aka woodward cruise month.
vintage tags are good for daily drivers.

 

[OneMoreTime]

Are the special plates that important? is it worth taking the risk? As a retired Calif. cop I can tell you most street cops won't know the limits on historical plates and really don't care. It's that one CHP cop who does know and doesn't mind citing you for it....thats his job. He's not being a pri-ck it's just the job he does, same thing as some guy driving around in an unregistered veh. The state wants you to pay your registration fee's every year on a daily driver, rules are rules and if you try to circumvent them then you take your chances which equates to $$$$$$$$$$.

Here it is the local cop or the local sheriff who sees you at the grocery store and post office or in the parking lot at work with your car and thinks "hold it there is no car show or gathering going on" and questions your use of the car on a daily basis.

Sam

 

[TWX]

For Arizona, plates are plates. The sticker on the plate is what distinguishes, to the police, what the registration is. The state has normal-use, emissions-area registration, out-of-emissions-area registration (ie, don't live in or commute into PHX or Tucson), and collector's registration. One can get collector's insurance on any type, but for collector's registration (which allows one to be emissions exempt) one must show proof of collector's insurance.

So, I could get the copper Historic Vehicle plates on my '78 Chrysler or on my '86 Trans Am and still use either for daily drivers so long as they're registered as normal emissions-area registrations. I could also put collector's insurance on those cars and still have them registered normally, the only penalty would be no coverage by the insurance company if I were caught, like after an accident.