License Plate

Are you looking for a blue plate with a 1978 sticker to put on your car instead of a later plate that is currently on the car? If so, I think this is the information you are looking for:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/reg_hdbk/ch21/ch21_36.htm

It appears you can only do this for 1968 or older for passenger cars.

 

There is a place that you can order the blue plates from online.

Www.licenseplates.tv

Technically, you are not supposed to use them on your car, although I have seen lots of people with them. Just get the plate you want, and order it with your current plate number. To get a sticker, just go to DMV (or AAA) and tell them your old sticker was destroyed. You fill out a form and they will give you a new set of stickers.

Not that I would know anything about this...

 

The problem with this is that you are not getting an original blue plate with the correct number sequence (6 digits). All you've got is a blue plate with a modern license number on it (e.g. 6XXX111), which is not very satisfactory and certainly doesn't fool anyone.

It is too bad because the original/period blue plates are worth their weight in gold on a California Ferrari, IMO.

 

You can find California blue-plates on ebay. The challenge is finding a matching pair.
I found a matching pair, but I am finding it IMPOSSIBLE to get them assigned to my car.
KDF (Keith) is right: you can only do it on a car '68 or older.
I was told by a DMV agent that, if I knew someone 'in Sacramento', I can have the plates assigned to my car.
I don't know anyone 'in Sacramento'.
I tried killing the DMV agent with kindness.
I have tried bribery.
I have tried it all.

I won't give up.
I am sure I will find an agent who will think they know the rules and regulations and overlook the fact that my car is not '68 or older and just do it.

Fingers crossed.

 

If the car was at sometime in it's history a California "Blu Plate" car and you still have a California registration from that time showing the cars license number and VIN .

You have a very good chance that California will allow you to return to your original plate number. You just have to come up with a pair of plates.

 

This is a great idea.

I was the first to register one like this in my county here in Alabama back in 06 just after a new law was passed allowing the use of an original year plate for your "vintage" car. I know I was the first because when I went down, tag in hand, to the DMV, they had heard of it but the computers weren't set up to enter the info at that time. They set it up while I was there and it really didn't take that long.

So I now have a 1974 plate on my 1974 MGB with a little "V" sticker. $35 bucks one time and never a renewal tax! Cheap and retro-cool. I was even lucky enough to find the 74 plate from my county on Ebay. Back then the tags were different colors each year and even the year was stamped in the plate - totally unlike the ones now.

My next car that qualified is my 80 Scirocco but the plates used in 1980 were not the same type used in the 70's and earlier. They more or less look like the ones now where we just add a sticker each year. I just left it alone.

 

The only way I can think to get around the DMV is to get a set of personalized plates with the same numbers as the blue plates you have then just put the blue plates on. (The month stickers are available without hassle, just bring your reg paper to the counter.) The issue is that I think the DMV will not do personalized plates if that sequence will come up in regular production, so you'd need to get blue personalized plates. I have a matching set of blue personalized plates but not the desire to have them on my car so I haven't tried it.

 

This is very interesting.
My car was once registered in CA, hopefully with blue plates.

 

I thought I read recently that California is bringing back the blue And black plates but it was just an officials idea in the making.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120328/CARNEWS01/120329845