Ca black plate on 1971 C20?

[frenchy51]

I want to use a set of vintage California black plates I have on my 1971 C20. They are car plates (3-letters+3-numbers). They do have an old 1971 sticker on them. Can I use them? Will DMV OK them? I've searched on-line and I just get more confused...

[leddzepp]

No

[Stocker]

AFAIK, the only way to use car plates on a pickup in California is to have the bed semi-permanently covered so that it cannot be used as a truck. Camper shell or tonneau is OK, possibly others too, but you cannot remove it and have an open bed, even if it's empty, if it has car plates.

Yeah, doesn't make sense to me either, but I don't make the rules....

[DarkFlounder]

There is always the option of the new black and gold 60's legacy plates.

[Steeveedee]

I have non-commercial plate on my truck. They are blue and yellow, as my FIL switched in the '80s to register it as a "house car" since it had a camper. Commercial plates cost more at registration time, and since he never planned to use it as a hauler. The old commercial plates were black and yellow. I am not certain, but I believe you may be able to use them. But my experience with the DMV is it will depend on which clerk you talk to.

[Arnulfo]

I was under the impression that all 60's plates were black and all 70's plates were blue for California

[Steeveedee]

Black plates, especially for commercial vehicles were used until the supply was exhausted. In rural areas there could easily have been some on a '71 truck, especially as the new models came in August/September of '70.

[Stocker]

^^ Yes. It's been discussed more than once. Some '72s even came with black plates.

[Lancialonnie]

Since California is now remaking the black/yellow plates with the original tooling that is still at the prison, I just ordered a personalized plate; 72PIKUP. Most people won't know that it should be blue/yellow and I think it will look sharp.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Some '72s even came with black plates.

Originally Posted by Lancialonnie

Since California is now remaking the black/yellow plates with the original tooling that is still at the prison, I just ordered a personalized plate; 72PIKUP. Most people won't know that it should be blue/yellow and I think it will look sharp.

As noted, some '72s came with black plates, not all were blue/yellow. The new ones won't look exactly like old ones though.... by law, the lettering is now required to be reflective. They should look good on your truck... be sure to post pics!

[Ol Blue K20]

I've saw some legacy plates and they look pretty good. The yellow is a little off because of the reflective paint. They're still nice

[JCD]

Originally Posted by Arnulfo

I was under the impression that all 60's plates were black and all 70's plates were blue for California

Please forgive the car, I use it ONLY for the reference..
This is the lowest black plate I've seen issued on a car this late.

As the black plates were made, they were distributed all over California, and at the smaller more rural DMVs they used them until they were all gone.
This plate was nowhere near the ZZZ seen on cars in the Los Angeles area as early as 69.

My 1965 Corvair is KRU, my 1967 Barracuda has a VVS plate, and my 1968 Camaro had a JUP plate.
It depended which DMV office got which plates when they were shipped, and how many plates that office issued.

J.