Reader wants his 1940 Packard to carry its original license plates

Q. Good morning Honk: Let me tell you a little about my quest. I purchased a 1940 Packard and it has the original license plates on the car. The lettering is black with a yellow background — they are in excellent condition. I went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to try to register the car with these original plates. They are telling me I need to get the original owner of the car to sign paperwork releasing the plates from his name to mine. The problem with that is the owner is deceased. Is there any way I can get the original plates in my name?

– Ronnie Gusman, La Habra

A. Ronnie bought the Packard in October. It hasn’t been on the road for years, and Ronnie is having it worked on now so it can hit the streets.

If certain criteria are met, the DMV allows an owner of a car that rolled off of the assembly line in 1969 or before to wear what the agency calls Year of Manufacture (YOM) license plates. In short, if the vintage plates are in good condition and used the year the vehicle was new, they can be used. And, the plates do not need to have come from the same vehicle.

But the DMV must ensure the plates are not tied to another person or vehicle.

Honk reached out to Ronald Ongtoaboc, a DMV spokesman, who confirmed that Ronnie could get the previous owner to release the plates. As Ronnie mentioned, that gent has died, and Ronnie wasn’t aware of any relative or representative who could legally sign over the plates, either. There was an owner between the original one and Ronnie.

There is another option.

“The YOM plates will only become available again after the plates are no longer active, usually after inactivity over four years and the plate record is purged,” Ongtoaboc told Honk in an email. “The new owner could then apply for the YOM plates again, provided the license-plate configuration is no longer in the DMV’s system.”

Honk relayed this info to Ronnie, thinking it was his best bet. Ronnie has documentation that appears to show the plates were last registered in December 2017.

Bingo?

Ongtoaboc kindly asked for Ronnie’s contact info from Honk, so he could pass it along to a DMV specialist to see if Ronnie can have his original plates on his beautiful Packard.

Ronnie did get a call back, and a DMV official told him the car was last registered in 2020. So he intends to slap on the standard-issue plates and try again to the get originals on his Packard in late 2024 or thereabouts.

“I think I might have to do that,” he told Honk.

Q. Honk: My understanding is that in California you must put on the two license plates you get for your car. It looks like Teslas are designed to not put on a front license plate. Are Teslas exempt from the rule?

– George Bonsall, Torrance

A. No.

HONKIN’ FACT: For three days in June 2022, “Barbie” was filming in Long Beach, Tasha Day, the city’s manager of special events and filming, told Honk in an email: “Portions of the car chase scene were filmed on both Ocean (Boulevard) and Shoreline Drive.” First Street in the city’s East Village also gets screen time.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

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