Licence plate question

[Parrot of Doom]

Is there any way I can determine the age of a vehicle from its licence plate? Specifically, my dad's Commer van, seen here:



I'd be amazed if by now it wasn't a pile of rust somewhere, but maybe, just maybe, it's still driving around. If it is, I want to buy it. Finding out its approximate age is one way of finding out what happened to it.

[MrReg]

doesn't exist anymore I'm afraid.

[jagracer]

MrReg said:

doesn't exist anymore I'm afraid.

How do you know that?

[BDR529]

jagracer said:

How do you know that?

DVLA site?

[Parrot of Doom]

The vehicle may exist yet, but at the moment I'm interested in determining what year the licence plate was issued, and I wondered if anyone knew how to do that.

[tubbystu]

It seems pretty early in the production run. They only started production in 1960 and the registration suffix letter 'A' came in from 1st Feb '63. Not much help I'll give you but...... what does the tax disc say in that photo ? Is it discernible ?

http://www.commervan.com/?page_id=7 this lot might have an owners register.............

[jagracer]

I can narrow it down to between January 1960 and January 1963. You could see if Chester registration office, if it's still there has any details.

Edited by jagracer on Sunday 8th May 16:05

[Mr E Driver]

The series with those letters were first issued in 1960 to 1963 and the plate would have been issued by Chester County Borough Council

[Parrot of Doom]

Thanks for the help. My sister has some of my dad's tax discs, I'll ask her to find one for the van and tell me what's written on it.

[john2443]

PFM were issued in Chester from March to April 1960.

[Parrot of Doom]

Reply from my sis:

31.7.79 Commer Goods £84.00 12 months number at bottom is 8206 3293 0182 and number at top is KJA 299P

31.7.78 KJA299P GOODS COMMER £84.00 7207 3293 0109 number at top is 70071847

Feb 1978 HNA 276N Goods Commer £65.95 7054 3291 0287

sep 1972 NYT 640E Goods Commer £49.50 12 mths. number at top is 90073740


So, is KJA 299P a new registration plate? Although some of these tax discs may be for his British Telecom works vehicle (that I think is why he bought a Commer, because BT used them and he drove one).

/edit - KJA 299P was his works vehicle, the DVLA's site proves it. As was HNA 276N.

Edited by Parrot of Doom on Sunday 8th May 17:42

[Blakewater]

Looks like he had several vans. You can't put a new registration on a vehicle that makes it appear newer than it is, only the same age or older, so a 1976 P plate reg can't go on a van registered in the early 1960s.

My grandad had a moped in the 1960s which was apparently left to rot at the bottom of his garden when it stopped working. We've been wondering how to lay claim to the registration as it ought to still belong to us but we don't even know what it was and my grandad died 13 years ago. Unless we can find a photo of the moped I don't think there's anything we can do and my grandma has thrown away pretty much all the old family photos.

[john2443]

Blakewater said:

My grandad had a moped in the 1960s which was apparently left to rot at the bottom of his garden when it stopped working. We've been wondering how to lay claim to the registration as it ought to still belong to us but we don't even know what it was and my grandad died 13 years ago. Unless we can find a photo of the moped I don't think there's anything we can do and my grandma has thrown away pretty much all the old family photos.

Firstly if you didn't send the old buff log book off before 1984(?) to be replaced by a V5 you have to go through a registration reclaim process with the vehicle being verified by the owners club as being genuine.

Secondly, if by some miracle you managed to do that, seeing that you don't have the moped, it should be marked as non transferable, so it would have to stay on that moped for ever.

Thirdly (I'm resonably sure that) you can't transfer regs between one class of vehicle (eg 2 bike) and another (eg car)

So in summary I don't think you have a snowflake in hells chance of getting the number! It can be difficult doing it even with the genuine vehicle and plate if you don't have proof from the correct period, never mind doing it for a non existant bike in order to get the number onto your car

Edited by john2443 on Sunday 8th May 17:59

[Blakewater]

john2443 said:

Firstly if you didn't send the old buff log book off before 1984(?) to be replaced by a V5 you have to go through a registration reclaim process with the vehicle being verified by the owners club as being genuine.

Secondly, if by some miracle you managed to do that, seeing that you don't have the moped, it should be marked as non transferable, so it would have to stay on that moped for ever.

Thirdly (I'm resonably sure that) you can't transfer regs between one class of vehicle (eg 2 bike) and another (eg car)

So in summary I don't think you have a snowflake in hells chance of getting the number! It can be difficult doing it even with the genuine vehicle and plate if you don't have proof from the correct period, never mind doing it for a non existant bike in order to get the number onto your car

Edited by john2443 on Sunday 8th May 17:59

All I know is he had a moped that was left to rot in the garden and nothing more was done with it. It was never officially scrapped so the DVLA might still have it documented as belonging to my grandad. As things stand all I can provide them with is his name and the address at which he lived at the time he had the moped. I don't know the registration or what type of moped it was unless I can find a picture. Thanks for your help but, like you say, I don't think I have a snowflake in hell's chance of claiming the registration.

The mayor's car in Burnley has the registration HG1 which started out on the town's fire engine in the 1930s so it has been possible to transfer registrations between different classes of vehicle. I don't know if it is now though.

[john2443]

Blakewater said:

The mayor's car in Burnley has the registration HG1 which started out on the town's fire engine in the 1930s so it has been possible to transfer registrations between different classes of vehicle. I don't know if it is now though.

Agreed, it used to be possible to switch between classes; it was common for scooters/mopeds to be sold with a reg on them ready to be transferred onto a car, probably before retention was possible the plate had to be on something, it couldn't just exist as a piece of paper so it was sold on the chepest thing it could be put on. I guess this changed in the 80s? 90s?

[tonys]

To answer original question; March/April 1960.
http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/registrations/fm.ht...

edited: I see I was beaten to it by John2443.

Edited by tonys on Sunday 8th May 21:36