When I first bought the MGB Roadster, one of the first things I considered doing was replacing the number plates.
It’s one of those quick wins on any old car, because the plates, particularly the front, can age quickly and start to look a bit tatty. So for not much money, you can improve the appearance of the car.
Mine are actually in fairly good condition, but the main reason I thought about it was down to the style.
I’ve noticed at all the shows that the default choice for pre-1973 classics seems to be black pressed aluminium plates with silver letters. They’re legal for cars of this vintage and they look classy.
So I assumed, at first, that mine ought to have some. However, a bit of research has revealed that my current plates are in fact period correct – more so than the pressed aluminium style.
Mine are steel plates with silver coloured raised injection moulded plastic digits. Turns out that most cars in the 1960s would have been fitted with plates like these.
The pressed aluminium style, so popular with classic car owners today, would have been reserved for commercial vehicles. They were cheap back then and durable enough to withstand the rigours of heavy duty work. So they would have commonly been seen on lorries, vans and tractors.
It seems a lot of car dealers had kits from companies such as Bluemels, with a supply of backing plates, numbers and letters, which would have allowed them to make their own plates up for the cars they sold. Very few of them would have had the machinery for pressing aluminium plates.
Mine are either the original plates, or one of the two previous owners had some made in the correct style. They have definitely been on the car several decades, but the condition is exactly what I want. Just the right amount of patina for this car.
So I’m going to keep them as they are.