My California Camino
 

Just received a pic of my '64 Camino from the fella I bought it from a few years ago.It was brought into Canada from Riverside,California.Are the black plates only registered to this vehicle for ever and can I get more info from the California D.M.V.now that I have the plate info?Thanks,Bill.

Bill , I also have a CA El Camino , and when I purchased it , almost 20 years ago , mine is a black plate car too. That is my understanding, that the black plates stay with the car, would love to know what they do mean.
Good luck

My understanding if they were original to the car a date can be established by the letters.My 62 GP I was told got the plates early 63 when it came into CA.Never really cared much to explore it.If someone knows it would be great to know.Tom

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If you haven't already, it's worth a try running CA Plates through the Old Newspaper Websites as CA car ads back in the day required Vehicle Plate #'s be included in the ads.
Only a small percentage of papers have been scanned so it's a long shot but you may get lucky.
I no longer have a subscription but was surprised how well these websites work when I did finding tons of cool old ads including some for Member cars w/ CA Plate searches also lots more interesting stuff too.
Others here w/ Newspaper site access may be able to help or give one of the free trials a whirl and good luck!
:beers:
~ Pete

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Thanks Pete,I'll look into it!

nah. IMO, those plates are not original to a 1964 El Camino. Those models were registered as trucks in CA and that configuration on that plate (three letters & three numbers) were for passenger cars. And leading Z plates were near the end of the black plate run and likely originally assigned to a 1969 model vehicle if they went on a new car. Of course someone could’ve had to do some sort of re-registration at the DMV in 1969 and had them assigned to an existing / older car, like stolen / lost plates maybe, but they still would’ve gone on a car.

I don’t think you’ll find any history on your truck using that plate number. But it would be cool to run them through the papers to see if you get a hit.

Did you get old CA DMV paperwork tying that plate number to your VIN?

Riverside is not far from me.

Cheers,
Anthony

No paperwork Anthony.Thanks for the info.

----Back in the era we all are interested in El Camino's were everywhere in California. It took me a while to figure it out but the fact is that since they were plated as trucks they had a significant difference in the yearly tax rate. Enough that a lot of people bought them as every day drivers to save money!....Bill S

Yes, CA was loaded with Caminos back then! I've managed to snag a couple of them myself :naughty:
I'm a sucker for anything with black plates and dealer frames!!

Bill W

Think my Camino was built in Fremont,California.Ended up on a used car lot in Riverside and was bought by a biker who shorty after "had to get outa the U.S.!" He moved to London,Ontario and it languished in a barn.Was bought by the fella who sold it to me.

for sure a 69 plate. ElCo should have a commercial plate also when new, unless special request from the buyer.

So at sometime in the last 25 years the car was reregistered under the
"YOM"program, Year of manufacture plates can be placed on this El Camino
and they could have used Commercial Plates or Passenger car plates, makes
no difference. As long as someone walks into DMV with black plates and a year
sticker on the plate that is the same year as the car, or truck in this case, its a
done deal.

Thanks for the info SPEEDYB!