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license plate number

Started by LM 25575, January 19, 2010, 03:23:46 PM

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LM 25575

Hi, I am trying to trace the history of my 1949 Cadillac which, in the past, was imported in Italy but don't not know exactly  when.
I got some old papers dated 1976 which report the 1976 italian license plate number and saying that the previous license plate number was: W541826. Now, is it possible that the last number belongs to an american 1949 license plate which was, obviously, substituted in 1976 once the car arrived in Italy?

p.s. I suspect that the letter "W" maybe was for Wisconsin or a state which name starts with "W". Maybe, once in Italy, the original american license plate was reported just with the first letter of the state which it belongs.
L. Marzana
- 1949 Cadillac 62 4 door
- 1981 HD FLTC

Otto Skorzeny

#1
Anything's possible but unless you know the state from which the car was exported, you will have a hard time getting any further in your quest for information.

Your question assumes that the car had the same license plate number since it was new in 1949.

That is almost certainly not the case. Unlike many European countries which issue a number plate that stays with the car for life, most states in the Union do not issue number plates for the life of the car.

Most states issue new number plates to each new owner of a particular vehicle. If the car is transported to another state, a new plate is issued by that state.

Over the last 60 years, states have changed the way they issue plates. Some used to issue new plates every year. In some states, the plates remain with the car when sold. In others the plates remain with the owner who will then attach them to the car that replaces the one he just sold.

Your Cadillac could have had many different plates and plate numbers issued to it in the 30 years it was in America depending on how many owners it had and how many states it was registered in.
fward

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for YOURSELF

HUGE VENDOR LIST CLICK HERE

LM 25575

Thanks Otto! Surely the car had more than a license plate, but I was trying to see if the one reported on the paper is  the one which the car had just before exporting. Mission impossible?  :)
L. Marzana
- 1949 Cadillac 62 4 door
- 1981 HD FLTC

Mike Josephic CLC #3877

Quote from: LM  25575 on January 19, 2010, 04:08:01 PM
Thanks Otto! Surely the car had more than a license plate, but I was trying to see if the one reported on the paper is  the one which the car had just before exporting. Mission impossible?  :)

It's just about impossible, especially for a 1949.  I've been down this road and spent many
hours trying to very info on old cars.  The issue is that many states do not keep their records
indefinitely -- some trash them after 20 years or less!  Sounds silly I know, but even if you knew
the state it was exported from and knew that plate number, they would likely not have the records to veryify it anyway.

Mike
1955 Cadillac Eldorado
1973 Cadillac Eldorado
1995 Cadillac Seville
2004 Escalade
1997 GMC Suburban 4X4, 454 engine, 3/4 ton
custom built by Santa Fe in Evansville, IN
2011 Buick Lucerne CX
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Past: VP International Affiliates, Museum Board Director, President / Director Pittsburgh Region

Otto Skorzeny

1976 was a long time ago. Do you know what state issued that plate?
fward

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for YOURSELF

HUGE VENDOR LIST CLICK HERE

LM 25575

Quote from: Otto Skorzeny on January 19, 2010, 04:33:59 PM
1976 was a long time ago. Do you know what state issued that plate?

I obviously know the 1976 italian license plate. The mystere is W541826, which apparently is the number of the license plate, maybe american, which was fitted on the car when arrived in Italy. As I said in my previous message, maybe the letter W stands for a state like Wisconsin. I know that the correct writing should be WI but, maybe, someone didn't even know how to write it in Italy..
L. Marzana
- 1949 Cadillac 62 4 door
- 1981 HD FLTC

Otto Skorzeny

I doubt the W stood for Wisconsin.

The name of the state would have appeared on the plate. The W is part of the number.
fward

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for YOURSELF

HUGE VENDOR LIST CLICK HERE

Davidinhartford

Not many States have (had) a seven character plate.    Try posting this mystery over on the ALPCA message board.    The guys and gals over at the American License Plate Collectors Association can look up which states were issuing 7 digit plates in 1976.  Especially ones that had a W prefix.


35-709

In some states like Florida the letter (at one time) stood for the vehicle's weight class, or its use class (passenger car, commercial truck, taxi, etc.), in others it signified the county (not necessarily the same letter as the name of the county).  In still others it was simply part of the plate number.  I have not heard of the letter signifying the state, as Forrest pointed out, the name of the state would have been at the top, bottom, or even the side of the plate. 
Geoff N. 
1935 Cadillac Sedan resto-mod "Big Red"
1973 Cadillac Caribou - Sold - but still in the family
1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon resto-mod - Sold
1942 Cadillac 6269 - Sold
1968 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible - Sold
1950 Packard 2dr. Club Sedan
1935 Glenn Pray - Auburn Boattail Speedster, Gen. 2

jeff1956

Since the name of the state would be printed on the plate the W would not stand for the state of issue, but more likely W stands for a county inside that state.  I have read and own some vintage plates from various states such as colorado who did use an alphanumeric county code on their plates to identify the county the vehicle is registered in.  States like Nebraska used to use a numeric county code such as "12"- followed by the plate number.   Nowadays states like Tennessee and Mississippi just print the county name at the bottom of their plates.... Unless you could figure out which state used an alphanumeric code that included a county that corresponded to W...and there may be more than one state....it's likely going to be hard.  If you ordered a build sheet for it through GM you might be able to narrow it down to a region of states or possibly to even the state itself or dealer....

Jeff

LM 25575

Really thanks to all of you. I got some good information about US license plates reading your messages.
But I think I have to make things clearer. My english is not all that good so, maybe, sometimes I am not very clear, sorry!

So. This car was apparently first registered in Italy in 1976. So in 1976 she got an italian license plate. I got the original 1976 paper which came with the italian license plate. This paper has a blank space which has to be filled with the country where the car was previously registered, before getting to Italy I mean. Well, there is not indication of the country but just the number I have listed in the first message of this topic. I thought that the car was imported from the US (I say I thought because can not be sure of it..) and that, probably, the numbers listed were the old US license plate. There is no evidence of the fact that these numbers belong to an american license plate, here is the mistery. My thinking was that maybe someone in an italian office, in 1976, had to write down the country where the car came from and just decided to write the american license plate number. A friend says that maybe the car came from Austria so the "W" letter stands for Wien. I am trying to get in touch with older italian owner but looks like if they are all gone to a better world......
Anyway, thanks to all of you for your patience with my  not very perfect english! I keep looking for the history of my car in the meantime.
L. Marzana
- 1949 Cadillac 62 4 door
- 1981 HD FLTC

Otto Skorzeny

Good luck with your search.

The only history that really matter however, is the history the car has with you as it's current owner. Enjoy it and don't worry too much about what happened to the car before you got it.
fward

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for YOURSELF

HUGE VENDOR LIST CLICK HERE

LM 25575

Hi,

Otto, surely you are right but trying to understand what is the history of the car interests me quite a lot, I am quite curious.
Anyway, I do not explain all the steps I did today. But  I was able to get in touch with some relatives of the past owners and the sister of one  of them, which died some years ago, told me she has some documentation about the car which was bought by her brother at a Sotheby's auction in late '80s. And........looks like if she has the original 1949 license plate! Illinois 635791! But still have to fill some holes in my car history anyway!
L. Marzana
- 1949 Cadillac 62 4 door
- 1981 HD FLTC

Bob Hoffmann CLC#96

LM,
I don't want to negative, but...The car was sold at auction in 1989. That's 40 years after the car was new. The chances that the original plates being with the car are almost zero. Many people have 2 sets of plates. One set that are currently registered to the car, and another set for "show" . I would be willing to bet that they were  "show" plates. These "show" plates are the correct year for the car but were probably issued to some other car at that time. Unless you can find the original title or registration card or Illinos still has records for 1949, I'm afraid your search is going to come to an end.

Bob
1968 Eldorado slick top ,white/red interior
2015 Holden Ute HSV Maloo red/black interior.
             
Too much fun is more than you can have.

LM 25575

Yes Bob, I thought so too.... But maybe, who knows. Maybe for some reasons the original license plates stayed with the car all those years. Sometimes life, even of a car, can be strange.......
L. Marzana
- 1949 Cadillac 62 4 door
- 1981 HD FLTC

Jeff Maltby 4194

#15
 My 49 plates. The silver/black lettered plates are the originals from Warren Cadillac in 49 where my fastback was purchased new. Bill Podanys father purchased his 49 fastback from Warren also back then. Wow.  
Jeffo 49er chapter

CLC 1985
Honda Gold Wing GL1500