Morris Minor Owners Club

Morning all,

I'm guessing that our Traveller rather self-explains my question, but didn't ALL areas adopt suffix registrations in 1963? Our car was registered in Oxford in 1964, but carries a six-digit "TWL" plate. This is original,as the car's green book shows.

There's also the question of the lidded gloveboxes, but I suppose a previous owner might have added those.

Bernard

Suffix registrations started from January '63 but councils continued to use up their supply of pre-suffix numbers first so that could account for the six digit plate (TWL is an Oxford area plate).

Thanks Louise,

I did wonder if that was the case - we have a model Minor on the dresser with a -WL "A" plate, but the number's probably phony.

Paranoia sort of kicked in, so I went in the engine bay to confirm the stamped chassis number matched that on the green book!

Bernard

I doubt that many toy car manufacturers would go to the trouble of using a 'proper' reg number. Glove box doors stopped being used in '61 but there are quite a lot of other differences between a '61 and '63/'64 Minor such as engine size, dashboard layout, lights, wipers, steering wheel. As you say, a previous owner could have added the glove box doors so I wouldn't get too paranoid if that's the only thing that relates to an earlier car.

Oh, pretty much everything tallies down to the original engine. I think the car would have had a pull starter switch, but there's a later combined ignition/start.

Bernard

Oxford issued Reverse letters *** TWL from Feb '64, *** UWL June '64, right through to *** VWL in Oct '64, before they moved to the later system at the end of 1964.

Thanks busguy,

That fits perfectly for our March 64 car.

Bernard

Suffix letters were introduced in '63, but were not mandatory until '65. Whether it was at the start of the C suffix or from the end of that year, I am not totally sure - but all '66 registrations were 'D'. Then they altered the change-over date to August(?) in '67.

RAB

edited to swap round '66 and 'D' to make sense!

I think the short letter was E and F came in August 1967.

Don't know what happened in Suffix but Barnsley changed in 1964.

Middlesex was probably the first to use the "A" suffix, a certain Aston Martin springs to mind.....

John Naylor wrote:Don't know what happened in Suffix but Barnsley changed in 1964.

For infomation: Very few councils went over to the 'new' registration system in 1963 - Staffordshire CC and Middlesex CC were the first, hence that famous Aston (originally the DB5 prototype).
More started with suffix plates in 1964 including Oxfordshire CC, but all remaining County Councils and County Borough Councils had to commence the new system at the beginning of 1965. So, -WL registrations, issued by Oxford CBC (not Oxford CC) started suffix registrations on 1st Jan 1965. All new vehicles were registered by councils until 1974 when the DVLA created Local Vehicle Licencing Offices (LVLOs).
Therefore, there should be no -WL registered vehicles registered from new with 'A' and 'B' suffix registrations. There were, however, a number of vehicles re-registered in the early days of the DVLA with 'A' and 'B' plates when their original registrations had been lost from the computor, or they had been 'robbed' of their plates by number plate dealers. These vehicles can usually be identified as their replacement registrations usually start with a letter from the end of the alphabet.

CW

Blaketon wrote:I think the short letter was E and F came in August 1967.

E was the short one. Jan 1 - Jul 31 1967. Changeover month was moved to August (F from Aug 1 1967) allegedly following pressure from the Motor Traders Association, in order to attract increased new sales at a traditionally 'quiet' time of year.