No Compliance Plate - a problem?

[GTV-074]

My Giulia sedan was a 'consulate' car (employee) and imported from South Africa. No compliance plate and the ID was 'cleaned' and then stamped with new numbers from Vic Roads/Vic Police. No issue when i purchased it from a 'private citizen' and got it transferred in my name (around 1986).

As far as 'compliance plates' are concerned, are we talking about the same thing? The small piece of stamped aluminium attached somewhere on the car?

Or do we mean an 'ID' plate?

Lets look at locally produced cars. We know that the plate was affixed by the manufacturer, not the dealer!

In fact in Victoria, i believe its an offence to tamper with any plate (yes we know the muscle car guys took them off for safe keeping!). So if we look at a Falcon for example, there was
certainly an ID plate on the XR (front rad support) and then into the XW's when they got the bigger square plate affixed on the firewall. By the XA these had ADR details. All attached at the factory. Imagine what a mess the cars would have been if if they left it to the dealers!

It's also an offence to attach a plate from one car to another (see some of the high profile cases of Aussie Muscle cars where a 'rebody' was alleged).

I mean it doesn't make sense for a dealer to fit 'compliance' plates. They form part of the ID of the car and if a car was sent to a dealer, sans plate, i don't want to think what story they
would have spun to the poor unsuspecting buyer.

Cheers,

Paul.

For Alfa's and other foreign cars, I presume it was a requirement for the importer to attach the relevant tag to each car. I mean the tags themselves got the odd error (i have posted here before about an Alfa 1740 Spider!).

[Gary Pearce]

Compliance plate is not an ID plate, Alfa Romeo 105 ID is the stamped Chassis number on the firewall. (not any riveted on tags etc like you describe for GT Falcons)
Distribution of Alfa Romeos in that period were from various sources, but even for MB which I was involved with, many of the plates were indeed Dealer fitment. The RTA would mail out the plates to the dealers when they had details of imported vehicles having arrived after cross referencing.
As earlier stated, the C plate was not an issue with most European cars from that era because they were way way ahead of any Australian Design rules.

[kartone]

SEATBELTS

[GTV-074]

I know what the diff between an ID plate and a compliance plate is, i was trying to establish if there was any confusion between them in the
context of this discussion.

Dealers fitting compliance plates thats like giving the keys to the chook house to the fox!

But it always puzzled me, they seem to have fitted them to Alfa's during that period for a short time.

You see them on latish 1750's (and other contemporaries) and up to say 73'.

my 74' Aus delivered GTV doesn't have one. the Le Mans Blue car is a Feb 74 registered car and it seems to have one, mine is a late 74' reg.

Anyone know the start/cutoff ballpark dates?

Cheers.

[rowan_bris]

I have had 3 Alfas with 12/70 compliance plates.  Two series 2 1750 Gtvs and one Giulia Super.  I don't recall seeing earlier plates but plenty of 1971, 1972 and 1973, from various states.

[JohnLW]

Thanks all, I've heard back from Alfa Romeo Historico, they confirm it's a December 24,1972 build (a Christmas Eve car gives me a whole new set of worries!), Delivered into Artarmon NSW June 1973 and chassis number matches to original engine number.  So I'm now a little more comfortable.

[rowan_bris]

That's great.  They might have been in an especially good mood when finishing it