The name's not Lincoln (or Shirley)

[Chuck Lutz]

I wince when people mistakenly refer to my car as a "Lincoln".... I immediately correct them and insist they understand it's a "Continental".

I've finally finished the paperwork nightmare with the CA DMV over registering the car and switching plates to the YOM (year of manufacture). The registration went pretty well but the YOM plate was the worst part. Took 3 months for Sacramento to research the plates as being clean then issue the stickers. Last week the final piece of the puzzle... the new pink slip arrived and what do you think it said for the make?.. You betcha... LINCOLN. I was thinking about asking them if they would change it to be correct but Do you think Arnold's Hummer's pink slip says GMC? I doubt it.

[Doc]

My car still has its original black CA plates, so I've looked around for a pair of clear YOM orange plates, but so far haven't found a set that I really liked (for the ridiculous prices people are asking, I figure I should at least get a letter/number combination I like). Based on your experience, I think I'm going to go the route I see at more and more cruise nights and shows--skip the DMV hassle and just have a pair of off-market orange "56" plates made and use them for shows, etc. and keep the black plates for actual driving around.

[Chuck Lutz]

FIW having done it once, it wouldn't be bad to do again. In fact a friend of mine does it all the time at an East Bay DMV and he says he walks out with the paperwork complete. No Sacramento experiences at all. I bought mine from a old Dave in Vacaville and yes.. $350 isn't cheap but I had a selection of numbers from which to choose and they were pristine in condition. The black plates came out in 63. I suppose then everyone thought those were cool looking so they dumped the yellow plates. LOL

[Mark_II_Mark]

YOM plates & a YOM repro inspection sticker are the icing on the cake for your Mark II. If you're to the point of considering purchasing either YOM item, especially the plates since they are ±54 years old, they're worth whatever the market can get for them, & they only get more expensive each year.

I bought 2 sets of NOS '56 TX plates 6 years ago for $75 each & it would be hard to find them today for less that $250-$300 each. Tack on a $25/year increase in cost & what looks expensive today will be a bargain in another 5 years...

[Barry Wolk]

You betcha... LINCOLN.

Mine title used to say Lincoln. I brought in the picture in the header above, proving that Continental was a separate division of Ford Motor Company. It also helped to be friends with the manager of the local DMV.

If anyone would like to prove that their title could read "Continental" I would e-mail a copy of mine (with personal information blacked out). In fact. if I can find it, I'll post it here.

[Doc]

Chuck's experience made me double-check. The CA DMV has "Conti" for the make on our registration and pink slip. I guess there is a precedent in CA for correctly identifying the make of our cars...