Q “Why are your number plates different from the ones in the film”

The registration numbers on the Mini’s Gareth first built or the second set Gareth & David completed in 2004 are all original registration number supplied at the time of registration by the DVLA back in the sixties.

The registration numbers used on the film Mini's were fictitious at the time of filming in 1968 and not legally usable on the road as they were not issued by the DVLA it is also known that BMC also created fictitious registration to all the specific Minis BMC supplied to keep track of the cars.

In 1999 the DVLA changed their registration system to allow made up registration from Film, TV or individual custom plates for legal use on the road so around 2000 someone in the North West sent the film registrations to the DVLA and was able to have them registered for use on the road, then sell them on to the highest bidder through a well known auction house a few years later.

It is said that the six main film Minis survived filming and returned back to the UK so back in the 80's & 90's tried to track them down from people who worked on the film that two may have been road worthy using different road legal plates but the rest were scrapped., another persons told us they thought various parts ended up in scrap yards with others saying they were burnt out after the bodies and parts were in storage when the building burnt down somewhere in Birmingham.

One of the surviving film Minis can be seen in a Dunlop commercial made in 1968 presuming it was filmed before filming as it did not have an ariel fitted.

P. S. In 2004 a film company gave us a set of film plates for display and film use which we have used on various TV shows and pictures on this website, they were also used on the newly filmed 'Making of the Italian Job' for Paramount Pictures updated DVD in 2009 for official film promotion along with other worldwide marketing & advertising use.

 

Over the last 40 years we have built two sets and made full kits for four along with individual sales with a total of six full sets along with many single sales but we don't make them anymore