[elmariachi]

You MUST have both matching plates when you go to the tag office (because you are supposed to be running both plates, Texas law.) I have heard them to be picky where paint condition is concerned and I have heard they have rejected them for even light rust. Probably a good idea to repaint first.

With regard to year of manufacture, that's where the confusion is. The year on the plates is considered the date of plate issue, not YOM of the car. If you bought a new Cobra in Colorado in 1965 and brought it into Texas in 1969, you would have been given 1969 plates when you licensed it.