Hazzard County License Plates - CNH 320 - FCH 630 - Bo Duke And More!

Did you know that I love Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia?  Of course you did, but did you know that I have a special place in my heart for items that appear to be from the fictional Hazzard County?  Items like Boars Nest t-shirts and Cooter's Garage hats?  Things that would make good souvenirs from a trip through Hazzard, assuming your car makes it out in one piece.  These Hazzard County license plates fit right into that category of Dukes memorabilia, and most of them are available at each Cooter's Place location and on their website.  Let's take a look.

If you ever host Dukes of Hazzard trivia competitions, like I have been known to do, one of the old faithful questions has to be "what is the General Lee's license plate number?"  It's an easy one.  CNH 320 is as much a part of the the General Lee's uniform as the 01s and rebel flag.  There were a few variations of this plate used throughout the series.  There was one that just said Hazzard and later seasons used green instead of red.  This is the most widely known version and the version that is used on the products that include the plates like the 1/18 diecast models.  This plate is available at Cooter's Place.

On my most recent trip to Cooter's in Nashville, I saw this version on the shelf and had to get it.  Buying this new weathered CNH 320 plate probably inspired this blog post.  Michael and the crew at Cooter's come up with some cool designs and this is no exception.  Though we never saw the plate like this on the show, you could imagine seeing this plate hanging on the wall in the Boars Nest after Bo and Luke installed the green plate on the General.  I'm sure Boss Hogg required everyone to get new plates every couple of years just so he could squeeze as much money as possible from the citizens of Hazzard.

Obviously actual license plates have states on them, not just counties.  Though it became rather evident that Hazzard was in Georgia, it was never explicitly stated and early on Waylon said Hazzard was located where three southern states came together.  The states had a war and the loser got Hazzard.  Not being specific to any state meant the producers had to design their own plates.  My guess is that there is no reason behind CNH 320 and FCH 630.  There is no hidden meaning or backstory.  They just needed three letters and three numbers.  The Gen'ral got CNH 320 and Daisy's Roadrunner got FCH 630.  I loved the continuity where the plate followed Daisy from the Roadrunner to the Jeep.  FCH 630 makes another good trivia question.

The third Hazzard County plate that is rather memorable belongs on Boss Hogg's Cadillac.  Jefferson Davis Hogg had a vanity plate that read BOSS-1, and it fit his personality perfectly.  I'm not saying anything bad about vanity plates, it just takes a certain kind of person to have one.  Boss's choice of plate always reminded me of the presidential limousine known as Limo 1.  It's probably because Limo 1 was on an early episode called "Limo 1 Is Missing" where Cooter stole it.  Boss thought himself to be as important as the commander in chief, at least in Hazzard, so the plate fits him well.

So standard cars in Hazzard have three letters and three numbers.  There are also vanity plates available.  Then you have the government plates.  And the government in Hazzard is run by Boss Hogg.  83522 was the plate on every car Rosco P. Coltrane flipped, drove into the pond, smashed, or cut in half.  Boss probably found a way to charge the citizens for all the plates that needed to be replaced each time Rosco destroyed a car.  The little details like making sure the correct plate was on the correct car is appreciated by us fans, especially now that we can watch the show in glorious HD on Amazon Prime and really pick up those details.  Great job WB!

Hazzard County patrol cars usually came in twos.  Basically the only difference between Rosco's car and the one driven by Enos or Cletus, or briefly Enos and Cletus in season 5, was the license plate.  83502 only had one different digit than Rosco's.  It seems the deputies wrecked more often than Rosco so I'm sure Boss was making money off the production of these plates.

Now we're are getting into lesser known territory.  I could stump most everyone at a Dukes trivia event if I asked what Uncle Jesse's license plate read.  Sure, Will Rogers, Milton Dacus Jr, or JR Garrett might know the answer, but most fans might not come up with CL 7634.  Trucks in Hazzard had a different format, two letters and four numbers.  CL 7634 just doesn't roll off the tongue like CNH 320.  You didn't see Uncle Jesse's plate as often, but eagle eyed fans can spot it.

The final original Hazzard County license plate belongs to the person who probably installed all the above plates, Cooter Davenport.  Like Jesse's plate his is two letters and four numbers, FU 0265.  During the original run most people probably didn't see FU and think anything vulgar, or maybe they did.  But, also like Jesse's plate, it was rarely seen.  If the final Dukes Jeopardy question was "The license plate on Cooter's Hazzard County Tow Truck reads this," my guess is the three contestants would be hoping their wager was small enough to keep them in the lead.  "What is FU 0265" probably wouldn't be on the answer screen.  All eight of the above plates are available at Cooter's Place both at the three stores and online.

And now I'm envisioning how I can make Dukes of Hazzard Jeopardy a thing.

Moving on to some of the more obscure Hazzard County plates.  My favorite part about the 2005 Dukes of Hazzard movie, besides me being in it, was how original they kept the General Lee.  They only made minor changes like the General Lee text, the passenger side mirror, and the white letters on the tires.  Another tiny detail change was the updated license plate.  And I love that they kept it CNH 320!  In the movie it was more evident that Hazzard was in Georgia.  The Gen'ral didn't wear a Hazzard specific plate this time, but an actual Georgia plate.  Georgia ...on my mind and the peach are present along with the classic combo of three letters and three numbers.  I picked this replica up back in 2005 online.  You could probably find one if you looked hard enough.

Over 15 years ago, Bo Duke himself, John Schneider made four General Lees and sold three of them to fans.  They were perfect replicas except one little detail.  They each said Bo's General Lee above the door.  The fourth one was his personal car for years until it went to ebay and was bid up to a ridiculous number and didn't sell.  It was later sold to a fan on Barrett Jackson.  One of the other three recently sold on Mechum Auto Auctions.  I have a fondness for Bo's General Lees.   John offers this version of the classic CNH 320 plate on his online store.  I had to add one to my collection.  Everything matches the classic plate except the text on top.  I sure would like to have one of the Bo's General Lees one day.

Speaking of Bo Duke.  The story on this plate is that John Schneider drove a Porsche in Hollywood during production of the Dukes and he had a vanity plate that read BO DUKE.  I just love that.  John loved being Bo and wanted the world to know.  I bought a replica of the plate from John about eleven years ago.

It takes a certain kind of person to have a vanity plate.  I am that kind of person.  John loves being Bo Duke and so do I.  My family has called me Bo Duke my whole life.  I have had this plate on my car for about eleven years.  This is actually a newer version that the state sent me to replace the one currently on my car.  I haven't made the switch yet but will be adding my original to the collection when this one goes on my car.  I love having this plate.  People notice it all the time and I often times catch them taking pictures of it.  Sure, it's not on a General Lee, or a Porsche like John's, but people see it and it reminds them of the Dukes and that's what I'm all about.  If you ever see this BO DUKE plate in Pennsylvania, or at a Dukes event, I'm not too far away, come find me and talk Dukes!

And finally I had to include an 01 front plate.  Cooter's Place has all kinds of different designs for front plates.  In Pennsylvania, we are lucky that we are not required to have plates on the front of our cars.  We have the option to leave it empty or put anything we want on there.  Why not throw an orange 01 plate on the front?!

New Item Alert: Johnny Lightning Barn Finds Dodge Charger "General Lee"

Well would you look at this.  Johnny Lightning snuck a General Lee onto the market!  This is the brand new (just released this week) Barn Finds Lost Legends 1969 Dodge Charger.  That's the official name, but we all know it as General Lee!  Anyone else read that like Johnny Cash sang it in the General Lee song?  You know I love new Dukes products, even if they aren't officially Dukes products.  Let's dive in and take a look at the newest Dukes 1/164!

I grabbed two so I could keep one in the package and really examine the other.  Let's start by seeing just how close to a Gen'ral this new JL is.

Not only do you get the car, you also get a barn!  That's a new one to me, but very cool.  It does not resemble anything we've seen on Uncle Jesse's farm, but I think the theme of this car isn't to represent an actual dirty General Lee in the fictional Hazzard County, but a replica that has seen better days and was lost in an old barn.  You know, a barn find.

So does it just resemble a General Lee, but is mostly an orange Charger?  Nope, this is definitely nothing but a General Lee.  If you look closely, and I have a closer picture below, there is even remnants of the 01s on the door.  All the marks are checked.  The vector wheels, the push bar, it's all here.  It just seems the car had decals that didn't last and chipped away.

There is no question that those are the remains of once proud 01s.  This is a very cool 1/64.  There is even a roll cage inside!

Both sides have  01 fragments.  I was wondering if the side you couldn't see when the car is still in the package would have more 01, but they are both about the same.

The wheels are great.  They are probably the best representation of vector wheels ever produced in 1/64 scale.  Do they look familiar?  More on that below.

The push bar is also dead on.  It is the later season wider push bar and JL nailed it.  If this car didn't have the push bar and vector wheels, it might only resemble a General Lee and just be a fun 1/64, but those additions make this 100% a Barn Find General Lee.

The package is a lot of fun.  There are Dukes hints all over it.

Come on, this is all of our dream.  To stumble upon a once glorious General Lee just waiting to be brought back.  Johnny Lightning got it so right, "Oh, one can imagine."  It's actually another Dukes reference, Oh, one - 01!

The line is called Barn Finds Lost Legends.  The General Lee is a legend without question.

The car features a die-cast metal body and chassis and the effects replicate years of neglect.  Who could possible neglect the General Lee?!?

This quote says "once a showstopper, this dilapidated 1969 Dodge Charger has left its history of glitz and glory in the dust.  A good restoration could return it to the spotlight."  It also mentions a real life barn find of a Charger Daytona that sold for $90K at auction.  I know of few General Lees that sold for more than that. 

Also included in this line is a 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback, that happens to be from the movie Bullet.  Another legend for sure.  Johnny Lightning has a history of these types of hidden star cars.  They released Hogg's Hellcat in their standard Forever 64 line in 2011 and other cars like Joker's goon car and cars from Deathproof have been added to lines with no mention of their properties on the package. 

There is no mention of Warner Bros. at all on the package.  It's not officially a Dukes of Hazzard product, but we know it's a Dukes of Hazzard product.

The included barn is made of resin and is pretty heavy.  It has a very nice paint job and would look great displayed behind 1/64 cars.

Only one side is detailed and it is built to be against a wall.  It stands freely.  

You know I couldn't blog about this new product and not dig into the collection to pull out a car for comparison. 

The best General Lee ever produced in 1/64 scale is the Johnny Lightning Dukes of Hazzard series 3 General Lee.  It is also the inspiration for the Barn Find Dodge Charger.  All of the details that made that car perfect are carried over to the new JL.  The 01 remnants are lined up perfectly with the above car.  The wheels are the same and so is the push bar.  The paint is also the same.  The only difference is the added patina and the lack of the majority of the 01s.  I think the wheels actually look better on the barn find.  They were a little too shiny on the series 3 Gen'ral and the mud tones them down.

The perfect General Lee and the General Lee that time forgot.  There is no evidence of the flag or the General Lee text.  The roof is empty except for the dirt.  It wouldn't take Cooter very long to get this car back to its former glory.  Oh wait, this car doesn't belong in the fictional world of Hazzard County, but it represents a replica in our world.  So...it wouldn't take Richie Alligood long to get this car back to its former glory.

The bottom of the car a has the same markings as previous JL Chargers.

It uses the same tooling as other cars and this mold was first used in 2000.  It has a production date of November 1, 2018 stamped on it, as well as 2018 Tomy information.  Seeing that this has markings of 2018 on it and knowing that it came out in 2019 makes me wonder how many original golden era Dukes items that are marked 1981 actually came out in later years.  I bet quite a few.

I picked this car up from an online retailer.  Some others still have it as a pre-order.  I hope it will also be sold in stores like Wal-Mart and Target.  This car needs to be everywhere to remind people how much they love the General Lee and the Dukes of Hazzard.  Hopefully it sells like wildfire and shows Warner Bros. that we want new Dukes toys!  Do you hear us WB?!  Release the Dukes!!!  I'm really happy Johnny Lightning is still supporting the Dukes of Hazzard, even without WB's support.  Let's hope they get the support soon and more Dukes stuff hits the shelves.  You should definitely add this car to your collection.