Looking for a creative alternative

[leeper]

Recently moved to Northern VA and I'm now required to have a front license plate. As I have an aluminum nose, I really don't want to drill holes in it. Anyone have any creative yet legal ideas?

[notakit]

How strict are they enforcing said law? So often the police look beyond the letter of the law when the vehicle is this unique. I would look around and see how many local "hot rods" observe the law.

[MHKflyer52]

Why not make a simple license plate bracket that would mount to the radiator frame or even mount to the radiator like some of the electric fans are mounted with the wire push through connectors but would extend out the grill area and be mounted so it is low on the nose cone to not block the air flow to the radiator. Here is a very rough sketch of a mount so you can have an idea of what I am saying.

 

Holder

[ATTACH]3437[/ATTACH]

 

Side profile

[ATTACH]3438[/ATTACH]

 

Isometric view

[ATTACH]3439[/ATTACH]

 

Hope this helps.

[HOTTTCAR]

Missouri requires a front plate also..every time i get asked about it...... usually while getting stopped for speeding, i tell him i could not figure a way to mount it that would not mess up the car. No tickets so far. Just lucky?

[leeper]

Was just given a suggestion to use magnets from a coworker. I explained that both the plate and the nOse are aluminum so now he is searching for an aluminum magnet!

[Sean]

Was just given a suggestion to use magnets from a coworker. I explained that both the plate and the nOse are aluminum so now he is searching for an aluminum magnet!

 

Your co-worker has a viable suggestion. Bolt/tape/glue a small strip of steel to your plate (preferably with a layer of felt over the area where it will touch your car), and bolt/tape/glue a couple of neodymium magnets inside the nosecone.

[leeper]

That is not what he meant but that is a great solution!

[xflow7]

Frankly, another vote for waiting to see if anyone actually cares. I keep mine in the map pocket in case they want to see it. The one time I got nicked for speeding, the officer walked around the front of the car and looked down at the nose.

 

I piped up "I have the front tag here in the car as I haven't been able to mount it yet."

 

He responded, "Oh. Actually I was just looking at the badge on the nose to see what kind of car this was." :blueangel:

 

YMMV

[Ruadhd2]

I'm in Maryland with same problem. I keep mine in the boot, but can hang the top two holes from the grille with garbage ties and the bottom has velcro when needed.

 

Somebody makes a cool fold-down one that folds away under the car except when needed, it flips up.

[xflow7]

I should add that, in addition to the state from my anecdote, I've had the car in 2 other states that required front plates and in none of the 3 has anyone ever given me any static over it.

[rnr]

If you have cycle fenders you could mount it on one of those. Jim Rankin has that setup on his Ultralite. Personally I am plate free on both the Elise and Seven

[Mondo]

Here ya go

 

http://g35driver.com/forums/exterior-vendor/364999-show-n-go-license-plate-frames.html

[Kitcat]

Dittos on the no-plate solution: In 20 years of no front plates on any of my cars I have gotten 2 $50 tickets.

[rss]

+1. 30 years driving in texas with no front plate and have received one warning so far --from a state trooper. in texas, only the state troopers seem to care.

[SkinnyG]

I've seen some folks get a license plate "sticker" made, same colours, font, and reflective background as the required plate. Stick this across the top of the nose a'la the UK?

Edited September 10, 2011 by SkinnyG

[jimrankin]

Mt plate shares a mount with the headlight. All it takes is one hard ass and your in for a fix-it ticket, which in California has gone from $10.00 to about $65.00 in the last few years.

I never seem tom be able to attach photos but I'll give it another try. If it post you will see the plate and bracket are a bit Bent, caught a mid-sized bird at the straight into turn ten at thunderhill just at the breaking point. Bird go Boom! Car get painted with bird parts! LOL.

[ottocycle]

I too live in Maryland, and have been driving my Jag C -Type replica for about 17 years with the tag under the pasenger seat with no problems. The Heretic is the same way. Both have historic tags, I do not know if that makes a difference.

Welcome to the area.

 

Dermot

Heretic/Hayabusa 1300.

[WestTexasS2K]

Wow Jim that headlight is way out there.

 

I like the motorized plate or you can find flip plates on the net that uses a solenoid to flip the plate up or down. Motorcycles use them a lot.

[jimrankin]

I felt so bad about not doing more than a "twist it back" fix at the track a couple of months back and just leaving it that way that I decided to take the headlight off and straighten the bracket. If the post work again you can get a better idea of what it looks like. I have had the plate on at well over 120MPH and no problem, other than bird strikes.

[jimrankin]

Wanted the lights down out of my view. These headlight brackets are my

raised ones". I made a first set without the twisted rise I did on these and you couldn't even see the lights from the drivers seat. Even these are below CA minimun height and figured the really low one, although they looked hella cool, might be a cop caller. Since then I've seen a few street rods with lights even lower than my first set.

My office is right off a main street that truckers use to bypass the scales so both the CHP and the Fremont Police stake it out and I've already been stopped, hence the front plate being installed.