Front Plate Solutions

I know this is not new, but as we know some states require a front plate, some don't, some just ignor it ( I think). What are creative solutions for having a front plate but minimizing the "it looks ugly, but got to have it because it's the law" excuse?

I live in CA ( no comments, I love it here in Lake Tahoe) and we are supposed to have front plates on all cars. A lot of Classics have a place for them that actually work well, but my '64 Elan was not made with front plates in mind for the USA. The only solution I've come with so far was borrowed from the Miata community and it's a hinged plate holder that folds up when driving by the wind pressure. An elegant solution when driving, but when parked it hangs down in full view and is less that attractive. I thought of the motorized solution where I can flip a switch and it disappears, or appears when the long arm of the law is around. You know us Lotus folks are though, and that's added weight to the car, and that 1 pound could upset the balance of the cars handling, etc. Why is it easier to not add weight to the car than to shed the 20 pounds my doctor tells me I must loose? Anyway, I'd love to comply with the law in an elegant way, anyone have a solution?

I've seen a couple of cool solutions where the mount screws into the front tow-hook threads. But that obviously only works with cars that have those.

Zip tied to the lower grill? Or those floppy rubber holders that dealers use for temporary use on test drives might work. They basically just close the trunk on it with the plate dangling outside.

I hate front plates. Many of my cars never get one...I'm not going to be the guy to screw holes into a perfectly good bumper cover just for some outdated and unnecessary law. With my Opel Kadett, I tried to make the plate visible but a little less conspicuous. Hopefully this avoids the meter maid tickets (yes, in Oregon, "meter attendants" can give out tickets for missing or expired plates!!!) without making the car look completely stupid and blocking airflow.

Some guys trim their plates down to only the numbers and stickers, but I expect that's even more obvious than no plate at all. I've also used a temporary plate mount on my wife's car...had a little hidden hook to hang the plate on only when parked in the city (for the meter maids). Magnets could work as well, and my next design will probably use some of those really strong fridge magnets repurposed to attach to a hidden bracket.

Bryce

I emailed the Ohio BMV about the front plates. They said there was no law against cutting or bending the front plate as long as the sticker and the numbers were visible to the police.

I bent the lower half of the plate below the numbers at a 45* angle so it no longer blocks the radiator in hole.

I have a motorized lic plate hider thing that I will sell if you want it. I guess it was made for show cars or something. It just flips up 45* went you turn the car off. I guess you could put it on a switch if you wanted.

It's a little hard to see in this photo, but I put a 45 degree bend in my front plate to keep from blocking the airflow to the radiator.

Alternatively, you could just sell me your Elan and I can worry about the front plate.

Tahoe wrote: I know this is not new, but as we know some states require a front plate, some don't, some just ignor it ( I think). What are creative solutions for having a front plate but minimizing the "it looks ugly, but got to have it because it's the law" excuse? I live in CA ( no comments, I love it here in Lake Tahoe) and we are supposed to have front plates on all cars. A lot of Classics have a place for them that actually work well, but my '64 Elan was not made with front plates in mind for the USA.

Register the car in Stateline? .

If you have a front towing eye, there are a bunch of people who make offset plate mounts for Miatas that bolt to the towing eye. I've got one on my Miata. It's not the most elegant solution but in my mind in looks OK and it does get you off the radar of those lawmen who like nothing better than writing tickets for missing front plates.

I lived in CA for 7 years. My 96 Impala SS was my daily driver. I just shoved the front plate between the dash and the windshield. In 7 years I got one ticket... and it was because my plates had expired, not because I didn't have a front plate.

The law says that it needs to be on the front bumper or another place in front of the headlights... but after 7 years of ignorance, I say just stick it in the glove box. CHP is also rather... uh... gullible. If you get pulled over, just say that front plates aren't required on pre-67 vehicles.

Oh, another interesting note. In Oregon and some other states, certain types of plates such as antique, special interest, etc. only need one plate (the rear). Investigate if your state has such a thing. I've been meaning to do this with my next "special interest" car. One of mine already has it, inherited from the previous owner.

Bryce

Required in New York, but like the trailer hitch law, they won't stop you for it but will tack it on if stopped.

I bent mine up so only the numbers were visible, mounted it below the bumper. Got a ticket because the cop had to bend over to see it.

Fatbastard.

One of my Scion friends used the tow hook area and bought an adapter that screws into that, and he rotated the plate about 25degrees for looks. I forget the site he got it from but it's held up well over the last 1-2 yrs in Ohio weather.

Jerry wrote: One of my Scion friends used the tow hook area and bought an adapter that screws into that, and he rotated the plate about 25degrees for looks. I forget the site he got it from but it's held up well over the last 1-2 yrs in Ohio weather.

Those are popular on MINI's as well. Most MINI vendors sell them. I know a few friends who have them.

I'm in PA, so no front plate, but my g/f is in NJ so she has them. Both cars have classic registration. Her '79 rubber bumper Spitfire has a big, flat spot for a front plate, so installing it was no big deal. Not a big deal on the front bumepr of her 1800ES either, but to be different she replaced the plate with a custom Euro-style plate with the same tag numbers. At the same time, one of our other 1800 friends in NJ just doesn't run the front plate at all and has never been hassled.

i got pulled over in Alexandria VA while driving my '65 corvair with no front plate. it was the primary offense, not just piled on after doing something else wrong. i had the front plate with me, and told him i had ordered a new bracket but it hadn't arrived yet. he still ran my record, but let me go. i currently live in a no-front-plate state, but i think i'd roll the dice if i still lived in a two-plate state.

In MN, I do not have to run a front plate on the Mini based on age. The plate in the back is on there in the correct place, but since the car was not a US market car, the boot lid was designed for thinner and longer euro plates. I folded the top and bottom under and then had to drill new holes in the plate to match my mounting holes. The couple times I've been pulled over while driving it, it was not noticed or not an issue.

I laugh when I see people acting like heros for civil disobedience when refusing to mount a front plate required by law, and the whining like little girls when they actually get a ticket for it (none of you guys, of course).

Either leave it off and take your medicine when you get fined, or try and modify the mount to minimize visual effect.

I dropped the front plate on my Solstice and I think it looks a lot better. I didn't remove it because they do stop newer cars routinely for missing plates here.

Factory mount (yech!):

Modified mount:

OTOH, on an old car with a pointy snout (you tell me where I could put a front plate that wouldn't look REALLY weird on this one) I keep the plate in the car and cross my fingers.

I have a few friends that live in 2 plate states with older cars that it would be a crime to drill holes in to mount a plate on the front, and they all put in the windshield.

This is what I did for mine. It actually works great as a timing light deflector at autocrosses! (Yes, my club loves me for that...)

For cars with more classic looks, I've never seen a problem result from putting the plate on the dash or passenger sun visor.

I have seen decals made, in exactly the same colours and font and everything, but done in a wider, more UK-stylized version and stickered on the nose of the car. Not at all legal here, but it has been done....

wspohn wrote: I laugh when I see people acting like heros for civil disobedience when refusing to mount a front plate required by law, and the whining like little girls when they actually get a ticket for it (none of you guys, of course). Either leave it off and take your medicine when you get fined, or try and modify the mount to minimize visual effect. I dropped the front plate on my Solstice and I think it looks a lot better. I didn't remove it because they do stop newer cars routinely for missing plates here. Factory mount (yech!): Modified mount: Wow, guy, you have nice cars. Pardon my ignorance, but is that a Jamaican? OTOH, on an old car with a pointy snout (you tell me where I could put a front plate that wouldn't look REALLY weird on this one) I keep the plate in the car and cross my fingers.

Obviously, I am poor in the internets-that was supposed to say"Wow, guy nice cars-Is that a Jamaican?"

Being an Austin-Healey 3000 owner in a "front plate state", and not wanting to keep the front bumper, I wound up fabricating my own front license plate bracket. It consists of three metal pieces; a straight mounting bar, a curved center piece, and a bar to attach the plate. The mounting bar rests on top of the frame tabs and is attached to the vehicle using nuts, bolts and washers at the inner holes used to attach the aluminum grille surround (front shroud) to the frame. The curved center piece runs beneath the bottom edge of the front shroud. The license plate is attached to its bar using the holes at the bottom of the plate. When bracket is properly adjusted, the top of the license plate clears the shroud surface by a couple of inches. I attached a small rectangle of closed-cell foam insulation to the back top center of the license plate.

In a past issue of CMS (or was it GRM?), there was a helpful article on fabrication, which contained many useful tips. I do not own a sheet metal brake, but found a Black and Decker Workmate to be adequate for this project. Speaking of CMS, this counts toward the "bucket list" (p.57, January, 2013).

When taking out a half-century old British sports car for a drive, there are always concerns, and those shouldn't be added to with the worry as to whether or not the drive will be interrupted by a traffic stop for no front license plate being displayed.

Jerry

I carry mine in the trunk on the bracket. I can easily shove it between the spoiler and the body if needed. I have never been pulled over for it or got a ticket (in CA also) but I also do not park at meters, and you can get a ticket on the street for that as noted.

Also noted, if you have a nice old car, cops generally will be more interested in talking about the car if they know cars, and less likely to pull you over if they don't (because they are not sure what laws apply)

The reason they want the front plate of course is for red light cameras. Putting it on the dash is an interesting solution that actually covers that reason.

My front plate is currently ziptied as low as possible and to the right on my ms3. It's also bent (albeit not totally intenionally) so it matches the curvature of the lower front lip. You can't read the stickers, but it's there. I ran without one for a long time... and generally keep the plate and zip ties in my car just in case the cops want to ask about it while they're asking about my tint and why I was in such a hurry and whatnot.

mndsm wrote: ... and generally keep the plate and zip ties in my car just in case the cops want to ask about it while they're asking about my tint and why I was in such a hurry and whatnot.

The dead hookers in the trunk... those are the hardest to explain...

wheelsmithy wrote: Obviously, I am poor in the internets-that was supposed to say"Wow, guy nice cars-Is that a Jamaican?"

Yup - MGA chassis, GM 3.4 engine and T5 gearbox. And no place I could see to put a front plate that wouldn't make it look like a beaver.