I finally decided to tackle the long dreaded front plate mounting quest. Too many parking tickets, too much grief worrying about getting pulled over for NFP. I hadn't mounted my rear plate, for that matter, and have been rolling on dealer logo plates for months now...

I am lucky to have a good friend who is brilliant at assembling things and put his finish carpenter skills to use mounting the plate in optimal position without leaving a mark, and the entire setup is easily removed should I decide to take off the front plate for photos, etc.

So here goes. Step one: buy two of these:
(first pic)

Step two, find center line, and hook through the lower grill:
(second pic)


Step three, both bolts through and centered:
Take your time, it requires some fine tuning in terms of positioning, etc. But once in place, the next step is putting rubber washers, followed by stainless fender washers, followed by a short section of aluminum tubing, cut an inch short of where you want the plate to stand off of the nose of the car. Then a washer nut (not sure what they are called) and we get here:
(Third pic)

Close! Almost there. Like I said, it took many different attempts to hook the J bolts the right direction, and placing them in the correct openings in order to get them to come out close to parallel and lined up with the lower holes of the front plate. Next step, push the plate the front of the nut-washers (they push up against the washer side), cut the extra threading of the J bolt off (leaving 1/2 inch or so). Here's the bolts pre-cut with the plate bolted in:
(fourth pic)


And then finally, mount the plate against the nut washer pieces, push the plate against the washer side, put nylon washers on the front of the plate, topped by acorn nuts, compressing the plate against the nut-washer thing. This creates a post that stands off the front bumper. Here's the final product:

(fifth pic)


From the other side:

(sixth and final pic)

That's all it took. Well, that was two of us, one (not me) highly skilled and with a perfect eye for symmetry.

It is VERY rigid, though not over torqued so as to break the grill. No wobble at normal speeds, but we'll see what it does at high speeds. I am a bit worried at a flat surface like that being buffeted up at 155 MPH, should I ever get access to a private road or track...

Looks great from the front also. Better than factory, with the offset it looks like it is floating till you see it profile. Happy with the results, less than $20 in hardware, easily removed to boot. I'm contemplating putting a foam wedge behind the center of the plate to hold it from the nose of the car in case of trouble at triple digit speeds. I"ll post progress if I bother.

Alright, that about does it, good luck and keep that front end devoid of drill holes, whatever you do!

Skeeter

 

Outstanding...

I'd recommend you get yourself something like an adhesive backed soft foam strip (window/door insulation maybe?) to mount on the back side of the plate. At speed or by accident its going to touch the paint at some time in its life. Nice to have a safety pad there for the light stuff...
Thanks for sharing the photos...

Vince

 

I think it would easier to form a PAC, and hire some lobbyists to get the damn license plate law changed! Don't they understand that we don't want to mess up the looks of our cars with a silly *** license plate? :-)

 

I'd pay serious $ to repeal this stupid law (and front tint while we are at it). Huge pain in the ***.

Vince, I said in the write up that I'll probably lay down a foam wedge (like bicycle helmet foam/Styrofoam) down the center of the plate, something that stands off the nose of the car so that debris doesn't get stuck under it and grind into the paint...

Or maybe I'll put a 1/2" thick rubber mat on the back of the plate. Either should protect me better than the (stock) hard plastic mount that we are supposed to drill into the front bumper. Crazy...

I'm going to attach one of these GoPro cameras to the nose of the car, facing the plate on profile, and get the car up to as high as speed as I can safely go (bad rain round here lately), that'll show me how much deflection I get at triple digits, maybe wind noise as well.

Will post results.

Skeeter

 

There are groups that are working to repeal front license plate requirements, see the attached url site for Minnesota. Go to work in your state, Eradication of Minnesota's Front License Plate Petition
I have ask some gov. folks about getting this in front of committees and the view is that it is a long shot.
Tx.

 

I think the only purpose of a front plate law is so the cops have something for their radar to bounce off.

It's surely not for identification, because, otherwise, they would require that the front plates have lights, like they do in the rear.

 

Sorry to tell ya this, our Police cars read and log your plate just by passing by you.
No illumination required except ambient light.
The software and camera system is so accurate it can record any vehicle it drives by, including oncoming traffic at high speeds. It also alarms if the plate is listed as stolen or wanted....

Vince

 

Good job

 

Would something like this work on an XK?

Front License Plate Mount Bracket Kit Install (Tow hook, Porsche) - YouTube

 

Here's another solution. Looks like the holes are drilled under the bumper.

Skene Design License Plate Mount

 

Michael,

Yes, those tow hook mounts do work, but they block the front passenger side parking sensor, which is a deal killer for me. Every time you slow down it lights up that sensor, you have to ignore the constant beeping or turn off the sensors all the time.

Plus the off-center thing just doesn't look right on out cars, IMO.

Bought one but took it off after a few days. Shame, elegant idea, just doesn't work out for the XK.

Skeeter

 

I was sitting here scratching my head on how to do this ... thanks for the idea!

 

Nice solution and nice Panerai! (44mm?)

 

Doc,

You ate too observant! Yes, a 44mm Power Reserve with stainless/titanium bracelet. Love it, I never take it off, even at the gym, or, well, when working on the car

You win the Sherlock Holmes prize. Do you collect?

Skeeter

 

Just spent two hours searching various sights ideas on front plate mounting. Having had my 2017 S manual shift delivered on Thursday.
Now I've found the solution. Most excellent.
Thank you.

 

Wow, nine year old thread and not even an X150. Yikes.