DIY: $5 front license plate mount (no drill!)

This won't be for everyone. I'll use this as a "must show" if/when I get pulled over. But, I did this as proof of concept and plan to drive with it for a while to show it works well.

Thus far is been painless.

When I had my 2011 Camaro SS, I got pulled over for failing to have front plate showing. Major inconvenience to deal with.

Considering I drive the 360 harder than I did the C5 SS, I figure it's only a matter of time hat they find a reason. So I won't give them one for the front plate.

Using your tow hook that came with the car, you can do a 5 minute install of the plate with $5 of materials. (Sorry, 1 pic per post on iOS.)
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I bought about $49 of stuff to fashion my own mount to go in the tow hook spot, but really all I needed was what's seen above and on the receipt.... About $5 worth of stuff.

The main things your need are the OEM TOW HOOK, 3M tape, the hose clamp, and the zip ties.

First, put the tow hook in until it's level and completely threaded. I used a wrench to get the last 3mm of movement out of it as it tightened and went level.

Next put the hose clamp on as seen. Pass the bolt through clamp and top right of plate mount.

Put the 3M tape on before securing tight. This will protect your bumper paint. I have a clear bra on my bumper but the 3M is still needed to keep it from abrasions from the edge of plate.

I then used the two long black zip ties through the bottom right of plate to tandem then together and zip tie it around the left edge of the left front grill. This creates the counter traction you need to hold against bumper.

I added the U-clamp for extra torsional protection but I suspect that was over kill and makes it look more DIY. But it's now super secure and will not flop against bumper.

To remove, cut zip tie, and just unscrew the tow hook. Toss in Frunk along with 2 new zips. Keep plate attached. It's will take you less than 5 min to reinstall.

Hope this helps.

 

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This pic kinda sucks, sorry but it's showing the RED 3M tape on the edge of the plate to protect the bumper film/paint.
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Mounted full frontal view.
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Receipt.
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Thanks for the "A" teach!

As I said, this isn't for everyone. It's for if/when I get pulled over for not having it.

"Sorry officer, I took it off for detailing and forgot to put it back on!" I'll remedy that immediately" and grab it out of frunk and "fix it" before his eyes.

You can get a similar looking solution for $75 that mounts in the tow hook area but looks slightly less DIY as you won't need zip ties. But I'd use it the same way.

The only drill-free solution that doesn't look horrid is the center mount from fab speed, and they have been "out of stock" for >6 months, and cost $125-$250 depending on where you look.

I like Kevin's idea of the vinyl decal, just not sure what printer would feel comfortable with forging a plate. Plus, the yearly stickers showing I paid my registration have to be applied as well.

 

Agreed but I tried that and the 3m didn't seem to adhere well enough to the clear bra and it fell off despite giving it a good cleaning.

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Tomc,

I'm about an hour north in Grand Forks. You get up to the tundra much?

 

I won't hold the Bison roots against you

Agreed regarding how great the ppl are here. It's what's kept me here for over a decade.

Just yesterday, a guy in a truck ran a stop sign in front of me as I was about to turn left in my ferrari. He turned around and followed me to the next stop sign, pulled up next to me and apologized to me for missing the stop sign....said he was too busy staring at the car

Easy to forgive that.

 

That little blue sticker in the right corner of the plate gets reissued yearly in a different color. It has to be applied to both front and rear plates. It shows we paid our tag fee :/

I'll look into this though as I do like the idea of it.