I am one of those unfortunate souls that lives in a front plate free state that bought used from a state that had front plates.
Shaving and respraying the bumper is no bueno due to cost and this car already has a few scratches here and there since it was used (also it has swirl marks all over). It's no show car but the front plate mount is massive and unsightly. Had to go. The holes are also glaringly obvious. A euro plate mount plus plate would still be spendy (and I may end up doing this if these don't hold up).
image by
Diggs24, on Flickr
So I found this guy that has a decent solution:
https://www.instagram.com/p/wrJ303j8Dj/
He had 3 already painted Tornado Red. They are held in by a nut and the screw is notched on the end so you can hold the nut and fine tune the depth with a flathead screwdriver.
So I put them in tonight. It's not perfect but with the DAP sensors already in the bumper it isn't too bad because there are other round holes all over. The left hole was bored slightly too big so I had to hot glue the nut and set it fast then smeared silicone caulk all over the nut edges to keep it there and keep the elements out (all sorts of nasty dirt and bugs fell out when I pulled the bumper).
Pardon the dirty car.
Close-up
image by
Diggs24, on Flickr
Top down....not quite flush (that left one just wouldn't sit right) but it's not bad. Best I could do for now.
image by
Diggs24, on Flickr
Pulling the bumper would be easier with 2 people, but it's just me here tonight and I wanted it done. Yep that's a coat on some boards, hamster bedding, and a pile of books. Kids crap comes in handy.
image by
Diggs24, on Flickr
Finished.
image by
Diggs24, on Flickr
And a LP shot for the heck of it. See that pile of dirt to the left? Yep, came out of the bumper.
image by
Diggs24, on Flickr
Yay? Nay? I still have to fill and paint those 2 small holes where the plate screws went in too far.
I'll tackle that another day.