Front license plate

[geowatan]

I just bought a Thunderbird and was wondering what to do about the front license plate. There isn't any place to mount one so I am currently carrying it in the trunk. Has anyone in Texas ever gotten a ticket for not having their front plate installed?

[Vintage Merlot]

When I bought my 04 I had a front license plate frame in my trunk. If you need one I will send it to you for shipping cost.

[taflocks]

go to the dealer they will give you a braket for free. then turn it upside down and cut the shape of the grill out of the bottom which is now the top in a V shape
you can now use the hooks to hang it in the grill. there are photos posted in another thread good luck tom

[Chuck]

Geowatan --- One regret that I have is that I had my front license plate put on. They drill 2 pretty big holes in your front bumper. I would go to the dealer, get the frame and wait until someone says something to you. Go to the gallery and look at how many TBN members have chosen not to put the plate on. Go to Ford's web site -- no front license plate on any picture of the bird

[Bruce]

Chuck,
Dino found some plugs that fit in the holes tightly. He also painted them, I assume with the touchup paint and now you can't tell that they are there.
Dino if you read this thread and posts, please give us info on the plugs.

[redbirdsal]

Have'nt heard of anyone here, in Texas, getting a ticket for not using the front license on the Bird yet. The dealer I bought CARTOY from had already installed the bracket.

[geowatan]

Sorry about asking this question. I am a new member and I should have checked all of the other posts about the same subject first. Looks like there has been a long running debate about front license plates. I plan to leave mine off and carry it in the trunk.

[FEsTbird]

It depends upon what the local police do at traffic lights and toll booths. In some CA cities they take photos both of oncoming and outgoing traffic and send you a ticket in the mail if you run the light. I believe all the bigger ones do that; I know SF does. If the police don't have much to do, they stop you. First you get a warning, second you get a ticket to pay. In my opinion, the purity of the bumper is not worth the hassle so I made the plate holder as attractive as possible with a chrome plate bracket. See the other thread about this for the results.

[taflocks]

i just use the excuse i left it in the trunk last time i washed and go to the trunk bring it out and slap it on.........

[Backinblack3]

i just put my front plate on using the standard issue bracket. no drilling---all zip ties!!!!im trying to post a photo of how i did it, but i cant figure out how to rezize my images. what i did was put two zip ties from the back of the bracket thru the top two plate holder thingys. then i put the actual plate on. i stuck zip ties thru from the front in the bottom holes and electrical taped the ends together on the other side non visible. the plate actually slides into the top brackets and keeps the zip ties in place. then i hooked two zip ties thru the grill to make something to attach the bracket to. then i attached the top zip ties to the ones on the grill, doing this behind the plate and bracket. it looks incredibly flawless believe it or not.
amanda

[2002 SR-71]

I'm in Texas too and my car did not have the front plate mounted when I bought it used. I've never heard of any Thunderbird owners being ticketed, though I do have this story from my youth:

While in high school (a couple decades ago), my best friend and I were riding around Mesquite in his '67 Mustang. He had a lift kit, mag wheels, and a marginally loud exhaust. Pulling out of a Sonic, one of Mesquite's finest flipped on his lights and pulled us over. After running my friend's license, the officer told us that he was going to write him up for his exhaust being too loud. My friend protested, since he'd recently had the car inspected and they hadn't mentioned anything about the exhaust. "Let's see what else I can find..." the officer said as he started to inspect the car. He said "Aha!" as he came to the front, finding no front plate. The officer wrote up the ticket for no front plate, handed it to my friend, and said "Stay out of Mesquite."

The moral of this story is: I doubt a law enforcement officer is going to write you up for no front plate, unless you've already given him a reason to pull you over that can't be documented.

*edit* I keep my front plate in the trunk... just in case.
Jack

[Catbyrd]

go to the dealer they will give you a braket for free. then turn it upside down and cut the shape of the grill out of the bottom which is now the top in a V shape
you can now use the hooks to hang it in the grill. there are photos posted in another thread good luck tom


Tom, I'm getting my nerve up to try the cutting of the bracket. Do you use a regular scissors or what type of tool?

[goredgo]

Welcome geowatan, as for not looking at other threads before asking, don't worry about it. We all have probably done it before, besides if you have a question that is valid just ask it someone on this board will probably have the answer or be able to tell you where to go to find it.

Ray in Ohio

[BRD42]

So far, my front license plate and bracket are functioning quite well in the trunk!

[taflocks]

tin snips will work or a jig saw........

[Bird03]

Maybe we should all stop posting to this thread.

If you apply the law of averages and a little bad luck and then make the statement:

I NEVER have put on a front plate and I have NEVER been stopped.

Guess who's going to be the FIRST one stopped.

LOL

Wes

[yelobird2002]

No front plate here in Amarillo, Tx since October 2001. I carry my front plate under the passenger side front floor mat instead of the trunk. Just in case I do get pulled over I can quickly grab the plate and say it had just fallen off a few miles ago and I went back and picked it up. In the trunk looks like it is just being stored.

[FUN X 3]

I was stopped by one of Virginia's finest this morning.:cop: He ticketed me for "failure to display two license plates". That's all he stopped me for.:bs: I had it in the trunk, didn't matter to him.:nono: $25 fine + $49 processing fee + $5.00 local fee = $79.00 = bloodsuckers.:spank: I almost made it two years.:bawl:

His parting remark: "By the way, the dice are illegal too, I'm giving you a verbal warning on that, have a nice day sir.":cop: :shout: :rolleyes:

What a jerk, Virginia State Police are FUN X 0!:cop: :sad:

[mckmbr]

Man, that's too bad - can't imagine having to display a front license plate. Sounds like he was in the mood to ticket anyone for anything.

[taflocks]

what a, can i say it "prick"? did you try the it fell off gag or i forgot to put it on after i washed the car? did you start to cry??????

[Bruce]

Maybe should have pulled away from him and get ticketed for something really good.

[Bill Brown]

Everytime (4) :nervous: I get a speeding ticket they add on the front plate ticket just for good mearure I guess :bawl: . Geeez my insurance company sez I will be off probation in a couple of months and they will give me my license back :cheers: if I don't get anymore tickets . :nervous:

[FUN X 3]

Tom, all kinds of thoughts crossed my mind while he was writing me up. I didn't shed any tears though. I like your idea of having a bracket in the trunk that you can snap onto the grill, and use the "I forgot it after I washed it" excuse. I'm going to look into doing that.

Bruce, that's a great idea, but I didn't want to steal Bill Brown's idea. :cheers: He's the expert at that.

[Bruce]

Phil, any chance that your bird is faster than VA cruisers? In RI the contest wouldn't even be close. I would go straight to jail do not pass goal and do not collect $200.00.
Better yet just put the front plate on. It doesn't look that bad and FUN X3 is a nice vanity plate to show.

[FUN X 3]

I may get a chrome frame like I have in the back, and figure out a way to mount it in the grill...I measured and it will fit on the side opposite the grill badge. Or go with Tom's approach.

[CaptainKen]

I heard of a guy who placed his front plate on the ground and ran the car back and forth over it until it was bent up pretty bad. Kept it under the front seat and when stopped for no front tag, he pulled it out and showed it to the officer saying, "it fell off back down the road and several cars ran over it before I could get it back."

Worked for a while, I guess. Thank goodness Tennessee hasn't hopped on that ... yet. They really trash up the front of a nice car!

[ishepperd]

My dealer had the good sense not to put the front bracket on. He said "It's in the trunk and we can put it on if you want. Technically it's required in Texas but no one seems to make an issue of it."

My wife has had her car for 4 years without the front plate and has never gotten pulled over.

[SKIPIFE]

Here in Wa. they are required and I don't want to be a roadside attraction so it's on there and looks terrible but I will live with it; if I can figure out a discreet way to do it I will change it but not until then, I already do enough trolling out there without inviting more trouble. :nervous:

[Bruce]

It doesn't look that bad on and it certainly not worth paying tickets for.
It's just north of bug ugly!

[taflocks]

we need to figure out a way press a button and it will come out the mouth between the teeth. under the grill....or a james bond type of triangel set up so you can have 3 different plates.


i have it........... a plate with a hindge on the top,it rides flat under the front edge of the bumper it would be held up electromagneticaly when you push the button the power goes off and releases the plate you would never notice the plate was there until you press the button.:queen: :pc: :usa:

[DLJames]

Tom. you of all people might just be able to figure out a way to do that. Wouldn't that be hilarious, the cop pulls you over and you walk around front with him and lo and behold, it is there!

[redbirdsal]

A member of our local car club drives an Edsel, changes his front plate to a different state all the time. At our Sunday meeting his front plate was from Maine.

[5bird7]

Sally,
Think about this - In Texas - we're required to have a registration and an inspection sticker on our windshield and the front and back plates. We should really be protesting - 4 state requirements where many states only have one.

[My Raven]

Hi Phil: I got one on the GW Parkway when I lived in McLean. I didn't know it was gone: Some thugs in Foggy Bottom either ripped it off the car or backed into it on the street so hard that if fell off. Anyway, it was a $50 fine if I remember correctly. Traffic was at a standstill in rush hour traffic and one of the Virginia State Police's finest pulls and tickets me for not having a license plate on the front of the car. ARRGGG!!!


Thank God in NC it is not an issue however every few years a bill is introduced requiring one where it usually dies in the transportation committee. If a fee can be applied or it is clearly presented as a way to generate revenue we will be in trouble ... The budget deficit this year is estimated at $1.5 billion. The annual fee for vanity plates doubled last biennium to fullfill that shortfall.

[FUN X 3]

Joe, it's been 30 months of driving, and just that one ticket so far. I guess if I go through a checkpoint where they're looking for missing or expired stickers/plates, I'll get nabbed again. I've been meaning to do what tflocks said...cut the license plate bracket so it snaps into the front grill, keep it in the trunk, and if stopped, feign that it was left off accidently after the last time I washed the car.

I went through a sobriety checkpoint back in September, but they were so focused on catching drivers under the influence that they didn't notice the absence of my front plate...or the fact that the plate on the back had expired in August! WHEW!

[redbirdsal]

You're right Dot :high5:

On the other hand, maybe that's a couple of the reasons we don't have a State Income Tax...yet :bouncy:

[sigmachi]

For all of you in Texas, it is State Law that your vehicle has a front license tag. My dealer tried to convince me otherwise until I checked with my Department of Public Safety Trooper son-in-law. Yes, it does rob the appearance but I dislike paying $150 tickets.

[DTBird]

I haven't had a front license plate on any of my vehicles since I got my first one at 16 years of age. I have lived in Texas all my life except while in the military for 5 years. I have a couple of friends who are Houston police officers and a couple who are Harris county Sheriffs. They have told me that it is technically a law, but one that "they" don't enforce.