Barney Eaton Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 The last Reatta I purchased has never had a front license bracket installed and I did not have a problem until the wife got a warning for no front license. I was directed to fix the problem. Not wanting to run those screws into the rub strip, I played with several ideas.The picture below is my solution. I used the still available Riviera front bracket #25556786 and modified the top contour to match a Reatta front bracket. I made two "U" shaped brackets for the top, they slide UNDER the rub strip and I welded a #10-32 screw to each to hold the license bracket to the bracket I made. On the bottom I used the standard Reatta supports that go thru the grill opening and mount to the back of the bumper.The license bracket is about 3/4 inch from touching the rub strip and seems quite solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 AFAIK, nothing says the license plate must be in the center of the car. In Florida we have no front plate but if I had to, I'd offset on the passenger side to minimise grill blockage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steveskyhawk Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 My front plates and brackets are in the trunk where they belong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazytrain2 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) A word to the wise on this sort of issue. When traveling to a State with F & R tag reqmnts and you are from a State with rear tag reqmnts only. NEVER back in to park your vehicle. Found that out the hard way when we went to see an event in IL and being from IN we only had rear plates. They towed my buddies car claiming afterwards they viewed it as an abandoned vehicle once they realized their error. Loads of fun Edited October 17, 2011 by crazytrain2 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 My solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 a) I would have reported it as stolen. Pity police from other states trying to figure a Florida car out. There are over 120 different specialty plates available, personalized plates (create your own), and cars registered with older original plates. Even one for prospective organ donors. Only thing they can go by is the sticker.See here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 My Red was 19 1/2 years old and a State Patrol officer gave me a 10 day to put the front on. At 20 years you are not required to have a front plate on, but I still have it on. I do not want to give our "friends in blue" any reason to pull me over... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCReatta Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hey, Dave.. you're car doesn't look 20 years old though! My solution: Move to a state that doesn't require a front tag and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reattatude Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 The 89 had a front plate bracket on it when I bought the car, the owner had a vanity plate installed and she removed it. I wouldnt remove the bracket b/c it would probably leave some unsightly holes so I put a Reatta repro plate in the bracket, looks nice! No front plate law in KY or IN...Sweet! - Texas highway laws bite, State Inspection is a nightmare. I lived there most of my life and Johnny law harassed me plenty. good riddance, no hard feelings there Barn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Or Florida except in the movies (same ones that show mountains by the coast). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Double M Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Come on down to New York... We will show you how to fix that front plate! I lost my licence for not responding to a no front plate ticket and I now have to pay $800 to get it back! I currently have a restriced licence that only allows me to drive back and forth to work as a result... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 My God, imagine what they do to you in NY if you commit a chrime........ and they rag on Texas for killing chriminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steveskyhawk Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I personally think it is (polite word) PETTY for a cop to pull over barney's wife for no front plate. I'm sure there are other threats to society that his or her time could be spent on. Petty is the nicest word i could think of for this donut eater.I'm glad I live in a state where petty offenses like this are ignored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wws944 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 ...I'm glad I live in a state where petty offenses like this are ignored.Uh huh. Tell that to my daughter who got a ticket from one of Kalifornias finest last year for accidentally having her brights on. She had just pulled out of a dark subdivision onto a main street, and forgot to turn them off. $280 ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steveskyhawk Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Blinding oncoming traffic is not petty however the cop should have issued a warning and went on to arrest a real criminal at the Bank of Ammerricca. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDirk Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Heh,It seems minor "offenses" like these start to get enforcement when the municipal coffers are running low. Since these are easy money tickets, the police love this stuff. Also a lot less work than a high-speed pursuit, and safer than an interstate speed trap, if not quite as profitable. Same as it ever was. I was always surprised by how many states omitted the requirement for the front plate. The law-enforcement lobby is a powerful one, and I would think they'd want both plates so they can track/ticket a vehicle from either end. Anyway, MO still requires (by law) a front plate. Yet, I see LOTS of new(er) cars, especially luxury makes (BMW, MB, Lexus, etc.) that have no front plate because the front bracket is optional. Seems owners of many such vehicles have chosen not to pay for the optional front bracket and installation of same. So, they have rear plates only. Looks to be very little attention paid to this by police here (at least in the places I normally drive). Now, there are some little fiefdoms that I purposely avoid that do the extra short yellow light/no tolerance (ticket for 1 MPH over the posted limit)/insert other obnoxious methods of entrapment here bit, and I am sure they would probably flag a vehicle without a front plate more often than not. The nice thing about a white Reatta (as both of mine are) is despite being unique and somewhat infrequently seen, they blend in rather well - perhaps due to the innocuous color, and seem not to draw much attention. Doesn't hurt that I don't have over-the-top wheels, a spoiler, blackout on the tail lamp (or non-approved lighting like blue or green turn lamps) or obnoxiously loud exhaust. Seems these types of enhancements attract the attention of law enforcement. Staying below the radar is SOP for me. A while back, MO state legislature had a bill up for omitting the front plates. Got killed in committee AFAIK, so they are still required. This came about initially due to state funding, so I expect there may be further attempts to kill the front plate here as the fiscal situation is not really improving. Anyway, more to the original point, Barney's modified Rivi bracket looks pretty good to me, if one really needs to have the front plate to avoid getting hassled. KDirk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazytrain2 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Has anyone ever looked into the possibility that there is an exemption of some sort for"Antique" plated cars. Seems like there should be or might be some type of gradfther clause excluding requirement when said requiremnt includes modifications which are detrimental to the historic preservation.That will onlycost the taxpayer $5MM in writing , submiting , debating, modifying, resubmiting , redebating a bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCReatta Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 On the subject of front plane brackets..From the Reattas I've seen, I'm beginning to think that the front plate brackets were installed only on cars that were going to a state that required such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 Marck, the front bracket came in the trunk and the dealer installed it if it was delivered in a state that required two tags. In Texas, you must have two plates. Small town seem to use this as a way of stopping you to see if they can find another offense, of course they are always looking for DWI.HOWEVER if you have a car registered as an ANTIQUE, the state gives you an Antique Tag but only ONE........go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 When I moved from Texas to Florida some time ago, I put the new Florida plate on the back and left the Texas plate on the front. FHP didn't like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 AFAIK, nothing says the license plate must be in the center of the car. In Florida we have no front plate but if I had to, I'd offset on the passenger side to minimise grill blockage.A friend on Long Island bought one of the last Solstice GXP's and did not put the front tag that is required in NY. After a year he got a warning but hated the way it looked in the center factory mount. Found a fellow on ebay who was selling adapters to move the tag to left or right side of car. He put it on the drivers side, looks much better and has not been hassled since. PS True he only drivers it about 2,000 miles a year before it goes into hibernation but the helpful police have looked at it and not said a word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I guess no one likes my solution for the front license plate. It is motor driven so that when I want it up and to show I press the remote and 5 seconds later I have a front plate. Other wise I run with it down under the air dam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steveskyhawk Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 If you must have a front plate, Jon's hideaway thing is trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCReatta Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 That is pretty cool, Jon! what sort of motor did you use? Where/how did you mount it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Jon, how about taking it a step further, tie it into a radar detector that will trigger the motor that hides the plate. When it senses radar, the plate appears, otherwise it is hidden.Passport could sell it as an accessory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Here is the unit..Mustang Flip Down License Plate Holder - Motorized at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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