Well finally decided to do this project!
Porsche factory license plate holder
I went out and bought some 'Earth Magnets'(18 of them)....these things are STRONG!
The size I bought were 1/10" thick and 3/8" diameter
Latex gloves(urethane is aweful on the hands)
1-tube of fast curing windshield urethane
To read up on the strength go here http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...363,42348&ap=1
Tools needed:
1/4" - ratchet
-extension that is at least 7 1/2" long
-5mm 6 point socket
-T25 socket
3/8" -ratchet
-T30 socket

Needle nose pliers or some sort of hook to pull front bumper clips


So I frist jacked the car up and disconnected the battery.
Removed the front wheels



I then removed the trim around the front/hood compartment.



Unscrewed the clip holding the carpet




Then removed the rubber plug to gain access to the headlight bolt.




I You will need at least a 7 1/2" extension with a 1/4" ratchet and a 5mm 6 point socket.
Feed the socket STRAIGHT through the hole and be sure it is fit securely on the bolt inside(this is a blind move and you will need to feel the fit).
Once on the bolt turn counter clockwise...a loud 'popping' noise(sounds like something broke)...no worries it didn't!
Keep turning (about a half turn) and the headlight will pop out about 3/4" and up.At which point just pull it out.




I then removed the side marker lights.I use two hands push the light towards the back of the car and then the front will unlatch.now it will come out.Remove the wire clip by pressing down on it and pull the plug off.
while there remove the T25 bolt right behind these lights(both sides).





I removed the T30 bolts(3) at the top of the bumper and the T25 bolts(6) on the underside of the bumper





I then removed the front turn signal assemblies using to credit cards pressed into the side of the light to release them(not sure hese need to come out to do this but I did it anyway).Then disconnect the wire plugs.



On the drivers side pull the washer hose,that feeds the front headlight squirters,apart.Remove the fastening clip around it and it will come apart.



On the passenger side the wire harness will need to be disconnected.Once apart feed it past the condensor lines(otherwise it will get caught up later when taking the bumper off).




You will need to take the clips that join the bumper to the fender out.I used a pair of small needle nose pliers to pull them out but any type of small hook will work.





Now the bumper will come off!


I put a blanket down and then put the bumper on it.


I then taped the bumper to protect it from scratches.
I stuck 2 magnets on each side in 3 different points onto both sides of the license plate holder.This way when you put the license plate holder onto the bumper the inside magnets DO NOT fall off.

Once aligned to the factory spot I took 2 more magnets and held them to the backside of the bumper....they will find each other by themselves...


I then roughed the back of the plate holder where the magnets will get placed,this will allow better bonding.I used 60 grit sand paper.
PUT some latex gloves on.....JB Weld is really hard to get off of your hands!
Once there I used JB weld to bond the magnets to the backside of the bumper.Carefully popped off the license plate holder and applied urethane to the magnets on the backside of the license plate older.DO NOT JB weld the magnets on the front side on the plate holder(they are just here to hold things together while everything dries)
The JB Weld is really hard to get off....have some sort of solvent and paper towels to clean off places IF you get some where you do not want it!







1 hour and 15 minutes to this point(that incudes taking picture and documentation).


I am going to let everything dry tonight and tomorrow put it all back together!

So PLEASE wait until I am 100% complete before you try this!
Just want to make sure everything is good!

Stacy

 

Well done, Stacy. Excellent idea and write up.

 

Excellent - what a great idea. If it all works, and holds at speed, that is certainly the most elegant and clever solution to a front plate, short of moving to GA , I have seen.

 

This is so timely for me. Really looking forward to seeing how it works out!

 

Great thinking with the magnets. Let us know how things go.

Will you put some felt or something soft on the part of the plate holder that will touch the bumper for protection?

 

Stacy,
Was that a slight amount of DIRT on the belly pan where the bottom bumper is attached? Make sure you clean that pan before reassembling Its nice u r doing this for the new owner
Jim

 

I took a VERY rough WAG at the force on it at 100mph and came up with about 46 newtons or 10 lbs. (if I got all my units straight - I think so) That's with a Cd of .8 - just a big WAG on the Cd which is probably somewhere between the car's Cd and the Cd of a flat surface. A pessimistic number seems better than overly optimistic.

3 of those magnets should give you 15lbs in "ideal" conditions - "sandwiched between steel" which I'm guessing is not the case here.

So you have to guess on the Cd, the actual magnet force, and how fast you plan to go.

Looks like only part of the surface hangs down and is unsupported offset by a larger area being pushed against the bumper, so maybe the magnets are sufficient.

I don't know if I'd use felt though to protect it - could slide to one side too easily if any squirrely wind forces get going around that spoiler. And any motion from the felt will act like a fine polish and dull the finish anyway. Some "grippy" rubber might be better. You definitely do not want that thing to come flying off at speed.

I'd also maybe bump the magnet size up - even 3 x 1/2 at 9lbs max each would probably be less than 20 lbs total holding it on - pretty strong, but not so hard to pull it away.

calculation:
F (ma) kgxm/s2=0.5* air mass density kg/m3* velocity (m/s)^2* Cd* Area m2
46.30755556=0.5*1.184*44.44444444*0.8*0.0495

could be way off to not even close though

 

Thank-you!

It should hold up to speed or at least any speed I could do!...if you look at the factory plate holder it is uniformed EXACTLY to the factory bumper,thus not allow much air behind it!

Yes I have some friction decals to go on the magnets yet!

Yes Jim,
I was horrified by the sight of the dirt....LOL!
And yes she will get cleaned AGAIN!
Well to be honest the 'NEW' owner may get a surprise when I tell him HE can't have it.....I am kinda having second thoughts about selling it and besides he is taking to long to finalize the deal!
Hey Jim I promise you this...if THIS CAR is in my garage come winter.....'Winter Cleaning" #2 will be done!
I may even add a hoist to make my life easier!

Stacy

 

I bet that if used for long periods of time (felt or no felt) it will leave a visible imprint.

 

WOW...thanks for this....!
Does stacking them help any?
I ended up doing two together on each side of the bumper thus increasing the thickness(1/4"X 3/8")!?

I still have room for MORE magnets(I have another 10 or so)....just needed to get these on for now,otherwise they get too close to each other and start moving around.Once the urethane is dry I will add more magnets.
The plate holder has a small indent that stops it from going from side to side!

 

I agree which is why I am doing friction decals on the magnets....I do think over time there may be some very slight marks but they can be polished out...unlike rivets drilled through the bumper.
This is just something I have been thinking about for a very long time and wanted to try!
Once I get it done I will run it up to speed but NOT before I attach some sort of safety wire for this speed test!

Stacy

 

Missing this vital step on the bumper removal.

You have to pull these spring tabs to properly release the bumper.


Here's the rest of the DIY http://gallery.rennlist.com/gallery/album430

 

CORRECT....I have the pics..just forgot to write it up!
I did all the work then went inside to do the write up...must have forgot to list that part.....THANKS...already edited!
That link is perfect...a ton better than my write up...

http://gallery.rennlist.com/gallery/album430

Thanks,
Stacy

 

Any updates on this? Looking forward to the results!

P.S. Found a similar link here at FerrariChat doing the same thing with magnets.

 

Nice work Stacy. I missed this thread when you first posted it.