Hi Gang,

Since I'm in a state that requires a front plate, and I don't need anymore excuses to get pulled over, I decided to fiddle with mounting my front plate. I purchased the NA front plate kit from AstonMartinCarParts.com; all said and done, it was like $200 shipped for the all front plate mounting parts. After getting the parts, I decided the plastic OEM mount is WAY too bulky and obtrusive. Having a front plate on the car obtrusive enough--the last thing the front-end needs is a bunch of BEEFY plastic.

So here's what I ended up doing. I used two of the 4 mounting posts I ordered from Scuderia (part number included @$5.30 each):


I etch primed the posts, painted them flat black and mounted them into the bottom set of grill holes. I used some nylon spacers to get the front of the posts to overhang the bumper by about 1/8":


I then took the 1/8" aluminum backing plate I ordered as part of the OEM mounting parts (part#6G33-16E146-BD @$15.31), rounded the corners, drilled and tapped two holes (circled in yellow) for 1/4-20 screws, etch primed and painted flat black:

(You could go to the local hardware store and buy a piece of stock 1/8" aluminum and make this part from scratch--would be super easy and CHEAP. But I decided to simply modify what I had in hand)

With a couple M6 flathead screws, here's the backing plate mounted up to the posts:


As you can see in this pic, there's about a 1/8" gap between the backing plate and front bumper. The backing plate is VERY rigid and will not budge--even at Aston capable speeds. ;-)



Here's a low angle shot of the plate mounted up:


And finally, a wide angle shot of the plate mounted up:


And here's what I refused to mount to the front of the AM. Hard to believe the factory would design such a beast and at $110, it's one expensive piece of plastic!

(Part#6G33-17A835-BB)

So for $26 in parts, I think this is as good as it can get when required to have a front plate.

-Dan

 

I drove my V8V for nearly a season before one of the local OPP types pulled me over,and gave me a REALLY hard time about the fact that my front plate was sitting on my dash instead of on the front of the car. He didn't charge me, but said he would if he ever saw me without a front plate again. What really frosts me is that it's perfectly legal for a Dealer to drive around with only a rear 'Dealer' plate mounted, but not so for an owner! Stupid Highway Traffic Act in Ontarierierio.

I folded, and mounted my plate to the car with just a strip of double-sided foam tape, and it's never moved a bit. I wiggle it every time I wash the car to make sure it's secure, but never a problem, and 5 minutes with a bit of Varsol is all it will take to return the car to original.

 

And I have no idea why my picture did that!

 

I refused to drill my front bumper cover or install the dealer option so I installed a show 'n go in the same place:



Nice part is I can retract it with a key fob when at a cruise night / car show / or travelling in other provinces / states.

Looks like this retracted:



More details on my build thread - see this page:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-canada-9.html

 

Nice to see some people still think outside the box and self engineer things to keep a clean look!

 

This is great! I installed the same unit on my FactoryFive cobra a couple years ago...(here's a vid: https://youtu.be/fyUal7_70RE )

((Disregard! Just looked at your updated post!!)) Do you have any close up pics on how you mounted in the bumper opening? On my V12V, there's plastic mesh that would have to be removed or a slot cut into it for the hidden plate to fit. Curious what you did here. Thanks for the details!! Great stuff.

 

In Jersey front plates are the law. Mine will stay in the trunk. It'll never be mounted to the front of my car. If they want to pull me over and give me a ticket for it, go for it. But, the chances are I'm going to be pulled over doing 20 over, and the more "other reasons" I give them for tickets, the more they'll write those tickets and not the one I don't want, the 20 over. 9 times out of 10, this scenario works as planned.

 

I'd write you for the 20 over and the fail to display tag

Kidding---did your order anything or try anything on the dash???? Not hijacking this thread, answer in that original one if you like

Sheriff

 

That's happened too, all depends on how pissed they are, or how green. Last one I was 31 over and he only wrote me an obstructed tag because the New Jersey was half covered. He was not pissed

Wash day is tomorrow, I'll give the damp MF a shot to see if it'll break the sheen.

 

Here are the pics showing to hex self tapping screws into the aluminum stucture right behind edge of bumper cover. A third rear screw was added after pre-drilling a hole in the aluminum. It needs to be at the edge to avoid interference with the motor wires...