The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Proper front license plate mounting

I have a 1953 Chevy 3100. Does anyone have the correct details on where to mount the front license plate bracket. I bought a new splash pan and it didn't have the holes pre drilled. I have already discarded my old one long ago. Looking at the gallery it looks like there are different mounting locations on different trucks.

Thanks John

My original front bumper was drilled for the plate. I don't know if it was a factory or local drilling job.

When I got my truck it was on the splash panel between the bumper and the grill on the right side. I was wondering if there was a proper placement for it. I have the plate bracket, I don't want to drill holes in the bumper. I think it willl look nicer mounted back where it was. But thanks.

John

Here are a few pictures of the original radiator grill filler panel from a 1950, 3600 John.
You should be able to interpolate the location of original license bracket from these. http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/body_work&page=7
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Thanks! If my crome bracket ever comes in off backorder this will be handy!

David

Thanks Denny, I like the look of it out all the way to the left under the headlight. i thank I am going with that. Thanks again.

John

Hi all,

So new-ish owner of a 1950 3100 and also am looking to put a front license plate bracket on the truck. None of the links in this and related threads are correct anymore it seems and all I get in a general Google search is the bracket itself, which the truck doesn't seem to have accommodation for bolt wise.

Does anyone have shots of a bracket installed so I can see what I'm missing ?

thanks

The links in a 12 year old post seldom work. The site went through some changes a few years back and a lot of stuff went away. Try the Stovebolt Search (little boy praying) shown in the left margin of every page.

Each state had/has it's on license plate regulation.
GM made a front bracket that the dealer, in any given state, could order and install.
If you purchased the optional dealer installed fog lights, you wouldn't want them covered by a license plate also you wouldn't want the fog light in front, covering the plate.
My state currently doesn't require a plate in the front of my truck. Only the rear.
So where does it go?
Call your state DMV or local license plate agency and ask them what your state requires or what is acceptable i.e. location (passenger side, driver's side, center, front, rear etc.).
Once you have that information, apply common sense.

Oh yes, splash panels, bumper to fender fillers or splash pans, they can rattle like the dickens when they get loose.
They also bend real easy when the original tough spring steel bumper hits something. Many were removed.

On the front splash apron (if you still have one) towards the right, there's a flat spot that would have a couple holes for the license plate bracket. The attached pic is of a bumper and splash apron I drug out of a junkyard in Nebraska. You can see the bracket on the upper part of the photo. You can get a repop bracket from the usual suspects. Example

If you fab a licence plate bracket (actually an easy thing to do) don't make the mistake I made. Using some on-hand light angle I made a simple bracket with a single piece of angle, one face bolted to the splash apron with a couple small bolts. The now vertical face had two holes/bolts that secured the licence via it's bottom edge. Worked great.....until the constant force of 60 mph wind while driving back from Luckenbach, TX fatigued the thin licence plate metal to the point it failed. Now no plate on the front.

Lesson learned, if fabbing up a mount be sure to support the top to prevent flex. Or just buy one.

RonR

Another reason why these old trucks had a top speed of 45mph!! License plate damage!

I'll put a stiffener plate behind the license plate, then I can go as fast as I want.

I live in a front plate required state. I've been driving around without a front plate for 15 years and have never been stopped for not having one.

Now that you've fessed up to your crime, you'll be pulled over tomorrow.
Years ago, I got pulled over in California in my Model A when I had the front license plate held on by some heavy wire. The CHP trooper said that it was too easy to steal, even though it would have taken some pretty hefty pliers to unwrap the wire. He gave me a fix-it ticket and I had to buy the bracket that held it to the headlight crossbar. I think he pulled me over just to look at the car, then needed some excuse to ticket me.

Here’s a couple pics. My chrome license plate frame helps the issue in question.

I'm happy to see this post pop up. I have used vintage plates on my trucks which are made of steel and they hold up to the force of the air hitting them at highway speed, but I recently spent a lot of money on a set of 1949 vintage plates which are aluminum (a weird one year deal in Virginia back in those days. I need to do some stiffening of some sort cuz I don't drive fifty-five.

Nice paint on that 50 plate.

I have a picture of a 1955 that was titled in North Carolina and sold and retitled in Virginia.
Notice the 2 holes where fog lights were once located on the gravel pan.
Notice the location of the new Virginia plate is directly behind the fog light hole.
I think the fog lights were removed to allow the license plate to be seen clearly.