Rear license plate bracket

[rossco]

I've done away with my bumpers, at least for now. Anyone have a link to a supplier that sells a bracket that will Hold both my plate and the light? I've seen pictures of some but it's difficult to tell how how they are utilized without a closeup.

 

[Editor_Reid]

I made my own bracket to hold the plate and light on my bumperless BN2. I don't know of any ready-made such items.

A small sheet of aluminum and a little cutting and grinding is all it takes.

 

[rossco]

Reid. Were you able to mount your bracket without drilling new holes in the sheet metal? I may want to go back to bumpers later and drilling extra holes in the new paint is problematic. I might not be able to have it both ways. R

 

[Editor_Reid]

.
Sure, just add a flange to the backing plate that you'll make out of a sheet of aluminum and mount the light on that flange, above the license plate - no new holes in the car required. I store the car across town (long story) and visit it once per week, usually on Wednesdays, to check on things; I'll try to remember to get a couple of photos to post here.

 

[CanberraBJ8]

Hi Rossco

Here's what I used to attach mine - including a mount for a reversing lamp as well as the licence plate lamp.

I used a thin strip of mild steel which is bent with a double bend - to lift it away from the body and to change the angle to a more vertical plane, as the body is at a significant sloping angle at this point. The Licence plate light is screwed to an aluminium sheet which uses the same two screws, and sits over the steel piece. You can see I've added a small plate at the bottom edge for the reversing light. I had the steel powder coated, and its mounted over a thin sheet of rubber to protect the paintwork.



Then I screwed the bottom of the licence plate to the steep strip, and to make it follow the shape of the panel I bent the plate by hand (our plates are thin aluminium) into a smooth vertical curve. Then I screwed some small rubber 'feet' to the top holes on the plate. The light tension of the plate against the trunk panel stops the plate from moving/vibrating.

 

[richberman]

I did something similar bu wanted a more stealth look. bent a bracket from aluminum, then mounted Vleds license plate frame (with LED backup lights) using hollow motorcycle LED bolts for downlighting the plate. No new holes drilled in rear shroud and totally removable.

 

[CanberraBJ8]

Rich, did you think of a way to make the reversing light come on when the 'box is in reverse? Or do you just have a switch on the dash like me?

 

[richberman]

Rich, did you think of a way to make the reversing light come on when the 'box is in reverse? Or do you just have a switch on the dash like me?

Yes,
It's called a Toyota 5-speed transmission conversion..... Works beautifully!
My overdrive switch became a 4-way hazard switch...incognito as well.
Rich

 

[rossco]

Rich. What are the plugs for the bumper openings?

 

[HealeyPassion]

Rossco, I've also made my own. I have a collection of pictures of how I build it if you are interested. They reside on my AH Shutterfly Share site. I'd be happy to give you access if you're interested in seeing it. I use the Share site as a parking place for a lot of my pictures and some of the projects that I'll eventually get on my website https://stevesaustinhealey.com ... like my new header system that I finished this summer but haven't moved to the website. You will need to send me your email address for me to give you access.... my email can be found on the Contact tab of my website.... not sure of the protocol for putting it here so I won't. Cheers, Steve

 

[richberman]

Rich. What are the plugs for the bumper openings?

AHSpares part BMP149 [h=1]BUMPER IRON BLANKING PLUG

[/h]

 

[Editor_Reid]

Rich. What are the plugs for the bumper openings?

Transmission tunnel plugs for a Spridget work well. They're a tight fit, but with some ArmorAll or something like that as a lubricant, they'll snap into place.

 

[Editor_Reid]

.
OK, here are a couple of snapshots of my bumperless 100's rear license plate mounting apparatus:



I drew a red line on the first photo to show the general shape of the sheet of aluminum that is attached to the small mounting bracket on the car, and to which the license plate (and license plate frame), license plate light and the two badges are attached. You drill a couple of holes for the license plate light and cut a slot from the edge of the aluminum sheet for the wires (this prevents you from needing to disconnect the license plate light wires). I added the two "ears" so that I could mount the badges. The second photos shows what it looks like behind, at least as much as I can show without dismounting everything. I did start with the small, original plate mounting bracket, so if you don't have one of those, you'll need to find one or make something similar.

Not sure how clear this is or if it's of any help; let me know if I've only confused you or if you have questions.

 

[HealeyPassion]

Well color me stupid....I've tried everything I can think of to post a picture (yes, "Insert an image") and I can't seem to make it work... and can't find a description of what it needs that I'm not providing. I see plenty of pictures on this thread so I'm sure it's a "user error"... just don't know what it is.... HELP? Thanks, Steve

 

[HealeyRick]

Well color me stupid....I've tried everything I can think of to post a picture (yes, "Insert an image") and I can't seem to make it work... and can't find a description of what it needs that I'm not providing. I see plenty of pictures on this thread so I'm sure it's a "user error"... just don't know what it is.... HELP? Thanks, Steve

Basil has a video tutorial for that: https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?87521-Posting-pictures-on-BCF

 

[HealeyPassion]

Thanks Rick, I watched the video.... did everything Basil said to do and it still won't upload (resized the image too).. it's worked for me before. I'll take this off-thread. Thanks for trying! Steve

 

[steveg]

I did something similar bu wanted a more stealth look. bent a bracket from aluminum, then mounted Vleds license plate frame (with LED backup lights) using hollow motorcycle LED bolts for downlighting the plate. No new holes drilled in rear shroud and totally removable.

Rich,
Your lit frame is pretty cool. Do you have any detail closeups in your gallery?

 

[richberman]

Rich,
Your lit frame is pretty cool. Do you have any detail closeups in your gallery?

Steve,
There are a bunch of pictures including this one. What do you wish to know? You can see the VLEDS frame/LEDs (https://www.vleds.com/high-power-18w-led-back-up-light-license-plate-frame-chrome.html as well as the two black motorcycle hollow bolts with LED (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008RIEQXY/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I had to enlarge the holes to make the hollow bolts sit deeper into the frame. I used T-nuts (same as the ones holding the seat slides to the chassis) to screw the hollow bolts onto the frame and metal bracket to the shroud.

 

[steveg]

Steve,
There are a bunch of pictures including this one. What do you wish to know? You can see the VLEDS frame/LEDs (https://www.vleds.com/high-power-18w-led-back-up-light-license-plate-frame-chrome.html as well as the two black motorcycle hollow bolts with LED (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008RIEQXY/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I had to enlarge the holes to make the hollow bolts sit deeper into the frame. I used T-nuts (same as the ones holding the seat slides to the chassis) to screw the hollow bolts onto the frame and metal bracket to the shroud.

Thanks for the links, Rich, they explain what I wanted to know.

 

[richberman]

Steve,
If you get the VLEDS frame be aware that the wiring is polarity sensitive (ask how I know).
Rich