I was warned yesterday by one of Honolulu’s' finest for not having a front license plate. So I guess I will have to install one. Problem is that in Hawaii, there is no law against having incorrect plates on a motor vehicle, and the car thieves and racers put bogus plates on their vehicles to deter identification. HPD cannot site them because it is not against the law, right now (legislature is working to fix that, I am told), so HPD is starting to crack down on any infractions.
The factory front license plate bracket curls around the vertical sides of the license plate, i.e. the license plate actually slides in from the top (or bottom). Those sides prevent a regular license plate frame from fitting over the license plate.
Has any one modified the bracket to fix that - maybe cut off the rolled over sides? Looks to me like the design was some engineer’s nightmare to structurally strengthen the frame. Of course the mounting of the bracket to the front spoiler is also a work of art - 3 pot metal lag screws into the plastic front spoiler - through 3 sponge rubber washers that compress into nothing when the screws are tightened. We call that J-U-N-K.
Maybe I'll just tough it out and see what happens. In my first 500 miles I have been tailed 3 times by HPD. Never happened in my old black F150. Of course I am kind of wound up in 2nd gear trying to stay under the speed limit in a 25-MPH zone with my 456 rear end. Maybe it sounds like I am ready to launch. Wait till I change the exhaust system and it really buzzes.
The factory front license plate bracket curls around the vertical sides of the license plate, i.e. the license plate actually slides in from the top (or bottom). Those sides prevent a regular license plate frame from fitting over the license plate.
Has any one modified the bracket to fix that - maybe cut off the rolled over sides? Looks to me like the design was some engineer’s nightmare to structurally strengthen the frame. Of course the mounting of the bracket to the front spoiler is also a work of art - 3 pot metal lag screws into the plastic front spoiler - through 3 sponge rubber washers that compress into nothing when the screws are tightened. We call that J-U-N-K.
Maybe I'll just tough it out and see what happens. In my first 500 miles I have been tailed 3 times by HPD. Never happened in my old black F150. Of course I am kind of wound up in 2nd gear trying to stay under the speed limit in a 25-MPH zone with my 456 rear end. Maybe it sounds like I am ready to launch. Wait till I change the exhaust system and it really buzzes.