"razorbeamteam" (razorbeamteam)
07/13/2020 at 08:27 • Filed to: None
8
14|
"razorbeamteam" (razorbeamteam)
07/13/2020 at 08:27 • Filed to: None | 8
| 14 |
My wife’s Prius was in need of a front license plate mount. Not wanting to harm the bumper of such a fine automobile, I decided to use a tow hook mounted plate holder.
Usually these are $20 on Amazon and they can be found for almost any application . Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any that would fit a Gen 2 Prius, so I decided to get creative.
Here’s the tow hook on the car.
Once I knew where the “top” of the tow hook was, I got a strip of 1/8” steel and set to work.
Those welds look fine right? I mean it just has to hold a license plate! Screw it, time for paint.
First some grinding and primer. I used some leftover white wheel paint and finished it with 3 coats of clear.
I let it dry overnight, and was ready to pop it on the car and be done.
Well, crap.
Remember what I said about my welds being “good enough”? Well, they weren’t. It’s been a while since I’ve used the welder, so I was a bit out of practice. The problem was I had set my wire speed too fast. There wasn’t enough time for me to get enough heat into the weld and it never penetrated the plate.
On the next attempt I dialed the wire speed way back and got much stronger results.
I decided to just use some truck bed liner spray instead of trying to make it look nice. It actually came out ok after some grinding.
It fits pretty well and it’s hella strong. In a pinch you you’ll probably tow the car with it.
The offset made it so the plate was just barely touching the bumper when it was fully screwed in. I just backed it out one full turn and now it’s perfect. I’m not worried about it moving around, there’s plenty of friction on the threads.
nerd_racing
> razorbeamteam
07/13/2020 at 09:08 |
|
I’d slap some anti-seize on the threads. All of my friends who have tow hook mounted plates found that the threads seized solid in a matter of one or two winters.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> razorbeamteam
07/13/2020 at 09:10 |
|
We all learn from our mistakes!
Now for a question. It’s an honest question, not a critique in the form of a question. D oes the law require the plate to be mounted perpendicular to the road? Could you make it follow the contour of the bumper instead ?
hillrat
> razorbeamteam
07/13/2020 at 09:16 |
|
There’s a super perverse sense of satisfaction in not spending $20 to fix a problem and instead spending a couple of days making something. I stan.
Snuze: Needs another Swede
> hillrat
07/13/2020 at 09:33 |
|
This might be the synopsis for my life.
i86hotdogs
> razorbeamteam
07/13/2020 at 09:45 |
|
Does your tow hook thread completely in on a vertical or perpendicular plane? Mine on my van snugs on a positive angle like “/” < that. So I set it about 1/8 of a turn so it’s horizontal. It moved after a long drive, but I just turn it flat again.
Thomas Donohue
> TheRealBicycleBuck
07/13/2020 at 09:55 |
|
Yeah, I think I just cut my shin walking around that car in the garage! (previously cut my shin on my Miata front plate years ago)
jminer
> razorbeamteam
07/13/2020 at 10:14 |
|
I love the ridiculously overbuild nature of this - well done!
Ermahgerd!
> TheRealBicycleBuck
07/13/2020 at 10:15 |
|
As long as it is visible it should be legal. I can’ t speak for every state though.
|
razorbeamteam
> hillrat
07/13/2020 at 10:24 |
|
Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
|
razorbeamteam
> TheRealBicycleBuck
07/13/2020 at 10:28 |
|
I don’t think they care as long as it’s parallel to the ground. I’ve seen JDM cars around here where the plate is mounted low and flush with one side of the bumper.
|
razorbeamteam
> nerd_racing
07/13/2020 at 10:28 |
|
Good point. I think I will. I also need to buy a replacement tow hook...
|
razorbeamteam
> i86hotdogs
07/13/2020 at 10:30 |
|
I screwed it in all the way then marked where the top was on it before I welded it. I got pretty close and when it’s fully screwed down it’s almost perfectly level.
Jb boin
> Ermahgerd!
07/13/2020 at 10:30 |
|
Would definitely not be legal in France as it would be dangerous in case you hit a pedestrian or bicycle (and the insurances would definitely not like it ) but also because license plates should be riveted in a way thay they are not easily removable.
But i really like the idea and it’s execution :)
|
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Thomas Donohue
07/13/2020 at 10:36 |
|
Ouch! I’ve cracked a shin on a receiver hitch, but never a plate.