Here is a picture of the parts we made for our hide away licence plate project.

Here is a link to a clip of the installed project

007 COOL Plate


Ric

 

I love it. Too bad there's no place to hide the front plate on a Firebird like that. Nice work. Where'd you get the idea from?

 

Hey man you should make kits for these! If you do, put me first in line!

 

Got the Idea from Johnyiroc he said we needed to do it to our project car so we had to come up with a way to do it.

As for making kits I would love to do that kind of thing some day but all of my time now is taken up with working on this project.

Ric

 

I was fearful you would say that. How much would it take for you to make another one?

 

Ratchet- that is def sweet i love it, if you were to produce them i would be second

 

The Cost to make this was as follows

Window motor free from scrap Door
Rack from same door Also free
3/16X 1" Bar Stock $20
Limit Switches used Free

Labour 20 hours to design and build

Ric

 

i would love some details on how to put it together, what kind of frame you used for it etc. this would be cool to make myself

 

Now thats just about the coolest thing ive seen

 

thats is awesome

 

That is incredible! What modifications did it require to the surrounding body panels? I'm in the process of doing a very similar buildup on my Iroc. Right now it's stripped to a tin can and in the body shop for the next 8 months. My family lives just outside of London (Strathroy). Any chance I could come check out the car for inspiration sometime?

 

Can that be done to the rear liscense on a T/A?

 

thats awesome , i love it , i want to do the same idea on my trans am with the rear plate, i want to make it flip down so you can read it and then have it flip back up for driving , but down at car shows and the drag strip .

 

No problem. We live in Byron so thats pretty close. Just PM Johnyiroc and set it up with him.

Ric

 

More details and bigger pics here.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/jour...19&action=view

Ric

 

ah now that is just awesome. very creative indeed. I think the same thing can be done to the rear of the camaro, well similar anyways.

 

That is sweet!

 

very very cool

 

tech write up, more pics with dimensions and whatnot!!

 

Awesome!!

 

soo awesome. Ive always thought if there was a way to do that. That will get rid of the front liscence plate issue

 

Now THAT is slick! Good work!

 

There are two modifications required to the surrounding body panels.

1. Youn must cut a hole in the in the top of the front bumper cover so that the plate can slide up through it. You can only see this hole if you lay down on the ground and look up at the bumper cover.

2. Youn must clear away the top of the crash/crush zone plastic that is located behind the front bumper cover and above the bumper I beam.

Ric

 

Just in case anyone is wondering... there are no negative effects to removing this part of the inner rubber bumper. Before we cut it out, I checked and it wasn't even touching the nose (like an inch away)... so it does nothing to give the nose structure and support.

 

What about some steps for installing one for the rear of a T/A?

What parts are needed?

 

guys- any chance for a tech write up with the dimentions and angels of everything??

 

I'd hate to say it, but easier said then done. There just isn't as much room on the rear bumper of a firebird. Now going sideways, could be much easier but i can imagine different parts/setup would be needed.

Then again who knows, someone make one and prove me wrong.

 

Looks great Has to be 1 of the neatest things I have seen.

 

From street car to show car in less than 2 seconds! You should mass produce those! Quick! Patent the idea!!!

 

Working on the Cad Drawings right now. Drawings are taking longer than actually building it.

Ric

 

If you need a hand, let me know... I'm a drafter and I have a copy of AutoCAD 2005 and SolidWorks on my home PC

 

thanks for the offer but the main problem is redesigning the brackets so that they can be laser or plasma cut and not require any welding. I am using surfcam to re do the design. If I get the design correct I should be able to offer people a bolt together bolt on kit that only requires a couple of basic hand tools and a 1/4" drill to install. Alternatively I could offer people a set of full size drawings via snail mail that they can build the project from.

Ric

 

If i had to use a front plate i'd love to have one, good work. you should definately think about making a few.

 

HAHA i could see if you get pulled over

"Sir are you aware you dont have a front licence plate?"
**buzzzzzzz**
"What are you talking about officer? look!"

 

lol thats what I was thinking

 

Ratchet, I hope you are keeping a list of those members that want these things!!!
Add my name.
I have my own cnc as well as access to a Haas cnc mill for cutting my own parts, so I would be happy with either a kit or cad files.
Keep up the good work!

 

Cout me in on one. That is sweet. You need to make some more, i would pay big buxs for that. Great job Man!!! If you ever fab some more up LET US KNOW. I want one.

 

i'd buy one

 

I'm a mechanical engineer myself and I have to tip my hat to you. That's a slick as sh*t idea. Nice execution. Are the brackets or rails it rides on 1 piece? Is there any cutting into the fascia required?
I'd do the drafting of the drawings for you if you want. Typically I do modeling /drafting for aerospace but automotive is always fun.

 

dude i want one of those!! i got pulled over once for not having the license plate on the front, it makes the car look like crap, that would be cool

 

The Main Bracket is one piece and it Rotates around on a pair of pivots that are located behind the bumper. There is a link close to the top of this post that will take you to more pictures of the brackets.


Yes the facia must be cut for the licence plate and bracket to pass through. The cut however is not visible unless you are laying on the ground or have the car on a hoist.


Ric

 

I believe you guys stumbled upon something big here. lol. Congratulations to both of you for getting it done.

If you do get to the point of selling them...let me know.

 

Here's how I did mine on my Trans Am...

KITT's plate

I've used an electric antenna motor from our cars to do the job. This has the advantage of having built in limit switches and therefore shuts itself off automatically when the plate is shown and retracted. It's a bit noisy but I know how to fix that but I'm too lazy. The license plate is mounted to the underside of the nose on some spring loaded piano hinges. If I drive over a judder bar or a up a steep driveway for example, the plate moves on the hinges and doesn't get damaged.

The only downside to this solution is that when the plate is being shown there is a current draw of about 0.1A which isn't a problem if you're driving around because the alternator is charging the battery. I guess I could figure out a way to get round that but again I'm too lazy.

 

Ok... Now for something easier...

Lets try to do one for the rear license plate!...

 

Eeek. A rear hideaway plate would probably be treading a bit too much on thin "legal" ice. Not that it wouldn't be the sickest mod ever. There really isn't a lega stipulation that says it can't be done. I would just be a bit nervous if I ever actually got pulled over and a cop noticed.

 

ehh , not referring to that... I mean like, someway to get it to fold down. You could always be like, I have it to fold down with a push of a button so i dont have to flip it down when i go to pop the trunk outside the car... Not to hide the plate... just a fold down.

 

That is so SWEET! I'm in! Great job man!

 

Me and my friends have been thinking about the rear plate hide idea for a wile. You dont have to acturaly have the plate move, you could just make something to slide up into its way. It would be nice for car shows and stuff, you could have a nice airbrushed plate slide up over your other one.

 

Yeah that ticket thing reallys sucks. Johnyiroc the inventor got one while cruising at Grand Bend. The Cop just walked out of the police station and wrote him up. I am pretty sure that was the imputus for the design.

Ric

 

yea if you ever start making kits for that...def. let me know!!