So I just got done removing the old license plate on my gf's 1991 GTA. Whoever put the plate on for her used a couple of small bolts, stuck them through and threaded some nuts on them. By the time I got to them, everything was rusted together and a mess to take off. So now they are off, and I am trying to put her car back together with as much OEM stuff as possible as that is the way she likes it. I went to the dealership to get the proper hardware to mount the license plate on her car, and they gave me some screws with a couple of white plastic expansion nuts. These nuts are giving me grief going into the holes, so my question is this: do any of you guys have any tips for putting these in?
Any help would be really great. Thanks guys!

 

Those plastic nuts should snap right in before you thread the bolt in them. There are different sizes of those so it is possible they gave you some too large.

 

No plastic nuts on my car - just a threaded hole in the bumper. My guess is the PO stripped them and that is why he added a nut and bolt. You might get away with drilling out the hole and adding the plastic nut. Or you could add some plastic filler to the hole, let it harden and then drill it out and screw into that.

 

Check post #12 of the following link for a pic of the plastic piece and how it inserts:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...scratches.html

JamesC

 

Birds don't have that plate. I was assuming it was on the rear bumper. I could be wrong though.

 

This is on my 82. My 89 is similar. The holes are threaded.

 

Interesting. Does anything secure the bottom of the license (as the U-shaped piece does on the Camaro)?

JamesC

 

I was thinking about a Camaro too. Fill the holes with a bumper repair epoxy. Pack it it as deep as possible. After it cures drill a hole smaller than the screw. 1/8"should work. That should take care of it.

Another possibility is a hollow wall type anchor/threaded insert type.

 

Here a pic from my '89 GTA

This all sounds like more work than is really needed. If you have an assortment of screws, just find two matching ones that will work in the holes. If one hole is bigger than the other, drill the smaller one out to the size of the bigger one and get two screws to fit those holes. I would probably go to the hardware store to get them in stainless steel once you figure out what size you need. Just my

 

I figured he wanted to use original hardware. You can just get a few oversized screws.
Make sure they are coated or stainless so you don't have ugly rusty screws..

 

My 87 TA looks just like this, the screw just go right into the bumper cover. I'm all for doing things right, but the Op just needs a bit larger screws IMO and be done with it.

 

I bought my car new...same fasteners on it.

 

I don't know why I didn't think of this myself. This really was the easiest route and this is what I ended up going with. The dealership was especially vague with what was supposed to go in there and he gave me the original hardware as is "best guess". I took the original screws he gave me (which were too loose), went to Home Depot and got the next size up in stainless steel and they went in nicely.

THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE'S INPUT!!!

It was very helpful, though I feel a bit foolish for not having thought of this myself.