http://www.southerncarparts.com/corv...how-p-627.html
Anyone have ideas on how to make a homemade version of one of these? I was thinking about using parts from a roll-out keyboard tray.

I was just going to buy one of these but I don't want to see any parts of it when it is retracted. You still see part of the unit when the plate is retracted.

Maybe even an idea on how to make this retail version go inward about 2 more inches when fully retracted.

 

buy that and mod it for a 3rd gen

 

Dont know what grill you have up front, but if you got one like this... Maybe you could cut around and mod the middle of this grill and turn it into a bowtie cover, hide the plate behind it, n mount the cover onto some sort of brackets (like spring loaded so it doesnt move around). Then you just lift it up, slide back and bam.... Retractable front plate... Just a thought...

 

In MN if you have collector plates you don't need a front plate.

 

The Camaro guys are lucky.....

1-power window setup +some custom built brackets + a little extra cutting & trimming of the nose =

 

SWEET!!!!!!

 

Thoughts on the firebird flip up plate:

Found one interesting thing at the hardware store. They sell ball bearing drawer slide or sliders for under $10. Look flat and something like these: http://www.gliderite.com/bearing.htm

If the license plate would be in the center of the bumper, thinking about making the plate bend in the middle after its flipped up since the nose is pointed. This would make the left and right sides of the plate be closer to the nose.

Would like to go electric too but haven't found much.

 

I've thought round & round about the drawer slider ideas before, but the flip up/down & latch in place is what stops me from building one.

Even the electric part is easier to build than the flip up/down.

 

For flip up part, I was thinking about using some kind of hinges and springs. Not sure what to do about latching or how to keep it in the retracted state or flip-up state, it might have to be electric.

 

I have a design in my head that I haven't gotten around to building yet. I'm going to go ahead and give away a little of my idea....it's powered by the motor out of a 12V cordless drill. It's perfect since it has forward and reverse.

 

I must have that!!!

 

me too!

 

Wow someone can fabricate pretty well

 

thats 20th century technology. Get this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS1eW3QlaQM

 

Does anyone have a link to the thread that was made by the guy who made the camaro license plate retractor? I know he made one I just can't find it. I think he was going to make kits for this but the time he would be putting into them would have made the price jump quite a bit.

 

Ratchet made it......

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...-007-cool.html

 

http://www.watsons-streetworks.com/power_stuff.html

There are numerous ways to do a flip down. You can get a kit like in the link above. They have an automatic cowl opener, for $100, and an automatic trunk opener, thats alot more expensive.

If you really want to make something custom, go to McMaster Carr, and look through some of their motors, and mechanisms. Should be able to get a nice setup, that would be able to do anything you want. Itll just take alot more time to figure out what you need.

 

For a Firebird, it would have to slide in/Out & flip Up/Down.

Sliding In/Out is simple. Flipping, flipping correctly & holding securely is the stumbling block.

 

Why not build it like some of the flip out screens that some cars have as the radio head unit or navigation screen.

I did a quick model and came up with the following. Keep in mind it was 10 minute rendering and all measurements were just what looked right. It obviously needs major tweaking...

Here is a picture with everything flat ready for the toothed flat bar to have a motor pull it in or flip it down.


Here is a picture of how everything would sit with the plate exposed outside the bumper.


With everything made out of aluminum except for the the shock things, it should weigh no more then 3 pounds after all hardware is included.

 

Yeah, the sliding part seems to be the hard part, to me. The flip could be done with tortional springs (similar to clothespin springs). The plate would have to fold forward, so it would lay up closer to the body, and stay put in the wind, and still fold down (forward) when the slider is retracted. A drawer slider could be modded to work with a window motor like someone said earlier, or with a cable driven actuator from Mcmaster, or another supplier. They have pages of stuff, its really up to how much time and money you want to spend.

 

It would have to lay flat when retracted, but flip up (not down) when extended. In your 2nd pic, my plate would be rubbing the ground!

 

In the first pic it is in position to be pulled into the bumper... how much flatter do you want it? The outside surface of the bumper would be about a half in behind the main pivot point of the bar the plate attaches to.

To work on your car, all that has to be done is flip it over. Problem solved... kind of.

You get the idea though, right?

 

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/115/2958/=59hea1

That should be a link to the page with a spring loaded hinge. The plate could flip up, when fully extended (with spring pressure), then the slider could pull it back down(loading the hinge with tension, or torsion in this case), under the bumper, when retracted. Shouldnt be too hard to find a slider, that can be set to open and close at specified positions.

Interesting stuff, unrelated. I found a nice retractable hanger, on page 2980, I think. That would be sweet for a helmet hanger. Or something. I could find a use for it.

 

I guess I'm not following your train of thought here. How would a hinge with a spring allow the plate to flip up/down without someone physically going up to it a moving it with their hand? You're basically suggesting what is used for the rear license plate. Instead of buying something, why not just get a used rear license plate bracket from a junkyard car?

Even with your spring-hinge idea, you would still need something to flip it while you're still in the car. This means you'll still need some kind of electric ram or motor, in which case, why not just use a single electric ram like in my model? It would be more then sufficient at holding the plate against the air as you drive.

I know it looks like the ram/shock thing in my drawing looks like it is hanging low when the plate is in its resting position outside the car, but it needs to be attached lower then the main pivot point in oder to have the leverage needed to flip it and the strength to hold up against 100+mph winds (from driving). Like I said earlier, it can most likely be reworked so it doesn't hang much lower then the gear toothed bar, but it does need to mount to the plate bracket lower (higher in Stpehens case) then the main pivot. The distance between the pivot points on the plate bracket may look big in the pictures I posted, but that gap is really only 0.75". The pivot point on the body of the ram needs to stay relatively close to the gear-toothed bar because they need to move together.


Never saw the retractable hanger...

 

check out swiftmotorsports.com

 

That doesn't seem that bad as far as the price goes. I won't be spending that kind of cash for something like this, but that's just me. You can probably build the non-motorized version for ~1/3 what they charge but then you lose the cool factor of it doing it on it's own.

 

Its hard to get a point across without the visual aids.

The hinge would use its stored torsional energy, to flip the plate up, to a normal, or vertical position, only when the slider is out all the way. The slider would slide out from under the bumper, and the spring would rotate the plate up. Then the slider would pull back, and store the plate under the front bumper, pushing against the hinge, but loading it for the next flip upward.

I cant think of anything to relate it too. Its basically just a set of drawer sliders, with a mechanical attatchment, to allow the sliders to operate from the drivers seat. The spring and hinge just stand the plate up, after the sliders push it out. If done right, you wouldnt have to touch it.

And I wasnt saying your design didnt work. I was either searching, posting, or making my page correction when you posted that.

 

So you are talking about making something like the motorized Swift Motorsports product? Now I understand.

 

I didn't look at the Swift link, but a motorized version of the manual one from Post #1 in this thread.

Timing the flip up/flip down correctly, is what is stumping me. But the spring-loaded idea is giving me ideas, that I just need to build to see if they work right.

EDIT: I just looked and yeah....The Swift motorized one is what I want, but it damn sure isn't worth $150! I seriously doubt it cost them $90 to motorize their nmanual version!