| This was a bit of a useless exercise. I
needed a way to mount my front licence plate without drilling holes in
the front of my new Z. You can buy these brackets for about $90 but I
didn't want to wait for one to arrive by mail. Besides, if you can make
one yourself, why spend the money. The fact that these parts will
seldom, if ever see the light of day after the licence plate gets bolted
on makes it a long exercise for little gain. I could have cobbled
something together out a recycled garbage can lid and nobody (but me)
would ever know. But, oh well, ...
I have a small CNC setup that I built for making these sorts of projects at home. This was a evening's worth of noise and chips. There are a few things that I would do differently if I had to do it again, but given all the variables, it's just fine for my needs. |
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Start with a lump of scrap of 1/2" aluminum |
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Engrave a couple of Z's & drill a couple of holes |
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Mill a hole to recess the bolt head for that big 22mm bolt |
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Mill the bolt shaft hole a couple thou' over 22mm |
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Mill the outside of the bracket |
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Freshly cut front plate bracket |
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A little spit, a little polish and Voila, the bracket is all done |
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Next, make a .182" plate to bolt the licence plate to. This
bolts to the bracket above. |
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| Cut it out and drill a couple of holes to connect all the dots... |  |
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Test fit with a couple of temporary black screws in place. |
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The bracket on the car |
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Bracket & Plate on the car |
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Now to cover up all that work with a rusty old licence plate. |
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| Updated: February 25, 2008 | Copyright David J. Morrow 2008 |
