Okay, here's the plan. Click if you want an 8.5 X 11 version (actually, that's the dimension of the piece o' metal you'll need, too).
Materials:
Tools:
- Hand drill
- Jig saw
- Dremel
- Bench vise
- Hammer
- Misc.: Allen wrench, Sharpie, 8mm and 10mm sockets, Torx-head socket for fender mounting bolts, 10mm box wrench, carpenter's square, ruler, drift punch, micrometer (handy for measuring distance between holes), coathanger (for painting).
A couple of things to note:
- I used 22ga steel. If I did it again, I would have gone thicker. 18ga aluminum would have been good, but Lowe's was out.
- Dotted lines denote bends
- Crosses denote initial cut lines (before you make the detail cuts)
- You can make it easier on yourself by leaving a solid plate of metal to mount the license, or you can make the notches as deep as you'd like for a really minimalist tag mount.
- The "mounting tab" really only needs to be an inch or so, but you can cut it as long or short as you'd like.
- This is designed to use the original license plate light. If you don't want it (some people use LED bolts to light their plate), you can eliminate the 1 3/8" portion below the mounting tab. But you're on your own as far as cutting wires and hooking up the LEDs.
- See pictures below to see how the bends work - it's designed so that when the plate is at 45 degrees from vertical, the turn signal mount "ears" are horizontal once you bend 'em back (I ain't good at geometry, but that much I kin do).
- I did not mark the holes and sizes on accounta y'all gotta figure SOMETHING out yourselfs, but you can see the general location in the pictures below. It's pretty easy - just use your license to mark the plate mounting holes. Once I had the turn signals and light off, I measured the distance between bolts with a micrometer, marked 'em on the tabs with the sharpie, and drilled.
- I rounded off all the corners with a Dremel grinder. Use a bench grinder or whatever.
- I used a bench vise to hold the metal and make bends. It's a bit cobby looking, but a) the whole structure is sized to be hidden anyway and b) if you've got a Fully Equipped Immaculate Maintenance Facility like Tracker's, you can probably make it a whole lot neater if ya want.
