OK: Did not know where else to ask. My husband and the local auto gurus all say one thing.... My niece has been staying with us for awhile (long story, won't bore you). We ended up getting her a '97 Civic (well, she paid for about 80 percent of it). It had no front license plate. Oregon requires one. I bought new plates for her (license, registration, title, new plates = $191.00 ). Oh well, I'll cut back on the Christmas and New Years Champagne.... The question is, there is NO WAY to attach the front license plate. The Honda has two holes (sort of reinforced special circles molded into the bumper, but if you stick anything through those molded circles, all you find is styrofoam. Nothing to "attach to." The local yokels (hubby included) -- all just say use sheet metal screws that will "grab" onto the reinforced circles. I went to the "local Honda dealer," who is some 60 miles away on Friday and they said there is supposed to be brackets behind the bumper plastic that 6x16 screws go into to....but there are not. So, any thoughts. Will the sheet metals screws do the job? I don't want her to get one of our infamous $287.00 citations for no front license plate!! Kristi
Road & engine vibration would turn unsecured sheet metal screws into miniature buzz saws in the naked plastic and they'd lose their grip within a few thousand miles, so some sort of metal nutplate is necessary. Ask an autoshop if they've got a Riv-nut setter that can set Riv-nuts about that size into the holes. Shouldn't cost more than $100 to get done. Otherwise you'd have to take the bumper off to put the original nutplate back and that'd cost more. That's what I'd do, but Honda gurus may have better ideas ---
Uh-oh! I'd try to remove the front bumper cover and see if a behind-the-plastic piece just slipped out of place. (I'm almost positive a google search will turn up video on doing this.) If there is no behind-the-plastic piece back there, that might mean the bumper cover, etc, was removed for repair of accident damages, hopefully a minor fender bender. Are there any other evidence or subtle indications/suggestions of an earlier accident? I'm hoping not. As to just mounting the license plate directly or a license plate carrier to the plastic bumper cover, nice thick shafted pan head or oval headed self-tapping stainless steel sheet metal screws should do just fine -- #8 or #10 should do. Drill holes just smaller than the shaft of the screw ~1/2 inch above or below the existing holes. Tighten the screws only with a good ol' hand screw driver to prevent stripping out the new threads in the plastic. I'll bet they'll do satisfactory service for a very, very long time. Total cost could run as high as $3 as you'll probably have to by a package of six screws at Home Despot, etc.
Hi Kristi, This might be the answer: Honda Civic Replacement License Plate Bracket - 1988-2000 Honda Civic - Replacement 1180
Go to Home Depot and get some anchors like they use for drywall. Put them in and then attach the license plate. The anchors will flare in the styrofoam and should hold the bolts securely. They make some that will flare out quite wide so even it the bolts were to vibrate loose over time, they would have to back all the way out before the plate fell off.
Maybe you can just tuck the front plate in between the dash and windshield, far over on the passenger side? At least until you get the proper hardware from Honda.
To answer a couple of the questions....I hope.... I can get my hand behind the "bumper." But, behind the plastic and behind the styrofoam is a different thing. To get behind the plastic bumper, I would have to "hollow out," a giant hole in the styrofoam... The styrofoam is behind the "plastic." It is about four inches thick. I did not try to see what is behind it. Being some 13 years old, the styrofoam is pretty "flaky." Just touching it causes a mini-cascade of foam. I don't see how the bracket Danvee mentioned would work, as there is still no where to attach it (HONDA claimed there should be something to run bolts into behind the holes, but unless they were talking stryo, there is not). And, no, unless I squirrel out a big hole, can't get hand behind bumper. So, I WOULD NOT LIKE TO GIVE HUBBY AND FRIENDS the satisfaction, but it sounds as if the sheet metal screws might be the best solution at the moment. K/
Temporarily display the plate inside the front windshield? That seems to work here in southern california
you could put long screws all the way thru the styrofoam with nuts and large fender washers to keep it from pulling out through the styro.
[sigh] I guess I'm a scofflaw, but I'd just leave the plate off and get a couple of plugs from BumperPlugs that match the car.
i had my miata for a couple years when mass reinstated the two plate rule. i hated how it spoiled the beautiful front end and kept it in the trunk for 7 or 8 years except when i had to get a sticker.
I recommend that Kristi ask her friends to fabricate a reinforcing metal bracket for her niece's vehicle's front bumper. That bracket should be placed behind the plastic bumper. It could be made of aluminum stock, which is easy to drill and bend as needed. Hence a sandwich will result: license plate, plastic bumper, and bracket. Use machine screws and nuts to secure the sandwich together. Otherwise, the first time her niece uses the Braille method for parallel parking (or the car parked in front does the same), the front license plate will fall off and be lost.
I'm back.... Hubby Kev had to go to Salem, the state Capitol today and I talked him into stopping into another Honda dealer on the way. It's only a 90-mile trip one-way. He claims that said Honda people showed him the "detail" of the bumper and said that their parts and service people swore that they just run sheet metal screws into the bumpers for all the car's front plates. And they gave him two of the screws they use. Well, seems tough to believe, but that's what he claims. Just straight into the plastic. No other brackets, etc. So, he did that this evening. It seems solid for now....Thanks for all the help and suggestions. We'll be keeping an eye on it and I'll try to let you all know if any problems develop.
In CA most of the front license plate brackets are added by dealer personnel. Their fastener of choice: sheet metal screws. I wouldn't give it a second thought.
