Shelby front apron, legal?

[88 Fox GT]

Ok, in Iowa the law is that you have to have a license plate on the front and rear of your car, unless the car comes out of the factory with no location for the plate. So, if I install a Shelby from apron, do you think I would be legal with no plate? What are the laws for you guys who have it installed?
I guess if I HAVE to, I could maybe build a braket behind it and it would be mounted in front of the radiator, but would completely KILL the look of the apron.

 

[brtnstrns]

put it in the windshield? some states laws say it has to be in front of the car...but i have an apron and i'm just gonna put the liscence plate in the windshield...i dont know if its a law or not in texas but i'm not gonna **** up the look of it by putting a liscence plate in it

 

[87gn2]

Just say the car was that way when you bought it, if you get pulled over.

 

[Ronstang]

put it in the windshield? some states laws say it has to be in front of the car...but i have an apron and i'm just gonna put the liscence plate in the windshield...i dont know if its a law or not in texas but i'm not gonna **** up the look of it by putting a liscence plate in it

Barton,

The secret to getting away with no front plate in Texas is easy if you own a classic vehicle that is old enough to be registered with vintage plates. You need to find a 1966 Dealer tag. Back in those days dealer tags were only issued as a single plate and because of this you are not required to run a front plate because there is simply not one available. I have a 1957 dealer taog on my T-Bird for this very reason and I have a 1966 one that will go on the fastback.

 

[brtnstrns]

oh well...i know plenty of people that dont use front plates and havent gotten pulled over for it...i'm not gonnna worry about it

 

[Ronstang]

oh well...i know plenty of people that dont use front plates and havent gotten pulled over for it...i'm not gonnna worry about it

That works too since it is at the officer's discretion as to whether to even pull you over for a missing front plate and if you have a cool classic it is highly unlikely unless you give him a reason. I can't tell you the number of tickets I have avoided because I was driving the Shelby instead of some grocery getter in which I would have been cited in a heartbeat. Cops are car people for the most part and the only strike you have is youth so watch your Ps and Qs and you probably won't have a problem.

 

[65straightsick]

Cops in alabama don't care about the car, they get paid to pull teenagers over and issue tickets, they love nothing more than to catch a 16 year old in the act, drives me crazy...

 

[Ronstang]

Cops in alabama don't care about the car, they get paid to pull teenagers over and issue tickets, they love nothing more than to catch a 16 year old in the act, drives me crazy...

Yeah, but it's Alabama.....what do you expect? There isn't anything else to do. I can't even find any towns when I drive through your state.

 

[67GTA-FB429]

You have to have a front plate in Washington, and it cannot be in the window. What I am thinking about doing is fab-ing some bracket that bolt to the front bumper and would allow me to hang the plate to the side of the radiator opening. Just a thought.

All the front plate is good for is a nice flat, metal reflector for radar guns anyway.

 

[65straightsick]

Yeah, but it's Alabama.....what do you expect? There isn't anything else to do. I can't even find any towns when I drive through your state.

I'll let that one slide because i'm feeling generous today, haha..

 

[88 Fox GT]

Just say the car was that way when you bought it, if you get pulled over.

Yeah, but I don't want to push my luck, being 16. We have ***holes for cops around here sometimes. It's hard telling what would happen, some would be really nice and say "nice car, i'll let you off". Others would actually run a check on it and bust me or something. I will check my laws and see if I can put it in the window.

 

[Hack]

You could move to Minnesota.

"Classic" cars here don't have to run a front plate. I got a notice for my '70 4 years back. Once you pass the 20 year mark, the back plate is enough.

 

[Ronstang]

I'll let that one slide because i'm feeling generous today, haha..

Hey, it was a joke....I kid, I kid. I was just through Alabama about a month ago and your state is beautiful but there just don't seem to be any small towns on the Interstate, unlike Texas. I figure they are all off on the other side of the woods because there has to be more than the few major cities. Mississippi is very similar in the seeming lack of population.

 

[65straightsick]

Ever been to montgomery, birmingham or mobile, your mind will change about small populations.....riding through on the interstate you might not see much but it's there.

 

[Ronstang]

Ever been to montgomery, birmingham or mobile, your mind will change about small populations.....riding through on the interstate you might not see much but it's there.

I know that, been through all those cities on the interstate. I realize that the population in there, you just can't see if from the highway. I was joking with you. Here in Texas the interstate goes right through the center of cities and towns of all sizes so you see much more civilization then you do in Alabama.

 

[none67]

i have the same problem here, even thoughs not really inforced that bad.

what i may end up doing is bending the plate to do go along the front of the valance, so its curved. still legal, its there and visable.

then again i may not, and i will also be puting a front spoiler on it, just an idea.

 

[mr-fixit]

At a recent Shelby convention, I saw a guy mount his licence plate in the opening of the R model valance. The plate was trimmed on the edges to fit, and it was mounted on a hinge type of arrangement, that when he reached about ten miles an hour, the plate folded back flat. When he came to a stop it slowly went to vertical. He said he had been pulled over twice, and when the cops went to the front and looked for the plate, they just walked away scratching their head. His future plans included making it raise and lower electrically from inside. He was telling me he was adapting an electric mirror motor assembly to do it.

 

[Ozsum2]

You're going to draw attention to the car just by having it on the road. If the cop is a prick, why give him something to pull you over with? I drive mine everyday, and the cops have already given my wife's boss (school Superintendent) a warning to tell us that there is a 15 MPH school zone. We DRIVE 15 through there. It's the cops and the buses and everyone else that tailgates us through there that are law breakers. We are slowing them down. They just like to single us out. And maybe you too.

 

[67coupestang]

You could move to Minnesota.

"Classic" cars here don't have to run a front plate. I got a notice for my '70 4 years back. Once you pass the 20 year mark, the back plate is enough.

Oh thank god! The uptight and anal po in Clear lake Iowa, gave me crap about a front plate on my 76 bronco. I live near albert lea minnesota now. I wouldnt put one on a shelby style valance anyways, they can write me a ticket...

Now in minnesota all i have to worry about is the $120 MINIMUM speeding ticket! ouch

 

[Ozsum2]

Oh thank god! The uptight and anal po in Clear lake Iowa, gave me crap about a front plate on my 76 bronco. I live near albert lea minnesota now. I wouldnt put one on a shelby style valance anyways, they can write me a ticket...

Now in minnesota all i have to worry about is the $120 MINIMUM speeding ticket! ouch

Damn!!! Sounds like the $150 ticket I got in Calif for going too slow.