License Plate Holder Part 1

June 16, 2016 -

  Unfortunately Factory Five doesn't leave enough space between the trunk handle and the license plate holder/light for a typical 6" x 12" license plate.  Some choose to cut the plate which I hear might be illegal in some places if not all.  Some choose a different trunk opening mechanism such as a cockpit switch that pops the trunk lid open so there is no handle on the actual trunk.  JKleiner on the forums suggested modifying the license plate holder/light and that is the route I took.  It wasn't hard but took a little patience.  This is after most of the modifications.  You can see three holes in the light assembly.  They are where I drilled out the old rivets that held this all together.  The two close holes in the middle held the insulating board and the hot conductor for the lights, so that got moved up 3/8" and re-riveted.  The plate that holds the two bulbs also got moved up 3/8" and you can see the hole on the right but the left side hole is covered up by the buld holding plate.  See how that bolt coming out at you in the middle is off center low?  It used to be off center high so this bulb holding plate got flipped around and the bolt coming out at you is in the same place relative to the back of the assembly.

  Then you can cut a slot in the clear plastic and put it all back together.  The Dremel will tend to melt some of the plastic but it can be cleaned up with a file.

  I slid the test plate I had in there and I thought it could use a little more room so I used the Dremel to cut a little notch in the plate that holds the bulbs so the license plate could slide up just a little further into the assembly.  (Look closely.)

  To finish up the JKleiner mod we need to cut some aluminium and drill holes so that you can attach a license plate with its pre-drilled holes higher up that the stock holder positions the plate.  That is why this is part one.  I suspect a slight trimming of the bottom of the license plate might be necessary but if it is, it should be very slight.  And for the ultra observant, yes, that is my new wedding ring in the first picture. :-)