Got a front plate mounted??
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 171
Likes: 0
From: Mahopac NY
Got a front plate mounted??
Got a front plate attached or is it in the car somewhere??
I just bought an LT4 and the previous owner never attached the front plate, which is required here in NY. I'd like to do the same (with my C3, it wasn't an issue). What are you guys doing in states that require the front plate? Do you get pulled over?? Is there an excuse that usually works with cops so you don't get a ticket? Does it help if you have the front plate in the car??
Clueless and Plateless, but not Vetteless
I just bought an LT4 and the previous owner never attached the front plate, which is required here in NY. I'd like to do the same (with my C3, it wasn't an issue). What are you guys doing in states that require the front plate? Do you get pulled over?? Is there an excuse that usually works with cops so you don't get a ticket? Does it help if you have the front plate in the car??
Clueless and Plateless, but not Vetteless
Racer
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 309
Likes: 0
From: Grants Pass Oregon
94 blk/blk cpe. Its required here in Oregon, but I do not have it mounted, the front looks so..... much better with the stock cover in place. I keep the front plate in the car. Have not been stopped. I have a few excuses ready when I do.,, couldnt figure out how to mount it, didnt want to drill holes, havent had time, the list goes on.....
Pro
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 653
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From: Northern New Jersey
St. Jude Donor '03-'05-'06-'07-'08
I put it on the car. One less reason to get stopped.
I put the clear plastic cover over it that has the same shape as the Corvette filler that came with the car.
I put the clear plastic cover over it that has the same shape as the Corvette filler that came with the car.
Elite Torch Red Member
Joined: Sep 1999
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From: Exit 89 GSP,Lakewood,NJ The Land Of Mojo
Cental/South NJ Events Coordinator
CI 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 Vet
CI-II Burnout & Drag Champ
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07
I would put it on, but get the clear plastic cover that is molded to the shape of the car. That's what I have done.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 928
Likes: 44
Meh...just leave it off. It's required in MN however I rarely see a Vette with them in, and even more rare you see/hear people getting a ticket for it. If you do get a ticket it would likely be in the $35 range (not that I like to throw money away on tickets!)...only from that point onward would I consider putting it on.
CF "Young" Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,034
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From: Cupertino CA
St. Jude Donor '12
When my dad bought the '86 a few years back it had the front plate on it; for some reason he was under the presumption that anyone that had a front plate filler was destined for a ticket in no time and thus left it on. I always had the attitude of 'if you get stopped, say it came from the dealership like that'. Last time I stopped by the Corvette Clinic for some misc parts they had the black fillers in stock, so I picked one up and popped it in that afternoon. Just to cover my a$$, I keep the plate in one of the storage compartments, just in case I meet a cop that decides to be a jerk.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 34,873
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From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
NCM Sinkhole Donor
Your decision to mount a front palte or not. Some folks seem to get away with no plate when their state requires one, and some can't drive 3 blocks before getting nailed.
What is the NY ticket for no front plate? Fix-it or do you have to pay a fine and maybe go get the car inspected. If you have a state vehicle inspection, will it pass without a plate?
My take is to put the plate on and just avoid the risk of getting stopped. Some LEO's may just pull you over for just that and then go thru the whole drill of Id check, vehicle check and who knows what else.
A friend with a 95 took one of the clear plate covers and masked off the inside so that only the plate number is visible and then painted the rest of the inside of the cover in body color. Looks pretty neat as only the numbers show thru.
In WA we don't have to have a front registration tab. But the plates have a metallic reflectorized coating so they bounce radar signals back easier.
What is the NY ticket for no front plate? Fix-it or do you have to pay a fine and maybe go get the car inspected. If you have a state vehicle inspection, will it pass without a plate?
My take is to put the plate on and just avoid the risk of getting stopped. Some LEO's may just pull you over for just that and then go thru the whole drill of Id check, vehicle check and who knows what else.
A friend with a 95 took one of the clear plate covers and masked off the inside so that only the plate number is visible and then painted the rest of the inside of the cover in body color. Looks pretty neat as only the numbers show thru.
In WA we don't have to have a front registration tab. But the plates have a metallic reflectorized coating so they bounce radar signals back easier.
Pro
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 503
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From: Forney Texas
Here in Texas front plates are required. I went several years without one but relented last year and put it on. I figured I had pushed my luck as far as I wanted too. At first I thought it really took away from the look of the car but I have grown used to looking at it. I think I am getting older and just don't want the hassle. It also doesn't help to have a comp yellow vert with a fusia decal reading "Indy" on the doors. Seems to attract the attention of the local law enforcers.
90Indy
90Indy
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Team Owner
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From: Kerrville, Texas USA Hook 'em Horns!
CentralTX Events Coordinator
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
I bought my car used from a dealer with no front plate. Texas law requires a front plate. In the 4 years I have owned the car, no one has ever bothered me about the missing plate. Rumor has it that if they stop you for something else, they may hassle or ticket you for the lack of a front plate.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,373
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From: Central Maryland
Here in Maryland, a front plate is required by law. I'd say that probably more than 50% of the C4/C5/C6 Corvettes I see here don't have the plate on the front. It isn't that often that anyone gets hassled about the missing front tag, but it does sometimes happen. At our club's annual Ocean City charity event this year, a LEO set up beside the road somewhere on our rally course and pulled over every car that was missing a front tag. $60 fine for the driver.
I ran without my front tag for a while after I bought the car, 'cause I hated the way the car looks with the tag installed. But, I finally decided to install the tag. I figured that if I got stopped for any reason, the absent tag might increase the odds that I'd be cut no slack. I also don't want to give the LEOs any reason to stop me if I was doing nothing wrong.
I also installed one of the clear plastic covers over my tag, and it does significantly improve the looks of the car with the tag installed, as it restores the contours of the factory dummy cover. Not a bad compromise, IMHO. I can live with it.
Be well,
SJW
I ran without my front tag for a while after I bought the car, 'cause I hated the way the car looks with the tag installed. But, I finally decided to install the tag. I figured that if I got stopped for any reason, the absent tag might increase the odds that I'd be cut no slack. I also don't want to give the LEOs any reason to stop me if I was doing nothing wrong.
I also installed one of the clear plastic covers over my tag, and it does significantly improve the looks of the car with the tag installed, as it restores the contours of the factory dummy cover. Not a bad compromise, IMHO. I can live with it.
Be well,
SJW
Large Impressive Member
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die
St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07
Fortunately I live in a state where the bureaucrats are at least smart enough to have figured out that they can gouge us the same amount for one plate as they could for two. 
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 81,241
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From: altered state
St. Jude Donor '05
I carry the extra in the car, I'd rather pay $60 than make the front end of my car look like a turd.Only reason they have them out here is for those stupid photcop cameras at the intersections. Hardly ever drive them anyway.
If they were DD's I might reconsider.
If they were DD's I might reconsider.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 7,276
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From: Why are there squished peanut butter cups in my underware?
Required here in Colorado too. I don't have it on mine. I'm not worried about a cop pulling me over for it, but a meter maid did get me once while parked. $30
If a cop pulls you over for not having one, just be honest and say it looks cooler without it. I think you have a better chance of getting out of it than some dumb excuse he has heard a hundred times before.
If a cop pulls you over for not having one, just be honest and say it looks cooler without it. I think you have a better chance of getting out of it than some dumb excuse he has heard a hundred times before.
Drifting
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,979
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From: Lakeport CA
No front came with it when I bought back in 93... drove almost 10 years w/o it before a LEO decided I needed it... so bought custom (vanity?) plates, mounted em... got the fix it signed off & took the plate off as I didn't really like it either. Year or two later, another fix it. Put it on, signed off again... then a few years later, oops hit my neighbors mini van. New nose cover on & crumpled plate sitting in the garage... waiting for the next fix it.
So.... where do you get these clear covers?
So.... where do you get these clear covers?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,705
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From: Chesapeake Beach Maryland
2015 C5 of Year Finalist
Originally Posted by Mr Mojo
I would put it on, but get the clear plastic cover that is molded to the shape of the car. That's what I have done.
I lived in South Carolina for years with my Vette where no front plate is required. When I moved back to Maryland a year and a half ago I resisted for about six months, but then gave in. I put our Maryland/Club license plates on both front and rear with the clear cover from Mid America and it looks great. Once you get accustomed to the look you won't even bother with it.
