I received the postcard that every new Minnesota Crossfire owner dreads: my plates are in. I'm supposed to drive my Crossfire to the dealership so they can drill holes in my unblemished front bumper and affix the front plate. I searched through these forums knowing others must have faced this problem. Unfortunately, I discovered that the options seem to be drill the bumper or be a scofflaw. SOMEBODY should make a no-drill front license plate holder! But, alas, there is no such beast.

To make matters worse, the roads here are still slippery, sloppy, and covered in salt. I'm not keen to drive my new SRT6 (with only ~ 340 miles on it) 40 miles round-trip to the dealer. At this tender age, every additional mile on that SRT seems precious and I don't want to waste them on this grim errand. I'd prefer to drive my beater to the dealership and install the plates myself. If my virgin bumper must be violated by a drill bit, I'd like it to be somewhere familiar, safe, and clean. I promise to be gentle.

I have some questions:

• What type of drill bit should I use? Will a regular steel bit work or do I need something fancier?
• What size should I use?
• Any tips on technique?

Thanks.

 

don't do it.

keep it a virgin.

 

do a search:
"license mount"
"whale tail" started a thread "newbie question"
fourth post in I describe what I did.

 

That sounds like it requires more skills and tools than I have.

 

I feel your pain... HATED doing it myself...

 

So was there anything tricky about it? Did you just use a regular power drill and a standard drill bit? What size bit?

 

I bought a bolt and anchor kit from PEP BOYS so if I was ever able to remove the plate it wouldn't look so bad, I don't remember the bit size, sorry.

 

Use a small one just to drill a pilot hole.

 

So the bracket mounting screws are self-tapping?

 

Self tapping? Aren't we talking plastic here.

Pete

 

I believe it is plastic.

 

Hoping to avoid unwanted attention from law enforcement, I installed my front plate today. I used a 1/8" standard steel drill bit. I predrilled the plastic license plate holder that came with the car. I then positioned the plate holder on the bumper, placed the bit through the predrilled hole, and drilled through the bumper. It went in cleanly. I did notice that there are two distinct surfaces to drill through. On the first attempt, I stopped after I felt the bit go through the bumper. I screwed in the black screw but it stopped before going all the way in. There's a second surface under the bumper that it has to pass through. So, I drilled all the way through, screwed in the screw, and all was fine. I looked under the car for any dripping but saw none.

After affixing the right side, I drilled the left (through two surfaces again), screwed in that screw and affixed the plate. No muss, no fuss. I hated to do it but I want to enjoy my Crossfire without always worrying about getting pulled over for missing a front plate.

 

I live in New Jersey in the area with probably the strictest law enforcement in the country and maybe even the world and the front license plate is requirement, yet I refuse and will not drive with one... regardless the outcome... This is the right way to go... do not do this... resist the oppression...

 

Too late for me. I already did it. It looked better without it but it doesn't look awful with it.

I've been thinking about that second surface I had to drill through to get the screw all the way in. At first, I was bothered by it. What was it? Why is the screw longer than the space behind the bumper? However, I have to believe that Chrysler knew how large that space was when they spec'd the license plate mount screw. It also seems unlikely that they would put anything vital so close behind the front bumper (the screw's only an inch long!). Going through two surfaces also means the screw will be more secure making it less likely to work its way out. So, for now, I'm going to assume that the second surface was just another part of the bumper and all is as it should be.

 

Ewww, now you ruined the beautiful lines. You can't see the convex bend and edge on the bumper. I will never get on. Even tho i got pulled over twice, i got off by telling them it was new and i didn't have time yet. But even if i get a repair order i will probably just stick it on there with tape and get it checked then take it back off.

 

Mine has a front plate. It was put on before I took delivery. I bought a black front plate with a Chrysler emblem on it. Looks pretty good. it doesn't bother me that much.
The car is still beautiful whether or not a front plate is on it - IMO.