Mk4 rear license plate holder & "t" handle

[Drop Zone]

What have most MK4 builders done for the rear license plate light/holder and the “T” handle spacing on the trunk lid? I’m at that point to cut the lens and slide the plate up into the cut or leave the “T” handle out of the picture and use a popper to open the trunk lid.

[JKleiner]

Here is the description of how I did it on Steve's car from my Mk4 bodywork & paint thread:

Originally Posted by JKleiner

...When I got to the decklid I was faced with that well known and frequently discussed Mk4 license plate issue! Some guys simply trim the plate to fit but Steve has reservations about that (I suspect he thinks he might be breaking enough laws and doesn't want to give the Bloomington Police yet another excuse to write him up!). With no modifications the plate hangs over the trunk handle like a Backdraft:



I got looking at the light assembly, did some measuring and decided that if I could tuck an uncut plate up under the license lamp hood it would clear. The light bulb holder has a stud to hold the hood and lense that is not centered:



By drilling out the rivets that attach it I could flip it over and move it up 3/8". This put the stud back into the same position in relation to the hood. I drilled the rivets out of the insulator card and moved it upwards 3/8" also:



Next I cut a slot in the back of the lense which will allow the plate to slip up inside the lamp housing and reassembled the unit:



Finally I cut a length of aluminum stock and attached it to the existing mount then drilled holes which will hold the license plate about 1 1/8" higher:



All done! An uncut standard size (12" by 6") license plate now tucks up behind the lamp housing and clears the handle:

After paint:



Several other builders have since done the same.

Good luck,
Jeff

[mirose]

Just did the above mentioned mod tonight. Hopefully I am getting my plates tomorrow or the next day (finger's crossed). It took about an hour, mostly because I had to redo it once because I hadn't read the directions as carefully as I should have. But it came out very nice. Here is a picture with an extra trailer plate I had around.

I'll have to see what happens with the real plate I get, but I still had to trim the border of the top of the plate and ever-so-slightly notch the bottom border of the plate for it to fit. I'll do it a bit more carefully on the "real" plates if it needs it, but this was a rough fit

[QSL]

this is a great tip. Thanks for sharing. I will be attempting this as well in the next couple weeks. Looks like the best option.

[Drop Zone]

I did the mod yesterday. Worked out good. Thanks for the replys. Great info and easy to follow instructions. Again thanks to you both.

[MK4]

Looking good!


Mk4

[conger]

I'm also at the body work phase. I was wondering if anyone has done anything different other than modifying the licence plate bracket.
I'm leaning toward leaving it as is and changing the "T" handle latch in favour of another trunk latch mechanism. I'm not as concerned about the period correct look. I'm not really happy with the way "T" handle works anyway.

Gerry

[Mikey_P]

I dropped my trunk lid off at a body shop yesterday to see if they can rework it to fit. I am really disappointed that Factory Five did not fix this. This sucks as far as I'm concerned.

[JKleiner]

You can put a Mk3 lid on it Mike. Of course then you'll have the "beak" that so many complained about which is what prompted the change. Choose your poison.

Jeff

[Mikey_P]

Yes I know, but it just is something that should have been addressed when it was discovered. I didn't mind the beak on my Mk3.

[CCRsAC]

Mikey P - I have a trunk lid made a couple of years ago by Karl Gess (Gess Motorsports - former participating sponsor and vendor here) who used to have a shop that focused on FFR bodywork/paint. He splashed a mold off of a modified trunk lid that he did for a customer, then made 10 - 20 lids before FFR came out with the Mk4. I recently bought a Mk4 lid, so I'm going to sell the Gess lid. It may be better for someone local, though, as shipping will probably be pretty expensive. PM me if you're interested, though, as an alternative to the Mk3 lid or the Mk4 license plate issue.

[emac]

I personally was not a fan of the MK3 rear end. The MKIV sealed the deal with FFR for me. I did the license plate just like Mirose, worked out perfect once I realized the plate was shorting out against the wiring.

[rick8928]

Did Jeff K's license plate light mod as specified. Worked like a charm and Maryland plates fit without modification. Yeah Jeff!

[Fred Yarema]

Drilled holes in licence plate - made 1/4' plastic spacer with holes for behind licence plate - cut licence plate frame around t-handle bezel.

[MPTech]

Fred, I like your plates! (the mount is good too, but the "Made in the USA by..." part)

[Fred Yarema]

First thing they teach you is to sign your work!
(work as an engineering consultant though)

[keh47]

I am also at the point of having to do something about the rear plate holder. I inquired at FF about getting another trunk handle mechanism. I was thinking of having two trunk handles located on both sides of the plate and eliminate the one in the middle. Any negatives to doing this.

[COMPETITIONCOBRA]

Originally Posted by keh47

I am also at the point of having to do something about the rear plate holder. I inquired at FF about getting another trunk handle mechanism. I was thinking of having two trunk handles located on both sides of the plate and eliminate the one in the middle. Any negatives to doing this.

Ya... It would look dam ugly.

[wormie]

I liked Fred Yarema's idea other than the obvious fact that the plate gets modified (which is illegal up here).

So I figured the best idea would be to combine his idea to JKLeiner's (recognized best practice so far) to come up with what I think may be the natural evolution from those two mods.

I'm not completely done yet. but the gist is:

Bought a chromed license plate holder with no markings on eBay (5$ plus 8$ shipping to Canada)

Plain Quality Heavy Duty Metal License Plate Frame New | eBay


Punched the necessary holes in the middle of the bottom of the frame to host the handle, same as Fred but lower, needing only to shave about a 1/4" notch on the license plate.

Took the plastic glass from the license plate light out to slide underneath the top of the license plate holder, but did not modify any of hte internal components.

Left is to cut the clear plastic, fit new holes to screw the license plate and holder to the support.

The only problem I anticipate is finding some thin rubber to put under the plate at the handle and straigthten the bracket so the gap plate-body is not too visible when you look from above...

Pics to follow.

Note: had to cheat a bit the beak on the trunk is not centered!!!!! Good thing I won't go for stripes.

[CraigS]

A week or so ago I saw a guy who had trimmed the plate maybe 1/4-5/16 inch off top and bottom and then ground a half moon in the bottom to clear the handle. Not noticeable unless you know to look for it.

[wormie]

Done.
Honest, I think this is probably getting very close to the best compromise possible to the MK4 license plate issue.
I'll post some pictures. The idea is really close to JKleiner's, but a little simpler, nicer I think with the added license plate frame as did Fred Yarema.

[wormie]

First the final product then I'll go into some details.

1367001172814.jpg
So you see it looks like Fred Yarema's, except the license plate sits a bit higher and the T-Handle appears to go through the frame more than the license plate. I was a little concerned being stopped over or during inspection having evidence the the license plate has been molested.

The frame cost me 6$ (plus 8$ shipping) from eBay. I just could not find locally a license plate holder with nothing written on the bottom, which would have had the handle bar right in the middle of the inscription. Chrome to match the other accessories (license plate light, T-Handle, bumpers).

1367001203295.jpg

From the side you see the plate holder slides inside the lamp assembly, same as JKleiner's, but it stops at the bulb support brackets, hence I did not have to modify the guts of the lamp assembly (removing and replacing the rivets, flipping the bulb bracket around, measuring, etc...) The clear plastic has been cut and the whole thing is no longer sealed, but I managed to do a tight fit.

1367001233005.jpg
The license plate holder with the necessary holes to fit the T-Handle

1367001252553.jpg

Couldn't get away with not punching a notch in the license plate, I'll do a cleaner job on the final plates, I would have hoped not to have to do the holes for the screws also but didn't work out.

[wormie]

1367002403171.jpg
The modified clear plastic. I first attempted to cut it with a guide and a utility knife: took forever and was not cut wide enough, second time around I used the dremmel. Will require a bit of sanding to get it real straight.

1367002422650.jpg

Modified a rubber washer to avoid hading the plate directly on the paint.

1367002452477.jpg

Bolted the latch mechanism inside out since the added thickness of the license and the frame moved the T handle a little too much at the edge of the latch mecanism.

Also not showing is that I flattened the license plate holder bracket (friom the lamp assembly) so that the license plate ended up more vertical. You'll note I have not srewed yet the license plate in the license plate bracket, it feels sturdy enough and I need to find short bolts that will not touch the paint, the original assembly uses metal screws and a plastic bushing plugged into a square hole in the bracket.

My license plate holder came with chromed screws caps to cover those eventually.

Voilà!