DIY Front License Plate Holder

A few weeks ago I moved from Arizona to Massachusetts. When trying to get my vehicle registered, a 2010 Scion XB, I was told that all Mass cars require a front license plate. Arizona does not have this requirement, and since I purchased my vehicle in Arizona, there was no proper front license plate spot provided on my vehicle. My wife, who had registered her vehicle a few weeks before me, simply drilled holes in her front bumper and screwed in her license plate. Not one to be so rash to poke holes in my beloved XB, I decided to solve the problem by creating a bracket that would go in my bottom grill. 2nd Gen XBs have two grills, and the bottom grill seemed to be the best spot to attach my license plate bracket. This 'ible is pretty simple, and I think the results came out nicely.

Materials you will need:

2x 3D printed Front Bracket

2x 3D printed Back Bracket

2x 1/4 20 nut

2x 1/4 20 x 3" Hex Cap Screw (If you are doing this on a different vehicle, your bolt length will probably vary)

4x 1.5" OD Fender washers (optional and not pictured)

Tools you will need:

7/16 socket wrench

Tape

3D printer

I'm not going to go into too much detail here. I used my Prusa i3 printer from RepRap Gurus to print out the parts. If you like to tinker, this is a good printer in my opinion. It's cheap, under $300, and allows you to customize as much as you want. My print settings for these parts were:

Bed Temp: 70

Nozzle Temp: 230

Infill: 50% (Wanted the part to be very strong)

I made the parts using Onshape, a web based modeling platform. Here is a link to the model where you can copy it and make changes.

The STLs are also available for download below.

Once you have your printed parts, assembly is quite simple.

Place the hex cap screw through one of the front openings on the license plate.

From the back of the license plate, slide the front bracket, narrow side towards the license plate, onto the hex cap screw.

Optional - add one fender washer onto the hex cap screw.

Place a nut into the corresponding opening on the back bracket.

Cut a small piece of tape help secure the nut so it does not fall out while you are working.

Optional - tape a fender washer to the back bracket side that will be facing outwards from the grill - opposite the side with the nut.

Place the back bracket on the inside of the grill and secure it by screwing in the front bracket assembly. Do not tighten completely. Leave some slack to help with the mounting the second bracket.

Following the instruction above, mount the second bracket assembly. Position the license plate to its desired location, and then tighten both hex cap screws with your 7/16" socket wrench.

YOU DID IT! Enjoy your new front license plate holder.