MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Front License plate mounting bracket

Hi folks. I just put a new front bumper on my 1500 roadster. The original bumper simply had the bottom of the license plate bolted to the front bumper, which is incorrect. Does anyone have photos of the proper front license plate mounting bracket? I need to fabricate one. There are 2 holes on the bottom of the new front bumper. Are these holes for mounting the license plate bracket? Thanks, Glenn
Glenn Hedrich

Glenn

Attached picture should help you. Please excuse the rusty backing plate. It's a task for my blast cabinet after Christmas (fingers crossed for Santa).

Steve


Steve Gyles

If you look in the BMC Parts Manual it shows the two brackets with different part numbers indicating they are handed yet from the manual picture they look identical. From Steve's picture it's dawned on me that maybe the front of each bracket is angled to conform to the curvature of the bumper in which case should they fixed above the bumper rather than below?
I was thinking of making a couple but they look heavy gauge to me - 1/8"?
Mike
m.j. moore

Mike is correct. They are fixed inside, not below, the bumper. The brackets are black, LH & RH (front is angled horizontally to conform to the bumper curve). I think Steve's are a homemade version and are heavier gauge than need be.

regards
Colin
C Manley

Mike and Colin

Thanks for the info. I will reposition when I paint the back plate. They are genuine brackets as far as I know as they do not appear on my invoice from when I bought all the other number plate bits. i.e. I already had them. I definitely did not make them.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Taken the number plate off. Tried to remove bracket but the bolt is rusted solid. It is also difficult to access the nut inside the bumper in situ. Ho Hum, what's new in the MGA!.

Better view of bracket attached (it all needs a paint. That's what comes of using the car as a daily driver for so long).

Steve


Steve Gyles

I have the entire bracket/license plate off the bumper. I should be able to check it out in a few hours and get a photo of it to post.
Ray Ammeter

My Bracket appears identical to Steves- similar guage but is fitted inside the Bumper-just a bolt head shown on the outside underneath -if that makes sense!!!
Paul
P D Camp

Hi everyone, thanks for the comments and info. Hi Steve, thanks for the pictures, and your efforts to get them. I never intended for ANYONE to actually take the brackets off their car! Well, I think the info you gents gave me perhaps indicates a potential problem here in Canada! I believe British License plates are not as "tall" dimensionally as our Ontario license plates. If I use the British style brackets for mounting my license plate under the bumper, the plate will probably soon get bent and twisted from impact damage. (parking blocks, speed bumps etc) Additionally, British license plates are (I think) dimensionally "longer" than Ontario license plates, meaning that the two mounting holes in the bumper are essentially too far apart to mount an Ontario License plate in the "stock" British manner! Ah, the trials and Tribulations of owning a British car in Canada, lol. I may simply bolt a bar between the holes on my bumper, and then bend and weld on two steel "arms" that curve UP over the bumper. However, the top edge of the license plate must end up being below the hand crank opening, since I use the crank for valve adjustment, and occasional "emergecy" starting. Hopefully such mounting does not impede air flow to the radiator. Does anyone from Ontario, or other parts of Canada mount their front license plate other than below the front bumper? If so, I would be interested in your mounting solutions. Thanks, Glenn
Glenn Hedrich

Drilled the bolts. Both brackets off. They are handed. Image attached with some measurements. The right image to all intents and purposes is the left image on its back. You can see the twist to compensate for the bumper curve. The angle ended section fits 'horizontally' inside the bumper. The squared off end section is 'vertical' and holds the number plate. The metal is 3/32 inches. The holes are 1/4 inch.

That was meant to be an after Christmas job. May as well complete it now while I wait for the engine paint to dry!.

Steve


Steve Gyles

Hi Steve! That was REALLY above and beyond the call of duty! Thanks for taking your bumper brackets off your car to assist me! It is interesting to see the brackets, and how the British licence plates are mounted. Quite frankly, I expected to see a more complicated mounting system, and I always find the ingenious simplicity of these cars quite astonishing. Thanks again for your efforts Steve, they are appreciated! Glenn
Glenn Hedrich

Thanks Glenn, not a problem. Cleaning up my number plate back plate and brackets is one of those little jobs I have been meaning to get round to for a while now. Your question provided the impetus.

My Father-in-Law kept a plaque above his workshop bench that had three very profound words on it: "Do It Now".

How is the rebuild going? It can't be long before your garage gets snowed in and you put your feet up for the winter.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Did the cars come from the factory with these mounting brackets, or were they a dealer-supplied "option" for jurisdictions that required a front plate?
David Breneman

Glenn

Here on the Atlantic coast of Canada they did away with front plates years ago.
John DeWolf

Here are my pictures of my front license plate bracket/support. It appears to me the brackets mount on the inside of the front bumper. My backing support is only a bar across the back side. Not a full backing plate as shown earlier.
Ray Ammeter

David

Good question. I only have a few pictures of the cars just off the production line. They show the cars with trade plates (strap on plates that allow the cars to be driven on UK roads for test driving by the company and by dealers). They obscure where the standard plate would be bolted. One picture, though, shows the 100,000th car on the production line with the plate fitted.

Steve
Steve Gyles

My '56 roadster had these two brackets on it, and yes they are handed due to the front curve of the bumper. They work for a British number plate because it is only about 4.5 inches high. They do not work for an NA plate for 2 reasons - one the plate mounting holes are 6.5 inches apart, and two the plate catches on all kerbs, even low ones, as the plate would hang down more than 6 inches below the bumper.
I used a piece of aluminium angle which I drilled on its underside to fit the holes in the bumper (about 13 inches apart), and then cut the upturned side to 12 inches to match the width of the Canadian licence plate. This results in the bottom of the licence plate being flush with the bottom of the bumper. The only drawback of this mount is that the starting handle hole in the bumper is covered, but this is no big deal if you never use the handle.
I realise my description is tough to understand, so will try to post a couple of photos later tonight.
Peter.
P. Tilbury

Glenn
A friend of mine made this one up for me. It keeps the plate high enough to avoid the curbs but leaves the crank hole open. Made of aluminum and buffed.
Kris Sorensen

Glenn
Well that didn't work. Send me an email and I will forward the pictures to you. I tried your email and it didn't work
Kris
Kris Sorensen

Hi Steve. The restoration is almost completed. The windshield is currently being rebuilt, and the interior is going in. Here are a few pictures....


Glenn Hedrich

Here is another photo of my restoration....


Glenn Hedrich

Looking good Glenn. Looks like Auntie's garage. Does her's get snowed in or will you be able to continue throughout the winter?

Steve
Steve Gyles

Here's a photo of the bracket that I fabricated to mount my front license plate. It's made from a piece of angle aluminum stock (2x2 if I remember correctly) and a standard MGA rear license backing plate (Moss #451-285). It holds the plate high enough to clear the curb without blocking the starter crank hole.


Andy Bounsall

From below...


Andy Bounsall

The finished product.


Andy Bounsall

Hi Andy, Hi Kris. Both your front license plate mounts are clean and simple! Morris engineers would be proud of both your efforts I'm sure. Which design will I adopt? Whichever I can easily, and inexpensively find materials for. Isnt that what the Morris design team would have based their decision on? lol. Thanks for the innovative ideas guys. I had similar visions for a prototype, but it's always nice to see someone else's solutions before plunging ahead. thanks again! Glenn
Glenn Hedrich

Hi Steve. You are very perceptive , lol. Yes, it is my Auntie's garage. Regrettably it is poorly insulated, and we get months of sub zero water here in Ontario. -40 or -50 degrees F is not unheard of! So when it gets too cold, I will have to stop work on my MG. The good news is that my roadster is almost complete, except for interior trim panels, and installation of the windshield, which is currently disassembled and awaiting a rebuild. In the spring, the little bit of remaining work should be doable in just a day or two, assuming I dont get it all done before the weather gets too cold. Thanks for asking! Glenn. PS thanks again for the pictures of your license plate brackets. You were most kind!
Glenn Hedrich

weather, not water, lol
Glenn Hedrich

This thread was discussed between 26/11/2009 and 27/11/2009

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.