How do you drive DeLoreans in Texas?

[TechionDigit]

I live in Texas and I can't drive my DeLorean due to the fact that there's no front license plate (yes it is mandatory for rear and front license plates) on my DeLorean. How am I suppose to drive it without getting that weird bracket piece because I keep getting pulled over for 'not having one' but when they walk up to me I have to manually point at it since my DeLorean is low to the ground.

Can I screw into my front bumper and place a holder with my license plate or is there another aftermarket bumper made for this issue?

[dn010]

I live in Texas and I can't drive my DeLorean due to the fact that there's no front license plate (yes it is mandatory for rear and front license plates) on my DeLorean. How am I suppose to drive it without getting that weird bracket piece because I keep getting pulled over for 'not having one' but when they walk up to me I have to manually point at it since my DeLorean is low to the ground.

Can I screw into my front bumper and place a holder with my license plate or is there another aftermarket bumper made for this issue?

https://store.delorean.com/p-9721-fr...e-bracket.aspx

Old photo of my D with this bracket installed in NY:


This bracket installs where the screws are for the rock screen. There is no drilling, no screws, no altering any part of the car. You can place screws wherever you'd like in the bumper, but realize you're putting holes in a piece that costs $100s and when it comes time to sell the holes will be an eyesore.

[Maritime-elf]

I had my Delorean in Texas for 13 years. I was pulled over several times, and the cops never gave me a ticket for not having a front license plate. (I did find out by getting a ticket my car is 20% fast in the drivetrain)

I never would have modified my Delorean to add the license plate as its not per original design. Most cops don't know there are aftermarket options.

If you don't want to add the stupid bracket thing in the front, keep the license plate in the front with you and place it on the dashboard if you get pulled over. Explain design of the car prevents it from being mounted.

If they still give you a ticket....Ticket clinic.

[DavidProehl]

Here in MN I am also required to have a front plate, but I don't. My car had one screwed into the front bumper and I removed it. I still have the holes in my bumper.

I have never been pulled over due to a lack of a front plate, but I only do about 2,000 miles a year. Still, even if I did get pulled over I'd just pay the ticket if it was an issue.

After 11 years of ownership without a front plate, I'm not too worried. If I were you I wouldn't have a front plate.

[dn010]

I'm not sure what everyone has against the new design bracket or the fact that it even exists, but it was simply unfasten 3 nuts, insert the bracket, fasten the 3 nuts and put the plate on. There is nothing about this bracket that prevents you from installing it due to the design of the car. I already had a hell of a time in NY getting pulled over for every little nonsensical thing, I couldn't imagine driving with no front plate there. For $50, you can save yourself the wasted time of being pulled over, the ticket cost and the embarrassment of sitting on the side of the road, door open, with a cruiser behind you.

[Mark D]

Yeah, but front licence plates just look terrible and spoil the look of the car. I've owned my DeLorean for 10+ years now and have never had a front plate. No issues with the police. I haven't had a front plate on my Jeep since 2014 and no issues there either.

I'm sure if I got pulled over for speeding or something the cop might tack that on, but at worst that would be a fix-it-ticket. IE: Install license plate temporarily to not have to pay a fine, then just remove it again later. I've got one of those aftermarket brackets that bolts onto the rock screen if I would need it. The PO bought it and it came with the car.

[dn010]

I apologize, I was responding to the question in regards to the legal aspect of it, not the appearance or preference aspect. Seems the OP doesn't want to get pulled over all the time and it is an issue for him - I guess I can relate there. Glad I live in Florida now with only one plate - I agree I didn't like the look of the front plate either, but...

[DavidProehl]

Yeah, but front licence plates just look terrible and spoil the look of the car.

Ditto. If you own a DeLorean, $50 isn't going to break you, but odds are the reason you own a DeLorean is because you love the look of the car. For me placing a plate on the front detracts from why I own it in the first place.

[Rich]

I live in Texas and I can't drive my DeLorean due to the fact that there's no front license plate (yes it is mandatory for rear and front license plates) on my DeLorean. How am I suppose to drive it without getting that weird bracket piece because I keep getting pulled over for 'not having one' but when they walk up to me I have to manually point at it since my DeLorean is low to the ground.

The same rules apply here in Calif.

I see a fair number of cars here that lack front plates. Tesla Model S and Model 3s, especially.

The solution that works for me is to keep the D plate-free in front until I get nailed. The fix-it ticket requires bringing the car back to the cops after the fix. For that inspection I mount the front plate using the under-bumper bolt-on bracket (no drilling!). Then I go get the $40 ticket cleared - it isn't a moving violation here. The bracket and plate come right back off the next day.

Averaging about 30K miles between citations so far.

Your luck may vary....

I like to imagine the cops have some kind of respect for the D and tend to leave us alone. But my front plate-free daily driver has gone 50K here without a citation, so maybe things are just different where I drive.

[mark w]

On my Previous Delorean here in CA, I used an inverted VW Rabbit front bracket. So that it mounts under the bumper, not into the face of it.

If you remove it, you dont see any holes until your laying in the ground looking straight at your rock screen.