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Front Number plate


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Hi all,

Just got my TR6 back from the paint shop, with a nice new coat of paint, and stainless steel bumpers, I would like to put the front number plate just below the bumper, any way of doing this without drilling the bottom of the bumper, any suggestions, many thanks David

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No really. You could fabricate something that is bolted between the bumper and the chassis leg and hang it from there tho.

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Drilling the stainless might be tough but it won't alter the integrity of the bumper, it won't show being on the underside and the plate will be in the right place.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Drilling the SS Bumper is incredibly tough, I centre punched a couple of notches and went through 5 bits before I got the job done. It's where it should be mounted though with the L brackets so unless there's a specific reason why you don't want to do this I suggest you go out and buy a job lot of HS steel bits and get cracking. It took about 30 mins of sweating but it looks good where it is and it's anchored firmly, if you tried clamping it in any way I would worry about airflow dislodging it down there... I wish I'd done it when the bumpers were off the car as I could have inverted them and done them on the pillar drill and lubricated the drilling, unfortunately I left it as pretty much the last job so was under the car with the drill...

Edited by cj79
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David
Mask the area to be drilled, to reduce the chance of drill slip

Centre punch, then use a centre drill, a steady pressure and 'feel' for the best load on the drill
The centre drill will make the initial cut into the stainless better than a standard drill bit.

Then open out the hole to the dia needed
Take it in steps if the final dia is large

I have drilled stainless a few times and it is tough, but a bit of patience and a couple of back up drill bits, you should be OK.

I even got to the finished dia with the centre drill on one occasion.

Edited by wjgco
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You could use c-clamps or glue strong magnets to the plate or use wires to wrap around the bumper backside (connecting top to bottom).

Just thinking outside the box...; holes might rust.

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Standard drills for metals have a top angle of 118 degr. For SS materials, drills with 135 degr top angle are better suitable. Buy a better material quality too, like with 5% Cobalt added, and reduce the speed to about 1/2 of that for normal steel, apply (drilling) oil and press hard.

Regards,

Waldi

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Exposing rough surface area with fresh drilled holes promotes oxidization.

 

The original poster asked for alternatives to drilling, just tried to suggest some. Take a deep breath. It's okay. :)

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You could use c-clamps or glue strong magnets to the plate

Will a magnet work on SS?

 

Regards

 

Bill

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Deep breath. Polish the holes.

Hand reamer?

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Is there a "correct" position for the front number plate?

I thought the TR6 was designed for the USA with no front plate leaving us on this side of the pond with a choice!

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You could use c-clamps or glue strong magnets to the plate

Will a magnet work on SS?

 

Regards

 

Bill

http://www.wisegeek.com/is-stainless-steel-magnetic.htm

 

Is stainless steel magnetic?

 

There are two types of stainless steel mentioned in this article.

 

400 series contains no nickel, so is magnetic.

 

300 series contains nickel, so is non-magnetic.

 

You would need to inquire whether your SS bumper was made with nickel.

Or, simply test with a magnet.

Edited by Sapphire72
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Ferritic SS, like 410 is magnetic

Austenitic SS, like 304 or 316 is (almost) non-magnetic.

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Thanks for all your comments.

I decided to drill underside of bumper, I did this with a cobolt drill, (not to painful) then hung the number plate on stainless brackets with stainless nuts and bolts, it now looks the dogs b******!.

David

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Picture please

 

best Bill

Thanks for all your comments.
I decided to drill underside of bumper, I did this with a cobolt drill, (not to painful) then hung the number plate on stainless brackets with stainless nuts and bolts, it now looks the dogs b******!.
David

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