Anyone hacked their Rapide S front plinth down?

[Ken Figenus]

Ohh it's truly a ghastly ghastly monstrosity of a proposition for my trim 6 digit plate and number plate OCD!



If I hack it will it survive to hold a short plate with sticky pads or heavy duty velcro? Seems quite stiff...

Thx

[AdamV12V]

Why not sure do away with the plinth completely and secure the plate with 2 screws via plasterboard spring clips into the two holes behind the grille that the plinth normally screws into. Thats sure to look better than a hacked plinth

PS - is that Cosmic Black Granite?

[Ken Figenus]

That's a great suggestion mate. Lateral thinking! Might well have the right plasterboard rawl plugs - if they spread far enough. A small plate wider than the slat gap might be required.

Not sure what they called the granite! Bloody lovely upgrade over the manky real wood tops though 😁

Much appreciated.

[yellow_tang]

Or if you really want a plinth, use the shorter Swiss variant, part number DD43-17A835-CB for Rapide S, 4G43-17A835-DC for DB9/Rapide, or ED23-17A835-CB for a Vantage S.

Edited by yellow_tang on Thursday 18th June 14:37

[Ken Figenus]

Thanks Yellow Tang - a great suggestion.

Adam's suggestion has panned out though, so i'll just pop the details here in case it helps anyone else with similar OCD:



Just had to hacksaw off some screw length and make holes in the plastic screw head cover slightly bigger.



Its pretty solid actually - was quite worried that any rotation on the spring clip would let the plate fall off.

I do hate the lumpy utilitarian screw caps so much, but its 100% better than stock whopper!

This is what I used, Fisher KD4 drywall fixings, M4:

[AdamV12V]

Glad to see all worked out well for you!

Looking great!

[Phil74891]

Great work! You could countersink the screw heads into the number plate, then fill the cross in the heads, then paint them to match the plate. That way you get rid of the cheap plastic covers and you’d have something to do for an hour or so 😊

Fantastic car btw.

[KevinBird]

Why have you obscured part of the plate?

[Ken Figenus]

Phil74891 said:

Great work! You could countersink the screw heads into the number plate, then fill the cross in the heads, then paint them to match the plate. That way you get rid of the cheap plastic covers and you’d have something to do for an hour or so ??

Fantastic car btw.

I'm not sure that would work mate - the screw heads are quite deep with the plasterboard fixings. The screw head actually screws onto a headless bolt. I'd need a very 'countersinkable' shallow screw head to manage countersinking it into the plate.

I guess this isn't over as I really don't like the protuberances. I'm going to look for the Swiss plate holder mentioned maybe... Or actually I have a Vanq owner mate here that owns huge CNC machines - he might be able to help me with a thin long plate that could go behind the number plate?

Adam you on this first world problem too?

[Phil74891]

Definitely CNC plate behind the number plate to stick it to then! Maybe think of a three quarter sized no plate to show off more of that stunning grille? I’ve had one with no issues for several years.

[Ken Figenus]

It is a very slightly smaller and cropped tighter plate. CNC plate with captive nuts for the clamps is too tricky for me. I'll have to research or just get the Swiss plate holder - but no guarantees it will work without screws through the plate (I just ruined)!

[Ken Figenus]

I asked about the Swiss mount - pushing £200!

This might work - no need to drill the plate then:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-MK5-Golf-Grille-Numb...

All I need is a gently curved aluminium plate of about 30cm x 8cm with two nuts welded to its back. The plasterboard spring clips could screw into that then and the plate can be stuck to the plate. Maybe Milliput epoxy would be good enough to stick the nuts on so I can DIY ?

Getting the alu cut to size is easy: https://tinyurl.com/yagm2dfz

I'm off for a chat with R8 owners!

[DAVIDOXE]

Ken Figenus said:

I'm not sure that would work mate - the screw heads are quite deep with the plasterboard fixings. The screw head actually screws onto a headless bolt. I'd need a very 'countersinkable' shallow screw head to manage countersinking it into the plate.

I guess this isn't over as I really don't like the protuberances. I'm going to look for the Swiss plate holder mentioned maybe... Or actually I have a Vanq owner mate here that owns huge CNC machines - he might be able to help me with a thin long plate that could go behind the number plate?

Adam you on this first world problem too?

Im on it mate! How deep is that grill i.e. how long would the screws need to be in the aluminium plate?

[Ken Figenus]

Cheers Dave - 'OCD hobbles' fitted in between jet engine parts are much appreciated! Will call you

[PatCub]

If you remove the slam panel could you glue a block onto the back of the number plate, this could then be held in place by a threaded rod through another block.

[Cold]

A £6.00 full sized number plate would cover that plinth perfectly without the requirement for drywall fasteners or B&Q plumbing fixings.

[ruhall]

I like the look of the end result; it also gives the option of adopting a 'Mitsubishi Evo look' by moving it to the lower left corner, if you were so inclined
(that's said tongue in cheek before anybody gets too agitated)

[Ken Figenus]

Yes I admit I have a number plate problem and have had counselling and offers of £6 cures from Halfords that give acres of spare plastic, dominate the front end of the car and offer reduced cooling - none of this works.

ON THE MONEY Ruhall! This was my Evo and that offset front plate is neat as f blud!



These aesthetics are a deep and not all that uncommon burden - some just accept the fine as a price for their clean naked aesthetics! #BeKind