Year of Make Tab Mounting - Texas

Rusty_S85

Member
Wanted to ask those in Texas that went the Year of Make plate route for their car how they mounted their tab for the registration sticker?

Ive been for the last 2-3 months trying to figure out how to do it without making my vehicle hard to operate.

First off I know we have that law here in Texas that says you cant obscure the text on your plate with a frame or anything. So I cant mount the tab on the bottom of my '56 plates as they would obscure the tall digits. Like wise I cant have it hanging below the bottom of the plate as it wouldn't allow the plate to pivot outwards without crushing it against the rear panel. I cant mount it on top of the plate as on the right side the tab covers half of the 6 in 56 and on the left side covers a good piece of the T in Texas. I tried to mount it on the back side of the plate to peek up above the plate from behind but the tab they supplied is way too short and only 1/8" of the tab appears above the plate. I thought of using some sheet aluminum to cut out a taller one but looking at it more in depth I think a taller tab would interfere with the operation of my trunk requiring me to pull the filler door open when I open and close the trunk which is not something I want to have to remember.

So I am curious what have other people done for mounting this tab?

Initially I wanted to just not mount it but with round two of reports of junked vehicles in my driveway when they are all registered the cop says it helps avoid tickets getting written by having the antique tags on said vehicle. Well the tags are on but this one just doesn't have the registration tag on the plate as its Year of Make.
 

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Thanks for the reply, the dmv gave me a tag but the tag just cant be used on the license plate due to its design. The state of Texas also has a law that makes it illegal to obscure the text partially on your license plate. Which means covering up some of the 6 or the T or a sliver of the numeral would be illegal by state law.

This is how the state wants the tag to be mounted on the top of the plate.

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This is how I thought of mounting it but its not tall enough and if I make my own that is taller it will be in the way of the swing of the trunk when I open it or close it meaning I would have to pull my license plate back by opening the fuel door every time I open or close the trunk.

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Then I thought of something like this but it would put the registration sticker side ways which might get some complaints from the cops if they want to be picky.

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Only other thing I thought of was maybe making something oblong to fit to the plate itself and then bolt it down to the top of the plate with the sticker in the flat area above the numerals. But I don't know about that I am still rolling ideas in my head. Ideally I don't even want to use it, everyone I know here in Texas don't have it they just toss the tag in the glovebox with a bolt and nut and if they get stopped oh yea the thing was about to fall off I tossed it in the glovebox till I get home. But no one has been bothered by it.

Im getting harassed by someone calling 311 reporting my vehicles as junked don't want to deal with getting tickets in the mail for thinking the car isn't registered even though it is.

Another thing is I cant cut the tag I have down now because the registration sticker they give already hangs over the tag as it is. So making it smaller will make the sticker over hang even more than it will now. Its just a giant cluster f is what it is. The police here knows if you have registration, insurance, and inspection when they run your license plate since we use the 1 sticker system now for inspection/registration but yet we need these ugly tags that just don't work right as intended to let the cops know the registration is good.
 
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You can't re-drill the mounting hole on the tab to offset move it into the open space on the actual plate? Maybe narrow it to fit within/between the border and characters? Will the decal then fit onto the tab or does it overhang and cannot be trimmed somewhat to fit?


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I'd buy one of the examples used on the CA plate and call it good. The other thing you could try is get a piece of scrap metal and cut it to a size that will work for you.
I'm sure there are other Texan's who solved this problem.
 
You can't re-drill the mounting hole on the tab to offset move it into the open space on the actual plate? Maybe narrow it to fit within/between the border and characters? Will the decal then fit onto the tab or does it overhang and cannot be trimmed somewhat to fit?


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Problem is the metal tab width wise is pretty much too small for the registration sticker they want you to use. the sticker not just has the expiration date of 09/23 which all antique plates in Texas has the same expiration date. It also has the last 8 digits of the vin number, the county and the license plate number printed on the sticker. I would have to play with moving mounting hole location around some to see what I could do to maintain all of the sticker presents the information that it has to present without it overhanging which I will be slicing the overhang off to keep things neat looking.

Im looking at trying to make my own I need to find some paper to make a templet to see what I can do. Just came in after cleaning the glass on the car today. Going to go out and see what I can come up with. Im thinking something along the bottom of the plate so I don't have to rely on another bolt at the top of the plate I could just reuse one of the mountain bolts to mount the tab also. But that will require me to make it slim height wise and oblong so it would fit under the numerals but be able to allow the plate assembly to swing out to access the gas tank.

I'd buy one of the examples used on the CA plate and call it good. The other thing you could try is get a piece of scrap metal and cut it to a size that will work for you.
I'm sure there are other Texan's who solved this problem.

I might do that I haven't decided yet. The other people I know of personally they just put the sticker on the tab and toss the tab in the glovebox with a bolt washer and nut on it and if they get stopped which they all claim the cops don't bother them, they just say that it was about to fall off so they took it off and put it in the glovebox till they get home to reattach it securely.

I had originally planned on doing that but im getting bitched at for not having it on because we have some one which I think is a builder in the area constantly reporting our registered vehicles as junk vehicles. Already got one ticket in the mail for using one of the vehicles for storage. Love to know how a license plate frame and a rusty master cylinder in the trunk of a registered car that has the deck lid removed equates to using the vehicle for storage. But I get to have fun checking on Monday with the supervisor at the police department to see if they were able to over rule that ticket and get it thrown out considering the vehicles are registered.

Im starting to worry now that I might get a ticket for this car not being registered just for not having this little bs sticker attached to the plate.
 
I have six cars and three bikes with YOM tags. I don't run the damn mounting plates or the sticker. I just keep them in the vehicle. I've NEVER (knock on wood) had a cop call me on it. If you have to run it, just make a tab yourself that will hang below the plate. Mount the tab behind the plate and paint the bolt head black. Good thing I live in the country. I couldn't handle some POS reporting me to the an HOA or the cops.
 
I have six cars and three bikes with YOM tags. I don't run the damn mounting plates or the sticker. I just keep them in the vehicle. I've NEVER (knock on wood) had a cop call me on it. If you have to run it, just make a tab yourself that will hang below the plate. Mount the tab behind the plate and paint the bolt head black. Good thing I live in the country. I couldn't handle some POS reporting me to the an HOA or the cops.

Thing is we are working on moving we just need time and the builder that's been trying to buy the property wont give us more than 1 week to move everything.

As of now I haven't done anything I think I will just take the risk for now. I really don't want to have the tab on there it looks weird and out of place and negates the purpose of having old YOM plates.
 
Thing is we are working on moving we just need time and the builder that's been trying to buy the property wont give us more than 1 week to move everything.

As of now I haven't done anything I think I will just take the risk for now. I really don't want to have the tab on there it looks weird and out of place and negates the purpose of having old YOM plates.

OH, I understand. I hate those tags they provide. I think the only ride I have one displayed on is my '62 Impala.
 
OH, I understand. I hate those tags they provide. I think the only ride I have one displayed on is my '62 Impala.

I only know of one person that has it on his plate and its on a '72 Chevelle. Everyone else I know with YOM plates they don't run them. Just tired of the harassment on my other vehicles being junk vehicles even though they have antique registration on them. Next thing is they will probably try to get me on the wooden fence falling down or no registration tag on my '56. I can just see that happening but hopefully it will take a long enough time I will have the cars moved and be out of here before they come around.
 
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