what does an OEM NA licence plate look like?

[Monkey Wrench]

The back bumper on my early 85 NA 944 was a bit pushed in. I bought some bumper ends and shocks and after much ado... have them painted and nearly ready to go back. it came out a bit too bright so I painted the bumper so it at least matches the ends.

My car has that PORSCHE reflector across the back and had the licence plate on the back bumper. So unless I want to remove the reflector, it needs to go on the bumper.

the sort of H shaped frame with bolts seems like an after thought. I also have the T shaped bracket and I think that may have been used on cars without the reflector. both of those brackets seem OEM..

My plate had a plastic frame with two license plate lights. the sockets were rotted out.

I can see the OEM lamp holders on the 'net but they look like they are made to pop into a hole or something , most cars have a spot just under the trunk lid for lamp holder like that..

I dont know what OEM should look like. my bumper's rubber strip does have an open spot in the middle so I think bumper mount is original. It looks like its an afterthought.

I though the frame could be lighter, why the heavy iron bracket just to hold a piece of aluminum and why does it need to be made in pieces and bolted together? It almost looks like they were made to be universal and stuck on as an afterthought to conform to NA..

the few license plate frames that I seem to be finding have LED lights in them , I dont want LED lights as they take away from originality.

I THINK law requires two bulbs, not one.

they sell little pieces with the bulbs and a plastic cover, but they would look dorky sticking out from the bumper.

I can probably fix what i have, just buy a couple of sockets. frame was bent up I can straighten and paint it .. the little clear lens on my lighted plate frame is missing on one side so I can make one to fit I just wanted to see what OEM ones Should look like. I didn't see a lot of point in spending much time fixing the cheap plastic frame as it may not even be OEM. I have some of the plastic plate edge frames that say porsche on them, they were removed and came with the car. no lights in those though.

lots of trailers have lighted frames but they are a smaller size license plate. I do not see many other cars with the lamps inside the actual plate frame and bumper mounted. I dont really want a bunch of stuff sticking out from the bumper if not necessary or to add a bunch of LED "bling"

because most of them would stick out they become the first thing to be impacted if I bump anything so something like I have which is flush mount seems better. I once had an accident claim because my car barely touched another car and the bolts made a mark the size of a fly,, so maybe I can use plastic bolts or something..

since this stuff is bumper mounted its probably not unusual that they are damaged.

[originalowner]

All license plates were originally mounted between the taillight lenses. A dealer supplied option was to put the illuminated panel between the taillights, giving a more "euro" look at the time. The panel was available with "924", "944", and "PORSCHE" logos, and maybe even "TURBO" was available. The license plate was relocated to the bumper, with mount and frame and wiring supplied with the panel. The wire runs around the bottom of the bumper, presumably to some hole that was drilled to connect to the original wiring.

Here is what the original looks like.

[Monkey Wrench]

the frame I have is similar, not the same, not porsch logo. lights might be from the bottom.
the bracketry I have is the same. mine's is a little mangled but I can straighten and repaint it. I can fix the missing lens and replace the sockets, I have bulbs. I think there are LED ones available.. ,, Id rather not use LED's.. i f I can keep it OEM itll pass for collector status, That affects insurance I can get..

we can do "safety upgrades" , so I think it will pass even with LED's as one can say they are brighter, and thus safer..

on the road I notice about half the cars behind have LED lights. In time incandescence will be thing that proves it's age.. soon they will all have white light and people with "orange light" will be vastly outnumbered..

a lot of them have weird blinking or flashing issues which is annoying. many stick in super bright headlights and blind oncoming traffic. mine has PORSCHE in big letters, I'll keep that feature. I got the optional under bumper things, used on the S version.. i guess they are snow scoops ;-)



Thanks so much !

[originalowner]

I've not seen one where the lights shine up. You might consider saying the LED's are more reliable, rather than brighter, as light output may be regulated.

[Monkey Wrench]

illuminated plate frames aren't very common because most vehicles have licence plate lamps that are separate. I couldn't think of any other car that has a plate on it's back bumper Trucks often do but they have separate lamps.

The bulbs in the frame I have were not screw in or bayonet but of the type where the bulb presses in and has little bent wires coming out from the glass.. They have no brass socket on the bulb.

The sockets I had were basically rotted out. I found some bulb sockets that will fit that type of bulb. They are way too big physically to fit in the small area of the plate frame, they have sort of a push in or push and turn type plastic flange on the sockets.

i think I can remove a lot of the excess plastic from the bulb holder and glue them into my plastic frame. once the plate frame is installed you wont be able see the bulbs or sockets, so that might work ok.

Yea I think the lamps should be on top shining down.
making your plate clear , brightly lit and visible is not really to the drivers advantage, it just means you are more likely to be reported for something. a lot of the cars have added smoked covers for this reason.

on one of our bridges they would photo your plate and send you a toll fee.. they removed the fee but it worked by cameras picking it up. we do have red light cameras. If you run a light and you get a ticket in the mail because the camera took a picture of your plate. we had automated speed cameras , they worked, it sure did slow traffic but they were removed. We had lots of public dispute about the practice.

speed cameras were removed, red light cameras are used.

what they could do is take a picture at various points along a highway , and then of you get to the next camera too quickly you are speeding..

Its really rare to get pulled over by a cop here, they do occasional surprise road stops for impairment. you can drive like a complete nut otherwise, I have never in the past 30 years seen anyone get pulled over by a cop noticing their driving habits, signalling before cutting in is usually only one blink..about 1 second warning for the car behind is very normal.

lots of cars now have cameras, that can work either for or against you after a collision. I think the new cars log everything like location, revs, braking , etc.. a lot of cars now have a little camera eye mounted near this plate area. Some are OEM some added, Backup cameras I guess...

I saw one of the newer corvettes, wow.. neat looking car, but it seemed to have really terrible visibility. maybe they depend upon some sort of camera system.

[originalowner]

I don't know what size bulbs you have. These T5 wedge sockets are pretty slim, and likely a lot of the plastic can be shaved away and retain functionality.

I have three levels of orange photographic gel that can be used to orangen-up a LED frame if you go that route. I'd use spray glue to stick it to the inside of the lenses.

[Monkey Wrench]

here's what I came up with.

the bracketry was all bent up and one lens was missing. bulb sockets were rotted out.

I found some sockets and shaved them to fit. one was a little big but there was a plastic cover over it, I made a little cutout for more room.

the lens is from a traffic light, Acrylic I believe.. I found a piece with similar bumps. the original had some thin edges so it could slide into a slot. I fit them as best I could by filing them and then used some JB weld. I'm not sure how well JB weld stick to the plastic but maybe , its sort of keyed in anyway.

I drilled 3 holes in the bottom. maybe it should be the top and I have it upside down..
my frame didn't have the Porsche logo , I think it was some aftermarket part but I do have a plate frame with Porsche on it..

I used a grinder with a flap disk and took off the paint and rust, flattened the part out( after I took photos) and bent them close to how I thought they should be. there is a frame in the photo, ( middle one) I think its used if the plate is mounted where my PORSCHE reflector is.. It came in the trunk.

I'll give them a good coat of epoxy and I have some " galvanized paint" that should make them look pretty close to OEM..

maybe I shouldn't have drilled holes and the lenses should shine downward? I guess i could fill the holes. maybe snow will collect where the lenses are.

I put a bit of metal heat duct tape as reflectors..
one of the sockets didn't want to fit, but there is a plastic strip that acts as a cover. I cut a little hole in it I can fill any gap with silicone after. It's behind anyway..

It was all pretty bent up but surprisingly , the black plastic part survived the impact.

I made a second lens so they match, the original was a bit yellowed. Yes a filter could likely mimic incandescent.. I'll stick with OEM bulbs for all the others. I should probably renew them and clean the sockets.
I have about three bucks invested, for one socket, the other I salvaged from a Volvo harness.
OEM license plate bulbs and the frame itself might have been a bit different, close enough I think..

[Monkey Wrench]

here's the metal frames and the plate with the licence plate cover..

it might not be OEM but close enough I guess..
It had the dealers name on that plate frame at one time. Ill try to remove whats left of that, maybe sand it a little..

[Monkey Wrench]

I dont think it should be a feature.. I just wanted mine to look OEM 'ish. and basically become unnoticeable.

this LED one might work for some ..

https://www.amazon.com/Custom-Dynamics-LPF-HRZ-B-LP-License-Flat-Style/dp/B0041QK4QE/ref=sr_1_60?keywords=Lighted%2BLicense%2BPlate%2BF rame&qid=1695661810&sr=8-60&th=1