Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches W. Great Lakes IL Front Plates

Have any of you in the Chicago area been hasseled by the 5-0 for not having a front plate? I live in the NW suburbs and have been driving w/o a front plate for a year. Yesterday I got pulled over for 'Improper display of vehicle registration' while sitting at a Right-turn-on-red. Anybody else had problems? It seems strange since on the way to work today I counted 27 cars w/o front plates. I'm Pist about the whole thing. The damn bracket that comes with the car is so damn ugly that I refuse to put it back on.
Thanks for listening to me vent...

flyer1704

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'99 SVT Contour
Black/Tan
K&N Filter
B&M Edge Shifter
Dynomax Bullet (In Place of Rez)
Alpine/BA Stereo
other Misc Mods
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I live in the Quad Cities, but a month or so ago I was in Chicago and got pulled over in a suburb for not having a front plate. I have a "Ford Racing" plate on the front of my car...I can't remember the name of the town, but the cop was kinda cocky...he didn't give me a ticket though... A friend of mine got a ticket for it too, he went to court, showed the cop that he put the plate back on, said he didn't realize it was a law..then took the plate back off in the parking lot after the judge let him off...

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-Steve
www.sweetsvt.com
SweetSVT99@aol.com

We need the figure out a way to mount the front plate bracket temporarily in a manner that will not harm the bumper. That way we can show the cop, judge, whomever, that we have complied with the law; then, remove the thing once we get back home...kind of like a post it note.

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1998.5 Contour SVT - Silver Frost Metallic (Frosty).
No mods yet.

I got two ticket in my ranger one in chicago and one parked over night in the loop when we where out at a club. I was stopped two more times and not given a ticket. One time I was stopped and almost given one even though I showed the cop that someone ripped the damn thing of. Then on a different note I got two speeding ticket in a week a mile from each other. One for 90 in a 55 when I asked to see the Radar he said that he already turned it off. But my detector never went off. My lady was in the ranger behind me doing 80. So how did he clock me after taking 3 miles to "catch" me and I was doing 70. A week later I was doing 5 over and they got me for that and my tinted windows and I HAVE a doctors letter. And they wounder why WE don't trust or like THEM.

I got pulled over in Chicago without a front plate and I am from Michigan!!!! Out here it isn't required.

One way to mount the license plate and not harm your front bumper is to put 2 "L" brackets behind the mesh of your front grille if you own a SVT and mount the plate behind your front grille. just a thought.
-Mark

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What do you see? Look
Again. Do you see
Persaverance? Substance?
Odds being trampled?
Perspectives changing?
Rules collapsing?
Meaning? Look Again. If
all you see is a car...
Look Again

1998 SVT Contour.
Silver Frost
Mondeo Badges, KKM, OMP
Pedals... and more
SVT/SHO Society of West
Michigan SouthWest Rep.
GTExtreme1@aol.com

i live in glenview, i comply with the "uglification" law of having plates on the front, i dont need to make my car any more of a target for the local fuzz, or state on the xpresswayz for that matter. but anyway, i've seen guys around here with camaros that bolt em to the under car spoiler, the one that catches air for the radiator, its still on the front, and still in plain view, so the cops cant argue, i cant remember if contiques have one of those and i dont feel like crawling under there right now, but its just an idea.

mark


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98 Mystique Ztec ATX (arg) Dropped w/ H&R's soon to get KKM intake, plug wires, plugs....more?

i had a friend who was ticketed $50 in his SI for not having a front IL plate. in my case, the front plate is required in the State of NJ, but i have yet to be hassled by IL PD for not having it. for me i simply make a temporary rig when i'm in Jersey which consists in a wire hanger and light bungee cord. it doesn't look very good, and it's apparently temporary, but it works well enough for the purposes of state inspection, it doesn't block the radiator inlet, it doesn't require the punching of holes for that plate bracket which i had filled-in in PA, and it certainly complies with all state laws. then again, i spend very little time in NJ, but i would wonder whether or not we could simply get away with displaying the plate in our windshields as i have seen done on occasion?

flyer1704,

You and I take very similar routes to and from work. I've yet to be ticketed for no tag on the front. That includes three years in the 'Tour and 12 in my Mustang GT. Either I'm really lucky, or you got a cop in a bad mood. Where exactly did he get you? Perhaps it's time to take one of my alternate routes for a while; he'd probably pull me over thinking it was you again!

I don't run one for now. Haven't had problems yet (knock on wood, literally). I guess it depends on how much of a dick the copy wants to be. And they usually don't need to try hard.

However, it is a fix-it ticket. And just plain revenue generation for the damn local law enforcement if you don't fix it. Its a tough call. I already have the holes in my bumper for it, so if I got a ticket, I'd probably just replace it, and then remove it after having the ticket dismissed. Shrug. Its all a crock of %#@@ and just being in the wrong place at the wrong time to get a ticket for it, if you ask me.

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Adam Wilson
Chicago CEG member http://www.automotiveinfopage.com

[This message has been edited by FLIP (edited August 09, 2000).]

Begrudgingly (sp?) I mounted my front plate the other day. Here is how I did it without making more holes. (I already had the 3 from the bracket which mysteriously disappeared.) I took the plate and lined the back with self adhesive felt. next i outlined the back of the frame with 3/8" thick and 1 inch wide foam tape (door/window weather stripping stuff.) Next I drilled 3 holes in the plate corresponding to the 3 on the bumper and used the plastic pronged push pins to attach it to the bumper. The pins I am talking about are the same kind that FURD uses to attach the ground effects of the SVT. Anyhow, I cut the foam outline to match the curvature of the bumper and just pressed it in the existing holes. Next I used a plain old black metal frame finish the edges of the plate. Voila! Cheap, easy, and most importantly, REVERSIBLE. All parts came from my local ACE hardware, and it looks much better than stock.

Brad B.
I got the ticket on US 20 right after I got of of I90 at the Hampshire/Marengo Exit. It was a Kane county cop. Damn ******* was a prick about it too. Lately I have been taking US20/IL176 to avoid a further run in with the law. BTW, where do you drive on a daily basis?

FLIP
It is not a Fix-it-ticket for me--the cop came up to me and said 'I'm giving you a citation for improper display of vehicle registration' --no questions asked. Now I'm off to defensive driving class and out $105. You would think he should be chasing drug dealers or murderers instead of 1 plate bandits...

thanx for letting me vent once again...



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'99 SVT Contour
Black/Tan
K&N Filter
B&M Edge Shifter
Dynomax Bullet (In Place of Rez)
Alpine/BA Stereo
other Misc Mods
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flyer1704,

My two main routes are:
SR23 north to 176 out of Marengo to RT14, through Crystal Lake to Barrington.
or
back-roads through Huntley, Algonquin and Barrington Hills to Barrington.

The choice depends soley on my mood, as they're equal in time and distance. The Crystal Lake route provides that 10-mile, straight-as-an-arrow stretch between Marengo and 47 for those high-speed, multiple-car passes, as well as plenty of four-lane for stoplight "opportunities". The Algonquin route has curves, hills, etc., and is more scenic.

We've probably passed a few times. Check my pics at http://chicago-ceg.homepage.com/ccegbblum.html

What time do you usually pass through Marengo?

Yup, I've seen you in Marengo. I make a right turn on red onto 20 from 176 (by the McD's) and I have seen you heading north toward 176. I have even posted on this board wondering about the 'tinted out SVT w/ black wheels...' Nice looking ride.

I have two routes I take between Crystal Lake and Rockford. One is 47 to 176 to 20 into Rockford. The other is 47 south to US20 to I90 into the Rock. If take 176/20 I pass thru Marengo at about 6:30 AM and 4:45 PM.

Looking through your profile on the CCEG and your SVT looks real nice. I'll be sure to be on the lookout for you in the area and I hope to be at the next CCeg gathering.

later--flyer1704



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'99 SVT Contour
Black/Tan
K&N Filter
B&M Edge Shifter
Dynomax Bullet (In Place of Rez)
Alpine/BA Stereo
other Misc Mods
------------------------