Re: Plates

[phile@stpaul.gov (Philip J Ethier)]

Robert Phillips writes > 

> They did an article on the megabucks Schuppen (sp?) Porsche 962 racer 
> that had been converted for street use in Europe.  Instead of a license 
> plate on the front, they had the numbers tastefully painted on the nose, 
> at least as tastefully as one can get when running a 962 on the street.

This is not that unusual.  Many (all?) European countries do not issue
license PLATES, just license NUMBERS.  Where you buy the plate is your
business.  It was not out of the ordinary to see number plates painted
onto the noses of E-type Jaguars.  Lotus had another interesting slant on
this.  The Lotus cars had air intake "mouths" with largely-invisible black
screening to keep out the leaves and such.  The trick was to buy
individual digits and letters and mount them separately on the screen. 
They did not impede air flow nearly as much as a plate, and appeared to
"float" in the mouth area.  I have put my Minnesota plate on the vertical
wall in the back of the mouth area (the radiator in the Europa is off to
the side) and have not been stopped for it yet.

The stock plate mount on the front of my Quantum Syncro seems quite
normal, but there is no place on my modified Europa front end to put a plate.
It would block either the stock air intakes or the ducts where the parking
lights reside.  I had originally intended to put on an air dam and mount it
there, but the car is now WAY too low to have an air dam.  Damn.

phil.ethier@stpaul.gov