Removing Front Badge

[rob the elder]

Good points. Everyone ought to have their bumper off at least once.

My license plate bracket was riveted to the front bumper. I had to fill holes when I removed it. I now have adopted a “bracket” that uses plastic pipe, carriage bolts and foam pipe insulation. I can slide the “bracket” which is a friction fit with the holes in the grilles, on or off at will. I carry it in the trunk in case I ever get stopped. But I have not had a front plate for the past 5 years and its not been a problem.

I pulled my grills in 2007 to clean them and to get at the nuts holding the front Pontiac arrowhead onto the bumper. The clips popped off the back side when I used BSFI to remove the grilles. The clips have a ramp that locks them to the bumper with the locking side toward the outside of the grilles. The tabs slide into slots in the bumper that have a small inner edge that will fail but it does not affect the integrity of the mounting. I pull them out frequently now for cleaning. It’s very easy.

[omw41]

That's good to know. Those plastic grills are a real challenge to clean. I was thinking about doing metal grills, but the plate holder kind of makes that upgrade pointless to me. Here in VA we need a front plate "unless the vehicle was not manufactured for one." If I pull the plate holder I might be able to convince an officer that there is no place to put one, but like I said, with my luck the policeman would say, "Oh really? I happen to have a Solstice and I know better." I won't even go into the license plate holder debate. A search on the forum will deliver more than anyone would ever want to know. What is BSFI?

[rob the elder]

BSFI = Brute Strength and Freaking Ignorance

Pull till something yields.

[DaveOC]

Originally Posted by rob the elder BSFI = Brute Strength and Freaking Ignorance Pull till something yields.

How I learned not to drive through really deep puddles at speed . . . thereby removing the rear fascia/valence violently. The deep puddle provided the Brute Strength, I provided the Freaking Ignorance.

[rob the elder]

Originally Posted by DaveOC How I learned not to drive through really deep puddles at speed . . . thereby removing the rear fascia/valence violently. The deep puddle provided the Brute Force, I provided the Freaking Ignorance. :ROFL:

LOL

Now that is a great story

[Shadofax]

Originally Posted by rob the elder Good points. Everyone ought to have their bumper off at least once. My license plate bracket was riveted to the front bumper. I had to fill holes when I removed it. I now have adopted a “bracket” that uses plastic pipe, carriage bolts and foam pipe insulation. I can slide the “bracket” which is a friction fit with the holes in the grilles, on or off at will. I carry it in the trunk in case I ever get stopped. But I have not had a front plate for the past 5 years and its not been a problem. I pulled my grills in 2007 to clean them and to get at the nuts holding the front Pontiac arrowhead onto the bumper. The clips popped off the back side when I used BSFI to remove the grilles. The clips have a ramp that locks them to the bumper with the locking side toward the outside of the grilles. The tabs slide into slots in the bumper that have a small inner edge that will fail but it does not affect the integrity of the mounting. I pull them out frequently now for cleaning. It’s very easy.

I've seen that, but at least on the '09 ours did not come with a front plate bracket and no rivet holes. We bought a stock frame bracket at the dealer and now it's just a brute force push in to the grill with a little padded piece in the center (I think It's meant to have the plastic pulled so you stick it to the center, but again that's a bad idea IMO since it holds fine the way it is and can be reasonably removed).

[CPB]

my front plate bracket was riveted and also had the tape holding it on still have to fill the holes what a pain to get it off

[wine_lover]

When I lived in Texas, I decided to not do anything to my '09 Sol and just pay the fine if I ever got stopped. Well, I never did.
I now live in Georgia where there is no front plate requirement. Yeah, I am now legal and feel a little more comfortable driving without holes in my bumper.
Now I just have to figure how to fill the holes in my wife's '07 Torrent front bumper. (She insisted on a front plate. )