Happy Holidays, Folks!

I need some help with a new problem. Just got my "Historic" plates from the State of Maryland & have no idea how to mount the front plate ...

I have a 1983 Non-Euro W123 240D. There are holes in the rubber bumper trim, but none in the steel bumper. Also, it would appear from the underside of the bumper that I'm missing a bracket of some sort. There are faint rust outlines of a bracket long gone. Can anyone shed some light on this? Pics would be great.

Still VERY new to this vintage Diesel MB thing, but LOVING every minute!!!

Thank You, Kind Gentlemen!

This is what you need, it bolts to the bottom of the bumper. Those holes in the trim don't seem to do anything except provide some clearance for the plate screws:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-w123-License-Plate-mounting-Bracket-OEM-Front_W0QQitemZ260179005222QQcmdZViewItem

You should be able to do well in the Parts forum here to ask for a front license bracket. They should be numerous on junked and/or parts cars.

The bracket bolts to the underside of the bumper somehow, and not through holes in the front of the bumper. I have had mine off for painting, but I can't remember the exact configuration. If you look in the area from underneath the car, I expect you will find two holes where the bracket mounts.

Ken300D

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1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

I got a bracket from Auto Zone that worked just fine. I don't think my bumper is stock, though.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Shop around. I bought a new OEM bracket four or five years ago for much less than the one on Ebay. Try the Buy Parts tab above and get a quote from this site too. Seems like all the ones on junked cars are always bent up.

Or just don't use a front plate (but carry it in your trunk so that if you get pulled over for it you were "just on your way" to get the part to mount it).

Makes it look classier.

__________________
'79 300SD
'82 Chevy Chevette diesel

Got same bracket Craig's link displayed laying around. U can come get it since we are close by.

__________________
1987 300SDL 314K mi, counting; #22 Head
1999 E300Turbo 405K original miles
1997 E320 180K mi (Son's)
2002 ML320 (Son's)
1998 S320 140K mi (Son's) sold
1985 300SD 311K mi
1984 300D 324K mi (killed by a hit-n-run turd)
*************************************

Won't help you if the Police drive by and write the ticket on a parked car, yup! they do that in CA.
My feeling is that people that remove the plate (or the new car dealer that removes front plates) are evil without knowing it, they encourage the revenue stream that is in place where photographic devices are installed to record red light runners.
Removing front plates started with a vengenace in CA around 1999 and has since become a natural thing for people that place vanity before laws. They deserve tickets where they are being written. In FL and NV it doesn't matter but CA it does.

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

I once had my county sticker lying on my dashboard and got a ticket because it wasn't stuck to the window. When I showed it to the cop, he said, "It must be displayed in the window, not lying on the dashboard." What a hard ass! They MIGHT give you a break, but I wouldn't count on it.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Yup, I'm in NV.

Out of curiosity, why would removing your front plate encourage the revenue stream that is in place where photographic devices are installed to record red light runners?

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'79 300SD
'82 Chevy Chevette diesel

Yes, it does make for a much nicer appearance. Yet, I will not knowingly give an officer probable cause.

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83 SD

84 CD

Some cities in Calif bought into a camera program that only use a front facing camera. Cheaper to implement I suppose.
here's an article on exactly what I meant to say
Quote: "Between our long-term vehicles and Edmunds.com employee vehicles we have noticed a rash of front license plate tickets over the past few months. Specifically, these tickets are given for not having a front license plate on your car. This has long been one of those "crimes" that most people don't worry about. Technically you're supposed to have a front license plate on your car in California, but we all know people who don't (including every Ford GT I've seen on the road...or in my garage). To many this jump in front license plate tickets seemed a coincidence, but it is in fact driven by a vicious cycle of revenue generation. First, the city of Los Angeles writes 164,000 front license plate tickets each year (often bagging people while they are parked in public places or at airports). At $25 a ticket that comes to a tidy sum of 4.1 million dollars. But while the "two plate" law has been on the books for years, the recent uptick in front license plate citations is now driven by a far more sinister power -- red light cameras. Seems the cameras don't work so well on cars without front plates, so L.A.-based police have been given a new directive: ticket every vehicle you see without a front plate. We even had one officer admit as much while writing up a co-worker, "See, we need those front plates on your vehicle for the red-light cameras to work."
see:
DDH
Oh, hey this reminds me! I need to replace the front impact strip along with the license plate on one of my 124's before I get nailed!

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!