1978-1988 All G Body Cars Flip Down Stay Down Rear License Bracket Modification Kit
This modification bracket your OEM tag bracket to a stay down bracket. It is nicer then trying put your plastic gas cap wedged in between the body and the bracket. If you decide years down the road it is easy to modify your original back to OEM.
THE PURPOSE: To make a kit that would duplicate the Chevrolet flip down stay down rear license plate holder to make fuel fill ups easier and decrease the chance of fuel spillage.
THE KIT INCLUDES: Directions, two (2) stainless parts, one (1) galvanized spring. See photo to right which shows the 3 parts included in this kit. The spring in this kit has a small loop at one end and a larger loop at the other end. It is best to use the small loop end for going into the bracket at the base of your license plate bracket and the larger loop end to attach at the top of your license plate bracket to the supplied bracket.
DIRECTIONS: You will need a 7/16th socket and racket and a flat bladed screw driver or a pair of needle nose pliers. Remove your license plate from the rear license plate bracket. Then using the 7/16th socket, remove the license plate bracket from the back of your car. Notice how both springs are attached to the base of your license plate bracket. With the bracket removed the pressure is off both springs. There is a pin that holds both springs in place at the bottom of the license plate bracket. Using a flat bladed screw driver or a pair of needle nose pliers, carefully locate the inside tab on each pin and bend the tab inward so you get enough clearance to remove both springs. Once you have removed both springs, reinstall both pins and carefully re-bend the tabs back to their original position. Make sure that you have lined up both hinges so the pins secure them back in their original position. Notice on both supplied brackets in this kit there is a very small hole. This is where the new spring will be attached to. You need to do the installation on the right side (passenger side). The one part with the large mounting hole goes at the bottom BEHIND your license plate bracket and should be lined up to the one mounting hole. The objective is the bracket with the big hole will be sandwiched between the back of your license plate frame bracket and the rear filler panel. At this point reattach your license plate bracket to the back of your car. Reuse your original 7/16ths screws making sure the new bracket stays secure and does not move. It needs to be mounted so the other bracket in this kit is positioned so the small hole is facing inward. The top bracket is designed to slip over the top edge of the license plate bracket. Slide this bracket down from the top next to the inside area next to the raised section that the license plate plug is for your license plate. (Remember this is on the passenger side of the license plate bracket). Observe where the small hole is on the bracket that you have secured at the bottom of your original license plate bracket. You want this other bracket to slide down from the top just to the inside of the bump on the license plate bracket where the screws goes to secure your license plate. The end result is both small holes you see on both brackets are somewhat in alignment (parallel) to the side license plate bracket. Now you are ready to install the spring. If you have done it correctly, the mini hole in both the upper bracket and the mini hole on the lower bracket should be fairly even in alignment to each other. ↓ Loop the smaller loop end of the spring to the bottom bracket first and then using needle nose pliers, pull the other end of the spring up and attach to the small hole in the top bracket. Make sure the spring is properly seated in both ends. If done correctly the spring should be in fairly good alignment and not angled. Reinstall your license plate. Fueling now becomes much easier and lowers the risk of fuel spillage while still retaining a stock appearance.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This flip down stay down kit is designed for the original factory rear license plate bracket that has the two small springs that keep the bracket under constant pressure when you are filling your gas tank. If you have a reproduction rear license plate bracket (most reproduction versions are black) and it does not have the twin hinge springs that you need to remove, this installation will not work. The above photo shows the finished installation. The single arrow shows where the spring gets installed from the kit and is attached to the bracket on the top edge of the factory license plate bracket. That bracket needs to be installed so that the small hole for the spring is facing forward so the spring can seat into the small hole. The top two arrows show the pins that you need to reinstall and then re-bend the small inner tabs back so the factory pins will keep the two brackets in place. Ideally your install of the spring should be in a similar alignment as the one in the photo above.
