Retractable license plate project?

I'm newbie here....I tried searching first but didn't get far.

Anyone attempt to make a retractable front license plate mechanism? I was thinking of ideas on how to do this with a small dc motor, almost like a tape drive motor/unit?

There are companies that make them out there, but they are either a) expensive or b) not exactly what I'm looking for. Ideas?

Thanks!
Dave

Sounds like something from James Bond.

Why not go a bit further - rather than retract the plate and draw attention you might put a LCD or plasma display to work to electronically create then recreate license plates on the fly, so to speak.

As you may know this is likely to be illegal in that you are usually required to display the proper tag(s) at all times though I could see a legitimate use in a show car.

Had a call come in before I could finish the last post.

It seems that over a span of 30 or more years I've seen retractable headlight mechanisms. You might adapt what they do to your needs. I recall that my 1966 Dodge Charger had retractable headlights that were powered by the vacuum created by the engine.

If you're worried about red light cameras, i saw this stuff that you spray on 2 the plaate and when the camera flashes it reflects so good that all the camera sees is a bunch of white where the plate is

zachtheterrible said:

If you're worried about red light cameras, i saw this stuff that you spray on 2 the plaate and when the camera flashes it reflects so good that all the camera sees is a bunch of white where the plate is

Click to expand...

i think the same company also makes a plate cover that turns completly white at the flick of a switch.

stevez said:

Sounds like something from James Bond.

Why not go a bit further - rather than retract the plate and draw attention you might put a LCD or plasma display to work to electronically create then recreate license plates on the fly, so to speak.

As you may know this is likely to be illegal in that you are usually required to display the proper tag(s) at all times though I could see a legitimate use in a show car.

Click to expand...

It might not be illegal since he is doing this to the front plate and I assume the back plate would exist and remain unmodified.

Front plates are required in my state.

I understand that at border crossings your plate numbers are run prior to you passing thru the interview point. I'd expect some trouble in getting thru if your plates can't be read or don't correspond to the vehicle. For speed traps I am not sure how you'd know you were being tracked but if the plate were required and obscured when law enforcement folks observe that might draw some unwanted attention.

Still, for a show car it might be a fun project.