new license plate mount and uneven body mount holes

[merrill]

After many years of make shift license plate holders i purchased a set from buds benz.

The rear i had to drill holes to mount the plate. 
After carefully measuring and making sure the new holes are perfectly located on the new mount i installed the new mount and license plate.

turns out the holes in the car where the mount bolts through were not level and off by 4mm.

I had to remove the rear mount and drill one new hole to level the mount.

odd

[doitwright]

After many years of make shift license plate holders i purchased a set from buds benz.

The rear i had to drill holes to mount the plate. 
After carefully measuring and making sure the new holes are perfectly located on the new mount i installed the new mount and license plate.

turns out the holes in the car where the mount bolts through were not level and off by 4mm.

I had to remove the rear mount and drill one new hole to level the mount.

odd

I bought a “rear license plate bracket” on eBay. It was listed for a BMW. The reason I picked it was because it has rubber bumpers on the back side so it will not scratch the paint. The bracket mounts to the body with 2 screws and uses 4 screws to hold the plate to the frame. There are versions that have elongated slots so if your holes are out of alignment you can easily level the bracket. One of these might keep you from needing to drill an additional hole. These are of course for USA size license plates.

[Mike Hughes]

Remember that many M-B dealers in the USA were actually Studebaker Packard Dealers who took on the Mercedes-Benz franchise in the '50s when S/P was the US distributor.  So it will come as no surprise that many M-B products including 230SLs were delivered by these dealers up through at least 1966 with rear mounted Studebaker license brackets right off the parts department shelf.  Mine was!  The plate floats about 1/2 inch off the surface of the rear valence, which is enough to keep it from touching even the lower lip of the panel.

[neelyrc]

I fabricated a mounting plate myself to match the factory holes drilled for the elliptical German customs plate on my car when delivered.  See my post here:

https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=15847.msg183273#msg183273

I mounted it to the valance with thick rubber bushings to spare the paint.  One of the attachments to my post above is a CAD drawing of the mounting plate with dimensions to match my factory valance holes.

[Mike K]

I had exactly the same issue on my '71 280SL, also about a 4mm difference in alignment of the holes at the rear.
Instead of drilling a new hole in the body, I widened one of them to adjust for the difference and used lock nuts and washers.

Best
Mike