F1 rear licence plates

[RandyZ]

I didn't want to side track that other thread on the rear of F1 pickups, so I decided to start a new one. My truck, a 1951 Mercury, was an old farm truck with no rear bumper and the wrong taillights on it. So I had to order all new stuff from Dennis Carpenters. I had thought that I had done something stupid and ordered the wrong taillight bracket and license plate holder as the plate has always been hidden behind the rear bumper. I've been waiting for the smart ass cop to pull me for it. But I see in the other theads photos that this is indeed how they came.
Has anybody been hassled over this?

[Charlie ny]

Randy,
At one time Carpenter offered brackets that indeed raised the lights and
the license plate to clear the bumper. The brackets were cast in brass and did the job
quite nicely. I used them on my '51 1/2 ton.
Charlie ny

[Ross F-1]

There have been entire threads on this on Ford Trucks Enthusiasts and the consensus was, people have been pulled over by the cops for other things, or been thru state inspections, and no one had been ticketed for it.

I bigger concern for me when I was doing my truck was that the lights are low and fairly small, even on 12v they aren't real visible. I went a different direction.

[Charlie ny]

Ross brings up a serious issue...tail light height. I do not have a rear bumper on my
'41 1/2 ton so I placed my lic plate as Ross shows on his avatar. I fabbed an unbuffed
stainless lic plate frame to trim things up a bit along with the req'd light. I swapped
RH & LH tail light brackets side for side and by doing so raised the lights about 6".
this makes a big difference .
Charlie ny

[Ross F-1]

Here's how mine is laid out, after I put the bumper back on (I have since raised the plate another inch). A cop couldn't see the annual sticker from his car, but around here they're happy enough to see a current plate that is legible.

I admit to using universal NAPA taillights, they are a subject of derision on the HAMB but they are BRIGHT and at eye level for most cars.

[TStiles]

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I used LED lights in stock location for brightness. Not perfect but better than incandescent. The license plate is there behind the bumper and I've never had anyone hassle me. It came that way from the factory, and yes, the bumper was an ad-on. However, most cops are standup guys and won't have an issue.

[MMB]

I like the looks of the stock tail lights but after getting rear ended twice in my "modern" car felt they were to small for todays traffic. I mounted the 68-72 style lights on the 53-56 brackets which are larger and have integrated back-up lights. Obviously not period correct but don't look too
out of place, don't run a rear bumper. Wish I could say something nice about the CA Highway patrol, nothing comes to mind.

[Vic Piano]

Here's a photo of our '51 F-1's rear end. As you can see, the license plate is partially obscured by the bumper. I've been driving the truck this way for over 15 years and I've yet to be stopped by the Cops... The Vanity plate is: FUN 51 however, the only part visible is FU, which is sometimes an appropriate message for fellow motorists... LOL

[Barry-ct]

The tail lamp bracket issue is a strange situation. They show 21C 13471 for trucks from 48-52 with a single tail lamp. It is an "L" shaped bracket with a curved cut out on the end with 2 holes for the lamp to mount to. It doesn't mount to the w2 tailgate hinge bracket bolts. They show for 50-52 with rear bumpers, 81Y 13470 and 81Y 13471 respectably. For states requiring 2 lamps at the time (Washington, Missouri and Oklahoma ) used 7C 13470 and 7C 13471 with a side note of using without rear bumper. These are the ones every repo dealer sells.
You have to remember that a rear bumper was an option and VERY few of these trucks had a rear bumper. I've had 6 of the F-1's and not one had a factory rear bumper. The 81Y brackets raise the light up so the plate can be seen better. C&G has them, but I don't know if they're correctly made.
A little more mud for the puddle..........

[waterboychuck]

Here a photo of my rear bumper. I just installed it and bought the brackets and bumper from C&G.

[Bruno]

I think the Brakelighter strip of LED lights that go in bottom of rear window on F1 is a really good thing to install. It is at a height close to where most drivers are looking now - plus it is almost not noticeable until you apply the brakes. My '52 F1 has the best in tail light bulbs, etc. but that is not really enough in my opinion.

[RandyZ]

Vic: Did you modify your bumper brackets? It looks about 2 inches higher than most. I've been thinking on cutting and re-welding the brackets.