Rick,
Man thank you so much for taking the time to post such an informative explanation!
Just a few questions when you get time.
First - I do have two holes in front of the crossbar but they are quite large. I can't imagine a bolt being that big in diameter to support the bracket. Does the parts you listed include a spacer or something for the holes?
Second - Since you mentioned cutting wires does this mean that the pigtail ends are different on the muscle license plate mount? No way to just unplug the stock and plug the new one in?
Thanks again for taking the time to post!!
1 - 10MM bolts are HUGE (a cigarette by comparison is 7.5MM in diameter), so if you have 2 holes, about 3/4 on an inch from each other in the illustrated location, then these are the ones. WHY TheMoCo felt they needed 2 bolts this large, is beyond me (then again, WHY TheMoCo chooses to do alot of the asinine things they choose to do, is beyond ANYONES COMPREHENSION).
No spacer - direct bolt-through. No washer either - though I could only find 16mm length bolts (at a local hardware store, not ordered from HD) and used a 1mm washer to space it, as the bolts do nearly bottom out in the mount.
2 - Pigtail ends are obviously different on the Muscle, since the lights are integrated differently. Main Harness has separate connectors for license plate lights/turns (94A), and the stop/run light assembly (93A) - so the CF has 2 connectors on the turn/stop/run assembly which plug into the 2 connectors on the main harness and the license plate light plugs the into the 45A connector on the CF's turn/stop/run assembly.
DRATS! Upside-down AGAIN!
So no, there is no way to just plug-n-play- this. Wires WILL have to be cut - or if you choose to leave the OEM license plate lights installed you're going to have to split those two wires (and we're going to assume here, that you're going to cut the frikkin license plate mount off the dogsass ANYWAY - it'll look kinda DUMB with it.)
I trimmed mine out, in the above photo - as I installed the side LP mount before the completion of the fender/taillight project (patience is a virtue I fall incredibly short on :bash: ).
So you ARE going to need to do surgery on the wires. Do so on the sub-harness that comes off the electrical cradle and runs down to the taillights. One of the photo's above shows how I did it, with quick disconnects (do the + one from the sub-harness as the FEMALE, so you don't blow a fuse in case of accidental contact with ground). Again, these are done as quick disconnects, because the rest of the sub-harness is hardwired to the turn signals and has to come off if you need to remove the dogsass. I believe the sidemount LP assembly DID come with the connector for the Muscle harness - this will (obviously) have to be lopped off.
If you're a REAL STICKLER for cleanliness and detail (for an item that doesn't show), you can order the connector and pins from the Muscle light assembly sub-harness. The 2 pin connector and terminals that license plate mount lights plug INTO the CF's turn/stop/run assembly are going to be 73102-96BK (connector) and 73190-95 (pins - 2 needed) - this is going to be the 45A connector illustrated in the CF wiring diagram.
Cowardice being the better part of valor, I opted to lop the connector off the lp mount, cut the original license plate light wires, and crimp/solder the quick disconnects.
Hope this helps...
Regards,
Rick