Yep, that makes the most sense to me.

 

why ruin a good fender

 

there is one option... make a bracket with the curvature of the fender...cut it in a way that you have a strip that will epoxy to the inner side of the fender...then a tab that is bent over the lip of the fender (without touching it). In that tab you can drill to attach a curved license frame. Simple and no holes on the fender...

I can try to make a drawing if that was not clear....

 

i don't think that will look good. like having a huge paperclip on your fender held on from underneath your fender

 

Not look good? You will not see it. It is all glued under the fender or hiding behind the plate...

Just for kicks, since I have some sheet metal, I will make one to test. The final part will have to be made out of a thicker gauge, but I just want to test my idea.

 

Here... did not get to the garage to pull out the sheet metal... but just to better show what I was proposing..





The thin/longer strip is installed under the fender with the gray 3M double face tape or just some J-B Weld epoxy. The square area is where you mount your frame. No need to drill holes and if you ever want to go in a different direction, just pull it out...

Sorry... not to scale... just trying to prove viability of this alternative

 

better be some good glue or that will jar loose

 

This is my thinking. It looks like a common mod but not something Id like to do unless I have to.