Remove those retaining clips I mentioned before.
Sadly, you’re left with ugly holes that are going to be a big distraction to the overall look of this conversion. They need to be plugged.
I found some plastic clips that I spray painted to match the color of the car and used them.
This photo makes them seem very in your face but once you look at the car from a normal distance away the clips are hardly noticeable. The other option is to fill the holes and paint the entire panel but that wasn’t going to happen with my busy schedule.
Mount the bumper in place and secure the two side mounting points with sheet metal screws.
Here’s a great shot of the GPS mounts in place with perfect fitment. Tighten them up and your Euro bumper is now in its final resting place!
Coincidentally, the Euro license plate trim actually has mounting points for the US license plate holder. Bolt it in place and then mount your license plate to that and voila! Very little hassle to get that plate on.
Re-install the head lights and trim.
As I mentioned there was another part to the turn signal conversion I did. I could have slapped the bulb in place and been done with it but my Euro turn signal insides were faded and not very reflective. Luckily the US reflector mounts to the bulb housing so it would be a simple mod to make it work.
I marked where it needed to be trimmed and cut it accordingly.
Here’s the result before the amber lens is put in place.
I ran into one issue though. The elongated bulb plug on the turn signal was hitting the chassis and wouldn’t let me mount the light flush. Easy fix, grab a hammer, pound the metal till the plug doesn’t make contact.
Slide the fog lights in place and install the amber turn signal lenses and admire a job well done!
Expect a full days work or even two if you run into some issues. The conversion isn’t complex, the hardest part is actually finding the parts! And as you can see the gaps and fitment issues that were present in the close up photos are hardly visible when looking at the completed job.
On the downside, you’ll notice my valance is in less than great shape so it’s now become the eye sore on the front end but nothing a front lip can’t fix! More on that in a future story though.
Continue onto Part 2 of the Euro Bumper Conversion
SOURCES
Guten Parts + Service: www.gutenparts.com
Bavarian Autosport: www.bavauto.com
My e28 Forum: www.mye28.com
