Euro bumper conversion

Blaise · Post by **Blaise** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 5:55 pm

I just picked up a set of used euro bumpers. They will need a little TLC, and chrome.

Has anyone done the US to Euro bumper conversion before?

I am wondering what kind of modifications have to be done.

A few things that come to mind:

-How are the front brackets mounted to the frame rails
-Does the valance need to be modified?
-Do the US rubber bellow holes have to be filled?
-Are there any web articles on this? (I did not find any)

Thanks,

T.Hanson · Post by **T.Hanson** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:29 pm

I just remembered this myself. Twelve years of posts on every conceivable subject,...searching the archives.

Or Google search them, or search the FAQ's. Taking a wild guess, removing the U.S. spec units will allow seeing what's there, realoem.com will have the exploded view parts drawings of what's needed.

Maybe fabricated any more. Realoem.com is getting kind of skippy listing the parts for some numbers.

garethashenden · Post by **garethashenden** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:19 pm

http://www.firstfives.org/bboard/viewto ... uro+bumper

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 2:58 am

Rear goes right on. There's a hole that will show, but it's not a huge deal. In front, you're fortunate that the US valance is the same as Euro, just with a couple extra cutouts that are hidden by the bumper. There are no provisions for attaching the factory brackets to the bumpers, so you'll have to get a bit creative. The front bumper brackets slide alongside the frame rails The US cars more than likely don't have the holes, so you'll want to drill holes, and probably just run through bolts with a nut on the other side. I don't imagine you can put a nut on the inside of the frame rail, like the factory did.

To mount the sides of the bumpers, you use existing holes. Also, the holes in the rear valance will be covered by the rear bumper. Lucky. The E12 rear bumper is also a decent option for E28s since it covers those holes, too. Once you're done, you end up with one exposed hole on each side that would have attached the side bumper trim (the part with the reflector, not the bellows). You could probably fill it with a tiny plug painted with touch-up paint and you'll never notice it. Or fill it with toothpaste.

Up front, if you're going to have any paintwork done, you'll want to delete the turn signals in the fenders. Huge hole, though. Any competent body guy should be able to fab a panel that will fit in there to weld in place. Painting it so it doesn't look obvious will probably be the hardest part.

Blaise · Post by **Blaise** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 12:40 pm

wkohler wrote:Rear goes right on. There's a hole that will show, but it's not a huge deal. In front, you're fortunate that the US valance is the same as Euro, just with a couple extra cutouts that are hidden by the bumper. There are no provisions for attaching the factory brackets to the bumpers, so you'll have to get a bit creative. The front bumper brackets slide alongside the frame rails The US cars more than likely don't have the holes, so you'll want to drill holes, and probably just run through bolts with a nut on the other side. I don't imagine you can put a nut on the inside of the frame rail, like the factory did.

To mount the sides of the bumpers, you use existing holes. Also, the holes in the rear valance will be covered by the rear bumper. Lucky. The E12 rear bumper is also a decent option for E28s since it covers those holes, too. Once you're done, you end up with one exposed hole on each side that would have attached the side bumper trim (the part with the reflector, not the bellows). You could probably fill it with a tiny plug painted with touch-up paint and you'll never notice it. Or fill it with toothpaste.

Up front, if you're going to have any paintwork done, you'll want to delete the turn signals in the fenders. Huge hole, though. Any competent body guy should be able to fab a panel that will fit in there to weld in place. Painting it so it doesn't look obvious will probably be the hardest part.

Thank you. That is exactly what I wanted to know. My car is at the body shop right now, getting some frame alignment done....and the front is without engine or suspension. Perfect time to fit the bumper before they paint.

Thanks again.

Blaise · Post by **Blaise** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 5:23 pm

While I am still buttoning up my euro bumper installation, I have learned quite a bit about how it is done.

In front, the euro brackets slide along the outside of the frame rails, but there are no US provisions to attach them. I drilled the frame rail and installed internal plates with nuts on them. I also welded some extra tabs that bolt into the frame holes for the horns. There is a hole in the fender that remains exposed on both sides. I had them filled and painted, as well as removing the US turn signals.

For the rear, the brackets do bolt right up to some existing holes. These are accessed from inside the trunk. There are no existing holes to mount the front of the bumper tips, so these must be drilled into the fenders...and access the trunk area. Then, there are ten (10) holes that will remain un-used. Of those, one will be exposed on each side (under the bumper) and six (6) will have direct access to the trunk (must be sealed to be waterproof). I had the exposed holes welded and painted and am doing my own patching for the others.

Seems that we should put together something for FAQ, as it is such a cool conversion.