Another RD Rear Apron question...

[Slyder]

I just picked up a used RD apron locally and it's got some issues...hopefully they can be resolved in the next two weeks before the car heads off for paint.

1. What material is the RD rear apron made from? It's very flexible and feels a lot like urethane rather than plastic.

2. The bottom portion of the apron is a bit wavy. Can I attach at 2x4 or some similar straight object to the inside and then heat it up to reform it? Or will I most likey have to find some form of filling compound and turn this sucker into something solid?

3. I'm doing the plastic bumper conversion to a pre-facelift e30, so am I looking at any major fitment issues? From what I've read here, it seems like there are two different types of the apron from RD. Having not seen either in they're new form, I'm not sure which one I have.

Before I get flamed for asking and not posting pics, i'm at work and will be able to post them tonight.

[MattM20]

1.i believe yours (the newer one-piece version) is made out of urethane; deffinately not plastic.

2.the bottom has a tendency to droop or twist, especially by the exhaust cut out; i think any solution that isnt visible from the out side, or doesnt require filling, is worth looking into.

3. i'm in the process of doing the same thing; the arpon extends past the untrimmed bumper about 3/4" already, so getting it to fit with a trimmed bumper isnt going to be easy. i took the bumper and apron to a body shop and they said that it wouldnt be a problem fitting the bumper and apron because they say (for them) urethane is very easy to work with.

[EtaSport]

Matt, i dont think i ever asked you, do you have the new one piece? Im going to be curious to see how that turns out on your car. Do you know when you'll have it all done?

If yours is in one piece then it is the one made for plastic bumpers, dont have any experience mounting that one on pre-facelift cars. Mine is old style rigid plastic on early rear end. more pictures in my www

[MattM20]

Matt, i dont think i ever asked you, do you have the new one piece? Im going to be curious to see how that turns out on your car. Do you know when you'll have it all done?

If yours is in one piece then it is the one made for plastic bumpers, dont have any experience mounting that one on pre-facelift cars. Mine is old style rigid plastic on early rear end. more pictures in my www

yes i have the new one piece. ive already seen the pics on your site, and your car was the most convincing reason for me to get one :) . if you remember i asked you a few questions about the apron last summer, and i bought it shortly after. when i bought it (new) it came with instructions for both plastic and alluminum bumpers and didnt say that it was made for a specific bumper. after trying to fit it on both a plastic bumper and diving board, the alluminum bumper seemed like the best fit; everything lined up and there was no problem fitting it under the bumper; however, it was a pain getting it to attatch to the plastic bumper and the length ended up being too long.



i hope to have it done in the fall or early winter. this summer i plan to take the rear of my car apart again and carefully design any kind of metal brackets or hardware i would need, or anything that may be of the slightest help (including a fix to the droopy bottom section). then in august i will fabricate them all in the engineering fabrication lab at my school, and have a professor do any complex jobs if there is any. there is no doubt in my mind that i will get the apron on with factory-like rigidity, but i'm hoping to create hardware that allows very easy dis-assembly and use as many factory holes as possible. if the length of the apron turns out to be a problem then i'll probably turn it over to a body shop to trim it up.

what is going to delay it the most is finding time that i'm willing to give the car up for a few days to get the apron/bumper painted, which is why i think it may get pushed to the winter.

[erik325i]

Re: Another RD Rear Apron question...

I just picked up a used RD apron locally.

Dam it! I think you just bought the apron that I was going to buy. I've been trying to meet with the guy to pick it up for a week now. He said he was busy and will let me know when he is available. I haven't heard from him in a little while now...
:evil:

[Slyder]

Re: Another RD Rear Apron question...

I just picked up a used RD apron locally.

Dam it! I think you just bought the apron that I was going to buy. I've been trying to meet with the guy to pick it up for a week now. He said he was busy and will let me know when he is available. I haven't heard from him in a little while now...
:evil:

Erik, I dunno. The guy I bought it from said that he one person interested, but wasn't sure if he was going to buy it or not. He didn't mention anyone in particular. He added a little to the price and said if you'll pay this much you can have it...so I bought it. It was pretty jacked up when I got it...but after about 4 hours worth of work last night, I think it'll be salvagable.

Pics before I smoothed everything out:




[/i]

[erik325i]

Re: Another RD Rear Apron question...

I just picked up a used RD apron locally.

Dam it! I think you just bought the apron that I was going to buy. I've been trying to meet with the guy to pick it up for a week now. He said he was busy and will let me know when he is available. I haven't heard from him in a little while now...
:evil:

Erik, I dunno. The guy I bought it from said that he one person interested, but wasn't sure if he was going to buy it or not. He didn't mention anyone in particular. He added a little to the price and said if you'll pay this much you can have it...so I bought it. It was pretty jacked up when I got it...but after about 4 hours worth of work last night, I think it'll be salvagable.

Ohh well. Did you buy it from a guy in Santa Clara with a black e30 (totaled) with divingboards? It's probably the same guy, because he is not returing my messages. Good luck straightening it out and mounting it.

[Slyder]

Erik, yeah I did. I bought it before he posted the picks of the wreck. If I had seen the wreck pics before I offered to buy the apron, I would've said forget it. I'm actually pretty lucky that it straightened out the way it did. Only problem is he trimmed of the mounting clips on the sides, so I'm pretty much going to have to trim all of them off, mount the bumper, put the car on a lift and permanently bolt the sucker in from underneath. It's gonna be a b*tch.

If you're possibly interested in a Zender rear apron in very good shape (no visble damage in the pics), I have a line on one. The guy is asking $250 plus shipping. I'll be happy to forward you the email if interested. I'll also keep my eyes open for another RD if that's what you would prefer. I know they're pretty similar.