How-to: New way to fit rear plasic bumpers on 87 or older

[EtaSport]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=69845&highlight=mtech

sure looks like 2 pieces to me, and by that I'm referring to the bumper and valance being seperate.

[Teaguer]

sure looks like 2 pieces to me, and by that I'm referring to the bumper and valance being seperate.

Dude why would you still post something like that after people in the know have already stated otherwise ??

Listen up : THE OE M-TECH-II REAR BUMPER AND VALANCE IS A ONE PIECE DESIGN PERIOD .

It is made with that little seam to somewhat give the appearance/illusion that it a seperate piece when in fact it a one solid unit .

And yes everyone knows that the MT2 front spoiler and bumper are seperate units .

[EtaSport]

ok.. sorry i got yout panties in a bunch.

[E30_pilot]

Yous guys know that the M-tech-II rear bumper and valence are one piece , right ?

So its either use the whole OE MT2 rear set-up

thats what i meant. lol

[RobertK]

For those of you too cheap to go with the MTech 2 setup you can easily pop rivet an 88+ rear valance on the rear to improve the swap look. Here's some pics of what I recently finished up last night. I will post more as I finish the project.

[Mike325]

Looks good. Is this the valance that comes on the plastic bumper cars? Where does the valance/ rear ende rivit at? I can't even see the line.

[ldsbeaker]

^^ what he said. did you just pop the new valence on to of the old one, or did you actually go and cut the old one off??

[RobertK]

I just pop riveted the new old onto the old one. I should have taken pictures before I sprayed the primer on it.

The rear valance is from a 89 325is I got from Funkmasta through the F/S forum along with the bumpers and front valance.

[RobertK]

For the record..

Fiberglass resin works alot better for patching the bumper pieces back together. Fiberglass resin can flex and not crack whereas Bondo with eventually crack everytime on these bumpers.

To avoid pressure cracks reinforce the back of the bumper with a small piece of fiberglass reinforcment cloth and some resin.

[Jand3rson]

The rear valance is from a 89 325is I got from Funkmasta through the F/S forum along with the bumpers and front valance.

That's exactly what I want to do, and exactly who I want to get it from. I just sent him a PM, hopefully he gets back to me soon!

[Axxe]

Eurostyle MtechII rear lower on a diving board car for those that said it wouldn't work.

[Jand3rson]

Ritalin, did the late-model rear apron stick into the fender well like the bumper does? Or was it a straight, even fit? I just found one.

[E30_pilot]

Ritalin, did the late-model rear apron stick into the fender well like the bumper does? Or was it a straight, even fit? I just found one.

yes please more details..i found one at the junker

[RobertK]

It was a straight even fit. What I did was slid the bumper on the shocks and had a friend hold one side up even while I held the other side up and we took a marker and marked where the bottom of the bumper was.

We used this as a reference to line up the top notch in the valance that the bottom of the bumper needed to be lined up with. We then used the weld marks at both corners of the rear to match up the valance vertically. We then rivetted the middle back on first and worked our way around. In the process we kept putting the bumper back on to make sure we did not get off track.

The cool thing about rivets is that you can always drill them out if something screws up. Be sure to use steel or stainless steel rivets. Aluminum and steel like to oxidize over time meaning eventually the rivets will fall out.

[Jand3rson]

It was a straight even fit.

Excellent! I've finally tracked one down from Joe Funk, and I'm picking it up this weekend. And thanks for the fitment tips!