Change is coming...

[Jand3rson]

Mine is about a big of a hack job as you can get - I just stopped caring about it. It's slightly harder than that. You can't just cut the current valence off your current car, because there's shit below it. Say, the corner pockets, and wheel wells.

That guy's looks decent..from those angles - I'd like to see what inside his wheelwell and up/underneath the apron looks like.

I'm not cutting the current valence off of my car. I've basically cut everything out of this rear apron, including the spare tire well and battery tray, as well as the pocket on the other side. I've got a little bit more to cut out, and when I'm finished with it, it will basically be nothing more than the rear apron itself, just the skirt, very much like any other aftermarket rear apron, pretty much like an M-Tech II rear apron, if it were separate from the bumper. Then I'll fit it basically on top of the existing apron, and pop-rivet it all the way around about every 1-2 inches or so.

See the rear apron part of this M-Tech II rear? That's basically all this rear apron is going to be once I've finished removing all the excess material, just a skirt. What I'll leave above it is just enough material to work with for attaching it to the car, which will all be hidden by the bumper once it's installed.

[Bill 84 318i]

I'm not cutting the current valence off of my car. I've basically cut everything out of this rear apron, including the spare tire well and battery tray, as well as the pocket on the other side. I've got a little bit more to cut out, and when I'm finished with it, it will basically be nothing more than the rear apron itself, just the skirt, very much like any other aftermarket rear apron, pretty much like an M-Tech II rear apron, if it were separate from the bumper. Then I'll fit it basically on top of the existing apron, and pop-rivet it all the way around about every 1-2 inches or so.

I see where you're going, but if you look in from the wheel well, you're still going to see two arcs. One will be the smaller, shorter early one, and the other will be the one from the later valence. You'd have to do something fancy like weld a piece of metal between the two to fill the gap. Which isn't a bad idea, because it's gonna be pretty flimsy once you cut all the crap out of it.

[asubimmer]

goodluck sounds like you are gonna need it ;)

[Jand3rson]

I see where you're going, but if you look in from the wheel well, you're still going to see two arcs. One will be the smaller, shorter early one, and the other will be the one from the later valence. You'd have to do something fancy like weld a piece of metal between the two to fill the gap. Which isn't a bad idea, because it's gonna be pretty flimsy once you cut all the crap out of it.

Yeah, I see exactly what you're getting at, I'll probably do something like that, maybe with rivets, also. I'm trying to avoid doing any welding, we should be able to make something work. It should be pretty simple getting it to fit properly. I'll probably do some reinforcing, also.

[e30sd]

for once i agree with asubimmer.

[Jand3rson]

Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm just going ahead with what I want. I don't want a late model, I want early tails and early rear arches, with plastic bumpers. Seems to me like this a lot less work than getting a late model and swapping it to early tails and rear arches. :up:

[asubimmer]

nothing against plastics, I have em and love em. But your car would be tits w/ euro bumpers and a full mtech1 :twisted:

[Jand3rson]

nothing against plastics, I have em and love em. But your car would be tits w/ euro bumpers and a full mtech1 :twisted:

Werd to that, M-Tech I and body-colored euro bumpers are my dream, but finding a good condition M-Tech I kit is hard enough, without factoring in the cost for a good example, and then having it shipped over here.

[Mike325]

That looks hawt. When will it be done?

[StereoInstaller1]

nice body kit

Yes, what kind is it?

I bet it is one them german ones

[egk2]

You definitely have your work cut out for you.

[asubimmer]

I bet it is one them german ones

evo 3?

[Jand3rson]

You definitely have your work cut out for you.

Literally. :D

I'm not quite sure I understand why everyone thinks this is such a huge undertaking. It's really not going to be that hard.

That looks hawt. When will it be done?

We're starting as soon as my bumpers get here.

[E30trash]

Yeah Josh, your car is going to look better then it already does. Im counting on you to do it right and make it look perfect. Im sure you wont do anything less. Oh and hope you enjoyed yourself up at my place and with the Dragonforce!

[wazzu70]

Why are you avoiding welding? Is it because you dont have access to a welder or you just choose not to do it? I would weld it, from my experience rivets suck. Maybe you've had different experiences....