Early rear valence conversion?

[RagtopE30]

I have seen pics of it, and I have seen others talk about it. But is there a thread anywhere about how to do it? I am talking about putting a late model rear valence on an early model E30. I have an 88 vert with the late front valence and ellipsoids and then you look at the rear of the car and it looks like the engineers blacked out. I want to do the conversion but would like to know the pros and cons, the difficulties and tips.

[AbsorbantNut]

Cut sheetmetal & weld. Its not bolt on, which I'm assuming you know. A few guys have done it here, and it looks amazing.

There is no how to thread on how to do it specifically, but I think I remember a guy giving sort of a walk through in a build thread. If you just look at a late model car & early model car without the rear bumper though, you can visualize what you'd have to do.

[Holland]

It has been done, takes a lot of body work. While you are at it you should try to convert the tail lights into late ones as well if you can manage the work. It would look complete.

[ak-]

^^ wut. no.

[Jand3rson]

It has been done, takes a lot of body work. While you are at it you should try to convert the tail lights into late ones as well if you can manage the work. It would look complete.

I am going to HIGHLY recommend against doing this.

I did the late rear valance swap onto my car. It's really not that hard, especially since nearly all of your work is going to be covered by the bumper. TONS of pics and info, check it out here:

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=75117&highlight=Project+Facelift

[RagtopE30]

It has been done, takes a lot of body work. While you are at it you should try to convert the tail lights into late ones as well if you can manage the work. It would look complete.

Blasphamy!!! Nope, gonna keep the early tails. I would consider all the extra headache of converting to the newer lights if some one could post an example of a swapped car that looks better than Janderson's car.

Thank you Janderson I was hoping you would show up on this thread, Love the way your car looks.

[Wishno87]

Since you have a vert you can also do it an easier way where you dont have to cut up your car.

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=114652

If you have a coupe or sedan Janderson's way would look best but if you have a vert the way I did it is much easier and doesn't involve modifying your body.

[MR 325]

While you are at it you should try to convert the tail lights into late ones as well if you can manage the work. It would look complete.

Umm, why?

[td325ic]

Follow Janderson's Project Facelift thread and you'll be good to go. All the info you need is in there.

The hardest part of the late model rear apron swap is sourcing the apron to begin with and cutting it off the donor car. Once that's done, it's very straight forward.

While welding is the most thorough way to install it, it's not absolutely necessary so don't let that aspect scare you away. It's perfectly fine to install it just like you would an aftermarket apron and use nuts&bolts and/or oem body screws/washers. If you're worried about rust then sealing it well is much more important than what type of fastener is used to install it.

Using the pics in Janderson's thread as reference, here is how I trimmed my rear apron. It pretty much slips right on. The only thing I did differently is I kept the extra metal in the center of the apron, as you see that widened hole in the center of the apron will line up to the same hole on the body. Makes it a little easier to get everything centered correctly.

[AbsorbantNut]

td325ic, that looks great!

If you dont mind me asking, how does that bolt up? I didnt see any bolt holes...

[td325ic]

Well you do have to drill some holes into the body but it's really no different than installing an aftermarket rear apron like a Zender. The majority of the holes do no enter the trunk but rather go through the pre-existing apron which is not enclosed, as you can reach under and feel the backside of it (if that makes any sense). Just like installing a lot of things like is skirts or an m-tech II kit, sometimes you have to make mounting holes.

If you notice in Janderson's thread he first "tacked" his rear apron in place using body screws before he welded it.

Like he did you want to seal everything really well and that's pretty much all there is to it. The way you decide to mount it is really up to you. Whether it be panel adhesives, body screws, stainless steel rivets, welding, nuts & bolts, etc or a combination of them.

[StereoInstaller1]

I am going to use Urethane and sheet metal screws, then drench seam sealant over the seam.

[Holland]

Umm, why?

Early lights are freaking ugly, I cannot stand them. Plus when I see them with any kind of rear valence they look disproportionate to the rest of the car. MT2 Valences especially. They are so bland and boring to me and only look decent on euro bumpers.

[Lof8]

Easily my favorite "for looks" mod. Early models just look incomplete without it.

[StereoInstaller1]

fucking bad ass...now paint those damn bumpers, or polish them!