DB bumper holes?

[realgone]

Hi guys,

 

Just got myself a 1976 2002, and I am very excited about it.

 

High on the list of things to do is a bumper conversion.

 

The body is rust free, the paint is decent, and the car is very presentable as it is. 

 

I don't want to paint the car for a few years but I would like to the bumper conversion.

 

So my question is this: What are guys doing about the mounting holes for the big bumpers when they switch to chrome bumpers?

 

Do they need to be welded shut, or is there another solution to protect the car from rust and to prevent moisture from entering?

 

I know I should probably just do it all in one go, but the paint is pretty good for the time being and the bumpers are tragic.

[kbmb02]

One method: zzzt-bzzt-zzzt-bzzt. -KB

[williamggruff]

When you remove the big bumpers, you're going to have to fix the paint where the rubber parts of the 76 bumpers touch the car. No way around it. 

 

If you want to go with the simple hole filling method, you can use painted press-in grommets, and you can fill the bumper shock holes with either modified grommets or rubber, taking care to bond them using a product like Marine Goop to keep water out. Or you can weld them up and repaint as Ken suggests. I like Ken's method best, but my welding skillz aren't as good as Ken's, so I went with the painted grommet approach for the small holes, and made covers for the bumper shock holes out of painted steel plate, which I then screwed into the stock rubber grommets that surrounded the bumper shocks, and bonded them in place with Marine Goop. I repainted the rear panel as part of the bumper conversion.

[realgone]

I would love to do it like kbmb02 did, and clear up my side marker lights as well, but I want to keep the paint that's on there for now.

william, got any pics of the process?

 

[williamggruff]

Sadly, I didn't photograph my process. I performed it over the course of several weeks in fits and starts. The end result looks like this.

[chargin]

I went a year before I fixed mine 

 

Now:

[Mike Self]

Suggestion for the large holes in the front:  use 'em for driving or fog light mounts.  Buy some pipe of the appropriate diameter, bolt a length into each hole and cap the outer end (for appearance).  Then drill a hole in the outboard end and mount your driving or fog lights to the pipe.  Use sturdy pipe to avoid the lamp vibrating.  Since your chrome bumper will mount several inches below the holes for the OEM bumper, the pipes will clear the chrome bumper. 

 

At the rear, your new bumper will be tucked in close enough to the body so the large shock mounting holes won't be visible.  You'll just need to plug 'em to prevent water intrusion.  

 

cheers

mike

[otisdog]

Okay, dummy question...

What does "DB" mean in the thread title?

[realgone]

Diving Board, as the e30 guys like to call them.

 

 

[Scott Sislane]

I documented my bumper conversion in a long post here, it even includes the plug sizes and part #'s I used til I got around to having the holes filled: https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/131947-body-work-paint-bumper-conversion-frame-rails-wheels/?page=6

 

 

Go to page 5.

 

Scott