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Another bumper tuck


realgone

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Hi guys, I looooove my '76 square light 2002, but I can't stand those bumpers. 

I would love to do a full swap to euro bumpers, but my paint is decent enough and I don't want to splash out for a full respray after welding up all the little skirt and bellow bolt holes. 

Inspired by the CA Tuned S2000 powered 2002 https://catuned.com/catuned-2002-coilover-system-street-setup and this one I saw on the internet https://realartonwheels.com/inventory/1976-bmw-2002-turbo/ my friend Gord (IG: @gordsgarage ) and I set out to cut down a 320i front bumper and cut down the rear bumper on my 2002

 

Here's a before pic of the bumpers. I mean, what were they thinking?

 

NG8sozR.jpg

 

X1MmuxS.jpg

 

Here's a pic of the bumpers, with the e21 320i bumper on the left and the stock 2002 bumper on the far right. Stock rear bumper in the middle. 

 

1BOatK0.jpg

 

I read here that the 320i front bumper is a better fit for the 2002, following the hood line. It is, but the bumper shock mounts don't quite line up. It's out by about a 1/2" per side. In this case we welded on a piece of metal and redrilled, but slotting the holes would probably do the trick. 

 

5hh7XNu.jpg

 

Test fit. This is without any grinding or shaping. Hard to believe it's not from a 2002.

IZ0d2Rg.jpg

 

Gord cut it down with a plasma cutter, but a zip disc will work just fine. Then we cleaned up the edge with a die grinder with flap discs. 

 

beVNkSN.jpg

 

UdDr1b6.jpg

 

We drilled out the shocks to relieve pressure, cut them down to size, and welded back together. Pipe would do the trick here, as there's no more shock absorption, but this seemed easier. These are Gord's welds. If I welded them back together there is no way I'd post a picture of it. 

 

bJI7SUY.jpg

 

More test fitting now that the bumper is cut down. We decided to leave a gap, and cut down the rubber shock covers to give it a factory look. 

kKquDtn.jpg

 

Same with the rear, with lots of cutting of the "modesty skirt" to give it a factory look. 

Vyf1yCP.jpg

 

U3KKnXz.jpg

 

I cut down the bellows with a hacksaw, then used a grinder to flatten the mating surfaces of the overlapped section for a better fit. I used JB Weld plastic epoxy to glue them together, and finished the edges off with DAP acrylic latex. Then I painted them with Duplicolor bumper and trim spray paint. I tried using Permatex silicon the first time, but the paint wouldn't stick to it. 

Gord found this entire process very distasteful and too "arts and crafts" for his palate, offering to 3D print some new bumper covers, but this kind of hack work is right up my alley. 

 

A6mtsJr.jpg

 

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Gord set me up on his lathe to make up some covers for the front license plate bolt holes. I think this was a ploy to get me out of his way, but I am pleased with the results. 

 

04rfOCm.jpg

 

Gord had a metal brushing machine and we tried it out. I like it, but I think I will polish the bumpers again to match my dinged up chrome trim once summer is up

 

g4jmsug.jpg

 

rMMfp6l.jpg

 

And that's pretty much it. On test fitting the bumpers looked much slimmer and we thought they were perfect. Once the giant rubber covers are in place the bumpers look much larger, especially the rear. It looks great, but I think this winter I will trim another 1/2" off of the rear bumper, and will reshape it to follow the curve of the trunk more closely. I'll have to cut down the exhaust a bit now too. The tips were under the bumper before, but now they poke out a bit too much. 

 

yRPKUWT.jpg

 

0GkUckY.jpg

 

The car looks so much better, and total cost was a few cans of spray paint and burgers and beer to keep us going. Proper euro bumpers and respray in 2030, maybe. 

 

Before:

 

0N6cbEC.jpg

 

After: 

LH2bfG0.jpg

 

K3fPapz.jpg

 

uSLyxpn.jpg

 

GHc1u1x.jpg

 

1KvYROv.jpg

 

I hope someone finds this post useful. Square tails rule. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by realgone
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14 hours ago, realgone said:

Hi guys, I looooove my '76 square light 2002, but I can't stand those bumpers. 

I would love to do a full swap to euro bumpers, but my paint is decent enough and I don't want to splash out for a full respray after welding up all the little skirt and bellow bolt holes. 

 

What I've learned is, spend your time and money on what you really want.  No one likes to look at their car (or anything else in their life) and mostly see what could have been.  

 

That said, some brilliant work on display above.

 

Here's a pic of a friend's car that I admire greatly, for inspiration.

 

Scott

9FCB7397-2545-47D7-825D-7A0F1B1B0BAC.jpeg

02ing since '87

'72 tii Euro  //  '21 330i x //  '14 BMW X5  //  '12 VW Jetta GLI

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On 7/8/2020 at 2:05 AM, realgone said:

Here's a before pic of the bumpers. I mean, what were they thinking?

 

NG8sozR.jpg

The "they" wasn't BMW, it was the Federal Government mandating 5 mph bumpers that had to be grafted onto car bodies that weren't designed for it.  Most cars of that era look equally awkward.

 

Nice, neat job--but be careful where you park, as your front bumper duty is now performed by your grille and hood.  That's what those folks who park by feel will hit first...

 

mike

 

 

 

Edited by mike
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'69 Nevada sunroof-Wolfgang-bought new
'73 Sahara sunroof-Ludwig-since '78
'91 Brillantrot 318is sunroof-Georg Friederich 
Fiat Topolini (Benito & Luigi), Renault 4CVs (Anatole, Lucky Pierre, Brigette) & Kermit, the Bugeye Sprite

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Thanks guys, I'm happy with how it turned out. 

 

That red car is one my faq favourites. Unreal. I'm in the process of building up some bbs rs001's for mine right now. 

 

The look on mine is growing on me. Different, but still looks factory to me. 

 

I live in a province with the most trucks per capita in Canada. Around here my front bumper is the windshield. ?

Edited by realgone
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  • 3 years later...

Thanks for the great documentation! I did something similar on my 1975 (owned 1996-2010), but yours looks better than my work. I now have a '76 that needs the same treatment and plan to follow your example. Did any fluid come out of the original bumper shocks when you drilled them out? Any other tips for doing the job?

 

Here are pictures of my 1975, and the current project 1976.

Final Pictures of Alex with the 1975 BMW 003.jpg

IMG_2487.JPG

IMG_2488.JPG

Alexander J. Larkin

Mission Viejo, California

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