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M535i bumper on a us spec e12?
Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 5:59 pm
by claytown03
How easy is it to fit a m535i valance on my us spec 528i? Any help would be much appreciated
Re: M535i bumper on a us spec e12?
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 9:05 am
by maybeillbuyit
I just recently did this to my 77 530i. Install was actually quite easy. It took a long time to source all the trim and fasteners. I also made the brackets that hold the upper part of the airdam to bottom of the headlight frame. I just looked though my photos and it looks like I didn't take many.
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072686F9-055F-4C30-8EBE-9794074BAC9C by
Re: M535i bumper on a us spec e12?
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 5:16 pm
by claytown03
do you by chance have a list/ sources on what trim and fastener you need? where did you source the m535i bumper?
Re: M535i bumper on a us spec e12?
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:43 pm
by maybeillbuyit
The airdam itself I bought on ebay.uk. It was in used fairly rough shape. It had thousands of little stone chips in it that took forever to sand and fill . Not much fun.
As for parts list and instructions I used Adam Wilsons excellent write up here:
http://www.firstfives.org/faq/M535i_air ... m_faq.html
Most of the fasteners I got from BMW the dealership. The ones that are NLA I just tried different things until I found something that worked.
The rubber trim strips I got from :
https://www.classicbmwparts.nl/en_GB/a- ... escription
The rubber strips are made too long and needed to be trimmed to length.
Part number 6, the brackets I did what Adam did, and just made my own out of aluminum stock. Next on my list is finding Euro front fenders to eliminate the bugeyed turn signals
Re: M535i bumper on a us spec e12?
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:06 pm
by maybeillbuyit
A little eye candy for inspiration:
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/151834021@N05/
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[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcxTXi]
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[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mct8wX]
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[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcBZ6d]
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/151834021@N05/]
In the last photo I'm doing a test fit of the BBS RS 005s I'll be putting on the car after the steering/suspension refresh thats hopefully going to happen.
This project is actually quite easy to install. It was very time consuming tracking down all the correct fasteners end trim etc. Finding an original airdam isn't easy although I see there is at least one guy making reproductions. I would have to wonder about the fit on a reproduction as the fit on the original was a little fiddley.
Re: M535i bumper on a us spec e12?
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:26 pm
by canada karl
Why not delete the oversized turn signals for a cleaner look?
Re: M535i bumper on a us spec e12?
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:42 pm
by maybeillbuyit
canada karl wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:26 pm
Why not delete the oversized turn signals for a cleaner look?
From my post above. " Next on my list is finding Euro front fenders to eliminate the bugeyed turn signals"
Re: M535i bumper on a us spec e12?
Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:16 am
by tlake
Really professional, factory looking job you did there. When I saw the first pic I thought it was some early gray market M car
I heard recently e12 Euro fenders are NLA. Hope I am wrong about that.
Re: M535i bumper on a us spec e12?
Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:34 am
by maybeillbuyit
Thx for the kind words. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I think you may be right about the fenders being nla. There is an aftermarket brand of euro fenders out there as well I believe. I've hesitated a few times on good deals on fenders when I should have just grabbed them. I'm not in a rush to do that part of the conversion. I'll just keep my eyes open for fenders. Right now I've got issues with the 5 speed I just installed into the car.
