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Considering converting over to euro-spec bumpers

Started by raftel, 02 May 2021, 08:40 AM

raftel

I'm still in the midst of a refresh on my 6.9.  I did the spheres over the winter, and now the front upper control arms, front ball joints, tie rod ends, lower control arm bushings, idler arm bushings, front subframe bushings and rear subframe bushings have all been renewed.  The car goes in for an alignment tomorrow, and I expect the driving experience will be a bit transformed.

Spending a lot of time under the car, I'm thinking of going over to euro bumpers and I found this listing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114544268614

It looks like I will still need the brackets, and I'm still a bit clueless when it comes to what modifications I'll need to make to mount these, or what other hardware I'll need to do it.  I've looked on these boards and haven't found the answer.  Can anyone here offer some thoughts on these reproduction Vietnamese bumpers, or the process of converting my bulky US spec bumpers over to slim euro ones?  Thanks!


gavin116

1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
[url="http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/"]http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/[/url]
[url="http://forum.w116.org/the-org/british-near-london-meet/msg97613/#msg97613"]http://forum.w116.org/the-org/british-near-london-meet/msg97613/#msg97613[/url]

gavin116

This may help too.


Quote from: jbrasile on 06 May 2008, 06:33 PMJohn, not as easy as it looks, I had my 1980 450SEL converted a few years ago.Front:Remove the US bumpers and you will see that the top bumper blades are actually mounted on a bracket that is welded to the front panel, these brackets need to be removed and the welds cleaned up and painted. You need to also cover a hole on each front fender where the us upper blade used to mount.Once you remove the US bumper, you are left with the shock absorber holes and have no bolts to attach the euro bumper brackets to. You can have studs welded for this purpose as I did or insert screws from behind the lower cross member but this is a little tricky to do.Lastly, the rubber buffer that closes the gap from the us bumper to the body must be removed and its mountig studs cut, filed and painted. Remember also that you need the metal buffer that installs under the headlight lower eye lids and runs across the front of the car closing the gap between the euro bumper and the body, this metal piece is painted flat black, not body color.The lower grilles for the euro car are also different as they are taller and close the front skirt completely. And don't forget, euro cars do not have fog lights mounted on the bumper, they are part of the euro headlights.Rear:A little easier....After removing the US bumper you will have to close the holes where the shocks mounted and drill new ones to mount the euro. You will see exactly where to drill once you remove the shocks, there is a little dimple where the euro instalation is.In the back there is also a rubber buffer to remove but in this case you need to fill and paint the holes on the back panel.Hope this info helps, I am doing this from memory, mine was moded almost 10 years ago.Let me know if you have any questions. It is always nice to see this conversion taking place, the car just looks so right the way it was originally designed.Regards,Joe
1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
[url="http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/"]http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/[/url]
[url="http://forum.w116.org/the-org/british-near-london-meet/msg97613/#msg97613"]http://forum.w116.org/the-org/british-near-london-meet/msg97613/#msg97613[/url]

raftel

Thank you!  The links were very helpful.  I had searched for euro bumper, and those links didn't come up.  I guess I'm going to be spending some money in Vietnam, and looking for some other parts.

3l33ter

I can't see the inside of the bumpers in that ad, but the brackets should be integrated with the bumper. It does look like the brackets are there on the sides, so maybe the center ones are there as well?

The rear just requires some drilling. The front requires 4 nuts to be welded in place but otherwise it's also easy.

I could never decide which bumpers I liked more for a 6.9. The big rubber ones are kinda cool in their own way.
'75 280S
'77 6.9
'82 300TD