After a long journey in sourcing the right tooling, trials, test fitting and tariffs, we now have a good supply of E9 Belt Line Trim Pads.
For those of you just coming into the movie: these are non-OEM washers that fit in between the extruded aluminum belt line trim and the painted body. E9 only. The large 'washer' surface area avoids one from overtightening the bolt and pinching your soft paint, creating unsightly wrinkles in your new paint job. These were invented in the 1990s when a concour competitor at the Monterey BMW (pre Legends event) was proudly displaying his new paint job, a small blister appeared above the trim. When the afternoon sun baked this blister, it grew from 1/4 inch to over 1 inch, necessitating a complete fender repaint.
When assembled, these pads are 0.0338 inches thick and you can't tell they are there. Use only a socket held in your fingers to 'finger tighten' each of these bolts. Use only BMW OEM bolts with rubber washers. The new pad also allows drainage, keeping water from accumulating behind the trim. Pictured below is one full car set.
Carl Nelson at La Jolla Independent will be the exclusive source for these. At: http://www.bimmerdoc.com/contact-us/ or (858) 488-1555
For those of you just coming into the movie: these are non-OEM washers that fit in between the extruded aluminum belt line trim and the painted body. E9 only. The large 'washer' surface area avoids one from overtightening the bolt and pinching your soft paint, creating unsightly wrinkles in your new paint job. These were invented in the 1990s when a concour competitor at the Monterey BMW (pre Legends event) was proudly displaying his new paint job, a small blister appeared above the trim. When the afternoon sun baked this blister, it grew from 1/4 inch to over 1 inch, necessitating a complete fender repaint.
When assembled, these pads are 0.0338 inches thick and you can't tell they are there. Use only a socket held in your fingers to 'finger tighten' each of these bolts. Use only BMW OEM bolts with rubber washers. The new pad also allows drainage, keeping water from accumulating behind the trim. Pictured below is one full car set.
Carl Nelson at La Jolla Independent will be the exclusive source for these. At: http://www.bimmerdoc.com/contact-us/ or (858) 488-1555