Front end trim..gap is correct?

teahead

aka "Rob"
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Is this as designed? I just noticed this:

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IMG_1058.jpg IMG_1059.jpg I assume that piece is from BMW? If so, I had the same experience with the nose piece as well as both rear fender pieces. The dealer I bought them from was very responsive, sending me two rear parts to replace the first ones and the replacements were the same. Wrong contour. I ended up sending my originals to Speedway in So Cal and they came back looking nearly perfect. The cost was less than half what BMW charges for the set. My experience with exterior trim ordered directly from BMW is that you have a 50/50 chance that pieces will fit properly.

Attached are a couple of images of the rear quarter pane parts
 
Can you give a ballpark cost of what Speedway charges for a full set?..I know it varies pertaining to pre-resto condition, but some idea would be helpful. Thanks.
 
I don't have the receipt in front of me but if memory serves, it was about $375 plus shipping. That was about four years ago and my trim was in pretty good shape.
 
I have a brand new set of rear trims in packaging, I really hope they aren't the same fitment as these!
 
Well...mine came w/the car (of course I didn't buy it new in 1971), so who knows what's on there. The front was crunched too so not sure if that affected it.

I bought a new piece, but haven't fit it on there yet. I think I'll do that ASAP to see how off it is (*fingers crossed*).

front.jpg
 
All BMW belt trim pieces where they need to contour around a corner, whether E9 or 2002 do not fit, period. Polish and clear coat your existing pieces.
 
Can you give a ballpark cost of what Speedway charges for a full set?..I know it varies pertaining to pre-resto condition, but some idea would be helpful. Thanks.
i had mine done a year or so ago ... i remember it being around 600 bucks. that may have included shipping them home. it also took about 6 weeks
 
I have a brand new set of rear trims in packaging, I really hope they aren't the same fitment as these!
i hope you have better luck than i did. i have a set of rear belt trims that were bought about 4 years ago. not even close. several hundred bucks down the drain. unfortunately i tried to put them on a year or so after i bought them.
 
I guess that if you fashioned a wooden form to coerce the proper radius, that the moulding would then be too long? I am not a body repairman, and I know that this is a naive question...I hate to see unused OEM BMW parts when I shop at estate sales...
 
I guess that if you fashioned a wooden form to coerce the proper radius, that the moulding would then be too long? I am not a body repairman, and I know that this is a naive question...I hate to see unused OEM BMW parts when I shop at estate sales...

The trim is very hard to reshape, only minor mods are achievable. Even the 2002 trims which are much thinner and hollow are almost impossible to reshape unfortunately.
 
I bought a new front piece and the fit didn't seem bad, but I ended up not using it
When we put the trim on it took as a moment to decide which was the one to use
 
EXACTLY i redid all my aluminum
every piece at johnson plating in oakland saved 1000's
and it is clear so i just mothers them every now and then
 
When Athena went into the woods, the nose was dented and the nose trim crushed. Speedway was able to massage the trim back into shape. If you didn’t know the accident happened, you’d never know.
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