The end is near....SCOTTeVEST's Baby
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68-72 Front bumper brackets look like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E9-3...941668?hash=item239911e324:g:EdwAAOSwWD1ZrZXq
Not sure if '73-specific bumpers and must use the brackets you got. Did you buy the brackets together w/the bumpers?
Not sure if early brackets will fit on any bumper, but I would rather not use '73 front bumper brackets if you can help it. I.e. don't like how far they stick the bumper out.
Not sure if I have brackets or not. I did not see them but I was told they exist. Hoping we can get them as close as possible. I don’t expect they will offer any protection in an accident
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Out of the box idea: do some quick patching, sell it when it’s pretty, buy a less rusty coupe. I bought one for under $20k that has as little rust in those infamous areas as I’ve ever seen, the front inner fender pockets are quite literally dry and smooth. The fuel tank surround is rock solid top and bottom, areas above fuse box and glove compartment are clean and no filler in the nose or tail. It 100% HAS RUST, just not where I can find it. It was reasonably priced because it isn’t pretty. The paint looks old, the interior leather was dried and cracked and the orig motor was a bit worn out. The car had no showroom appeal. But I think I can address all these problems for less that it would cost to fix a rusty but pretty coupe. I’ll bet there are still cars like this to be had if you look hard and long enough. It took me a 18 months and $1000 in professional inspections for cars Located far away.
Step One: buy an electronic film thickness meter ($300). I have an Elcometer for steel substrates and an Electro-Physik ($250) for aluminum bodies.
Step Two: find a knowledgeable friend who can walk you thru the common trouble spots.
Step Three: no matter how pretty it looks, check the paint thickness everywhere, with attention to areas you learned about in step two.
Step One/Two/Three alternative: have an E9 specialist inspect the car for you. Best $350 you’ll ever spend.
Step Four: Ask the forum for an opinion.
Step Five: make a suitable offer.
Following this method I’ve yet to buy a lemon but I have missed out on a couple spectacular deals ( good car, stupid offer by me).
My coupe measures: 6-8mils over 95%, 12-13mils where the body panels are welded together at the factory. 25-35mils where Mario deleted the side markers and did various quickly touch ups. Where you had 1/4” in the nose ... mine is 7 mils of paint, which is OEM thickness. And I knew this before I made an offer. That’s why I know there’s no significant filler.
Step One: buy an electronic film thickness meter ($300). I have an Elcometer for steel substrates and an Electro-Physik ($250) for aluminum bodies.
Step Two: find a knowledgeable friend who can walk you thru the common trouble spots.
Step Three: no matter how pretty it looks, check the paint thickness everywhere, with attention to areas you learned about in step two.
Step One/Two/Three alternative: have an E9 specialist inspect the car for you. Best $350 you’ll ever spend.
Step Four: Ask the forum for an opinion.
Step Five: make a suitable offer.
Following this method I’ve yet to buy a lemon but I have missed out on a couple spectacular deals ( good car, stupid offer by me).
My coupe measures: 6-8mils over 95%, 12-13mils where the body panels are welded together at the factory. 25-35mils where Mario deleted the side markers and did various quickly touch ups. Where you had 1/4” in the nose ... mine is 7 mils of paint, which is OEM thickness. And I knew this before I made an offer. That’s why I know there’s no significant filler.
A lovely and solid plan in deed but I don’t have the time or desire to go through this process to ultimately get back to the same position I am here today. I will stay the course but appreciate your opinion sincerely
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This looks old correct/complete to me except for the plastic trim on the ends (73 is diff from 72 and earlier). The long black bar simply bolts up to the front stub rail (thru slots that get cut into the lower nose, after the bumper shock existing holes are welded up). I think they absolutely do provide protection from park-by-feel folks and stray shopping carts and barn doors.
Early chrome bumpers are just jewelry and don't protect much.
Scott, sending you a PM regarding your rocker panels.
And the '73s have a looped bracket with drilled holes.
Your video shows guy shoving a 73 bumper brbracket into the front
The 73 is stronger and gives a bit more protection but it extends maybe two inches outward from the earlier flush style. Use what ya got and carry on.
This is all about how cool it looks regardless of protection. I will go with the flush style. Thanks
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I think you can adjust the bolt holes to move the bumper back if my memory serves me correctly?
after looking at way too many obviously bad coupes, when you find a coupe that looks good on the surface ... you think you have found one of the few good cars. i am positive that most coupes that haven't truly been restored have rust hiding ... some have just covered it up.
i have been all around my coupe, underneath and inside the wheel wells (cleaned out the little box in there - dry sand from arizona), had the seats + carpet out, had the glove boxes out, had the door panels off, had the rocker covers off, had the trunk panels completely removed, had the windshields out ... and no obvious signs of rust. that being said, am i 100% confident that there is no rust under the paint or hiding inside the rockers? nope ... i am 100% hopeful though. when my coupe went into the paint shop last year, all of the trim, lights, windows were removed ... the 10 year old paint was sanded and the painter didn't run into any suspicious areas.
you just never know with a coupe.
i have been all around my coupe, underneath and inside the wheel wells (cleaned out the little box in there - dry sand from arizona), had the seats + carpet out, had the glove boxes out, had the door panels off, had the rocker covers off, had the trunk panels completely removed, had the windshields out ... and no obvious signs of rust. that being said, am i 100% confident that there is no rust under the paint or hiding inside the rockers? nope ... i am 100% hopeful though. when my coupe went into the paint shop last year, all of the trim, lights, windows were removed ... the 10 year old paint was sanded and the painter didn't run into any suspicious areas.
you just never know with a coupe.
Because this is a retrofit the installer has some flexibility with the front bumper install.
I would drill the L/R fender holes where the factory did it on the ‘73 (or ‘72). Then fit it all up and get it level and adjusted fore/aft then mark out the stub rails where he wants the holes and then just drill for mounting bolts. This assumes the slots are cut into the front valence at the right height. If there’s any doubt about that don’t drill holes into either the fender or stub rails until the bumper is aligned just right.
You could also drill the stub rail bolt holes first and then make the fender holes second, but that seems riskier to me.
one trick in looking at a coupe is to jack the car up with the factory jack / points and see how loudly the rockers groan. even with solid rockers, i won't jack my coupe up that way except in an emergency.
That is a great way to test this out. I wonder if anyone does that?
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I wouldn't lift a coupe by its jack points unless it was already confirmed the car was solid or I was already committed to taking the car apart to fix it because of the potential for damage to the rockers. There are far less destructive ways to find out what lurks within. The aforementioned cheap Chinese camera probe for your phone is a good start. I'd spend a bit more than the cheapest ones however as the resolution of the lowest cost ones is quite poor. Still, the difference between being able to see something vs. nothing at all is a big bang for your bucks.
If you lift by the jack points then crack your windows open a little.
Based upon what you have seen in the videos, do you think I have safety/structural issues that I need to be concerned about still even after addressing the area near the strut on the driver's side? In other words, are the rocker panels so bad that you think I would have issues driving in a spirited manner around curves, etc. Good to know that using the jack is not advisable.
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