Just when we thought it was narrowing in to a single answer, a curve ball. This is a very interesting mystery. But I do like the theory that the slots were long/wide until some point around mid '73, after which they became narrow in preparation for the North American big bumper cars - plus all subsequent replacement parts. But it is just a convenient theory.
Well, I am not digging in on the theory too deeply, either. And I certainly do not intend for it to be a dig on someone's "original" car. Darn if the theory doesn't fit so nicely, though. I have postulated that the BMW factory at the time, like other factories of the era, were not as buttoned up and precise as we try to assign 45 years later. I believe that suppliers for various parts may have come and gone, or changed their parameters for various reasons. It must have been a bear to track all of the variations by model, delivery destination, and timeline. I've specifically read that some of the other German factories were known to pull parts from bins for older models, just to use up the parts supply. There had to be a lot of "making it work", no?I haven’t subscribed to this theory just yet. I haven't examined my car closely to see if the nose was replaced or not, but I'll take a gander this weekend. More importantly, I see other member cars in seemingly original condition with noses that break this theory. I don't want to showcase those cars because I don't want to create speculation that their car was worked on. This is one of those stupid little things that I'm going to have a diffuclt time letting go of however.
We were hoping for something more profound.
Just kidding.
That front "chin" comes off and on pretty painlessly, and is out there to "take it on the chin" (gratuitous bad joke). I would not be surprised that many of these could have been replaced over the years.
