Were Fog light mount holes in the front bumper original?

JFENG

JFENG

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Original for some markets?

I have two front center bumper sections, both pre-1974. One has a pair of holes on the top, clearly for mounting auxiliary lights. The holes are about right for a 1/4 to 5/16” threaded post. They are perfectly round, and have no flash/edge on the backs, and appear to have been there before the chrome was applied. Hard to believe these were drilled, as in my experience holes this nice are usually punched/stamped or done with an end-mill.

The other bumper center has no such holes.

Both have identical holes in the bottom of the center section. These seem to be on every one I’ve seen.

I did a search but didn’t find a previous post suggesting the holes are original.

Has the question of original (as mfg) aux light holes in the top of the front center bumper been definitively answered?
 
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Not sure, but I have a center section with the two holes that is very similar to your description. Purchased from a European seller a few years ago, they would require lights to be mounted on top of the bumper in front of the grills. I've never installed mine.
 
could be mounting holes for fog lights; IIRC my '72 tii had them for mounting a badge bar, a chromey bit between the two upright bumper guards that allowed you to put various badges on display.
 
interesting question. my february 71 2800cs does NOT have them. no visible holes what so ever on the center section. i have a NOS center that has a couple of little holes on the front, but nothing on the top. i have no idea if my bumper has been replaced or not prior to my purchase.
 
OCCoupe said:
My US 2800cs has them too.
Click to expand...

My euro 2800cs had them.

Edit: pic for @rsporsche
5EFC8561-0683-4351-A871-FB213DB5098A.jpeg
 
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bfeng said:
Original for some markets?

I have two front center bumper sections, both pre-1974. One has a pair of holes on the top, clearly for mounting auxiliary lights. The holes are about right for a 1/4 to 5/16” threaded post. They are perfectly round, and have no flash/edge on the backs, and appear to have been there before the chrome was applied. Hard to believe these were drilled, as in my experience holes this nice are usually punched/stamped or done with an end-mill.

The other bumper center has no such holes.

Both have identical holes in the bottom of the center section. These seem to be on every one I’ve seen.

I did a search but didn’t find a previous post suggesting the holes are original.

Has the question of original (as mfg) aux light holes in the top of the front center bumper been definitively answered?
Click to expand...


i received my 71 cs euro with two perfect holes and two rounded chromed bolts covering them, probably original
i can not recheck as i had to widen the holes to accomodate slightly larger threaded post for my marchal driving lights
 

Marchal driving lights

aknowledgements: to stevehose for spreading the infection :mrgreen: i always liked the look of those beautiful driving lights on the front of the coupe, but the hella style was too "flat" and too big (160mm is a lot !) so it seemed that it was not for me, but our restless steve found a...
e9coupe.com e9coupe.com
 
Well, the parts book shows only one bumper part number, no option for one with holes. And there are no bolts shown either to hide the holes. Driving and fog lights were incredibly popular in the 70s and most bumpers have been rechromed at least once in the last fifty years. I guess we need a survey to find out if they are all the same size and distance apart! :)
 
One way to see if the holes are original or not ( which I believe are not ) is to see if the holes have chrome plating in them, if not and they have not been rechromed then the holes were probably drilled after the fact As Chris points out, it was a big deal to put driving lights on, fog lights were usually yellow. From when I worked at the BMW dealership many, many years ago, none of the coupes had holes in them when on the showroom floor

Thanks, Rick
 
stphers said:
One way to see if the holes are original or not ( which I believe are not ) is to see if the holes have chrome plating in them, if not and they have not been rechromed then the holes were probably drilled after the fact As Chris points out, it was a big deal to put driving lights on, fog lights were usually yellow. From when I worked at the BMW dealership many, many years ago, none of the coupes had holes in them when on the showroom floor

Thanks, Rick
Click to expand...

I’m on the fence with mine. If you ran bolts through them in the past 50 years, chances are even factory holes will have missing chrime. I have a little variation in my holes that could be from
chaffing, drilling, or just erosion. I will measure them and evaluate. One thing I’ll say is that the holes are rather small, which coincides with what @deQuincey said about his.
 
mine are 3/8” diameter and 18.5” apart. The holes on top are essentially the exact same hole size as the ones on the bottom.

None of my holes, top, bottom, or license plate align to an even metric value.
 
m5toureg said:
I have an OEM center bumper section brand new/never used ,with the holes' in my
,good to have' storage. I am positive that the part number i still on there. I'll have a look
tomorrow and will report here what the number is.
Click to expand...
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Sorry guys, no chance today. Will try again, tomorrow.
Meanwhile, check these -used- items, both WITH the holes:
www.ebay.de

BMW E9 Stoßstange Vorne | eBay

Finden Sie Top-Angebote für BMW E9 Stoßstange Vorne bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!
www.ebay.de
-
www.ebay.de

BMW E9 Csi Coupe 2800cs Stossstange Mittelteil Vorne | eBay

Entdecken Sie BMW E9 Csi Coupe 2800cs Stossstange Mittelteil Vorne in der großen Auswahl bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!
www.ebay.de
-
 
m5toureg said:
-
Sorry guys, no chance today. Will try again, tomorrow.
Meanwhile, check these -used- items, both WITH the holes:
www.ebay.de

BMW E9 Stoßstange Vorne | eBay

Finden Sie Top-Angebote für BMW E9 Stoßstange Vorne bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!
www.ebay.de
-
www.ebay.de

BMW E9 Csi Coupe 2800cs Stossstange Mittelteil Vorne | eBay

Entdecken Sie BMW E9 Csi Coupe 2800cs Stossstange Mittelteil Vorne in der großen Auswahl bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!
www.ebay.de
-
Click to expand...

I’m pretty confident that they all have holes on the bottom. The rears have holes also, not just for the underrider.
 
@Markos - the front bumper center part section was/is definately available both WITH and
WITHOUT the holes in the lower part. The only correct OEM part WITH the holes is one with
the holes in the correct (!) location. The center parts shown in the two eBay ads are OEM correct.
The odd thing however is that there only seems to be ONE part number for both:(:oops:
51 11 1 811 256 to supersede 51 11 1 810 516. (However, EPC errors are many, so NOT
so strange after all ??o_O)
1599418235748.jpeg
1599418388364.jpeg
 
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