I got mine (used shorter style bumper shocks) from Eniac after he did the infamous bumper swap on his '88 ix. I had drilled my rear ones about a month before i got them, and was scared to death that someone was going to tap me in a parking lot and turn a forgivable occurance if I had bumper shocks to frame damage with solid bumpers. You don't have to do anything other than replace the shocks. The '88 shocks make the tuck about half as drastic as drilling them would, but you also get to keep a fuctional bumper, which I think more than makes up for it. There is a very small gap around the edge of the bumper after this, but the shorter bumper more than makes up for it, IMO. It's not noticable except for if you're looking at it from head on anyway.

From what I know, the '88 bumpers used a revised mounting system including the shorter bumper shocks, but carried over the aluminum bumpers the year after the 5mph bumper law was repealed. The next year, the mounting was even more different, with the introduction of the plastic bumpers, and shocks from these years won't work. That's why it's easier to do the bumper conversion on an 88 than an earlier year. Go to Ben Liaw's Big BMW Links and search for used parts, you will turn up a dozen or so companies that might be able to help you find a set of used ones.

Mac
87 325is

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