Whats the deal with the different bumper supports?

[CamRon6]

What year did they change the front bumper support on the e36 M3? after removing my front bumper and seeing all thes pictures online of M3s with no front bumper, I thought maybe the previous owner had modified the bumper support after an accident or something.. even though the vehicle has never been in an accident. Im thinking that this design is why my entire front end doesnt line up right and has gaps all over the place.. the first pic is the support I have. Could I put the support from the 2nd pic on mine? how hard would it be? anyway.. here are the pics

Ignore the arrows in pic 1.. neither of these cars are mine btw

[CamRon6]

anybody else notice this?

[BSH]

The only difference between the 2 pics is that the metal bumper is still attached in the 2nd pic. If the metal reinforcement is removed, you would see the supports in the 1st pic.

[CamRon6]

Are you sure? I dont see why mine doesnt have a metal reinforcement then. All parts on the front have Vin # attached to them so I know they are oringinal items.

[GotBHP?]

You have that metal piece, or at least you did. There would be no way to mount the front bumper cover without it. Its a standard piece that all e36's shared.

[hc1001]

yes ur missing the metal bumper. how does ur bumper attach to ur car? its suppose to use plastic tabs that connect to the metal bumper. these plastic tabs are behind the bumper moldings... u kno if u were to get into an accident, it would rip right through ur engine bay... not good...

[BSH]

Is your bumper cover heavy? If so, then the metal reinforcement is attached to it. Look inside.

[CamRon6]

I'll have to check, I was pretty sure it wasnt attached, and it wasnt very heavy... I'll pull it off tonight and let you know,.. so it must pull off easily then if it could stay attached to the bumper..?