front license plate delete trim grid (part #51111970220)...now available for ordering

[e24e31]

Now available! E31 Front license plate delete trim grid (part #51111970220)

Folks: Very happy to announce that after a few months of project work, as of May 12, 2018, the center trim grid piece (BMW part #51111970220) when you delete your front license plate is now available (it comes in 2 pieces...one piece is exorbitantly expensive to print and doesn't fit very well!). If you want one, continue reading. More will need to be printed, as the initial batch went to folks on the original forum thread. The plan is to have all additional orders sent to me by Friday, May 25th. I will then process the printing of them...you should receive it by the end of June...possibly sooner. The pics below show the part installed on my car (again, in 2 pieces). The car just took first place at the Southeast Sharkfest convention, so judges must have felt it looked pretty good! cost is $100 (includes shipping in continental US).

For context on this project and updates during the process, read the below email trail from the bottom up (again, I have already been communicating with many people regarding this part...they were on the original forum thread)

Attached Thumbnails

OK everyone…here is the plan for those of you ready to finally see your 8’s front end the way it was designed!:

1. Please re-read this entire email thread from the bottom up to re-familiarize yourself with what you’ll need to do. One edit (a good one) to what I previously stated in an earlier email. It is NOT necessary for you to buy the Lower Front Bumper Trim filler piece (BMW part # 51-11-8-108-169…about $225) and then paint it. You can just take your front license plate off the current bumper trim….it will just have the flat area where the license plate was. I saw a few 8s at Sharkfest that did that…still looks cool…much better than having a front license plate bracket!
2. As previously communicated, the cost for printing the 2 pieces is $80. I checked with UPS…shipping via UPS Ground is going to run around $20 for all of the zip codes I have around the country. Therefore, if you are ordering one unit, the cost to you will be $100 (One “unit” consists of the 2 pieces). For those of you ordering more than 1 unit, please remit as follows…The $20 shipping can cover up to 3 units in the same box, so as an example, if ordering 3, please remit $260 ((80 x 3) +20)
3. To place your order, I require pre-payment. Payment to me is via PayPal (You need to do this by this Friday (5/11))…instructions to do that (per PayPal):
   
   1. Log in to your PayPal account (if you don’t have one, you’ll need to sign up at www.paypal.com )
   2. Click Send money to a friend at the top of the page
   3. Type my email address (lee.fields@comcast.net) and the amount being sent ($100)
   4. Click Next
   5. Review and confirm the information on the screen and click Send
   
   
4. Once I have the final paid unit count by eod this Friday, I will get them printed the week of 5/14
5. Assuming no printer issues that would cause a delay, I will send your order via UPS Ground on Monday, 5/21…UPS Ground can take anywhere between 2-5 days

Many of you have asked for this…so for reference, attached is a picture (sorry it is sideways) of the spray paint I used to “match” the side grids’ color as close as possible (got it from Lowes). I did not have to sand the parts at all. If you find a better match, go for it! The pics are what it looks like in 2 pieces.

Attachment 629533


If you have any additional questions (hopefully not), please email me. For those of you attending the Vintage near Asheville on 5/19, see you then!

Regards,

Lee


From: Lee Fields
Sent: Tuesday, May 8, 2018 6:48 AM
To: lee.fields@comcast.net
Subject: 5/8/2018 Update on the E31 center trim grid part...

Again, if you opted out of this, please disregard.

I had the single piece printed (for a whopping $195), but cannot recommend it be used. There is not nearly enough arc and flex in the piece for a good-looking fit. I was so ticked off, I didn’t even take pictures of it. Attached are a few new, very up-close pics of what the 2-piece part looks like on the front of the car. Some of you saw this at Sharkfest…any misalignment is barely perceptible.

If you are interested in ordering the piece (again, will come in 2 pieces), let me know. I will need to get the payment from you before I order. Remember, via my emails below, you will still need to buy the fixing clips, spray paint the pieces if you want an exact color match to your existing side grids (they are printed in a dark black) and attach the pieces to each other via Velcro or whatever you feel will work best. So…if you want it, send me an email with the quantity and I will send you back instructions on how to remit payment. Thanks!

Regards,

Lee


From: Lee Fields [mailto:lee.fields@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2018 4:36 PM
Cc: 'Lee Fields' <lee.fields@comcast.net>
Subject: 4/26/2018 Update on the E31 center trim grid part...

Here is the update…Attached are photos of my 840…mission accomplished! The steps I took:

1. I obtained the lower bumper filler piece, subsequently painting and installing it
2. Got the clips for the trim grid part from BMW
3. Finally got the CAD drawing from the donor part as accurate as possible…3 revisions to the 3Dfile, printing of the parts and fittings…a real pain in the “butt” Note: This had to be printed in 2 halves (only industrial printers can take a part over 10” long…this thing is 13” long)
4. Did a quick spray paint job on the 2 halves to match the side grids’ color and finish (black satin) as close as possible
5. Connected the 2 halves together by using the sticky side of Velcro on the back of the pieces to connect them (not to the car…to each other)…didn’t want to glue them together…wanted a bit of “flex” for a good fit. Probably could have used electrical tape, but the Velcro is more durable.
6. Snapped it into place

Personally, I think it looks pretty good with the 2 pieces…can barely tell if it is one or 2 pieces.

Since I have gone this far with this marathon, I have decided to cross the finish line by having a single unit printed tomorrow as one piece via an industrial printer, and will likely use that going forward (assuming it fits correctly). If it doesn’t fit correctly, I am sticking with the 2 pieces. I’ll provide an update on the single piece after this weekend, as well as pricing for 2 halves or a single piece. Several of us will be at the Southeast Sharkfest gathering, taking place at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, SC.

Regards,

Lee

From: Lee Fields [mailto:lee.fields@comcast.net]
Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2018 6:07 PM
To: 'lee.fields@comcast.net' <lee.fields@comcast.net>
Subject: Update on the E31 center trim grid part...

Here is the update…

On the 3D rendering and printing
I have the first draft of the software file that has the 3D rendering. To get it industrially scanned, companies wanted $500 US. I did not go that route…found an engineer to manually 3D model it for much less. The advantage of doing it that way was obviously cost. The disadvantage is that it will take one or two “draft” iterations of printing to tweak that file so it renders the fit we will all want.
I am having this first draft file printed this week (by the engineer that did the modeling) to see how well it fits on the car. He will then tweak the file as necessary. He is printing the “draft” version in 2 pieces, as parts over 10” long require an industrial printer…don’t want us (me for now) to incur that cost for draft versions.

This has been a learning process (at least for me). I can tell you that this isn’t cheap. What would have cost all of us maybe $35 when BMW had this part in stock is now going to cost us each probably around $200 US per unit plus shipping.

Other parts you’ll need (apologies if you already know this):

1. There are clips required on each end of the part. The BMW part # is 51-71-1-910-596…2 are required.
2. Optionally, you can (if you want a totally "rounded" look to the front bumper, order the Lower Front Bumper Trim filler piece (BMW part # 51-11-8-108-169…anywhere between $75 to $225 if you can find it), and you’ll also need to paint it your body color. The filler piece replaces the indented license plate part with one that matches the curvature of the front end.

1. Since I have not seen a printed part yet, I cannot tell you if we’ll need to sand them, paint them…whatever. 3D printers print in layers (this is not injection molding), so having the part be as smooth as the OEM version is highly unlikely. When I do print, it will be done in black…but may have to paint it to match the right and left grids. I just don’t know at this point.

Everyone...great news! I obtained the donor part (part #51111970220...the center trim grid piece) today (3/31/2018) and will be dropping it off to the person that will do the 3D modeling tomorrow. If you have not sent me your email address, please do so ASAP to lee.fields@comcast.net. Still looking to get a final count on this to determine the best price on printing it. Thanks!


Originally Posted by e24e31
Good news folks!!! I can get my hands on the part (#51111970220) We have a small group of classic BMW owners who show up together at local car shows here in the northern Atlanta suburbs. I saw him this past weekend at Caffeine & Octane and noticed it on his 840 (no front license tags required in Georgia). He said he'd be happy to loan it out so I can get it scanned and printed. (I need it for my 840.) I am starting to research local scanning and printing shops, but need to know how many folks want this part. Once I have a "count", I can get a price for us...would just need everyone to commit and remit before I put the order in. I'm not looking to make any profit...just want to ensure I don't get left holding the bag if people commit to the order but then don't follow through. I know doing one would make no financial sense...but if we can get a list of enough folks that want it, it could certainly be economically feasible. Or...if someone has a friend that actually has a scanner/printer...even better! Let me know gentlemen. Thanks!

[David9999999]

Great job with this. I received mine, haven't installed yet but it looks very accurate. The clip number is actually 51711910956 (re-arrange the last 3). Thanks again for getting this done!