Replace or fix the w124 1991 300E Front bumper surround?
 

For my 91 300E:

Did a search, but old posts came up.
This minor item distracts greatly from the overall (very nice) look of the car.

Front lower right corner cracked off, its plastic afterall.
Small area - do I really need to get a whole new apron?

Has anyone tried to build (like with fiberglass) the corner to match?

No pick and pulls here, this is Hawaii, shipping is expensive.

Any other ideas? I have the matching paint already.

Confused on what part, do you mean the lower part of the bumper? Or the engine encapsulation panel? I don't remember there being an apron under the bumper on a 124. Can you post a pic?

While you decide, park with the front right corner out of sight :D

I'll bring you one if you're close to the beach. :)

Here is a pix:

oh.....so it may be one part - the bumper!

Ha, ha, grass is always greener.....;)

on ebay... for about 160 dollars

Front bumper surround
 

The bumper consists of two main pieces, the front bumper surround (you call it apron) and the black impact strip. The impact strip is held on to the bumper surround with 4 screws and many plastic "ears", which snap into the bumper surround.

Like he said above, buy a new bumper surround, remove the entire front bumper, remove the impact strip and foam pieces from it, and then reinstall them to your new bumper surround. Install bumper.

I did that about a month ago. Find the online FSM to learn how to remove the bumper by removing six or so nuts, and two bolts. Remove the temperature probe first.

Ok, so it is one piece with the impact strip on top.

Ebay's listings for these will not ship to HI (might use a relative's address on the mainland, however).

Any ideas for customizing this with another style, instead of sticking with a stock replacement?

If I'm going to replace, is the stock style my only option, or are there some others to choose from?

mbzr4ever, as far as I know a new bumper surround will be black. So it needs to be painted to match your car's color. It would be more cost-effective for someone on the mainland to find a matching bumper surround in excellent condition at a salvage yard.

the problem with this model year bumper/apron is that they are brittle as salt crackers, any bumper in the yard will be damaged in some way.

If the bumper is all there but just the grille louvres are cracked - it can be repaired - but it will be very hard to make missing pieces.

I ran over a magnolia branch one night a couple of years ago. After dragging it home about 4 blocks, I put my 88 300CE half up on a curb and dragged it back out the front. In the process, I split the lower passenger side spoiler and tore out the tow hook cover & fastening "nipple". I had a body shop owner friend fix the split (no missing pieces there) and he fiberglassed in a new tow hook cover which I bought here at PP. It won't swing down now for a front tow. So far I haven't run it up on a curb stop yet, nor have I needed a front end tow. ;)
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps44b69348.jpg

Your damage looks pretty severe.... and not likely to withstand much abuse if it was repaired. IIRC, the entire piece is pretty expensive, more than I was willing to pay. Make sure a used one will fit your model & year.

Ferdman,

Was in contact with someone who had one, the perfect color, but the shipping is going to run $350. But something happened, maybe the weather back east, because I haven't heard back from the seller, and the deal is not going anywhere.

:o:oZulfigr,

I'm looking at having to rebuild this, probably from fiberglass.

Might not be exactly stock, but it will look better than cracked and broken.

In the meantime, I used duck-tape to keep the piece from getting worse - the color almost matches!

But it is beyond embarrassing to have a duck-taped bumper!:o:o:o

dynalow,

looks great!

I don't have any friends I can trust to do a similar job - I'm getting to the point of getting creative and doing it myself.