Installing a Volvo lip on an E30

     The famous Volvo lip conversion on your bmw. If you're like me and don't have $130+ to shell out for the "is" lip every time you scrape a little on a speed hump, or take that line through the corner wrong, then let me be your savior. This is a very easy mod, very inexpensive, and looks factory.

I went down to my local scrap yard and picked up a volvo 740 lip for about $10

 

     I actually picked up two because they are getting harder to find. There are a few years of volvo that can donate this lip to your car :  88-90 760

                                                           90-92 740

                                                           91-95 940

                                                           92-94 960
 

     They are all the same really, and I highly recommend getting all the hardware that attaches them. It's a few screws and some pressure clips (these are the most important)

 

     First thing to do is the test fit the lip. Its Important to note that you will be mounting this lip UPSIDE DOWN from the way it was on the Volvo. If you still have the original bmw retaining clips on the car I'd leave them for now. They will help hold the new lip in place as you make your marks. Cut your wheels one way or the other for clearance, as the new lip is a bit longer than your valance. Use some tape to mark your center line on the lip and where it meets up to the valance, then repeat for each side to mark where your cut will be

 

     When you're satisfied with your marks remove the lip and score a line with an exacto knife or a razor blade. This will give the saw blade a track to follow, and clean up your cuts

 

     Next you can grab your blade and do some chopping. I used a medium rip sawzall blade by hand. It's cleaner and easier to go straight with than something powered.

 

     Simply cut straight through, slightly outside of your tape mark. We will go back through with a grinder and clean it up on the final test fit

 

All done here, got a little extra overhang and ready to refit

 

Looks pretty good so far. Time to remove the old bumper clips, and get it secured they way we want before cutting anymore off.

 

     The trick with these is to grab a punch of some kind (I used a small Allen wrench) Push the small circular tabs all the way in and out of the top. Then, with a flat blade pry down gently on the clip, and remove from the valance

 

Time to rehang the new lip, but now without the aid of the clips. This is where the pressure clips from the volvo come into play. 

 

     Line up your center tape and reach behind the valance and press these over the lip and where it rests on the valance. This should hold things in place very well for you line up the sides again, and tape off what will be your final cut line. I recommend using an angle grinder to bring down the last little bit of material smoothly, and evenly

 

     A very decent fit so far, and you can make adjustments later so long as you haven't removed too much material. Its also a good idea to find a few good points for running screws into the new lip. They will help secure it more so than the pressure clips alone, or the zip ties a lot of folks are using. After you've made whatever mounting attempt you are happy with you can remove the lip again and trim of the old mounts that were used to secure it to the volvo. Again I used the sawzall blade by hand

 

     Once this is done you can sand your edges smooth, scuff down the lip, and prime for paint. If yours is like mine there are the usual deep scratches and gouges in the plastic which can be fixed with a flexible bumper filler beforehand. Do not use regular bondo! It's too rigid, and will pop out the first time this lip flexes. 

 

Here it is all done and primed. Looks just like an "is" lip for a fraction of the cost!

 

     As some of you may have noticed, there is a "flare" to the sidewall of the lip. Some people don't mind the flare, some people don't care for it, I however think it looks good both ways. I'm going to add a tutorial for straightening the side wall soon for all of you that are curious. I'll get a few more pictures, and go back and mend any typos when I finish trimming out the front end, and get the bumper cover back on. Follow the rest of the body and chassis stuff in that section of the blog. Hope this tutorial helped!