M Coupe rear Liscense mount removal?

Has anyone thought about pulling off the surround for hte liscense plate on the M Coupe? With those two lights on either side? How much trouble would it be to pull it off? Would there still be a way to mount the liscense plate up there?

B

Originally Posted by Mpire

Has anyone thought about pulling off the surround for hte liscense plate on the M Coupe? With those two lights on either side? How much trouble would it be to pull it off? Would there still be a way to mount the liscense plate up there?

B

It's easy to remove for cleaning. Remove your plate, then remove 4 bolts. Done. The wire harness for the lights comes through the hatch in one large hole with a rubber grommet. It is not easy to re-install after cleaning. BMW uses wellnuts. The wellnuts have a habit of falling inside the hatch upon re-installation of the mounting bolts. Then you have to fish them out. Then you have to find replacement well nuts. Can be a real PITA.

We use wellnuts on Mk3 MINI Cooper armrests. They are great in 1-use blind applications. Not in multiple or annual cleaning applications.

I don't think the holes in license plates match the holes in your car. I assume that's what you're asking about... deleting the panel and the lighting entirely.

I always thought that the rear of the US MC looked a little bit messy (no offense here!), at least compared to the Euro MC.

http://www.geocities.com/bmw_z3_m_coupe/100_0627.JPG (copy and paste link)

I understand the reason behind, i.e. the large square number plate used in the US, and that this would cause problems size-wise with the Euro style rear.

I don't know how involved it is to change to the Euro style, easiest would probably be to source the entire rear hatch door?

Also, a little bit OT, I suspect that the problem a lot of US MC owners have with the failing latch mechanism could be due to the redesign for the US market - I have never heard about failing Euro latches.

Originally Posted by Anders

I always thought that the rear of the US MC looked a little bit messy (no offense here!), at least compared to the Euro MC.

I don't know how involved it is to change to the Euro style, easiest would probably be to source the entire rear hatch door?

The US Z3 3.0i coupe has the same rear hatch door as the Euro M coupe. Or at least it appears so.

Yeah, but the 2.8 and 3.0 coupes are even rarer than the M coupes.

But I will start putting feelers out.

B

Originally Posted by Mpire

Yeah, but the 2.8 and 3.0 coupes are even rarer than the M coupes.

But I will start putting feelers out.

B

You could always buy the Z trunk (liftgate) from the dealer.
41628400025
$406 without glass

You can buy "nutsert" kits from various vendors. You could drill holes from your license plate as a template and use the nutserts to bolt your tag to. You could also use the nutserts to replace the BMW wellnuts if you keep it the same. They don't wear like the BMW ones which fall off inside the rear hatch lid.

Link for Nutsert Kit at Eastwood Company

Originally Posted by JediZ

You could always buy the Z trunk (liftgate) from the dealer.
41628400025
$406 without glass

The M coupe lid is 41 62 8 411 102 $406.00 retail
The Z coupe lid is 41 62 8 400 026 $599.00 retail

Assuming I was crazy enought to invest $1000 for a tailgate, glass and painting just to get the regular Z tail gate....

Then where would I put the liscense plate? Cut it down to size a bit and hope no one notices?

Where do the euro M Coupes put the liscense plate?

B

Originally Posted by Mpire

Assuming I was crazy enought to invest $1000 for a tailgate, glass and painting just to get the regular Z tail gate....

Then where would I put the liscense plate? Cut it down to size a bit and hope no one notices?

Where do the euro M Coupes put the liscense plate?

B

Euro Ms mount the plate under the chrome lift lever, since it is skinnier it fits perfectly. US style won't fit in this location so I don't know where you would put it.

Originally Posted by JediZ

Euro Ms mount the plate under the chrome lift lever, since it is skinnier it fits perfectly. US style won't fit in this location so I don't know where you would put it.

But HOW does it mount?

B

Here's a side by side shot of a Z3 and M Coupe (US Spec)