Project KE30: 2 license plate lights joined the rear bumper for life!

In order to fulfill all requirements of technical validation I undertook a systematic verification of each and every single element of the car I could lay my eyes and hands on. Rear bumper was my first choice due to the relatively easy detection of defects or missing things. It required a refresh, but more importantly, it needed license plate lights as there were none.

I must admit that I did not expect that the bumper on the inside will look so badly, but I assume the reason for that was the beautiful color "black pearl", which was covering it on the outside. Then it came to me that in all my fascination with the car I didn't notice the lack of chrome bumpers that were in the original version. However, the overall effect was not bad at all and from an aesthetic point of view it was more then bearable :-).

Before I started to work on the bumper I first brought him to my hometown, where my dad had already done some research on local auto scrapyards in order to find appropriate license plate lights. Knowing how they should look like we bought two lamps from small Fiat 126p and adapted the holes in the bumper so that both would fit smoothly without falling out on every bump. Results of our work can be seen in picture no. 4. It was a noisy uphill struggle during which a huge file, which we used, let out terribly plaintive moans, causing discontent among ladies forced to listen to the cacophony.

When both holes were ready I got rid of the old screws that had to be drilled numerous of times in order to wrench them of the bumper (picture no. 5). After that it was time to have fun with a wire brush during a hard work of getting rid of rust. Moreover, the bumper was secured anti-corrosion fluid and finally, after waiting an appropriate amount of time, I coated it with a paint that can be applied directly on rust. As you can see in the pictures the bumper was patched a little bit and a hole was cut for a fog light. After the painting I think that the bumper looks really nice and I hope this is reflected in the pictures :-). In addition, new bolts contrast nicely with the black color giving it an overall elegant appearance. License plate lights were mounted on the bumper and they work sensationally!