<E36>REPLY-M-Technic Skirt installation..

["Ron Browne" <rbrowne@xxxxxxxxx>]

Alex gives tips on installing M-Technic side skirts on an E36:

Prepare the new skirts by following the instructions provided by BMW. This
means putting on the sticky-backed rubber seal along the top. Make sure its
stuck down well and not standing proud. Don't cut it to size until you get
all the way to the end and cut it as flush to the end as you can.
Next fix the new white clips to the rail along the back of the skirt. There
are marks showing where to clip them, but they do slide a bit if you need
to align them later. Also now is the time to put on the tapes that will
hold on the jacking point caps. Thread them through the small hole at the
edge of the jackinf points in the skirt from inside to out so the caps can
be attached later.
Offer up the skirt to the side of the car starting at the front. It helps
if you get someone to support the other end. Just check all the white clips
are in the right place to be pushed into the grommits in the car. Then,
starting at the front push firmly behind each clip until it snaps into
place. You might need to keep the seal from folding at the top as you push
each clip in.
The next step is to put in the new rivets along the bottom. This is simply
a case of pushing them through the holes in the skirt and the car so the
skirt is flush up against the car. Then gently tap the pins in with a
hammer to expand the rivet. The skirt now should be held firmly against the
car.
All that remains now is the two smaller rivets in the rear wheel arch. The
procedure is exactly the same, although it might be necessary to remove the
rear wheel to be able to tap the pins in. I got away with it on one side
but one on the other side just wouldn't go in and was in danger of bending,
so I had to jack up the back and remove the wheel to get at it better with
the hammer.
Hopefully you will now have a pair of new side skirts fitted. Take the
jacking point caps and thread the tapes fitted to the skirts through the
holes in the caps. Then push the caps into place.
Stand back and admire your handy work.
Hope this helps

Alex
328i coupe

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These are good instructions, for those who have late model E36's with the
factory skirts.  Instructions are a bit more complicated for those of us
with early E36's, as we have to drill about 40 holes in the car, which is
not a problem as long as you follow the directions that accompany the
M-Technic skirt kit.  (ie, small hole, larger hole, and finally, the actual
large hole (forget the diameter).  Or, you can probably use a tapered bit
that starts off small and gets progressively larger.  The skirts come with
templates that are the same size as the actual skirts, albeit they are
flimsy plastic, and contain the holes needed for your drill points.  You
will need a friend to hold this template in place firmly, as you drill
through it to the body of your car to make your indentation points.   After
you complete your drilling, its recommended to clean away the drillings and
apply some sort of anti-corrosion goo to the new holes.  One body shop told
me melted beeswax or silicone in the tube should do the trick.

Note:  In my experience the template holes were NOT perfect, at least not on
the bottoms.  The holes in the actual skirts did not line up properly to
every single hole on the bottom that I had drilled using the templates.  You
may want to drill through the template just enough to touch the body of the
car, then remove the template, place the skirt in place, and check the
marking to ensure it aligns up before drilling completely through the car.

As an aside, and this is strictly an opinion, but I don't think the skirts
that come on the later E36's are that much different than the M-Technic
skirts.  At least not over $500.00 worth, if you throw in painting of the
new skirts.

Ron Browne
1992 318is
Bowie, MD
M-Technic Skirts and  Front spoiler/Bumper with mesh grille and spoiler lip

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