F56 front grill surround removal

[goggs]

Hi,

I am looking at de-chroming the F56, I am ok with replacing the light surrounds for the black units but am wondering how easy it is to swap out the chrome front grill outer surround, is it a bumper off job?


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[MINI William]

If you don’t want to damage the original surround then yes it’s a bumper off job. If your replacing not fussed about running the risk of damaging it then it can be taken off but more than likely will crack

[goggs]

Thanks William


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[goggs]

Has anyone fitted one of the gloss black grill covers that fit over the chrome grill?

They are more expensive to buy than the genuine full replacement mind you


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[MINI William]

Has anyone fitted one of the gloss black grill covers that fit over the chrome grill?

They are more expensive to buy than the genuine full replacement mind you


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I have done also. They are a good fit but can tell it’s a cover when you get up close, but a doddle to fit as it just sticks over the existing trim.

[goggs]

Thanks William, hmmm something to think about I guess, I’d prefer to go for the real deal but I’m not sure I want to be pulling the bumper off a new car to fit it.


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[goggs]

Ordered up a set of gloss black surrounds for the lights and grills [emoji16]


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[MINI William]

Light rings are a doddle to fit, grill you’ll need to decided to pull it off or take the bumper off. At the price of them I’ve just pulled mine off with one small crack to the chrome grill

[goggs]

Cheers William, I’ll get the light rings on easy enough I think, looking at YouTube vids it seems straight forward, can’t find any how too’s on the grill removal so that may be a longer more difficult job !

Anyone replace the bonnet scoop? Was considering a black one to match the rest


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[Ehjack]

I recently replaced my front grill. It wasn't too difficult. You definitely need a spare set of hands to help lift the bumper off and disconnect the lights. Other than that it's just a load of bolts. I think it was 5 inside the bonnet and 8-10 underneath the bumper. You will also need to remove part of the wheel arch as there's a couple bolts there too.

Once you've got the bumper off it's just a case of removing the grill (patience is key here as it's a PITA)

whilst I had mine off I also decided the wrap the chrome bar in red https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181010/84d3a6fd4aad04198a60a3c8440dc38a.jpg

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[goggs]

Thanks Ehjack, I think the black looks much better than the chrome, personal opinion I know [emoji6]

Did you have a guide for where the bolts were ?

I’ve removed bumpers and swapped grills on most of my TT’s, I knew where the bolts were on that of course [emoji16]




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[Twisterboy]

That’s one thing I am thinking when time and money allows is to do the grille and lights. Do the light covers clip over the chrome?

Davy

[Ehjack]

No problem.

Check out this guide: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f56-cooper-s-hat/repair-manuals/51-body-equipment/51-11-front-bumper/1VnXzKr8Ks

That website is like the Bible of mini maintenance!

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[goggs]

I’ve bought replacement surrounds from bmw/mini for lights and grill, lights are just clipped into place so a plastic removal tool should do the trick.
you can buy covers that stick over the chrome surrounds with tape


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[goggs]

No problem.

Check out this guide: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f56-cooper-s-hat/repair-manuals/51-body-equipment/51-11-front-bumper/1VnXzKr8Ks

That website is like the Bible of mini maintenance!

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Thanks a million Ehjack, that’s perfect [emoji106]


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[goggs]

Black surrounds fitted this morning, took around 30 mins all in.

Looks a little meaner 🤣


https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181014/b25e95b3164525f7153ac62a25791ebb.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181014/88a4c0071aa13c67d0759f4ee4660172.jpg


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[Craig]

[emoji106][emoji108]


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[goggs]

Very pleased with the finished article


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[MINI William]

Looks great

[CiderFex]

That looks so much better.
[emoji41]


Sent from Yorkshire wi a hint o’ sarcasm.

[badwolf340]

Spot on :thumbs up:

[goggs]

Thanks guys, really pleased with it, jcw pro diffuser next ? [emoji849]


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