mattandrew
Registered User
Ok here goes, after months of deciding I took the plunge and went for the conversion. Originally I had the split grill on my A3 - at the time of buying it was at the top end of my budget so was the best I could get. Leather interior was on the priority. My first purchase was the ABT front conversion panel, then I fitted an ABT lower spolier - I loved the look of this but still wanted the single grill so took the plunge.
At purchase
With ABT lower spoiler and ABT front panel
For the conversion I had to purchase
I didn't use the red bumper in the pic - this is for sale
The old bumper was removed along with other panels to gain access to bolts etc. Across the middle behind the bumper is the aluminum side reinforcement which needs to be replaced.
The new bonnet was then fitted. The bonnet is the same on all single grill 8P's.
All the rubber/plastic plugs etc were transferred to the new bonnet as was the sound proofing.
I managed to source an S-line bumper, only a month or so old from a fellow member (Nathan aka N8KOW) the beauty of this was the bumper was the same colour as mine (well i was hoping the shade was correct as when the bonnet went for painting I found there are 9 shades of akoya silver.)
The bumper went on like a dream, lined up to all the mounts like a glove. Before the bumper went on I fitted a new black optics grill (still have old one if I choose to change), new fogs - as the old ones are a different shape and fog surrounds.
All the under tray, panels etc, were then refitted. I still need to fit the new plugs for the fog lights as the new fogs are a different shape and also the plug is different to the foglights fitted to the facelift 8P. Some of the early single grill bumpers use the same fogs as the split grill bumper.
The car then went to the body shop to have the bonnet sprayed.
A few other mods can be seen in the pics - Votex side skirts, these need respraying as the colour match is slightly out as the body shop sprayed them without the car been present to get a perfect match. Also the tints have been done 35% all round.
The result
Edit - You don't need the carrier its the side reinforcement you need (the aluminum bar that runs behind the bumper, side to side)
At purchase
With ABT lower spoiler and ABT front panel
For the conversion I had to purchase
- Front bumper
- Side reinforcement bar (runs behind bumper side to side)
- Bonnet
- Fog surrounds x 2
- Fog lights x 2
- Fog light plugs x 2
- Repair wire for Fog connectors
I didn't use the red bumper in the pic - this is for sale
The old bumper was removed along with other panels to gain access to bolts etc. Across the middle behind the bumper is the aluminum side reinforcement which needs to be replaced.
The new bonnet was then fitted. The bonnet is the same on all single grill 8P's.
All the rubber/plastic plugs etc were transferred to the new bonnet as was the sound proofing.
I managed to source an S-line bumper, only a month or so old from a fellow member (Nathan aka N8KOW) the beauty of this was the bumper was the same colour as mine (well i was hoping the shade was correct as when the bonnet went for painting I found there are 9 shades of akoya silver.)
The bumper went on like a dream, lined up to all the mounts like a glove. Before the bumper went on I fitted a new black optics grill (still have old one if I choose to change), new fogs - as the old ones are a different shape and fog surrounds.
All the under tray, panels etc, were then refitted. I still need to fit the new plugs for the fog lights as the new fogs are a different shape and also the plug is different to the foglights fitted to the facelift 8P. Some of the early single grill bumpers use the same fogs as the split grill bumper.
The car then went to the body shop to have the bonnet sprayed.
A few other mods can be seen in the pics - Votex side skirts, these need respraying as the colour match is slightly out as the body shop sprayed them without the car been present to get a perfect match. Also the tints have been done 35% all round.
The result
Edit - You don't need the carrier its the side reinforcement you need (the aluminum bar that runs behind the bumper, side to side)
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