Front end conversion question

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bimmerman45

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Hi abit of help please. Ive got a 54 plate audi a3 3 door. If i was to do a front end conversion to an s line from an 08 plate car would i just need the bumper and the bonnet and then shave off the corners from the front metal bar. My mechanic cant seem to get the parts to line up properly. Was just wandering if there was something else that i needed to do.

Cheers
 
Do you have any photos? As the 2008 doesnt really help the new model 8P3 (As we call it on here) with the led drl headlights came out then.
If your doing the conversion and using all 8P2 parts off an A3 you dont need to shave the reinforcement bar. You only trim if your doing the 8P2 S3 conversion like the photo in my sig. A bit more information and we should be able to tell you where your going wrong
 


Here is a pic of the bumper that i am using i could probz get a pic of the bonnet up later aswel
cheers
 
Last edited by a moderator:
audi upgrades
thats an 8P3 front bumper with 8P1/2 lights! With that bumper you need to change the lights and maybe even the wings as well!
 
Yea you will. Youl need to change the wings and the lights and youl need the 2008 bonnet aswell
 
Oh my days... Dude did you not realise that bumper came off a car with different head lights.

Your going to need.. Head lights and wings. Big job on your hands there
 
Doh! Thats the sort of thing I'd do.
If you do get new wings, headlights and a bonnet then it'll look really smart. Oh and don't forget the new wings won't have any holes for the side repeaters as these are on the mirrors on the 8P3, although you could cut the into the new wings if you're feeling brave.

Sorry, I think we've all just ruined your weekend.
 
Taxi for Bimmerman.

In fact, maybe you should have stuck to... well.. bimmers. :lmfao:


Honestly though, i'm sorry man. If I were you I'd just sell the 8P3 bumper and do an 8P2 s-line conversion instead. A LOT less work.
 
Ohhh now it all makes sense lol:lmfao:. I bought the bonnet and bumper off fleabay. It did say 08 onwards but there was no part numbers on the inside so couldnt tell from what car it was from. Thanks for the help guys. Any1 selling an sline bumper and bonnet from an 8p2 and anyone wanna buy a bumper and bonnet from an 8p3 :)
 
U might aswell just get the wings and headlights.
Your car will look really nice once its done.
 
I agree, if you've already got half of it then keep going. Has yours had a front end smash, or were you just doing it as a mod?
If it's been smashed and you need most of those parts anyway then it'd be worth facelifting to 8P3. I can't really tell from the photo's if it's accident damage, or just where you've removed stuff. I don't mean that in a bad way, just that when you start stripping the bumpers off cars they always look horrific.
 
Ash B said:
Its not just the wings and headlights. He got to do the wing mirrors, wire it all in and get all the little bits. Not a cheap job
Click to expand...

Well he doesn't have to do the wing-mirrors does he?

Since you're already doing the conversion, you might as well go the whole way mate. The 8P3 with DRL head lights looks fantastic! my brother intends to do his pretty soon.
 
audi upgrades
I wouldn't say having the bonnet and bumper is half way there workwise. That's the easy part.
Sorting out the wings is going to be tricky, also the indicators (or lack of them).
Then you've got the headlights.

And besides, I think the 8P2 s-line looks nicer than the 8P3 s-line. The 8P3 s-line looks too much like a standard 8P3.



8P2 S-line:
mediaid960555404.jpg




8P3 S-line:
mediaid956428374.jpg



8P3 Standard:
mediaid952481760.jpg
 
Yeh it had a smash to the side but all that's sorted now. I think ill just get the bumper and bonnet from an 8p2.Purely because it would be cheaper to get the 2 parts as aposed to gettin the whole front end from an 8p3. I might save the bitsand do a full conversion later on down the line. Those drl's aint cheap. Just to verify all I need for the 8p2 is just the bonnet and the bumper.
 
Lingo89 said:
Well he doesn't have to do the wing-mirrors does he?
Click to expand...

Yes he would, if he intends to fit the 09 onwards wings which that bumper will need in order to fit properly, otherwise his car is not roadworthy as has no side indicators which the facelift moved to said mirrors.
 
NHN said:
Yes he would, if he intends to fit the 09 onwards wings which that bumper will need in order to fit properly, otherwise his car is not roadworthy as has no side indicators which the facelift moved to said mirrors.
Click to expand...

Interesting, thanks for letting me know as I need to know about this for down the line when my brother converts his. For the sake of argument, surely in the short-term if you're on a tight budget you could just invest in a pair of these, stick them to your stock mirrors, wire them to your previous side-repeater loom and buy the actual mirrors when you've got the funds to do so.

2 X Amber 15 LED Flexible Neon Car Strip Light Leds SMD | eBay

In relation to this, when people fit the DRL headlamps, I've noticed they spend a lot of time and money setting them up to run as DRLs. Is it not possible to wire up the LEDs to run as sidelights? I mean it's not exactly a massive amount of effort to turn the switch to the sidelight on position (of course I also understand that some people will want it to be as original as possible).

I'm sorry to the O.P, I don't mean to de-rail your thread, I'm just very interested in the 8P3 conversion. Best of luck on your 8P2 conversion but in my opinion you'd be better off going for the 8P3, as it may be more costly in the short run but will look fantastic once done and it'd be much more costly if you want to do it in the future as none of the 8P2 stuff you'd buy now would be of use, so now's an opportune moment for you to get it done. Just my opinion of course, both will look great.
 
After seeing the pics that Ads posted I tend to agree with him. Unless the 2 cars are next to each other it'd be hard to tell those 8P3's apart. It just seems to be a slight protrusion around the fog light grilles that's the main difference. From those pics I prefer the 8P2 S Line too.
 
roston100 said:
Are the 8p3 s-line and non s-line front bumpers the same? i cant tell the difference?
Click to expand...

Exactly my point. From the front an 8p3 s-line just doesn't standout against all the standard 8p3's you see around.
As mentioned by Dan, it's mainly a slight difference around the fog lights.
 
I am thinking about doing the same conversion and I found cheap whole fron from s-line. will it fit my 8p1 ?

i assume I do only need front bumper with hood, rest will fit from my current car ?

DSCF4188.JPG
 
mierzwin said:
I am thinking about doing the same conversion and I found cheap whole fron from s-line. will it fit my 8p1 ?

i assume I do only need front bumper with hood, rest will fit from my current car ?
Click to expand...

Yep, all you need is the complete front bumper (fogs, grilles), and the bonnet. The rest (headlights and wings) are the same as your 8P1.

If I was you I'd snap it up quick, maybe even taking the wings and headlights too to save mucking about with the seller. Because it can be a bit of a job sourcing the parts from different sellers.

How much do they want for all of that?
 
Ads (formerly aythree) said:
Yep, all you need is the complete front bumper (fogs, grilles), and the bonnet. The rest (headlights and wings) are the same as your 8P1.

If I was you I'd snap it up quick, maybe even taking the wings and headlights too to save mucking about with the seller. Because it can be a bit of a job sourcing the parts from different sellers.

How much do they want for all of that?
Click to expand...

the whole lot would be 940 delivered, seems expensive ?


I also have option of regular 8p2 for 670 delivered? what do you think ? (just one bumper and one set of lights from pic)

1718126653
 
mierzwin said:
the whole lot would be 940 delivered, seems expensive ?


I also have option of regular 8p2 for 670 delivered? what do you think ? (just one bumper and one set of lights from pic)
Click to expand...

MEGA expensive!!
You could buy the parts you need brand new from the dealers for less than that.

Don't waste your time doing the standard/sport front end conversion because you'll only regret not doing an s-line conversion.

Have a look at my conversion thread (link is in my signature) for prices and part no's for the front end parts needed.
You'll need a bumper also so you will need to add about £200 to the front-end cost. Also, I got my s-line bumper for very cheap, but you should be able to pick one up for around the £100 mark.

I reckon the parts will cost you £400-£500 tops. A lot cheaper if you take your time to find the best deals.
 
Ads (formerly aythree) said:
MEGA expensive!!
You could buy the parts you need brand new from the dealers for less than that.

Don't waste your time doing the standard/sport front end conversion because you'll only regret not doing an s-line conversion.

Have a look at my conversion thread (link is in my signature) for prices and part no's for the front end parts needed.
You'll need a bumper also so you will need to add about £200 to the front-end cost. Also, I got my s-line bumper for very cheap, but you should be able to pick one up for around the £100 mark.

I reckon the parts will cost you £400-£500 tops. A lot cheaper if you take your time to find the best deals.
Click to expand...

Ok I will keep looking, s-line bumpers are not that often found on ebay. where did you get your one from ?
 
Plenty of sline bumpers come up ,but loads are damaged so be aware .I would offer the guy selling the 900 set up 650 delivered (hard cash talks)and then sell the parts you do not need and your exhisting bits to recoup it down to what Ads payed .Be prepared to wait though as he may say do 1 .
I am starting to wonder if i might just keep my Sport with exhisting bumpers and sell all my S3 parts off .It can be frustrating doing these mods LOL
 
mierzwin said:
Ok I will keep looking, s-line bumpers are not that often found on ebay. where did you get your one from ?
Click to expand...

I got mine from a guy who worked in a body shop and had loads of bumpers for sale. He had them in his back garden and wanted them gone asap so only wanted £25 for it.
I had to drive quite far for it though, but still worked out very cheap even with the petrol.

mierzwin said:
other thing is my current car is a3 8p1 in sport, if I do forn s-line conversion will it fit my back ?

gallery here: Dropbox - Photos - Simplify your life

yeah more I read about all mods it becomes more difficult ;]
Click to expand...

To be honest, any front bumper apart from the standard/sport one is going to look different because it won't have the rub strips.
Why not do a rear s-line or 8P3 standard conversion as well? Its easy and you only need a bumper and diffuser. See my thread for details of this too.

Lingy. said:
Plenty of sline bumpers come up ,but loads are damaged so be aware .I would offer the guy selling the 900 set up 650 delivered (hard cash talks)and then sell the parts you do not need and your exhisting bits to recoup it down to what Ads payed .Be prepared to wait though as he may say do 1 .
I am starting to wonder if i might just keep my Sport with exhisting bumpers and sell all my S3 parts off .It can be frustrating doing these mods LOL
Click to expand...

Keep going mate, it'll be worth it. What parts do you still need to get?
 
Ads (formerly aythree) said:
Keep going mate, it'll be worth it. What parts do you still need to get?
Click to expand...

It Was just the Side skirts mate, But now i need another front main grille after i bought a dud off ebay :crying: ...It was unusable when it arrived ,so its on route back to the guy and the hunt continues .
The misses is getting a little fed up with me though lol
 
Lingy. said:
It Was just the Side skirts mate, But now i need another front main grille after i bought a dud off ebay :crying: ...It was unusable when it arrived ,so its on route back to the guy and the hunt continues .
The misses is getting a little fed up with me though lol
Click to expand...

Not a million miles away from having everything then. Once you've got the grille you can start I guess, and just wait for the skirts.

Haha.. I know what you mean about the missus getting fed up. I had two rear bumpers in the kitchen for months. She wasn't happy.
 
Ads (formerly aythree) said:
To be honest, any front bumper apart from the standard/sport one is going to look different because it won't have the rub strips.
Why not do a rear s-line or 8P3 standard conversion as well? Its easy and you only need a bumper and diffuser. See my thread for details of this too.
Click to expand...

not sure where exactly but I read doing 8p1 to 8p3 is not so easy and cheap ? you need to change lights and side wings etc ?
 
mierzwin said:
not sure where exactly but I read doing 8p1 to 8p3 is not so easy and cheap ? you need to change lights and side wings etc ?
Click to expand...

The front 8P3 conversion is tricky. But the rear 8P3 conversion is easy, and maybe even easier than the 8P2 rear because you don't have to paint the diffuser.

Basically, mine is a front 8P2 s-line and a rear 8P3 standard.
A bit confusing, I know.
 
Ads (formerly aythree) said:
The front 8P3 conversion is tricky. But the rear 8P3 conversion is easy, and maybe even easier than the 8P2 rear because you don't have to paint the diffuser.

Basically, mine is a front 8P2 s-line and a rear 8P3 standard.
A bit confusing, I know.
Click to expand...

yep its getting confusing a bit but getting there

I bet 2 more weeks I will know everything about 8p1 to 8p3 conversions :)
 
Dont give up, the conversion is well worth doing. I did mine to the S3 last summer and love it. Wasn't too hard to do just a bit fiddly in parts but huge sense of achievement once done.
 
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