Factory skid plate install
After lowering my car, I started to worry about taking out my oilpan on a bump or pothole. I knew that the dealer sold a skidplate for the e30, so I checked it out. They list 4 different versions:
51 71 1 929 451
- non-M up to 9/87
51 71 1 971 001 - non-M from 9/87
51 71 1 961 905 - M3
51 71 1 943 101 - iX
They do not list the part for cabrios, which I would guess is due to a change in the front crossmember. I ordered the "non-M from 9/87" skidplate, which I was told was the last one showing in the inventory for the US and Germany. It seems that this part is no longer available. I also bought the listed hardware:
Bolts: 71 60 1
245 892 (x4)
Nuts: 51 71 9 057 885 (x4)
but was not able to use them. The front of the skidplate has 2 hooks which the car had corresponding slots for, but there were no holes that matched the skidplate holes. At the rear of the skidplate, the holes matched 2 holes in the bottom half of the crossmember. The nuts that I purchased did not fit, and I could not figure out a way to use them, since the crossmember is closed on the top side. We ended up drilling out the crossmember holes slightly and using heavy duty crush nuts that are apparently used to mount a clutch bracket on the new Mustangs. These crush into place, leaving a nice threaded sleeve to screw a bolt into. For the front, we drilled a couple of holes, and just used a couple of large sheet metal screws for this. Since the front already has hooks holding the skidplate in place, the screws should be fine.
Here are a couple pics of the plate installed:


Here is a picture of the plate for 9/87 and newer:


This is the one for 9/87 and older (which I accidentally ordered the 1st time):



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