E21 316: Front wheels fitted - the easy part.

No fouling on the pulled arch-lip with these skinnier tyres, but the front valance was still just about catching so, with the arrival of the new spacers, I thought I'd get the fronts boxed off before starting the arduous task of the other rear arch. Sadly, my camber-plates have yet to arrive, I guess they must be stuck while Customs & Excise figure out what they are.

Thankfully, the amount of valance that needed cutting away on the n/s was only about 8mm and I didn't have to remove the bumper after all. I did my best to follow a natural curve, not sure if I took a little too much near the bottom. Interestingly, the o/s of the front valance didn't contact the new tyre at all and the fender does not extend past the bumper. I wonder if the n/s wing has been replaced at some point giving a slightly proud line. I matched up to that line when repairing the lower-valance last summer, so that would explain why it was catching the tyre too. Either way, the o/s/f arch required no grinding at all, so a little more pulling and the fronts will be ready for smoothing in.

I've also been driving round the last day or two with NASCAR style staggered wheels - 16s on the n/s and still 15s on the o/s. The car steers great to the right, but is a bit recalcitrant going hard left. I must find time to wrestle that other rear arch on Monday or it'll be like this for a while.