FocusCanada Forums

What's needed to do the euro bumper swap?

I've heard about some modifications to the front end that are needed - what are they and links?

it's obvi the euro front doesn't fit on the NA spec focus so how do I go about making it fit?

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anyone got tips on removing the crash foam? I don't wanna destroy it, just wanna remove it.

Also, I keep reading about 2002.5-03 having a different front rebar but I can't determine if I need to trim the rebar or not? I have the 98 spec euro front.

Depends on the euro front you have...

Some don't keep the NA crash foam, some trim it

If it is a 98-01 with signals in the bumper you might have to cut out the rebar that is in behind them

The rest matches up I believe

I wonder if my work will loan me the gas powered cutoff saw we have...

If not - what else should I try? I don't own any cutting tools so I'd have to buy something.

If you have (OR PLAN TO GET) the bumper that matches these...

I have a set of clear and a set of amber. Can't decide which to keep but the other set will become available.

(07-02-2011, 06:55 AM)Mystake Wrote: [ -> ]I wonder if my work will loan me the gas powered cutoff saw we have...

If not - what else should I try? I don't own any cutting tools so I'd have to buy something.

you can try using dremel which i used to cut holes on my old kona.
and rebar is not that thick, i could bend it with plier, try using hammer, not joking.

A member on here who used to be pretty active contributor at one point, nicknamed TDOTZX3 is who I spoke to once about the euro front end conversion. His car was built the same year as mine and he actually showed me the only modification he did to his Rieger euro bumper to make it fit without cutting his rebar was to trim the plastic cups behind the bumper where the euro light sockets fit into. He actually showed me his and where they make contact with the rebar on his car.

So you might want to try this suggestion and do a test fit before jumping the gun. There were other people who said their euro bumper was a direct fit, no modifications necessary. so it may not be as bad as you think.

Thanks for the info guys,

so what about taking the crash foam off without ripping or tearing it apart?

Um Hello?





I had a 2002 facelift on my canadian Street Edition focus.

I didn't do any cutting just removed the old bumper, the crash foam, and moved the side repeaters.

(07-02-2011, 03:00 PM)Frost__2001 Wrote: [ -> ]Um Hello?





I had a 2002 facelift on my canadian Street Edition focus.

I didn't do any cutting just removed the old bumper, the crash foam, and moved the side repeaters.

yes because 02 facelift relocated front indicator into headlight, no cutting is required but anything with front indicator on bumper needs some cutting.

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this pic is showing european front reinforcement bar, as you can see it has cut out there for front indicator.

If your worried about cutting up your rebar, I'll buy the bumper off of you.

LOL no thanks

If anything, I can't wait to get it mounted so I can finally see what it looks like. I'm starting to look into where I can get it painted... maybe I can have it done by next week IDK yet. I still need to order new fog lights and new grilles

if i were you i'd test fit it before getting it painted....good chance if there's this much thought into getting it to work there will be plenty of cursing and attempting to get it on...hate to see a new paint job get beat up because of fitment issues..

oh yeah of course on the test fitting. I want to see if I can mount it by Tuesday - assuming I get to use the cutoff saw @ work.

Question...

the NA bumper mounts under the grill using two plastic clips that can get pulled out with a pair of pliers. The european version mounts with tab like things.

How can I properly support that part of the bumper or will that be unnecessary? It's also a tight fit getting the bumper on, might be because of the aftermath of the snowbank. Right now it fits like a glove... if the fog light mounts were 1mm higher up I'm sure I'd never get it on properly.

I think the Euro bumpers have an extra piece that fits under the grill that it bolts too(maybe someone whos done the swap can confirm).

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ford-focus-st170-f...483f6729df

Comparing the way the old bumper mounted and the way the euro bumper mounts, I don't think there are any bolts.

Maybe the top doesn't need the support since it's shorter than the US bumper and so the fender bolts are enuff? :S

I am in the middle of test fitting my euro front bumper.
The tabs look like they will support the front no problem.
The only problem is the bumper rebar-it's hard as hell!
Went through 5 sawzall blades and a Princess Auto dead blow hammer cutting to fit. Been at it all day.
Also the euro fog light enclosures need trimming to fit the NA lower grill and fogs.
And another problem specific to Powerworks people-the intercooler fights with the passenger foglight for the same space.
May need to skew the intercooler a bit.

Rebar wasn't too bad for me?? I went at it with an angle grinder - as I cut through it I peeled the cut steel back and then cut it off in pieces. Didn't use a cutoff saw (though it would've cut the rebar like it was butter) cause it was overkill and didn't wanna risk hitting the headlights by accident, else I woulda been done in 30 seconds . Also it let me grind down the edges so that they weren't sharp and grind them back just far enough for the bumper to fit.

So, the tabs do look like they'll support the bumper no problem but then where do they 'click' in? Again, I'm talking about the tabs that go between the body and the grill/headlights.

I don't see anywhere that they click in. They just ride on top. I suppose a self-tapping screw through the first two would hold it in place.
I am going to look at mine as well and see what I can do.

Cool, lemme know what you end up doing. Preferably I'm just gunna leave mine the way it is, it's holding on pretty good.