Hi Ben, thanks for this video. You very nearly changed the grille without taking the bumper off. The trick is you need a trim tool for leverage and a pair of side cutters/snips. As your video instructed, take off the 5 bolts in the engine bay and pull the grille where you show to get started. Then put your trim tool directly behind grille trim and lever. It’ll pop out and if it doesn’t you will see the securing tabs. Refer to the new gloss black one to confirm the tab positions. Then use side cutters to snip one side of the grille trim tab and it then easily releases. Repeat technique until grille trim is removed. Fit new grille trim. Job done 15 minutes max. Hopefully this is helpful for others as there is absolutely no need to remove bumper which like you mentioned is a nightmare. With this method I had about 3 tabs to cut though I was binning the chrome trim anyway. Absolutely zero damage, scuffs or scratches to the car. Thanks again for your posts, info and content.

After deciding I wasn't up to the job myself i paid my local ( Non Mini) mechanic C$50 (about 30 quid) to install mine . He did it in about 10 minutes without removing the bumper by using a long handled screwdriver from the back to release the clips and managed to remove the old one without breaking it ... It was worth it to me to save me probably 5 hours of arsing about and skinned knuckles !!

@BenRolfe

4 жыл бұрын

Looking back, I wish I had saved it, but the resale value wouldn’t have been worth it in my opinion, granted I could have kept it in case of an emergency but £30 isn’t much to replace as and when. I tried my best (not in the video) to use a screwdriver/pliers but I was concerned about the radiator behind. Thanks for watching 😊😊

Looks excellent Ben. I’ve just ordered for the light trims and handles from the website you recommend. The Bumper looks a bit more of a challenge. Well done as your car looks brilliant.

@BenRolfe

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks mate ☺️

I got the plastic cover one, haven’t put it on yet. This I won’t be able to do by myself. Well done you!

@BenRolfe

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much 😊 the cover is an really good choice! Good luck with fitting yours 😁

Just finished doing the trim half hour ago. Looks great. Taking the bumper off isn’t bad. However, the trim removal is very tricky. I’ll be tossing the chrome one.

@BenRolfe

4 жыл бұрын

Nice work!

Hi Ben it looks really good, id rather do what you did as its lovely.....just not the bumper bit!! Plenty of blankets to the lay parts on if you do though , and a bucket of patience too😊🌈Andrew

Yeah I fancy this , black all the way

With the caveat that this was on a Cooper SE (Electric), you can absolutely remove the chrome grille ring without removing the bumper cover. That said, you'll very likely break at least one of the clips on the old ring. I got mine off only breaking one of them just by pulling it bit by bit from the front, without worrying about trying to undo clips from behind. The top and sides of the ring come off very easily, but several on the bottom are on there tight enough I thought I was straight-up going to break the ring itself. Once it's off, the new ring goes on very easily. YMMV and up to the individual to decide if it's worth the risk. It's entirely possible someone could damage the bumper-side of a clip doing what I did.

@harrydrinkwater7315

Жыл бұрын

Did you just pull off the original grill ring with force? Did you not have to unscrew anything

Question: the centre chrome strip, I can't see a black replacement for this, only covers, do you know?

I think red would look good

Hi Ben, great videos! quick question about the removal of the grill. I’m looking to do this myself and like you said about the removing of the bumper, I’m not keen. Do you think with the correct trim tool, you could of got the rest of the surround off ? I don’t care for keeping the chrome one, so if it brakes so what 🤷🏼

@BenRolfe

4 жыл бұрын

Hey 👋 thank you! I think it will be extremely difficult. Maybe someone with smaller hands can get their hand through the bottom vent and back on themselves but it’s such a tight space. I started to loose patience with it so decided to remove the whole bumper.

@oscar19391939

4 жыл бұрын

Ben Rolfe Thanks Ben, I think I’m going to go for it and remove the bumper! Looks straight forward the only issue I see is disconnecting the fog lights, is this the tricky point or is it just a case of undoing some pugs?

@BenRolfe

4 жыл бұрын

Behind your driver and passenger wheels you’ll find some covers, unscrew those first and you can get your hands in there to unplug the fogs. There is a small tab on the plus that needs to be pushed in but once you find them it will be easy. You’ll probably find it easier to turn your wheels to the left and right to get your hand in there easier.

I am going to put the black grille surround on my Mini. How difficult was it to remove the bumper?

@BenRolfe

4 жыл бұрын

The bumper removal is really easy, although just very time consuming. Remove all the screws I’ve shown in the video, then pull away the front wheel arches to reveal a bolt either side. Then there are 7 screws underneath the bumper at the front and finally 1 screw either side inside the wheel arch at the front. I’ll try and do a video at some point showing it. You’ll also need to make sure you unplug the fog lights prior.

Dude Quick question. I’ve seen the stick on ones. Do you think if you had added 3m tape to that Oem grill it would have covered all the chrome... 🙏 in advance.

@BenRolfe

3 жыл бұрын

Hey 👋 that’s entirely user preference. Whilst they look pretty much identical, your two main factors are the price, with the OEM being the cheapest option. Based on just pricing, I’d recommend the OEM variant.

@aneseed

3 жыл бұрын

@@BenRolfe thanks for the reply...I don.t know if anyone knows if the oem would cover it if stuck on...im wondering if yje stick on versions have like a slightly bigger fit to cover with it being slightly lipped to hide the edges...if anyine knows .. be gratefull as Ben says oem is way cheaper

Just had to replace the part behind my number plate and took off the whole front bumper, my reaction was the same as yours, what made it worse was I had parking sensors on the front and the self-parking sensors on the arches, made it disgusting to do.

@BenRolfe

3 жыл бұрын

Definitely was a nightmare to do, in my opinion anyway. Others will say otherwise but it's not a job I want to do again lol

I am thinking of de-chroming my Countryman F60. How hard would it be to do the same to my F60? I want to black out all the badges and maybe remove countryman and cooper badges from the boot lid. What do you think?

@BenRolfe

3 жыл бұрын

I prefer the dechromed look over chrome so I’d always recommend doing it. You’ll have a few options, both SMPS2012 and Sherratt Custom Parts offer top notch dechrome kits ranging from wraps to covers to complete new parts to swap out for the old parts. If you use SCP feel free to use BEN10 at the checkout for 10% off!

@bigjase911

3 жыл бұрын

@@BenRolfe thanks for the info.

Where do you buy Mini parts?

You should link where you bought it from

Can you send me link pls where to buy?..thanks

where can i purchase the red washer and the bolts from.

@BenRolfe

Жыл бұрын

You can get them from SMPS2012

You've made your job ten times more difficult the chrome edging just comes off granted its a tight fit i broke mine but didn't need to take the whole bumper off the new one just clips back on

@BenRolfe

3 жыл бұрын

It wasn’t worth the risk for me to inevitably scratch the Bumper along the bottom.

Where can I purchase this?

@BenRolfe

2 жыл бұрын

Hey! They are available on eBay

Hey where did u find the middle black part? I can only find a red part with jcw badge :/

@BenRolfe

3 жыл бұрын

By middle part do you mean the grille? This game with the MINI.

Do you have a direct link to the one you purchased at all? ☺️

@BenRolfe

3 жыл бұрын

Yep! Here you go 😁 www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402226412686

@Alisha_CW

3 жыл бұрын

Ben Rolfe Legend thank you! I have been binging your videos, looking to start modifying my F56 JCW. Keep up the good work! Just wondering if you are going to change your badge to the new one? 😄

@BenRolfe

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much ☺️ there are still a small number of things I’d like to change including swapping the badges for the new black ones and a few other bits. Debating getting a wrap too, but only time will tell 😁

@Alisha_CW

3 жыл бұрын

Ben Rolfe Definitely would love to see a video on swapping the badges out! Thanks so much for the link! ☺️

@BenRolfe

3 жыл бұрын

No worries at all 😁

Red

@BenRolfe

3 жыл бұрын

Good idea!

What is the company called Ben?

@BenRolfe

Жыл бұрын

This was sold by MINI directly on eBay.