X-post:
I finally found some time to at least take my kidney grill out and look. A vertical install is not going to be easy, but then I don't see how a horizontal one is easy either.
BTW: the best way to remove the grill is in this thread:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ighlight=grill
You will need a Torx T-30 screwdriver to remove the four screws. Then pull the panel that hold the grills forward and slide your hand in behind and push/pull each clip toward the center of the grill to release the catch.
The outer most grill slot on an E92 is too small. The next one is blocked at the top by a clip that holds the grill in place. So you have to use the third opening from the outer edge.
I was going to use tape. I don't think that will work because the slats are curved and there will not be enough slat surface in contact with the head, plus I don't see how to easily slide the head in and get it level.
So I am going to try using brackets.
One of the supplied L-brackets will work at the top edge of the grill. The top edge of the grill is flat and reasonably parallel with the plane of the road. You can remove the chrome trim and make a hole in that top edge and bolt one of the L-brackets through it and fasten it to the tab on the head.
Finding another fastening point lower down to ensure the head does not move over time or at high speed is more difficult. The bottom edge of the grill is curved, so a supplied L-bracket will not work.
You might be able to fashion an u-shaped bracket and attach it to the grill slats and then attach the head to the bottom of the u. But you would have to attach the sides of the u-bracket to the grill slats and I am reluctant to drill into the slats (you would have to drill at an agnle).
I am trying to fashion a bracket that will fashion to the curved bottom edge of the grill.
I want to use aluminum. Stainless steel is not easy to work. Galvanized steel will rust over time. The problem is finding aluminum flat bar in a reasonable thickness. The bottom bracket will need to be bent at angles to make a z-shaped bracket in order to position the head perpendicular to the road surface.
This is going to be a PITA to level. There is no room to get at the back of the grill with the grill in place. So, the grill will need to be put back in place to test the alignment, then removed to make any adjustments, and then the process repeated.
You can use needle nosed vise grips to squeeze the slats together to hold the head temporarily in place to mark a line to which to align the edge of the head.