Well, I managed to remove the Continental kit. You have to get underneath and remove the bolts on the sides that hold the tire shell and the license plate box to the metal supports inside. The license plate carrier (the recessed piece with the
chrome rim) was clearly moved from the original bumper shell to the Continental kit, so will need to be restored to its original location.
After the shell pieces and the larger metal support inside are off, you can remove the last piece, a u-shaped metal piece held onto the actual metal bumper with two bolts on top and two on the bottom. To get the two bottom ones out, you have to remove two "panel poppers" from the bottom of the bumper shell to get enough room to get a wrench to the bolts. Be prepared to exert a lot of force on these bolts; mine were seized and I had to use a pipe extension on the wrench handle to get enough leverage to budge them.
Now the problem is that in order to replace the license plate carrier in the bumper shell, the bumper shell must be removed because the license carrier installs from the back and is held on with clips. I have researched how to remove and replace the bumper shell, but it seems that this is hard to do without damaging it. The
service manual gives instructions for removal, but no guidance regarding any special tools or procedures.
Any hints or advice would be greatly appreciated.
