I really never cared for the look of the black blanking plate used to plug the hole in the rear bumper of my '05. To change the look, I chose to install the lamp housing only (not the complete retrofit). I purchased the housing from Classic Mini (Brian) - cost with shipping was $22.00. It took all of a minute to pop the blanking plate out and install the new housing. Here's the before and after pics. Comments?

 

Why not complete the retrofit?

 

I was going for the look, not the functionality. Here in Houston we really don't have a fog problem so, at least right now, I don't see the need to hassle a toggle switch changeout and reprogramming at the dealer. Contrary to some other info I have read about the wiring harness not being in an '05 built prior to 10/10/04, mine does have the wiring harness installed - it's build date was 10/08/04. Of course I could easily wire the lamp up to the stop lights as well - just in case I'm being followed by a go-kart.

 

I think it look much better. The added red helps to contrast with your brake lights.

 

Mod it to be a brake light!

 

That's what I did and you can find it at ...

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81988

 

How do I mod it to do this???