Sorry, haven't been to this site for a long time.
I did not flare the end, as I kept 1 of the 2 flares that were already there. It's been fine ever since.
NO! I did not remove the bumper

I do have black plastic covers perhaps where foglights can go. I simply detached the passenger side one from below and had excellent access!
Here's the main post I made about this right here:
https://acurazine.com/forums/first-g...-money-951344/