88' swapping to plastics HELP

[sticksdaman]

Ok yesterday i began swapping over from my twisted diving boards to plastic bumpers that ive had for god knows how long. But i have a few questions.. 1) the rear bumper seems to have somewhat of a sizeable gap around it 2) whats to become of the holes in the trunk where the trim was attatched to the car?(rain +rust+water in the trunk= no good)

[sticksdaman]

anybody?

[Van Westervelt]

Your questions arent really clear. Expound upom them a little. I just swapped mine out on Saturday. I have an 88 as well. Few more details and were in business regarding what you need to know. :)

[emmi]

i have diving boards aswell and am considering converting... what do i need??? i read that dyi on it thought it wasnt very clear... will everything just bolt on?

[Van Westervelt]

i have diving boards aswell and am considering converting... what do i need??? i read that dyi on it thought it wasnt very clear... will everything just bolt on?

I'm not quite sure on the early style. The ones I switched were on an 88, so it has the newer valance and larger tails etc. For me, with the right brackets, it all went on very smoothly. No mods needed. I dont know about 87s and older though.

[craz azn]

1) You can adjust the gaps by moving the bumper shocks around as well as that black plastic guide thingy on the sides to tweak its position slightly.

2) Just put some bolts in there and nuts on the backs... I put a bit of silcone on the outside so water and stuff won't seep in.

[formula driver]

i have diving boards aswell and am considering converting... what do i need??? i read that dyi on it thought it wasnt very clear... will everything just bolt on?

Polite thing to do would be to start your own thread. Dont fill his thread up with cluter. Like dude said the gaps are coming from the way the shocks are mounted. Not sure about 88's but on my 87 I had to make the hole taller and repostion the shocks. The bolts and silicone sound like a great idea to me. HTH

[sticksdaman]

thanks for the responses. i just finished swapping the bumpers i have a question... what are you guys doing for front indicators? the plugs wont match up

[Van Westervelt]

you either need the pigtails from the newer style and splice them in, or they have the wire leads at the dealer and you can just splice those in. The factory pigtails have the same little round connectors, just 3 inside of a plug housing.

[sticksdaman]

i just checked and i saw that the 88 indicators seem to be the same size a the 89+ indicators.. i might just swap the whole indicator set up from the old bumpers onto the new ones..anyone tried this before? id like to know so as not to waste my time

[Sean]

i just checked and i saw that the 88 indicators seem to be the same size a the 89+ indicators.. i might just swap the whole indicator set up from the old bumpers onto the new ones..anyone tried this before? id like to know so as not to waste my time

Won't work, the 88 indicators are the same size as the older metal bumper turn signals - they are too big.

Yea, I didn't realize I needed to splice connections in until I Pulled my bumper off - lol

[Van Westervelt]

Won't work, the 88 indicators are the same size as the older metal bumper turn signals - they are too big.

Yea, I didn't realize I needed to splice connections in until I Pulled my bumper off - lol

Wrong, well in my case at least. 88 was an odd year with a few rare cars, but if you have the newer style valance, the indicators will work, they are identicle. I have an 88 and just switched them all on Saturdat night. All the indicators went in fine. The only modifying i did was that I cut off the bracket inside the marker hole on the rear that the shroud bolt to. You dont use it with the plastics. Other that that, it was just bumper shocks and the hangers by each wheel well. Went on like they were meant to be there.

[Sean]

Wrong, well in my case at least. 88 was an odd year with a few rare cars, but if you have the newer style valance, the indicators will work, they are identicle. I have an 88 and just switched them all on Saturdat night. All the indicators went in fine. The only modifying i did was that I cut off the bracket inside the marker hole on the rear that the shroud bolt to. You dont use it with the plastics. Other that that, it was just bumper shocks and the hangers by each wheel well. Went on like they were meant to be there.

Hmm, I tried with mine, and no go.

I guess I'll try again sometime.

I have the newer valance too.

[Van Westervelt]

Strange mine swapped easy with all the plastic bumpered cars I have had, plus my 88's.

[reelizmpro]

I think you guys are talking about different lights. Sidemarkers are the same 86-91 but the front turn indicators are different 84-88 and 89-91 on coupes/sedans.