Project Facelift

[Jand3rson]

What was the hardest part / area to cut when you were cutting the valance off of parts car ? Is it just along the outside from one fender to another or do I have to get under the car ?

I am going to try it this weekend.

I actually didn't cut it off from the car myself, the guys at Joe's shop did it. I don't really remember how they did it.

All I can say is cut more than you think you'll need.

[MR 325]

It's all good, once I'm finished, I'm going to reduce this thread down to nothing but my pictures and info, and basically just have it be one long DIY thread.

It would be much smarter to COPY the threead and do it to the copy. No reason to remove content Josh.

[Jand3rson]

It would be much smarter to COPY the threead and do it to the copy. No reason to remove content Josh.

Thass a good ideea, senor.

[Jean]

I actually didn't cut it off from the car myself, the guys at Joe's shop did it. I don't really remember how they did it.

All I can say is cut more than you think you'll need.

Cool. I gotta look at the old pics of your valance before you cut it up to get an idea exactly of what I am going to have to sawzall ...I can feel it in the air how fun this is going to be lol :bow:

[Jand3rson]

Cool. I gotta look at the old pics of your valance before you cut it up to get an idea exactly of what I am going to have to sawzall ...I can feel it in the air how fun this is going to be lol :bow:

Getting it all chopped down to where it was ready to mount was the fun part, trust me.

Let me know if you have any questions along the way, I'll help as best I can.

[Il Duce]

:woowoo:

[T3rd Ferguson]

:woowoo:

yeah for real son, get with the bumper makin

[mulishaflesh969]

Deff get to it. Im looking into doing this project myself. but i think the biggest part would be doing int on a budget. so far i got my 85eta that was horribly fucked up for 400 bucks. i already fixed the brakes, tucked bumpers, and lots of bodywork. all im looking forward to doing is rims, suspension, stero, bumpers.

finish this up so i can put bumpers as number one on my DIY list!

[Jean]

Question. I am test fitting a rear bumper on my car right now and wondering if you used factory side brackets that hold the left/right sides of the bumper ?

I just scanned through all 40 pages and didn't see anything on that, how are the sides attached to the body ?

[Jand3rson]

Question. I am test fitting a rear bumper on my car right now and wondering if you used factory side brackets that hold the left/right sides of the bumper ?

I just scanned through all 40 pages and didn't see anything on that, how are the sides attached to the body ?

Hardware. It's pretty much a pain in the ass, as well as pointless to try and mount the rear slider brackets, they're shit anyway. Just line up the bumper where you want it, and you'll see a hole already in the bumper toward the end, about dead center in the bumper itself. Drill a hole through the body, and bolt it up using standard hardware, and throw a couple rubber washers in just for good measure.

[Jean]

You are telling me I picked up a set of brackets for nothing ? doh. Actually that sounds easy enough, is the side of the bumper resting right on the body of the car (wondering if it will have a rub spot when it makes contact) or put something between the two ?

I test fitted the rear bumper and it looks like it's only off by about 1/2" or so in length, how much did you cut off of each side ?

[Jand3rson]

You are telling me I picked up a set of brackets for nothing ? doh. Actually that sounds easy enough, is the side of the bumper resting right on the body of the car (wondering if it will have a rub spot when it makes contact) or put something between the two ?

I test fitted the rear bumper and it looks like it's only off by about 1/2" or so in length, how much did you cut off of each side ?

I think we ended up cutting out just under 1 inch from each side, but it's impossible to really give you an exact number, it's going to be different for everyone. My car was hit in the rear, and although it was rebuilt perfectly, who knows what little areas here and there might be slightly off. Just mount it up as close as possible to where it's going to be permanently, and go from there.

As far as a rub spot and contact, I wouldn't worry much about it. If you're paranoid, get some black foam tape or something, but you really won't need it.

:up:

[trent]

You are telling me I picked up a set of brackets for nothing ? doh. Actually that sounds easy enough, is the side of the bumper resting right on the body of the car (wondering if it will have a rub spot when it makes contact) or put something between the two ?

I test fitted the rear bumper and it looks like it's only off by about 1/2" or so in length, how much did you cut off of each side ?

I treid to use the stock brackets for a few hours, but it was a no go. On the later model cars they are recessed in a little bit. IF you sunk the brackets in, towards the car, they would work.

On my rear bumper it actually rests against the sheet metal. it is honestly kinda hack how you have to install the bumper. IIRC I took about 3/4 to 1 inch off. Make sure your bumper is tucked all the way up on your mounts.

[Jand3rson]

On my rear bumper it actually rests against the sheet metal. it is honestly kinda hack how you have to install the bumper. IIRC I took about 3/4 to 1 inch off. Make sure your bumper is tucked all the way up on your mounts.

For sure. I am actually already planning on doing the rear over again this winter when the car goes back into hibernation with a new bumper, and maybe trying something different. I might give Jordan's method a try, which was taking the material off the end of the bumper, rather than chopping a section out of the middle, so there won't be any seam at all, and maybe doing a bit of re-shaping at the ends to get the stock look back. Mine is *pretty* good, but there is some waviness in the surface where most of the sanding of the plastic weld and fiberglass was done at the seams, and one side has a VERY minor 3/4" long crack in the paint at the seam where I think it might have flexed, on the top. I may repair it and have it resprayed again, but getting rid of a seam altogether seems to be a better route to take.

[backtrail69]

I chopped mine off the end and then added a cap to mine. The only downside with how I did mine was I can't remove my bumper trim easily. I just put a screw in through the fender as well.