Ill start out with this: I am NOT a body guy so going into it I was a little uneasy. I have always been comfortable with anything mechanical and I am a bit of a suspension junkie so I knew that part would be easy. This will basically be my way of learning fiberglass and paint.
So this is what I had to start with. Hood is straight and both lights got missed. Lucky because on a quick look they are around $700 each
I ended up tossing the bumper and fenders because I didnt want to screw around trying to repair them. Just for fun I called the stealership to see how much a new OEM front end would cost me. $2800 but he would discount it to $2200 for me since I was buying so much. No way.
I bought some Meyle HD control arms, tie rods/ends, and ball joints. Some new CV boots to finish it up and its nice and shiny underneath.
I aligned it and drove it around a little gremlins are coming out. PS pump is whining and im getting some clunks from the rear end. ABS light is on but from what I understand its a common problem. Ill get to those things later I guess.
Found a few fenders from the scrapper for $300 and a local guy had a new Duraflex bumpe. A core support had to come from the stealership unfortunately.
Along with a quick polish on the headlights this is where I currently sit. big difference on the headlights but they need more. Not quite clear enough for my taste yet. I temp mounted the bumper until I have a chance to get it back on the lift and actually make some alignment adjustments.
Any suggestions on mounting the bumper and getting the seams straight will be appreciated. I managed to get the fenders aligned pretty easily but the fiberglass bumper is pretty rough and the edges arent quite straight. Obviously its going to need a lot of prep. I still need to make the corners fit better and do a bit of sanding and filling. The plan is to paint the whole car so I dont have different colored panels and so i can take care of the clear coat rot on the back.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by audinate
Bookmarks