UPDATE:
All I need to do is sand heads and fogs, wet sand and buff all painted parts and install. It's going to be a long week...
(thumbnails below. click for larger images)
PPG the way to go!!
Used JDM rear looking like a $2 whore....all beat up and worn out...
The rest of the parts waiting for prep...
The rear bumper looking fresh and ready for paint!! My boy knows his sh!&!
Here you can see how badly the stock fogs fit into the Vertex openings:
3 painstaking hours and a ton of fiberglass dust later, the fogs fit pretty snug. Still have to redo the mounting holes. I used a dremel and a small grinding stone for small areas and a larger sanding drum with a compressor (1/2" dia) for the larger areas. It is VERY rough and needs a lot of sanding but I'm not too picky since the rough areas will be hidden by the fogs:
The right side:
The left side:
UPDATE: 4/12
Step into the "bubble"
What the inside of a bubble looks like:
Mirrors and eyelines done! sweet!
rear lip:
JDM booty!!
Dori VIP frontage:
Finished side mirrors installed on my dirty car. No more black and MSM!!:
I recommend spraying the entire area with water prior to spraying the paint or clear to minimize the amount of airborne contaminants you may encounter during the process. It helped a lot.
all of this work for only $350 including paint and supplies!!
not bad at all
oh and take a look at what mexican cockroaches look like...
They regained consciousness about two hours after this picture and went to Lolita's for menudo...
UPDATE 4/19/2008:
Installed the kit today. I am excited but a bit nervous about driving the car around being so low. I just have to get used to it.
Here are two pics of what the USDM rear bumper and the JDM rear bumper look like together. The JDM is on the left and the US on the right. (this one's for you nigelllll lol nevermind the weeds):
Here are some pics of the kit installed. Sorry about the crappy pics. The lens on my Cybershot is dirty. I'm having a friend take some "professional" shots later. I'll post those in a separate thread.
Here, you can see how much the Ti-Limited Exhaust sticks out from the japanese bumper. I love it much more this way. My paint guy, also was able to sand and buff the rear bumper and lip so it's smooth now. He'll come back next week to sand and buff out the rest of the parts:
The best shot I could get for now. I'll do better tomorrow:
All things considered he did a great job. The color isn't spot on as far as matching goes, but it's not horrible either. You get what you pay for. He didn't have the machinery and time to do a correct color match. I may redo the rear later but I want to get wheels first. 19" AME CX's in silver polish as soon as I get the cash. Dat at SpeedAlliance a great guy. Awesome customer service...
Sill have to sand the fogs and install them. Probably Monday.
UPDATE (4/22)
Just realized I never gave tips on the step by step process. I'll try and do that as time permits. Pretty busy at work lately.
One thing, on the sides: The Vertex sides have holes at the ends for mounting to stock screws. The front black trim at the back of the front fender wells need to be trimmed at the little crease just below the doors, in order to fit the sides. You can measure and trim once you do the test fit. Once that was done, I reattached the black trim. I'll post pics tonight to better illustrate.
The back end of the sides have a screw hole as well. That one is tricky. I ground that hole to be square to match the little female screw plug which helps to hold on the rear stock rubber aero piece that sits just in front of the rear wheels. Again I'll post pics later.
After all that, I think if I had to do it again, I'd just cut the top of that little plug off and us it as a nut when screwing the rear of the piece in.
FINAL UPDATE:
Finally washed the car and took some better shots. Tomorrow a friend is taking some better shots of the car with his SLR. I'll post in another thread this weekend. Enjoy...
Having a little photoshop fun:
All I need to do is sand heads and fogs, wet sand and buff all painted parts and install. It's going to be a long week...
(thumbnails below. click for larger images)
PPG the way to go!!
Used JDM rear looking like a $2 whore....all beat up and worn out...
The rest of the parts waiting for prep...
The rear bumper looking fresh and ready for paint!! My boy knows his sh!&!
Here you can see how badly the stock fogs fit into the Vertex openings:
3 painstaking hours and a ton of fiberglass dust later, the fogs fit pretty snug. Still have to redo the mounting holes. I used a dremel and a small grinding stone for small areas and a larger sanding drum with a compressor (1/2" dia) for the larger areas. It is VERY rough and needs a lot of sanding but I'm not too picky since the rough areas will be hidden by the fogs:
The right side:
The left side:
UPDATE: 4/12
Step into the "bubble"
What the inside of a bubble looks like:
Mirrors and eyelines done! sweet!
rear lip:
JDM booty!!
Dori VIP frontage:
Finished side mirrors installed on my dirty car. No more black and MSM!!:
I recommend spraying the entire area with water prior to spraying the paint or clear to minimize the amount of airborne contaminants you may encounter during the process. It helped a lot.
all of this work for only $350 including paint and supplies!!
not bad at all
oh and take a look at what mexican cockroaches look like...
They regained consciousness about two hours after this picture and went to Lolita's for menudo...
UPDATE 4/19/2008:
Installed the kit today. I am excited but a bit nervous about driving the car around being so low. I just have to get used to it.
Here are two pics of what the USDM rear bumper and the JDM rear bumper look like together. The JDM is on the left and the US on the right. (this one's for you nigelllll lol nevermind the weeds):
Here are some pics of the kit installed. Sorry about the crappy pics. The lens on my Cybershot is dirty. I'm having a friend take some "professional" shots later. I'll post those in a separate thread.
Here, you can see how much the Ti-Limited Exhaust sticks out from the japanese bumper. I love it much more this way. My paint guy, also was able to sand and buff the rear bumper and lip so it's smooth now. He'll come back next week to sand and buff out the rest of the parts:
The best shot I could get for now. I'll do better tomorrow:
All things considered he did a great job. The color isn't spot on as far as matching goes, but it's not horrible either. You get what you pay for. He didn't have the machinery and time to do a correct color match. I may redo the rear later but I want to get wheels first. 19" AME CX's in silver polish as soon as I get the cash. Dat at SpeedAlliance a great guy. Awesome customer service...
Sill have to sand the fogs and install them. Probably Monday.
UPDATE (4/22)
Just realized I never gave tips on the step by step process. I'll try and do that as time permits. Pretty busy at work lately.
One thing, on the sides: The Vertex sides have holes at the ends for mounting to stock screws. The front black trim at the back of the front fender wells need to be trimmed at the little crease just below the doors, in order to fit the sides. You can measure and trim once you do the test fit. Once that was done, I reattached the black trim. I'll post pics tonight to better illustrate.
The back end of the sides have a screw hole as well. That one is tricky. I ground that hole to be square to match the little female screw plug which helps to hold on the rear stock rubber aero piece that sits just in front of the rear wheels. Again I'll post pics later.
After all that, I think if I had to do it again, I'd just cut the top of that little plug off and us it as a nut when screwing the rear of the piece in.
FINAL UPDATE:
Finally washed the car and took some better shots. Tomorrow a friend is taking some better shots of the car with his SLR. I'll post in another thread this weekend. Enjoy...
Having a little photoshop fun: