i have a 96 RS that i just recently converted back to the stock front and i cut the center grill out. i am not a body shop technition or whatever you want to call it but i am trying to do it all myself. (i get more pride that way) what would be the best material to use to mold out the 8 U shapped cuts i had to make to cut it out? i have seen this done but only the after effect. i like the way it looks just not the four lower cuts. any suggestions would be nice.

possibly fiberglass or a heat gun and alot of patience hand rolling it but I'd need to see exactly what you're trying to mold and more description, Pics pls

I think I know what you're talking about. The front bumper is urethane, so fiberglass isn't going to stick to it at all. What you need to do is get some flat urethane plastic (not sure where you can find any...perhaps a hobby store or use some of the pieces you cut out) and cut some pieces to fit in the holes you want to patch. Then on the front side, bevel the edge at a 45 degree angle and same thing for the front side of the bumper around where the bumper and patch meet up. The idea here is to get as much surface area as you can. Then get another scrap piece of urethane and using plastic bumper repair epoxy (make sure it's for urethane) glue the patch piece in place with the scrap piece on the bottom side. Smooth the epoxy onto the front side where the beveled edges meet up (they should create a little "V" groove). Once the epoxy is cured you can sand it smooth and paint it.

Originally posted by Silv Blt
I think I know what you're talking about. The front bumper is urethane, so fiberglass isn't going to stick to it at all.

Good point! been workin too much on the race car body I forgot about the whole urethane thing, my mind was on abs plastic, thanks for catching that

i have not been able to get pics up for right now because i have been working to much. i'll post up some pics sometime tomarrow since i have most of the day off. the grill on this bumper is not solid all the way through. if you take a blade and cut it out you are left with "U" shaped places where the grill was. would just your standard bondo type material work on urethane? i want it to be clean but i don't have too much skill in this area. if it comes down to it i will have a shop do it. i would just rather do it myself.

bondo sticks (sort of) but the first time you have more than the slightest bump if it's not the absoloute thinnest bit itll pop right off and take any paint on top with it. just use the urethane bumper epoxy and it'll have enough flex and you can do some filling with it in thin coats

this is what i got to work with. i know i still got some trimming on some of them but i am going slow. i wanted to get the grill out and then work my way down.



from a distance it don't look that bad.



just up next to it you can tell. where could i get the epoxy at? is it availible in parts stores?

holy shit did you put a lift kit on that thing?

yeah you can get the epoxy at any parts store, look for a bumper repair kit, now that I see what you're working with, I'd say pull the bumpre cover back offand get a piece of metal rod or something to give you some resistance and use a heat gun to warm up the urethane right there put the rod underneath and roll it down, use the epoxy to fill any gaps still visible and it should look super clean. Or you could just put something under there and fill in the gaps from the top, another option is to ujst trim it straight across and eliminate the gaps but I'd want to be very sure of my cutting technique to make the cut straight

or you could always just get a big fmic and trim it to fit that =)

Originally posted by R34Eclipse
or you could always just get a big fmic and trim it to fit that =)

OOH yeah! I like that idea better! j/k

i like that idea too but i have something/someone standing in my way. no it is not my wife, it is the little one growing in her belly that makes me tell myself NO!

in answering the above lift kit question, no i didn't put alift on it. just did a 205/40/R17 set-up and it makes it look that bad but i got a present from the NOPI E-cat today that will fix this problem.
2" front and rear! i will post new pic from same angle with comparison after they are on.

Originally posted by reddrifteclipse
i like that idea too but i have something/someone standing in my way. no it is not my wife, it is the little one growing in her belly that makes me tell myself NO!

I was there a year and a half ago, so you have my understanding, I'm just finally getting to have some time for the car again

aaahhhh. so there is hope that i can go back to normal.....YEA!!!!

anyway, my car is down! still some gap but no where like it was and once the springs are broke in and settled it will give me some more.


thanks for all the suggestions. i will update as i make progress.

im honsestly trying to figure out how come your car sits so high?

it is not very high in person. i only have 4" of clearance at my lowest point on the front bumper. i still have a gap because of too low of a profile but i am fine with it. i don't want to be tuckin' tires on this car. just a smooth look (in my opinion) is all i am after. i just need to save, paint the car and get my stage 2 cams that i have been sitting on for about 2 years in and i will be happy.

Im with R34, I got the Tokico 1.5ish combo, and mine sits WAY lower than that. In the back i can only fit 2-1.5 fingers in both the rear and passenger front... the drivers front is a freak, and its higher :shrug

P.S. and I got 16" rims with some thickass noname tires.

I had 19s with a 2" drop and was about 1 1/2 fingers even with my 18s about the same. I've seen the car in person and granted the drift bumper was low, the wheel gap was nuts. It didnt make too much sense to me. Not trying to be a dick, but damn just seems to crab walk more than normal.

my 4" was from the ground to the lowest point on the front bumper. my gap in the front is about 3 fingers and i don't remember what the rear was.