Hey does anyone know how hard it is to install a body kit. I mainly need help with the rear bumper, how easy is it to take it off and put on a new one?
#915, "RE: Installing a body kit" In response to Reply # 0
the rear is probably the hardest. remove the hatch panels and the taillights. then you have access to the top bolts. remove those as well as the bolts behind the license plate and the bolts on the bottom of the bumper. then the bolts inside the fenderwell. the farthest one back is a bitch to get off, but i got screwed and had a subwoofer enclosure installed in my hatch before changing rear bumpers so i couldnt get to the bolt, so i took a hacksaw to the gap between the bumper and fender and cut the last bolt out on each side, you can get to the front fenderwell bolts by going behind the inner fenderwell plastic. then line up the new bumper and drill. be sure to do all this before painting the bumper. i am in the process of putting up a FAQ/install section on my site so if you arent going to be doing this for a while it may be up before you do it. good luck oh yeah, one more thing, if the bumper you buy doesnt require you to remove the rear re-bar and re-bar suport brackets, remove them anyway. i dont think in any accident they will do jack shit, plus youll get about 75 pounds in weight reduction by removing the front and rear reinforcement bars (about 30 lbs each) this equates to almost 1HP. i think 100lbs reduction=1HP (rejoice in your wonderful power gain now) http://www.geocities.com/blue2gnt
#916, "and another thing" In response to Reply # 1
while the bumper is off if you remove the re-bar like i said, you may want to paint the area behind it black or else it will be noticeable like mine is, i havent gotten around to painting it as you can see in teh picture. http://www.geocities.com/blue2gnt
#917, "RE: and another thing" In response to Reply # 2
i put the detailed instructions on my site under the "installation walkthroughs" section check it out if you need help, and if someone notices a typo let me knwo and ill fix it because i couldnt remember which places had bolts, screws and plastic screws. http://www.geocities.com/blue2gnt
#919, "RE: Installing a body kit" In response to Reply # 0
Just have one thing to say...you'll end up with over 30 screws and bolts. There are so many things holding that bumper cover on, its unbelievable. It took me about an hour or so to get it off. To install the actual kit, we actually had to cut part of the fiberglass bumper so that we could access the holes where the stock screws go on the left and right side corners. Did anyone else have to do that?
