JDM BUMPER + FMIC Legacy GT project

Hey guys as some of you may know i bought a JDM Bumper + fog lights for my legacy gt from the classifieds a few days ago. Well today i really got to put it on(kinda)

btw this is the link to the sale: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85187

1. Today(4/8)

a. Removal of OEM LGT Bumper

b. Removal of bumper beam

c. Installation of JDM Bumper

d. Analyzing what has to be changed to make this thing fit perfectly.

This is it just on, only being held by the screws in the grill

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2967.jpg

You can see in the pic below that the piping on the passenger side is fine, the drive side piping is disconnected right now and facing directly out the driver side fog light hole

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2968.jpg

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2969.jpg

ZIP TIE MOD1: I broke both popits today, so trust HEAVY DUTY Zip ties to the rescue, plus i can install the zip ties without needing to turn the car on and spin the steering wheel.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2970.jpg

ZIP TIE MOD 1:Different angle, the bumper lines almost perfectly with the quarter panel of the car a lil tweaking will be necessary to make it fit perfectly.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2971.jpg

You can see in the pic below that the bumper is in fact shorter and more of a "nose dive" to it then the stock bumper. Dont mind the rims they are EXTREMELY DIRTY.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2972.jpg

Another Front Vew Below: You can see that the passenger side piping is basically in fron of the toe-hook and the toe hook is forcing the piping forward, which is the main reason(i believe at least) for why the bumper is not sitting correctly on the passenger side. (oh and the driver side has the fog light housing insert, and the passenger side does not in this picture)

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2973.jpg

Just another front view, bu with the rest of the roof.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2975.jpg

THe next few pictures show ZIP TIE MOD 2: it also shows hwot he bumper is not perfectly sitting where it should be, and the reason for this like said earlier is that the toe hook is forcing the intercooler piping forward, on the stock bumper there was not problem becuase the bumper was longer, but here you have a shorter bymper and the toe hook opening of the bumper will not even go on becuase the pipin is in the way. If anyone has ideas as to how i might go around correcting the toe hook issue. Please help me out.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2976.jpg

Slight imperfection in fitment+ZIP TIE MOD 2:

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2977.jpg

Slight imperfection in fitment+ZIP TIE MOD 2:

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2978.jpg

Picture of what i was talking about with the toe hook, The toe hook is directly behind where that opening is in the bumper(that half moon shaped piece), and right now the intercooler pipe is resting in front of it. Any ideas for a fix would be appreciated.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2979.jpg

Slight Pre-Purchase Damage: nothing that i cant fix with enough tools, and sand paper, and other necessary items:

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2980.jpg

SPACE SAVER.

Pictures are now working, i switched to photobucket and they all work fine now.

I see 'em. Gonna look shaweeet when you're done.!.

Can Anyone see the pictures?

 

If you cant...please advice me as to what is best to use to post the pics up.

Looking good. Now you just need to get the rest of the car painted to match the bumper.

Hunny what did you buy today? Nothing...just a 500 dollar bumper...

the next day....

Hunny what did you buy today? i had the car painted to match the bumper..

WHAT?!?!?!?!

After spending most of the night trying to figue out what to do with the intercooler piping ive come to terrible conclusion of NOTHING.

lol...tomorrow is another day, and im gunna spend a few hours tomorrow figuring out how i can fit a 2.5inch pipe in a space only big enough for 2 inches, and this is the same situation for both sides of the inercooler.

i would say just increase the size of the cutout for the towhook! looks like thats exactly where the i/c tubing is sitting...

obviously you can't use your front towhook anymore with your fmic, so just dremel that semi-circle for the towhook out a lil more, and should accomodate your i/c piping!!

oh, i almost forgot, while your at it with the dremel...

...cut out that center piece!! you've got an fmic for christ's sake!, that's like 3" of surface area covered by that middle beam!

(sorry for that little rant!)

I was thinking of grining the toe hook down, i really dont want to, becuase worst case scenario and i need the car towed, i can undo the intercooler piping in about 5 minutes with my 11mm ratchet in my glove box(keep it there just in case always, and 2 t-clamps, and a coupler in my trunk) and the toe hook is fully operational.

what i was thinking was to maybe...buy a longer silicone coupler...like a 45* angle one, those are usually 5 inches or 6 inches long, and at that point where it hooks up to the intercooler i think its gunna bend in alil bit, hopefully just enough.

i like your idea of blacking out the intercooler...its something im strongly considering. the piping will definitly be black, not sure about the intercooler.

as far as that center piece that cover that three inch area in the lower bumper opening..as much as i want to cut that piece out there is a lil problem in that. that pieces seperates the left lower bumper opening from the right lower bumper opening and each individual one has its own mesh backing; ie if i cut it out there that 3 inch piece of area would not have any mesh on it. Plus i dont think i could find mesh lik this anywhere in a home depot or anything like that.

and there's no way to grind out a lil of the bumper cover; shim it out a little? i was worried that in suggesting to cut out the middle support that the grill mesh was 2pcs, but figured i would suggest it anyhow!

as for the silicone coupler, i dont know if itll bed much- i thought that was the reason those things have so many plies to them, so they dont bend or occlude the flow during vaccum...

also, you could look into different towhook options, ie those hinged racing models seen on pro-sponsored race cars? i think srrt uses them on thier lgt spec b's (check drive performance mag). as long as its welded in correctly, its as strong/stronger than the factory towhook! plus ricer apeal; i mean racer apeal! lol!

and there's no way to grind out a lil of the bumper cover; shim it out a little? i was worried that in suggesting to cut out the middle support that the grill mesh was 2pcs, but figured i would suggest it anyhow!

 

as for the silicone coupler, i dont know if itll bed much- i thought that was the reason those things have so many plies to them, so they dont bend or occlude the flow during vaccum...

 

also, you could look into different towhook options, ie those hinged racing models seen on pro-sponsored race cars? i think srrt uses them on thier lgt spec b's (check drive performance mag). as long as its welded in correctly, its as strong/stronger than the factory towhook! plus ricer apeal; i mean racer apeal! lol!

Yea it sux, thank you for the advice. but its all good, this mesh is not plastic its very thick and metal. i have no problem cutting the center support...but only if i got meshless, and for some reason i like having everything have mesh...for now at least.

Update for tonight:

today i did alil modification to the bumper...the mesh in that support is two big rectanguar pieces and they cover farthr then the opening, and i realized after all the pictures i have(there is more, i just havnt posted them yet) that the mesh was what was causing the mis alighnment. so i trimmed the mesh to fi the lower bumper opening perfectly...and now the bumper sits perfectly on the car(without the foglight housings installed :-).

Let me explain alil...right now that big fog light housing which is a big mesh piece that fits into those two opening on the sides of the bumper, on the passenger side the tubing is alil too far out, but i might adjust the pipe to a 45 degree silicone coupler so that i can use te mesh fog light housing in its entirety on the passenger side. otherwise im going to have to cut the mesh interior stuff out of the fog light housing, and just keep the surrounding portion and the fog light housing as one(but then i lost the mesh in the side holes.

The driver side intercooler piping is still in the way, so i have to figure out what to do with that. right now the piping is U-shaped and parrelel to the ground, but its in the way of the fog light on the driver side. so i bought two 45 degree couplers for that side and am thinking of just curling the pipes either up or down(under or over) the fog light housing. hopefully that will work.

In addition..today i wet sanded the blue off of the bumper. i then primed it with plastic primer about 3 skinny layers, i then wet sanded it all down to be flat, followed by another 3 skinny layers of base coat on top of that followed by more wet sanding. tomorrow i will probably do some wet sanding to make sure the surface is flat when the OBP paint goes on it. then im gunna let the OBP dry and then lacquar the bumper....

BUT as of today she is no longer blue...but black :-)

Its a greddy intercooler, with custom piping.

The intercooler was (if im not mistaken) was the prototype for AVO's FMIC. This was on one of their first cars. It was sold by AVO to me with custom brackets made to be LGT fitment ready. then i fabbed up all the pipes with an Sti FMIC kit from ebay.

Small request for anyone good at photoshop.

Can anyone photoshop a silver pipe showing through the fog lighthousing/mesh on the driver side. almost like taking the way the way is on the passenger side protruding, except it would be protruding slightly throughthe mesh housing.

I ask this becuase ive come to the terrible(for me) realization that the mesh is about 1.5cm in its thickness, which will cause the pipe to be sticking past the mesh-foglight housing. But i belive that if i cut innermost part of the mesh-fog light housing on both sides then the pipe will protrude a bit out into the open, but allow for the intercooler piping to require less adjustment.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/Drjon11587/CIMG2973.jpg