thatericguy Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 ok...so as some of you know i started this a while back...got bogged down after the test fit of the front bumper. for those who are new to it... see the prior story... for those who want to know the outcome...well the bottom line it can be done, cause tonight i just got it all together...FINALLY!!!! sorry, i am really happy as this has taken me basically over half a year of planning and waiting on parts. i even did a jig...anyways i know you could careless...on to the good stuff. so essentially, while i was waiting for the necessary front bumper parts, i worked on the rear bumper... Taking off the rear bumper was easy enough. It is exactly as the manual states it. i wont get into that specifically right now, but once I took it off, I test fitted the rear bumper. I realized it does NOT fit over just the bumper beam in place (no foam). I realized that the bumper beam stuck out exactly 2 inches too much, so I measured 2" which is about half the width of the beam..drew a line thru several measurements (see pics) and tried cutting it with a hacksaw but soon realized how futile that was..cutting a beam length wise is idiotic. I took it to a local aluminum fab shop, and got it cut in about 10 mins. Tools make all the difference. BTW, for those who try this, you will absolutely need a deep socket 12mm to remove the bumper beam to get it cut in half. Don't forget to get this before you start doing all this stuff...like i did. After getting cut, i rebolted it back on and this time the test fit went fine..the beam will come back looking like an E (cross section), if that makes sense. After doing that, put some of the expandable foam (for window/door sealer @ home depot) along the ridges of the E. Don't put a lot on there though, as the bumper will have to go over it. Also don't put the bumper on while it is drying, self explanatory...This foam will give your bumper minimal protection in a low impact tap. The foam is actually very durable so it should hold up. I went and got the rear and front bumper painted and the additional right rear exhaust cover painted as well. After painting, rear bumper went on without a hitch...After getting the parts in the mail today, I got started...essentially the missing parts are: jdm grille (i got the mesh #107-004-008) fog light bottom support for L/R (#84927W/#84927X) Inner fender mud guards for L/R (#59110AG080/#59110AG090) A bunch of Subaru clips/screws - I dont know which ones are which right now, but I ordered this (6 each): (57770KC000, 909130067, 909140007, 909130051, 59122PA101)Yes..its a lot of random stuff, but from what I guessed, these parts were all used...granted, you will have left over clips and screws...but its always good to have some extras. Ok so once you get the bottom support on via 2 screws...this is where I had to rig it so that the USDM fog light would work. It is true that there is actually a spec B fog light...fuggin subaru!!..only difference is it has 2 screw holes on top and bottom, well I did not want to pay the 2-300 USD to get them here... so I figured a way to get them on. The fog will just sit on the bottom support, and will have 2 zip ties to stabilize it. My pictures will make it more understandable, I also used some industrial velcro to give it a bit more stability on the support.Once its stabilized, you now need to install the 2 inner fender mud guards. Some of you may be wondering why you need to do this, but it is because the spec B bumper requires a special type of underbody plastic so that it bolts down properly. There is actually a possibly cheaper way of doing this* (see below for details), but for now I bought the inner fender guards so I installed them, this does take a while the first time you do them as there are about 7 clips each side, comprising of 3 different types of screw clips. Be aware of which type of clip you are removing goes to which hole as the JDM one uses the same holes. I have no specific instruction for this part, other than remove all clips that hold the guard...and while doing this...you will easily find them by slowly removing them. It will go much faster the 2nd time around.Once you put the new inner fenders on...you are ready to finish it off. Place the bumper back on. Reconnect the fog lights (verify they still work, position them if necessary then cinch them tight as possible, snip excess) Re Install bumper as you did before..I assume you can do this by now. The only caveat I have not been able to solve are the 3 clips on the bottom of the bumper. The spec B underbody plastic does not have the same holes as the UDSM underbody plastic. I do not know the parts number, and am not sure it wil fit properly anyhow since the whole 2.0 vs 2.5. So the last 3 clips in the middle (under bumper) will not be connected through my process. I may think of some zip tie process, but all the other connections seem to make the bumper more than stable. Put on the grille as you took it off....and voila...you are done! Do a jig as I did.* - the actual piece that connects to the inner mud guard is actually just some added on plastic they made for the spec B. There wasn't a specific part # I could find other than the one in the picture (img_1786 and img_1785), and I have no idea how to put it on, but if you figured it out, you probably could save ~200 USD. (It looks like it was put on with something similar to plastic tap rivets.) http://www.erion.net/eric/img_1797_small.jpg http://www.erion.net/eric/img_1798_small.jpg some distanced shots... http://www.erion.net/eric/front_small.JPG http://www.erion.net/eric/frontangle_small.JPG http://www.erion.net/eric/sideangle_small.JPG http://www.erion.net/eric/side_small.JPG more pictures are here and here (~15 megs of photos) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maosta Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 sweet, now all you got to do is post some pics. That's a damn good sugar cookie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axis008 Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Wow! Nice writeup. Thanks for putting in all the hard work. I think everyone here appreciates it. I think I'll sticky this because this is an important thread. Cheers! -Ben -ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deer Killer Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Nice job! A band saw or sawzall is what you needed for the rear bumper . Aren't you concerned that the bumper beam will cut through your bumper cover if anyone taps you? Or did you put something over those edges? So what was the total cost? front/rear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatericguy Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 Deer Killer...thanks...I forgot to mention what you can do for that. I will add that in.. As for costs...it got pricy as I bought extra parts that really weren't necessary. All part of learning I guess, but all said and done, it cost me around 1600. I am guessing you could probably knock off like 3-400 dollars if you dont order excess and time it correctly to save on shipping. The thing is, I got the 2 bumpers for 800 (pickup) and It is hard finding a deal like that now. Maybe jdmpartstx or apexjapan can get the used bumpers bulk shipped here to help reduce costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatericguy Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 hmm guess not too many ppl interested in the whole thing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axis008 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 I KNOW lots of people are interested in it! They are just blind!!! By the way I had a chance to look at the pictures and they are great. I really like the wagon with the shorter bumper. All these little things keep making me lean towards the wagon over the sedan! I think I'll try unstickying it for now to see how it does. I guess since it's at the way way top it might be hard to see. -Ben -ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feesh Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Awesome write up!! I will definitely be doing the front bumper when funds allow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj808 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 I definitely be doing this same conversion when i get to cali. Probably the front and rear conversion. It just looks so much better than the USDM bumpers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 more pics would be nice... This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axis008 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 15MBs of pics! Not enough?? Actually some further away shots would be great. Haha. I know I'm a hypocrite. -ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Monkey Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Looks good eric....I don't think I'd ever do it personally (hoyl cost batman) but I'd like to see it in person sometime... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatericguy Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 ill get some further away shots today...i just washed it yesterday.. yeah i know it cost a lot...but like i said...a lot of the cost was due to it not being done before so i over ordered on stuff, and the mismatch timing of shipping from japan when if i had known, i could have grouped everything into one shipment. the only real concern to people is if they are comfortable with cutting the usdm bumper beam, and being able to source all these parts shipped at decent price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_low78 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Aye , gonna have to agree with DM on that being a neat idea, but due to monster price tag and the fact that when your done, it's basically still a factory look, I'd have to personally pass. On the other hand, like you said, it's good to have someone that has the knowledge to inform everyone on what needs to be done if they ever go the route of the C-West kits and suck. good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Good looking stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 so really, you can just do away with the whole bumper beam Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 very nice...good job on the write up. I understood everything so far, just a little confused of the inner mud guards. Im guessin that this install would apply to any aftermarket JDM bumpers as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatericguy Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 keefe: haha of course you can just eliminate them all, but i guess i wasn't that comfortable with it that way.. precise: as for the inner fender mud guards... i realize it maybe somewhat difficult to get what i mean...let me try and explain a little better. first off these mud guards cover the entire inner fender and extend underneath the front of the car.. the only reason i even bought them was because there was some japanese site that mentioned the part numbers of required parts when they converted from jdm gt to spec B. And when test fitting, I noticed that there was an extra plastic piece that was missing where the front bumper needs to bolt into. So I assumed that this inner mud guard had this extra piece which luckily I was right, but when I got the new ones, I realized that they just added an extra piece of plastic onto what (inner mud guards) we already have. So technically, you could just source that extra piece for both sides and just staple or glue it on some how; just so long as the holes are matched with the bumper clip holes. hope that made more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 thanks for the better explanation...i took off my bumper before and that makes a lot more sense it looks great, hope to do something like this soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatericguy Posted July 1, 2005 Author Share Posted July 1, 2005 just added some more pics...from a distance and with more light.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feesh Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 Nice new pics....looks fantastic.....must...get...funds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 Sweet and Nice Job!!!! i love the look of the LGT Wagon but this takes the look to an entirely new level of goodness for the USDM model. Thanks for pioneering the work on this and for the directions. All of us can benefit from what you've provided wrt the internal bumper parts, fender liners, etc., so thanks for sharing. Will make it much easier to tear down when I get ready to put on a body kit. SBT - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLTek Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 just finished the front of the car with B4 bumper http://www.pltek.net/s1.jpg http://www.pltek.net/s2.jpg http://www.pltek.net/s3.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple Digits Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 Eric, one word - Wicked! Pete, no kidding about 'just finished' huh? Unless you always have a driveway full of tools laying around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttgroove Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 pszydlik, nice! did you remove bumper beam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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