Casa Del Gatos

Really anxious to see those LED strips in the Depo with some power to them.

Oldblue

Red ? Check your local laws, they might be illegal.

SuKi

OldBlue, I'm almost positive that red is illegal without looking. They will be mostly used for show, not while driving. And also for the occasional track day, because why not.

Cass Del gatos, it will be a few days, but I promise, not too long. My timeline for Big Red's mods keeps getting longer, but I figure that since I plan to drive her for quite a while, I'd rather take my time and do them right. Also spreading out the cost of materials

SuKi

So I put the first coat of paint on my bumper today. I then found a weak spot in the plastic weld, including a pinhole all the way through. Of course, it was the first side I did whey I had to weld the pieces together to get the shape. But I've got that fixed now and I doubled checked the rest of the bumper for welding flaws. Hopefully painting will look nice tomorrow.

I also installed four switches for some accent lighting and ran the lines up through the firewall into the engine bay. Switch 1 is slightly off it's mark, so much for measure twice and cut once. The seat hides it so I'm not too terribly worried about it, it does bug me though already. I need to pick up some wire protective tubing, I don't know what it's called. Switch number 1 will be for the head and fog light accents, switch 2 for the grille accent lights, and 3 will be for the body under glow lights. I don't know yet know what 4 will be for, but it's in place so I don't have to take the passenger seat out again. They are wired to the inside fuse box with fuse taps off of # 23 radio, 26 door locks, and 6 amplifier. They all are on full time so I can run the lights without the ignition on. Also none are into any major systems or safety systems. Next weekend I should have all the lights installed and wired up.

As you'll see below, I also have a major problem in my interior, mold. I haven't been in the car for over a month now. It sits in the 90 degree Guam sun with 90% humidity everyday. I'm going to remove the seats and steam clean them a well as the carpets. Does anyone know if the seat cloth can be removed and put back on fairly easily, or will it require the skill of an upholsterer? I would like to take them off, but I may have to settle for the stream clean and keep them inside for a few days. I'm also going to get some desiccant since I won't be driving it for about another month.

Here's the pics!

SuKi

I installed the headlights today. The pic isn't great, especially with Big Red covered in dust and no front bumper. I think it looks great thinking about when her front end is done.
The bumper is coming along. Here's the third coat of paint. Next weekend should be clear coats, and more sanding. And possibly cutting up the rear bumper, if time permits.

Pictures!

SuKi

Fog lights are wired and installed, just not in the bumper.

Final coat, again, of paint was put on the bumper. I wasnt happy with the previous final coat. I had quite a bit of pitting in the paint. I know it's not going to be perfect, but that was bad. To solve that, I used color match touch up paint on all the little pits. More wet sanding, and two light coats, with sanding in between. If I can sand and clear coat every night this week, it should be ready for install this weekend.

I know it was mentioned here that I'll need to cut the frame, but that's inaccurate on the 2011. I will, however, have to trim the bumper foam. As pictured, the bumperettes protrude from the foam also.

I have to wait to install the grille accents until the bumper is installed. I want to be sure to have ample lighting without seeing the LEDs directly. I know that the head and fog light accents are bright, but I'm looking for a softer illumination from behind the grille. Possibly thinking of highlighting the intake scoops also. I don't want to completely overdo it though. Oh well, I'll just have to wait and see.

Pics

SuKi

So I am wrong. T20 is correct . I will have to trim a bit of the lower bumper rail. I started shaping the foam today and the rail is in the way of the bumper. BTW, this is some tough foam to cut and shape. I now know why bumpers are made from plastic and foam.

SuKi

I sprayed the last few coats of clear this weekend. I installed it today so I could get a nice wet sand up to 2000 and not have to worry about it moving around on the table I've been working on. I also moved the bumper inside to our spare bedroom to spray the clear so I didn't get bugs, grass, or anything else in it. The wife's still in the states, so she won't mind the way the house still smells

It's not perfect but I'm pretty happy with it. The manufacturer says to wait a week before polishing, so this weekend will hopefully be the end of the bumper work. Then reinstall all the trim and lights, I'll take out the fogs before compound and polishing, and I'll see how off the color is. Possibly some work to blend, but I really doubt it unless it is so unbearable I can't stand looking at it. But here's the last pics before its complete

SuKi

Mmmmm, I don't know. Maybe another strip facing up to light the upper grille more. Oh well, enough for tonight.

SuKi

So today I fixed two cracks that happened during install. I left the bumper on, sanded down through the crack, a little filler, and some paint. You can see the driver side isn't polished yet, but I'm calling this job done, finally. Again, it's not perfect, and I wanted to pull the entire bottom forward, but I'm glad I didn't. I think it would have been above my skill at this time. But overall, I'm super stoked with how it turned out and I like the look a lot better now with the black billet grilles.

Pics!!! BTW, it's the rainy season here, it's been wet here for the last three weeks. Only three more months to go.