1GA drifter body kit install

[DSMcamaro]

I just pick up a drifter body kit for my 91 tsi and i plan on installing it myself with the next couple weeks. My unlce has a body shop so i have all the tools and a paint booth and all that, but im just wondering if anyone on here that has installed their own kit could give me any pointers. I dont plan on molding anything, just bolt it on. the front bumper is actually ready to fit on a 1GB so i have to cut out some of the center piece on the bumper to make it fit the pop-up 1GA style. any advice or ideas are welcome. thanks

 

[HighPsi92GST]

You will need to make some custom brackets to hold the side skirts in place. other wise, if you will be doing it at a body shop...shouldnt be too hard.

 

[DSMcamaro]

any ideas on how i can fill this big gap between the clear corners and the bumper?

 

[compression]

not sure mine has that stupid ass gap too.. i bought mine off of ebay tho , it has many many problems

 

[DSMcamaro]

not sure mine has that stupid ass gap too.. i bought mine off of ebay tho , it has many many problems

the guy i bought the kit from got it off ebay too atleast your car is a 1GB, mine will probably have an even bigger gap than yours does

 

[DSMcamaro]

another pic, big old gap

 

[HighPsi92GST]

its a 92-94 bumper and your trying to put it on a 90-91 car. thats the problem. Now it needs to be cut and reglassed to fit the right way.
Id start by making the peice under your side marker straight from the front of the bumper, since it has a little bit of a raised up spot for mounting on a 92-94 car

 

[DSMcamaro]

its a 92-94 bumper and your trying to put it on a 90-91 car. thats the problem. Now it needs to be cut and reglassed to fit the right way.

the front bumper is actually ready to fit on a 1GB so i have to cut out some of the center piece on the bumper to make it fit the pop-up 1GA style.

i know thats why it is the way it is, i was just seeing if anyone had some ideas on how to fix it. And i don't want to cut the higher piece that is under the corner lens because thats where the lip is to bolt/screw the bumper to the fender. would it be bad to cut it and not reglass it? because i know i need to cut some out of the raised center peice eitherway. I'm still not sure how im going to do it(never worked with fiberglass shit before).

 

[mavisky]

Crap man you're at a body shop. Add some glass and bondo to it to build that area up, that's what happens when you buy cheap kits for the wrong car.

 

[Itzallstock]

Jacking a second, What are some good Brands/Places to go with for us 1ga guys?
-Ben

 

[Burnett03]

i know thats why it is the way it is, i was just seeing if anyone had some ideas on how to fix it. And i don't want to cut the higher piece that is under the corner lens because thats where the lip is to bolt/screw the bumper to the fender. would it be bad to cut it and not reglass it? because i know i need to cut some out of the raised center peice eitherway. I'm still not sure how im going to do it(never worked with fiberglass shit before).

if your uncle has a body shop im sure he can figure out something its called fiberglass or bondo.

 

[DSMcamaro]

I guess I'll be learning how to re-fiberglass soon. my uncle hasn't done any fiberglassing before(usually just fixes old muscle cars), so we'll both be practicing. does anyone else on here have a 1GA with the drifter body kit? I will probably be posting more pics in a couple of weeks when i get time to start working on the kit. thanks for all the replies.

 

[endlessMyk]

I'm pretty sure andysautosport.com or whatever it is has the drift kit for the 1ga... Do you plan on putting the sideskirts on over top that vinyl?

 

[grans0o]

I guess its all a matter of opinionl, but I think the stock lines of the 1Ga are sexy and don't need to be messed with. Why would you do that to such a beautiful car?

 

[Talesin]

Personally, I'd prefer to have a front end that blended in smoothly to make the car flow a bit more, rather than the jutting bumper. Before I picked mine up, the front bumper is what made me think of 1Gs as 'old people cars', honestly. They're distinct, but the bumper... needs to go.

 

[Bostedquest]

I need the drifter front end simply for my FMIC... the stock simply does not open up enough.
But yes,mine will only have the front, nothing else.

 

[HighPsi92GST]

there was a guy on Talk with a black 1g with drift only front bumper and a big fmic, looked good.

 

[DSMcamaro]

I'm pretty sure andysautosport.com or whatever it is has the drift kit for the 1ga... Do you plan on putting the sideskirts on over top that vinyl?

its not vinyl, that ugly shit is actually painted on The whole car is gonna be painted black. I'm actually not the type of guy who would go buy a body kit, a friend of mine had it before me and it just kinda fell into my lap since my car needs body work anyways. I might not put the whole kit on, depends on how much work its gonna be to make everything fit. my stock bumper was junk anyways, so i'm for sure doing the front. It'll look nice and clean when its done.

 

[sleeper2]

aight here is how you do it......

cut it flat off first next cut a little more off of the area that you just cut say around 1/4"
then go over to your bench grinder(dont forget to take that little piece you cut off) grind it down a little bit then test fit it back onto the bumper........keep grinding off till you get it to where you r satisfied.........then on the back of the bumper put on a piece of duct tape on the fron grind it down into the fiber glass till its really thinapply your fiberglass resin and your sheeting then more resin sand it all smooth with 60 grit paper then so on and so forht then after its all semi smoothed out...take a little bit of bondo and spred across it ,sand it down till its smooth.......trust me on this i seem to be really good at body work ......i had to use some on my last project...a 99 stang that i bought for $500 that was wrecked bought it 2 weeks ago and now its done..... i'll take pics and start a thred then post in here what it is then you can see if you'll take my word on body work

alan

 

[Bostedquest]

I just wonder why they stopped making the drift front for 1Ga's...

I do not like the bug eye lights... no offense to anyone that has them, I am just sayin...

I would like to get the drift front end, but I do not know if I am willing to put alot of time into it...

Yes I work with FG projects all the time, and I hate doing it... Hense why I do not want to do it for my car.
And something in that position on the car I would rather have urethane anyway...

 

[endlessMyk]

You could always chop your front bumper to open it up for the fmic... but just don't be sloppy about it. It looks so bad when you can look at it and tell some kid just went at it with a hacksaw or something. Take your time, do it right, cut at a slight angle... it would look sweet.

My only problem with just putting the drift front bumper on is that it then drops the lines in the front, but still sits up higher the rest of the way around the car... looks awkward.

 

[talontrbot]

there is an easier way of putting the front drift bumper on the car. You have to cut the center section off the drift bumper so that is is flat across the front. Then you have to get your oem front bumper and cut the whole top side off (where your front clip bolts to your bumper support.) Be sure to cut where the bumper starts to bend around the bumper support. Now on to the bumper support itself. This will need a lot of cutting. You will have to measure your drift kit opening size for the bumper support. After that, take that measurement and measure from the top of the support down and etch a mark for cutting. Cut the whole damn thing off at the etching. Be sure not to cut the mounting plate on the back. (where the bumper support bolts to the car. Replace the bumper support back on the car. Mount the drift front on the car using the mounting points at the front fender wells. Now there should be a considerable gap at the top of the drift kit to the bottom of the headlight housing. Take the top piece of the oem piece that you cut off previously and slide it in the gap and mount the top piece to the mounting holes in the bumper support. Pop rivet the oem piece to the drift kit front and use long strand fiberglass resin to mold the two together. That should make an absolutly flawless oem fit. If I forgot a step, don't hesitate to ask questions. Good Luck

 

[DSMcamaro]

there is an easier way of putting the front drift bumper on the car. You have to cut the center section off the drift bumper so that is is flat across the front. Then you have to get your oem front bumper and cut the whole top side off (where your front clip bolts to your bumper support.) Be sure to cut where the bumper starts to bend around the bumper support. Now on to the bumper support itself. This will need a lot of cutting. You will have to measure your drift kit opening size for the bumper support. After that, take that measurement and measure from the top of the support down and etch a mark for cutting. Cut the whole damn thing off at the etching. Be sure not to cut the mounting plate on the back. (where the bumper support bolts to the car. Replace the bumper support back on the car. Mount the drift front on the car using the mounting points at the front fender wells. Now there should be a considerable gap at the top of the drift kit to the bottom of the headlight housing. Take the top piece of the oem piece that you cut off previously and slide it in the gap and mount the top piece to the mounting holes in the bumper support. Pop rivet the oem piece to the drift kit front and use long strand fiberglass resin to mold the two together. That should make an absolutly flawless oem fit. If I forgot a step, don't hesitate to ask questions. Good Luck

I might just be trying that. Is that how you did yours? And just to make sure im understanding correctly, you still have the oem bumber behind the bumper cover, but you have the cut it down alot to make it fit?

 

[talontrbot]

That is how I did mine. And yes, I do still have the oem bumper support behind the drift kit front bumper. It is just about half as wide though. Good Luck.

 

[DSMcamaro]

updated- got it done. I did end up refiberglassing a piece of the orgional front bumper to the drifter front. below are some picks of the work. dont have any final pics of good quality yet but as soon as i get the developed i'll post them for now i have the one pic that i took with my digital camera

tiger hair on the rear bumper

shaving rear wing

what it looks like now