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[GSX]

Well, the '97 GSX is gone (sold) and in its place is a '95 GSX which has been worked over both mechanically and visually.

I'd like to thank my good friend Josh for all the time he's put into making the '95 exceed the older '97 in every way.

Here's some teaser pictures to give you an idea of what is in store for this car - notice there are some 'minor' modifications. Currently the bumper is in primer, and will be sanded/smoothed to perfection and then painted to match the rest of the freshly painted car.

I hope you all like them as much as I do.

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Thanks,

 

[zachakagoat]

I like the vents, are you planning to put mess grill behind it or are you going to use it for some kind of transmission or oil cooler cuz that would be kewl. Or I'm not sure how big your FMIC is, is it going to extend up into the vents?

 

[MrBentley]

i like the filled in fog light holes but for me the "vents" near the mitsu logo is too 4th gen for my liking

 

[Dream On]

I'd have to see it on the car before I could say anything about it though. Probably will turn out pretty cool. Nice originality on that.

 

[S_Ranger]

Like a baby evo.

 

[will90Eclipse]

Those vents look cool as hell If you don't mind telling us what color is your new car

 

[redeclipse7782]

That bumper looks sick, cant wait to see it on the car, post pics ASAP

 

[shpyder]

Stunning! I cant wait to see the results.

 

[pinder91]

Not too sure about the "moustache" but I look forward to seeing it on the car.

 

[GSX]

Thanks for the replies. There were a lot of good points brought up so I'll try to answer just a few. Again, thanks for the feedback.

zachakagoat, the current the plan is to put nothing behind the vents but rather to provide additional cooling since my 2G DSM Race FMIC Upgrade from AGP Turbocharges fills the entire surface area of the 2Gb bumper opening w/ the Spearco 2-216 core. Also, that core's size plus the end takes were factors in my decision to have the factory fog light holes filled as well.

MrBentley, I never noticed that. I'll have to take a closer look at the 4G. My hope is that we still keep the sleek lines that define the 2G, but enhance them to provide adequate function for a 400 horsepower car.

Dream On, S_Ranger, redeclipse7782, and sphyder - I really appreciate your thoughts. Ultimately, with the bumper mounted on the car, I believe it will all tie in really well but I'd like to solicit your opinions as fellow DSMers.

will90Eclipse, I don't mind telling at all as I'm thrilled to finish the project. The car was originally silver but has been repainted in Toyota's QuicksilverFX.

pinder91, I like your comment. I like it a lot. I guess it could be seen as a mustache ... I just hope it's a masculine mustache.

Overall, we made these changes with the idea of "function over form" in mind. As we progressed it was our hope that we could 'add' a little unique form to it while we were at it. I'll be sure to add pictures as the car nears completion - should be a couple weeks max.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

I think it will looks awesome can't wait to see the finished product.

just curious also, what filler did you use for the project? a link would be awesome too.. I've been thinking about modifying my 97 bumper but I don't want to use bondo.. thanks!

 

[Attack Eagle]

BTW blackspooln. that eagle "emblem" is removable from the bumper if you jsut want it smoothed... IT's attached in place with an adhesive I beleive.

ONe of my firends ripped his off the car and it did look different.

 

[BLUEBLOTCH]

I really like the vents! Can we get a hea don shot though?

Was this an original idea or did someone else "inspire" you??

 

[GSX]

blcknspo0ln, I'm not exactly sure what was used. I can tell you it wasn't bondo though. I believe Josh used my '95 bumper as a urethane donor to fill the wholes and then used a product he referred to as plastic repair (a commercial product I believe) to mend the pieces to the bumper. It's been about 4 months multiple applications to ensure the product has cured to the materials ... I think it will hold just fine.

BLUEBLOTCH, thanks for the compliment. Here are two other pictures taken with me camera phone that same night - one happens to be head on.

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[ECLIPSE4x4]

I think it looks great.

 

[GSX]

Was this an original idea or did someone else "inspire" you??

Almost forgot the second part of your post. Honestly, I'd been playing with the idea of doing this since I put the FMIC on ... sometime in 2002. BUT, there are some that definitely aided the "inspiration" in going this route.

Seeing greyforestgst's car when he did something similar confirmed what I had in mind.

And when the decision was made to repaint, seeing Mr96GSX408's QuicksilverFX car assured me this was a good color that wouldn't stray too far from the mitsu's factory silver.

... plus I didn't want two identically color imports as my other is referred to as Alpine Silver (nearly identical color in my mind).

 

[knighteclipse1]

very very nice, I can't wait to see the finished product

 

[kronus]

Very nice! I didn't like the upper vents at first, but after seeing the other pictures, I do like them. Not to mention the functionality that they have.

Can't wait to see them on the car!

-Kevin-

 

[Injected]

I personally love the nostrils and 'shaved' folglight covers. The only thing I can think of that would make it look better would be a moulded in ralliart lip.

 

[pinder91]

I really like the shaved fog light covers. Everything looks really well done!

 

[Injected]

No one has asked the important question yet. HOW is it done? Platic-weld? Polyurethane adhesive. Did you source the inserts from another urethane bumper. Please say it's not fiverglass and bondo.

 

[FFeArXVI]

Injected, he already said he believes Josh used his old '95 bumper as a urethane donor and used something called Plastic Repair to mend it to the bumper

Looks really good, I like it. I think the little mustache would go nicely with greyforestgst's hood vents.

 

[ninjai_ruken]

I cant wait to see what it looks like on the car

 

[gbell]

Wow I think this bumper is great. I was thinking of doing something similar but I didnt know what to use on the urethane. I can't wait to see it on the car. If you could post more information about how it was done that would be very useful.

 

[GSX]

Thanks for the continued interest everyone. I think the bumper is shaping up nicely (although I'll be honest, Josh and are both suprised on how it looked fitted to the car).

knighteclipse1, thanks that makes two of us.

kronus, I hear you ... Josh kinda goes back and forth on how he feels about them but he always ends with "...as long as you are happy."

Injected, believe it or not I have one sitting in my spare bedroom. I decided in the end to NOT put it on because I didn't want the bumper looking TOO busy. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it at this point.

And I'll have to ask Josh if he is willing to share his insight into this matter - I can tell you for sure fiberglass and bondo have never been mentioned during this project. Personally, I wouldn't mind sharing but I don't want to give away any of his secrets since this is his job and thus his techniques.

pinder91, ninjai_ruken thank you.

FFeArXVI, you sir are correct ... as for the hood, that was my original thought, but Josh has something racier in mind. We're going to run it with the stock hood until his 'carbon creation' is completed.

gbell, completion should be right around the corner. I appreciate the comments.