Finally got the CSL hatch installed and the glass swapped from my old hatch. I had to modify some pieces to get it to fit right, and most likely so will others that have this hatch. It's fairly simple. So here is what I did to get it all to fit right.
Notice in these pics how the hatch sits too high above the rear quarters, does not extend far enough in the rear, and hits the top of the tail lights not allowing it to sit down where it should.
You can choose to modify the hatch or modify the car to correct these issues. I modified the car. You'll need to slot the mounting holes in the hinges to allow the hatch to move farther to the rear and clear the tail lights. I also key holed the two ouboard holes in the hinges inward a little. The clearances were too tight for screws to mount to the hatch with ease. The inboard holes were simply slotted with no key hole.
The lock receiver was also as far down as possible with no more travel, so it needed to be modified the same way. I removed it and slotted/key holed it in the direction I needed it. You'll have to test fit your hatch to see exactly the direction of key holing you'll need...you may not need any.
I swapped the glass from my old hatch and decided I did not want to use the factory reveal molding around the glass...so I just left it out. I think it looks cleaner this way and gives the install a more modern look. Use spacers under the glass if you want to do this so the glass is raised up and as flush as possible to the hatch. It won't look as good if the glass is sunk down in the factory location with no reveal molding.
Final install pics after letting the urethane cure overnight. You can see it sits pretty much exactly where it should be now. It has a larger gap than normal where the roof meets the leading edge of the hatch. Not really noticeable because the black and white is such a contrast anyways. Other car colors may have it stand out more. I may put a small piece of rubber molding in that space to seal the gap in the future. I drove around this morning in some rain and checked my hatch a few times to make sure the body seal is doing it's job...no leaks anywhere. Overall I'm very happy with this hatch. The group buy came at a perfect time since my old hatch had rust spots. One more thing..You WILL need to swap some of your hardware around. The hinges use smaller bolts, and the bump stops use larger bolts...I simply swapped them around and added washers where needed. The striker also uses smaller bolts. I used the ones from my old hatch struts.
Notice in these pics how the hatch sits too high above the rear quarters, does not extend far enough in the rear, and hits the top of the tail lights not allowing it to sit down where it should.
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You can choose to modify the hatch or modify the car to correct these issues. I modified the car. You'll need to slot the mounting holes in the hinges to allow the hatch to move farther to the rear and clear the tail lights. I also key holed the two ouboard holes in the hinges inward a little. The clearances were too tight for screws to mount to the hatch with ease. The inboard holes were simply slotted with no key hole.
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The lock receiver was also as far down as possible with no more travel, so it needed to be modified the same way. I removed it and slotted/key holed it in the direction I needed it. You'll have to test fit your hatch to see exactly the direction of key holing you'll need...you may not need any.
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I swapped the glass from my old hatch and decided I did not want to use the factory reveal molding around the glass...so I just left it out. I think it looks cleaner this way and gives the install a more modern look. Use spacers under the glass if you want to do this so the glass is raised up and as flush as possible to the hatch. It won't look as good if the glass is sunk down in the factory location with no reveal molding.
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Final install pics after letting the urethane cure overnight. You can see it sits pretty much exactly where it should be now. It has a larger gap than normal where the roof meets the leading edge of the hatch. Not really noticeable because the black and white is such a contrast anyways. Other car colors may have it stand out more. I may put a small piece of rubber molding in that space to seal the gap in the future. I drove around this morning in some rain and checked my hatch a few times to make sure the body seal is doing it's job...no leaks anywhere. Overall I'm very happy with this hatch. The group buy came at a perfect time since my old hatch had rust spots. One more thing..You WILL need to swap some of your hardware around. The hinges use smaller bolts, and the bump stops use larger bolts...I simply swapped them around and added washers where needed. The striker also uses smaller bolts. I used the ones from my old hatch struts.
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