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Help Installing Drift Bodykit

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joeo1226

Probationary Member
5
0
Nov 2, 2009
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
If Anyone knows how to install body kits it would be greatly appreciated if someone could tell me what other things i need to install it besides the screws it came with. I am trying to install a Duraflex Drift Bodykit on my 90 Eclipse And it gave me no instructions on how to do it. Just recommend getting it done by a shop.But my money is kinda tight and wanna save it for the paintjob. I just wanted to know what kind of filler i should use for the gaps and also if i should add extra screws to it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
:banghead:
 
i would keep the kit off sell it buy some springs to lower it and save a ton of cash 1ga's look awsome how they are man
 
Well since I'm pretty sure you asked what you need to install the kit, I'll tell you what I needed to install mine. We used rivets, the basic screws and some fiberglass fill, in order to fill the gaps and make the car seamless not "pieced" together. Hope that helps. Pm me is you have anymore questions.
 
Don't do it, 1ga's are very sexy. Do it to a Honda if you have to do it.
 
I'm really getting tired of the "Don't do it body kit, its rice" kind of talk. I myself HATE body kits (honestly only look good on some 240's =P). But It's his car, let him do what he wants. If your satisfied with the way your car looks, then that's all that should matter. Everyone has different tastes/preferences.

Assuming he just bought the body kit pieces, I highly doubt he'll be returning it. All he asked was for some help on getting it on, not an opinion of how it looks.

Sorry if I sound like I'm ranting, I just see way too many of these threads that bash on people that try to be different. (Even if it is rice, if they like it, more power to em ;o )


Anyway, I recommend Contacting the company that sold you the Bodykit for some instructions. I'm pretty sure they'll be able to help you out.
 
+1, I like them on some cars, when done right. Just do yourself a favor and take your time and do it right the first time.
 
I couldn't agree more with chris.
I as well hate body kits but if the person wants to slap one on their car it's their car after all, so they can do whatever they want with it.
 
bodykits are amazing, they turn turds into golden turds. I especially like the guy who took weed blocker from home depo and bolted it to his bumper for a sweet $5 lip. UH-Mazing
 
how to install body kit.
(instructions brought to you by Arm & Hammer baking soda and Colgate toothpaste)

1.) take your kit out of the box
2.) invite a friend over to help you out with this procedure
3.) test fit every piece of the body kit onto your car without bolting any of it to the car so you can see how everything is going to line up
4.) lift feet and proceed to destroy body kit by stomping, kicking, flailing, dancing, thrashing, etc.
5.) your body kit will now lay in pieces on your garage floor, no doubt, exposing all fiberglass and being unrepairable
6.) congratulations, you've just saved yourself a headache 6 months down the road when you've learned you dont know how to maneuver your car around town without bumping, scraping, killing your body kit till if finally just falls off.

YOU'RE WELCOME!
 
how to install body kit.
(instructions brought to you by Arm & Hammer baking soda and Colgate toothpaste)

1.) take your kit out of the box
2.) invite a friend over to help you out with this procedure
2a.) Run to the nearest convenient store and pick up an 18 of natty ice
3.) test fit every piece of the body kit onto your car without bolting any of it to the car so you can see how everything is going to line up
4.) lift feet and proceed to destroy body kit by stomping, kicking, flailing, dancing, thrashing, etc.
5.) your body kit will now lay in pieces on your garage floor, no doubt, exposing all fiberglass and being unrepairable
6.) congratulations, you've just saved yourself a headache 6 months down the road when you've learned you dont know how to maneuver your car around town without bumping, scraping, killing your body kit till if finally just falls off.

YOU'RE WELCOME!

there, fixed:thumb:
 
how to install body kit.
(instructions brought to you by Arm & Hammer baking soda and Colgate toothpaste)

1.) take your kit out of the box
2.) invite a friend over to help you out with this procedure
3.) test fit every piece of the body kit onto your car without bolting any of it to the car so you can see how everything is going to line up
4.) lift feet and proceed to destroy body kit by stomping, kicking, flailing, dancing, thrashing, etc.
5.) your body kit will now lay in pieces on your garage floor, no doubt, exposing all fiberglass and being unrepairable
6.) congratulations, you've just saved yourself a headache 6 months down the road when you've learned you dont know how to maneuver your car around town without bumping, scraping, killing your body kit till if finally just falls off.

YOU'RE WELCOME!

This. /thread
 
My 90 GSX had a drift kit on it when I bought it. It didn't look too bad before the guy tried to blend the kit to the body with about 5 tons of bondo.

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What she looks like now:

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Good luck!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
That looks horrendous...just sell the kit if you can, lower your car on some nice wheels, clean up paint/body problems all the way around and you have a nice looking car.
 
I suggest that you save up some more money and let a body shop install the kit while the car is being painted. To make the bumpers and side skirts fit you will usually have to cut and sand off small amounts of the edges for it to fit correctly as the bumpers are never trimmed exactly to a perfect fit. The proper way to attach the bumpers is to go buy some bolts and nuts at a hardware store and mount it in all the factory mounting holes for the stock bumpers and if you can add more bolts to make it more secure but make sure they will not be visible. If the kit does not have pre-drilled holes you will have to measure and drill hem yourself, just find the original mounting points. It is also a good idea to brace the bottom lips of the bumper. For the sideskirts the front and rear will be bolted into the wheel wells and the side is usually attached by double sided tape, I suggest you get a high strength apoxy to attach it instead.
 
To correctly install that body kit several key things need to happen.
1.Mock up the body kit, Take a pencil and mark the areas of overlap. Also mark the areas that are tight against the body or kit to panel connection point's.
2. Working with one panel at a time begin to remove the material on the area's of concern. When you are getting close to your mark's STOP BEFORE YOU GET TO YOUR MARKS. Re mock panel and check gap's and fit AGAIN. Re mark if necessary. Repeat this process as needed until the panel in question goes on easily and the gap's are correct.
3. If you plan to blend the panels or remove the seams. You need to take extra material off the gap's to be filled to allow room for proper expansion and contraction. Doing this will also allow you to withstand a little more impact force. This buffer is critical to prevent your filler from cracking.
4. If you are blending the panels you will need to buy the correct filler material's, You will need fiber glass, carbon, or plastic woven style backing mat. Consult a supplier to get the correct style. You will need to know what type of plastic the kit is constructed from as well as the steel in the adjacent body panels. Buying the wrong materials for filling these gaps will result in premature failure from the natural expansion and contraction rates.
5. USE THE CORRECT HARDWARE TO INSTALL THE KIT. WOOD SCREW'S ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. You want the panel to have a very limited range of motion especially if being blended. Maintaining the buffer zone I spoke of above is critical to the longevity of the filled seam's. Making a bracket or a couple of mounting plates to beef up the union point's is probably not a bad idea. Our car's are BOLTED to the other panels not screwed with coarse thread wood screw's. Use the factor mounting point's. If you replicate or reuse the factory metal surrounds it will sandwich the bumper just like the stocker. Same goes with the other panels. If it has a flat metal plate or any other bracket that can not be removed from the OE panel, Re make it and use it on the kit.

Many many many people have failed because they did not take the proper steps to correctly fit and mount the kit. Lorenzer makes body kits that sell for WELL over 10 grand. Do you think they use wood screws to put them on? I think not. If you want more info feel free to PM me. I personally hate body kits on 1g car's they are so sexy right out of the proverbial box. 2g's however need all the help they can get. Thats my opinion save your comment's. 2g "dsm" <----ROFL = :notgood: in stock trim.
 
im just curious though if money is tight why spend it on putting on a body kit though? i would save that just in case something happens to your car and you need to spend it on maintenance/repairs. Dont just throw on a body kit if you dont really know what your doing because it will turn out really bad. Good luck though.
 
yea if that is a ebay knockoff kit which it sounds like then sell it and do it the right way, that kit i can tell u how to install it if u pm me but its gonna look like $#!+ when your driving around cause it flaps in the wind a peels the paint. PM me with your number if u wanna learn about body kits cause ive been there and done that....
 
It can look decent if you do it right. I took mine off and could never be happier. If you do go through with it, take your time and do it right, Dont jimmy rig the damn thing on like most do. Although most dsm'ers hated kits, I got quite a bit of compliments just for doing it right at least.

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Hey Guys, Thanks for all your suggestions /inputs. Me and my Uncle put the front end on with rivets. and it looks great but around here there are alot of nasty potholes and dips that i have scraped on a few times and i have to take alternate routes to school/work to avoid train tracks and nasty inclines and i was wondering what type of springs i could get to raise the front end up about an inch or more.
 

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Guys please don't belittle the body kits. I work on the side as a body repair and painter. One curb or a dip in the road and bingo I make money. The more kits the better.

To the OP, good job so far. Hope you used steel rivets (good idea BTW) the aluminum ones loosen up pretty quickly.
 
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