1G quik latch bumper release

[OH91awd]

dealing with cars of this age and depending on your location, the bolts that hold the bumper to the fender ofthen rust, seize and then break off on your next round to take the bumper off. the cheap wasy fix to this would be zip ties: theyre cheap and quick but if you have to take the bumper off it can get costly over time. quik latch offers a very nice and appealing offering to be able to quickly attach and detach your bumper and other panels from the car. the problem is nobody sells a bracket for the 1g. i have seen several offerings for evo and 2g dsm but nobody has one out for the 1g. its up to one of us to give others and idea on where to start for brackets for the 1g chassis. this is where this little write up came from.

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i picked up my quik latch minis through jegs. they offer many options as far as colors and sizes depending on the application.

i wanted to make the bracket so that it was simple enough for anyone to make. no reason to over complicate things. i had some 1/8" thick aluminum L channel laying around that fit the job perfectly. so i cut it to the width i needed. i drilled a 1/4" hole (starting out, may need to enlarge for adjustment for body line fitment) at the bottom of the L channel to bolt the stud for the quik latch to bolt to. i then cut the top of the bracket down so that i could get it close to the bumper without anything sticking out. after i cut that down i then drilled two 1/8" holes for my rivets to go through to attach to the fender,

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front shot of the brackets i made.

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side view of them as well.


now was time to attach them to the car. i took a couple measurements on the car to see where they would fit well. got the spot marked then drilled the holes for the rivets to slide into. i then riveted the brackets to the fender.

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pic of the bracket mounted on the fender(in this pic i had already marked and drilled the spot for the latch in the bumper).


ok so once you get the bracket mounted put the stud into the hole that was drilled and hand tighten the nuts (you will have to make adjustments before the final bolt down). to mark the spot on the bumper i used a little toothpaste at the end of the stud then pushed the bumper up to it then drilled in the center of the toothpaste. you then drill the hole to about 3/4 then slide the latch through and tighten the nut down. now you make your adjustments to the bottom hole if needed for the body line fitment.

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and thats it! now you have a sturdy bumper attachment that can aide in quickly getting the bumper off if need be. i still need to go back and make a little adjustment on the body line with mine again but it started raining pretty bad and i was getting soaked . if anyone has any questions about this feel free to ask on here or pm me.

 

[lasthope05]

I did something similar using a black anodized set instead. It is a bit flimsy in that location so I plan on triangulating the plate to make it more secure in the future but it's held up well enough so far. I use the $4 eBay ones because it's not a high stress area.

 

[streetraceboi]

Im really OCD with fender/bumper gaps. I think with thinner material it can close the gap...but then again, im not too sure how much it would work due to the weight of the bumper...hmmmm

I haven't seen my 1g in awhile, but is there a way to mount it on the inside of the fender vs where you have it? Or is the mounting point where you have it pretty deep?

 

[OH91awd]

Im really OCD with fender/bumper gaps. I think with thinner material it can close the gap...but then again, im not too sure how much it would work due to the weight of the bumper...hmmmm

I haven't seen my 1g in awhile, but is there a way to mount it on the inside of the fender vs where you have it? Or is the mounting point where you have it pretty deep?

i can still close the gap up a good bit. i just have to elongate the hole upwards but like i stated above rain kinda put a hold on finishing things up the gap i have in it now has nothing to do with material thickness.

and really wouldnt be able to mount it any farther back with the way i did my bracket as the stud is only a little over 2" long.

 

[b00stedtalon2]

Mounted my brackets in the same spot. Was a bit flimsy.

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On my new car I am going to make triangular round steel tube brackets that bolt to the frame rail.

 

[Vegas Smith]

I'm so glad you guys made this thread. I'm tackling this exact project next week.

 

[OH91awd]

I'm so glad you guys made this thread. I'm tackling this exact project next week.

i figured it might do some people some good if i made this post and try to help someone else out trying to do the same project. seems to have worked out so far .