Hello, In this thread we will be going threw the steps of installing the newest bumper.
This is not for the faint of heart!!!!!! I am going to put this at a skill level of 10 out of 10. You will need cutting equipment for the fiberglass and metal, also knowledge of bonding fiberglass material and body working skills.
THIS WILL NOT JUST BOLT ON! there is going to be a ton of reworking the parts to make them fit right, the buckets will need the most work making them fit right. This will be a slow project that I am going to chip away at slowly at first till after the dells show when I will pick up the pace a bit.
Parts included in the kit:
1 front bumper 2 headlight buckets L+R rough cut needs fitting 3 2 rough cut lens covers for the buckets also needing fitting but they do come heat shaped for the curve 1 set of pilot navigator driving lights w 7 color halo ring that will be the headlights NV-362W 2 led turn signal lights 2 plastic/chrome trim rings for the turn signal lights but they seem to be too big so I will prob modify them or make aluminum ones 2 plastic/ chrome trim rings for the headlights 4 mounting brackets for securing the headlamps. Cutting and mounting instructions and Wiring directions
This is the ring I was saying seems to be a bit to big for the turn signal
That's all for today folks stay tuned I am waiting a a few things for it in the mail like the templates for the hood but I will get to work soon!
This is made by Fiero Fiberglass? I guess i haven't seen this yet. I do like the direction it's going, but it will be a good deal of work for sure to get that all mounted and sorted out. Looking forward to the finished product.
Did you get that from Fiero Fiberglass I know when i talked to Jim he said they where coming out with a kit like that
Yup. Jim has the heavily modified one for his project sickness and then there is this one, the first one made so its a bit rough. Lots of stuff will have to be sorted out but not too bad, its more fiddly stuff to make it fit the way I want, I could slam it together but I am going to take my time so this build thread has as much info as possible in case someone else wants to try this project. I am going to focus on using tools that someone may already have in their garage so it can go smoothly for anyone who wants to try it.
[This message has been edited by jetsnvettes2000 (edited 04-03-2012).]
ya i asked Jim if the bucket kit would be available to do that with the Munson 3 bumper i got from them and he said yes i just gotta see if the guy i know that can help would tackle this type of project
[This message has been edited by engine man (edited 04-03-2012).]
Yup this is going on Robochop, I am doing this build thread separate to help anyone else who may purchase one of these in the future I will just note it in my build thread for the car itself.
Here are a few more pics, I was foolin around with it tonight and had a few old junk fenders I cut up to rough mock it up with.
Im not a fan of those Lambo Giardo style lights, but those look like they would look pretty nice. Love to see it all painted and finished. Nice to see someone thinking out of the box with new stuff.
After the dells show I will start fitting this, but for now I am starting to get ready and cleaned up some room back in my shop and I am going to start fitting the lighting. I am going to run the lights it came with for now but in the future I am going to put projector beam lights in it.
Here are a few pics playing with the halo
My kids were having way to much fun playing with this lol
The halo is cool for car shows, but if you show the red , blue or purple on the road youll get a ticket in Ohio. ONLY emergency vehicles are allowed those colors. Yellow/amber would be questionable since thats what road crews and tow trucks are authorized, but you might get away with them since some factory front facing lights are amber. I have no idea about green. Ohio code does say specificly NO modifications to OEM lighting is allowed, but thats all in interpretation.
The halo is cool for car shows, but if you show the red , blue or purple on the road youll get a ticket in Ohio. ONLY emergency vehicles are allowed those colors. Yellow/amber would be questionable since thats what road crews and tow trucks are authorized, but you might get away with them since some factory front facing lights are amber. I have no idea about green. Ohio code does say specificly NO modifications to OEM lighting is allowed, but thats all in interpretation.
lol they are alittle more forgiving here in Wisconsin, but yup red dark blue and yellow cant be used on the road but the other colors they don't really care about, I just checked today with a state trooper and its good to run with the other colors. I wont be driving with them on anyway I dont want them to burn out so they are for show use only. Here in Wisconsin its ok to modify oem, and if its questioned they let you run hobbiest plates wich basically are plates for cars that are not daily drivers and are built for exhibition purposes.
[This message has been edited by jetsnvettes2000 (edited 04-05-2012).]
started to mock up were I want to place the lights today, first I taped the ring so it dose not get scratched, then I traced the I D of the ring dont trace the outside you will be sory.
Then I made a template to fit the too big ring into the blinker spot I traced the ring then I fited the gasket material into the spot were the ring has to fit. once I was satisfied with were it layed I taped it to the back side of the ring and cut the ring to shape.
A few little tweaks and sanding the edges a bit and here it is, now it fits
OK guys I need some help, as cool as these lights are I want to go with something street legal, can anyone who is more familiar with single bulb HI/low beam hid lights with halo's suggest anything that would fit in here? I am open to projectors style to.
Im on my phone so its a bit hard to look up other threads but ask doublec4 what brand he's using for his custom lights. They make a bixenon with halos as an option. I forget the name, but they were reasonable and appeared to get good reviews.
SO after doing more research I got a few more parts today to play with, best part they all were free!!!!! buddy with the lotus had a bunch of bi xenon stuff sent to him by the manufacture wrong and they told him to keep it!! so mine now anyway here is were I am at. next step is finding the projectors I want to use using the 9007 or 9004 setup bulb I have both.
I have a question and I already pm'd doublec4 but if you know please add comment
the kit they sent does not have wiring diagram so I need to know what the three signal wires are I dont want to fry the units. Iassume the white is the ground or common and the other two are brown and blue what do you think??
I am going o use a new mustang plug for the connector and make an adapter to the fiero harness
this is a xentech bi/xenon kit w relay harness for a nice soft start up
or I can just wire the ballast right to the light plug I guess. it comes with a pig tail to bypass the relay harness.
Anyway I still need to figure out what projectors I am going to use I have the guts now I need the projector itself and a trim ring of sorts to finish it all off. I am leaning towards the Gatling gun type. but I will need to get a few before I decide.
So, I have updates! I have found the projectors I am going to use instead of the lights that came with the bumper/bucket kit.
The small one will go in the spot were the current blinker was going to go( see above), the projector will fit within the diameter of the chrome ring. the large projector will go in place of the multi colored halo ringed light above. I will also be making a custom ring that goes around it I already have it for the most part but I sent the led ring part of it off with 86fierofun he will be modifying it for me to be brighter and white lights.
last night I was out in the shop test fitting the wiring harness for the bi xenon xentech setup and took a few pics of the wiring color layout in case anyone needs it to upgrade theirs to bi xenon setup, you will need the right projectors tho with the solinoid door built in them for hi/low beam this wiring pic is for the zentech bi xenon relay harness OK so with that I am also going to add a Gallardo style tube trim piece around the fog light with a bit of a twist, I am going to make the end of it glow as a halo / turn signal with white and amber led's I made the prototype this week and with just 1 led its already looking good but needs at least 5 plus I will add 5 of the amber as well. what will happen is the amber will blink and as its blinking the white light will be replaced with the blinking amber. from the front it will look round from the side it will apear to be a rectangle so, you will be able to see the blinking from the front and side.
That's it for now time to get back to work on the vette so I can start getting this on the car after the dells show!
[This message has been edited by jetsnvettes2000 (edited 05-02-2012).]
Spent some time tonight working with the headlight buckets, I am starting to mock up some of the projector units I got from the bone yard to see if I can fit them within the bucket. its a tight fit and I need to figure out some nicer trim rings and how to mount them but so far looks like I have a ton of more work ahead of me. I am killing the lighted blinker tube Idea it just wont fit within the bucket like I had hoped. I will probably end up buying aftermarket projectors, the stock units take up way too much room on the backside of the bucket and are making it almost impossible to mount but I guess I could solid mount them and just pre aim them to make it easier.
[This message has been edited by jetsnvettes2000 (edited 05-14-2012).]
Oh I am tinkering with it a bit but no real progress to speak of at the moment, I am still trying to figure out the mounting of the projectors and if I even want to use the style I have right now. I may switch to a smaller style of the bi xenon main light so I can get it to fit better in the space I have to play with behind the bucket. I need to find new lenses anyway for the smaller of the projectors since they are cracked but those will mount easily.
Right now I have to get my can over to a fellow club members house and cut the front off his parts fiero so I can mock this all up better, I may just mount the projectors to the firewall were the original lights mounted instead of trying to hang them within the new headlight bucket itself, then I will be able to adjust it easier but I need to figure out how to weather proof it if I do that. If it ever cools off I will take a few pics of what I have going so far but really its not much more to look at than what I already have shown.
I did however modify the projectors so they can accept the new bi xenon bulbs and I tested them against the neighbors white garage. the light output is basically the same looking as Doublec4's lights.
If you can find one, a 1999 to 2006 Toyota Celica GT or GT-S might provide you some food for thought. It took me awhile to discover this, but the headlight buckets for that car seem to share with those of the Fiero fiberglass bumper kit a somewhat similar, triangular-like shape.
Although the length of a 1999 to 2006 Toyota GT or GT-S is nearly half a foot longer than a Fiero GT, its width is actually about half an inch narrower, so the width of its light buckets presumably wouldn't be too out-of-line on a Fiero GT.
Anyway, that might provide you some food for thought for your Fiero's fiberglass bumper project (or not).
If you can find one, a 1999 to 2006 Toyota Celica GT or GT-S might provide you some food for thought. It took me awhile to discover this, but the headlight buckets for that car seem to share with those of the Fiero fiberglass bumper kit a somewhat similar, triangular-like shape.
Although the length of a 1999 to 2006 Toyota GT or GT-S is nearly half a foot longer than a Fiero GT, its width is actually about half an inch narrower, so the width of its light buckets presumably wouldn't be too out-of-line on a Fiero GT.
Anyway, that might provide you some food for thought for your Fiero's fiberglass bumper project (or not).
When I first took on the project I was going to use the celica lights, but then these came available and decided to try this first. If I cant get it to work I may gut a set of the celica lights and make them work.
Originally posted by exoticse: Not sure about these new lights, but the celica lights do work and are a homerun. Madcurl has perfected it on his fiero redux build.
A lot of people have forgotten about this car and build as it currently is at the back of the line in terms of his many projects.
I like Madcurls celica lights but those are his, I want to do something that is mine and not copy someone. I could have just did the lights the way they designed them but I am modifying them so they are my own one off. If I cant make it work then I will prob do the celica lights but till then I am having fun creating these.
[This message has been edited by jetsnvettes2000 (edited 06-12-2012).]
Originally posted by exoticse: Jets i am sure you will make your's look great, and also make them your own. Good luck,
We are all watching this one.
I really like the middle section of his bumper, it kinda goes along with what I was thinking but just a tad different. when I get that far the saws all will be out lol!
OK so you guys motivated me a bit to do some thinking and I figured out how to mount the projectors and make them so they can be aimed as well. then I started to make the prototype of the housing they will sit in so they are sealed units like they were in the original car. more to come I ran out of steam for the night. when I make the final copy of the housing it will be made out of either metal or aluminum and have a heat sink on the bottom or possibly some sort of little 12 volt extraction fan.
OK so here it is in the nose without the plastic shroud on it, I will need to make some sort of cover to hide the lens clamping ring.
I made a flat plate with counter sunk holes in it for some 10- 24 screws in it to mount the light. It also allows me to remove it later on if I want to buy different projectors all I will need to do is unbolt it and switch them. no need to remove the light cover after I do this all the mounting will be from the back side.
Here is how the adjuster springs are now mounted, I can move them almost a full inch each way so I will have tons of adjustment
Here I started to rough mock up the housing that will enclose the projector keeping it clean, as I get farther I will round off the corners and make it look more aesthetically pleasing but for now to fit it this works good and it lines up nice behind the housing
I am pondering if I should make the housing go all the way up to the top of the bucket or should I leave the gap and use it for things like vents so it does not get too hot??
[This message has been edited by jetsnvettes2000 (edited 06-14-2012).]
OK so after a dry spell of work I finally got back on the front end today, I went over to a fellow club members house and cut his 88 formula in half and stole the front end! When I got it home I welded some legs to it and now I have a front end to mock this all up on now! This will be really handy, I can figure out all the cuts and how I am going to rebrace the front end were its cut up. After everything is as it is going to be then I will cut my car
Without further a due pics of today's progress!:
In the pics you can see were I had to make the cuts, the bumper will also need to be cut I will measure everything later on and post it if someone wants those specs. I am going to weld in square tube around the boxed out area to regain the strength from cutting out the front frame member. I am also going to add more structure to the remaining bumper so the front end does not flex. I may need to rethink the second fog light within the bucket, I may not have the room for it I had once figured, if that is the case I will return the blinker to were Jimmy had planed it.
OK so today I finished up the cutting on the mock up front clip, here is how it will look after you have made your cuts. I noticed the center of the remaining front frame member is a bit too floppy for my taste so for sure I will be tying it into the lower frame rails next to the hood hinge mounts with a few angle brackets welded in. I will then make some plates to tie in the side front frame rails to get back the strength that was just cut out.
For the first time since I have started the project both buckets fit within the places they need to! looks like I will be able to bond it all together by this weekend.
Ok today is bonding day, first off I prepped the buckets by grinding off the gel coat around the lip
After both sides were ready and the guide holes were drilled for the rivets I double checked the fit and prepped for the glue. I am using my favorite glue for this type of work the 3m 8115 panel bonding glue. I laid a small bead around the ground down area.
Once I got the glue on I let it sit for a bit then put the bucket into place and secured it down with the rivets and adjusted it with clamps. In the pic I have removed some of the clamps cause once the rivets were in there was no need for the clamps.
In this pic I am testing the lip were the plexi glass will sit, this is foam board the same thickness as the plexi. I used this to make sure the gap is right so I don't goober up the plexi.
Using a tongue depressor I worked the glue around the lip to make a nice square edge around the perimeter of the opening, this will aid me later on when I am fitting the plexi and creating a seal using a t shaped bit of window seal that is kinda like the fiero window seal only made of softer material.
Once the panel glue sets over night I will then add fiberglass to the back side to strengthen the bucket even more.
[This message has been edited by jetsnvettes2000 (edited 07-11-2012).]
This is made by Fiero Fiberglass? I guess i haven't seen this yet. I do like the direction it's going, but it will be a good deal of work for sure to get that all mounted and sorted out. Looking forward to the finished product.
