I have a '98 Cavi.. did the '00-'02 front end swap, and finally had a reason to put on my Type J kit (a retread tire and a dark backroad are a bad mix), and here are some issue I've had:
* the front bumper didnt wanna slide on properly. I took a pair of Super Shears and cut the bottom of the plastic crush support, and it cleared it fine, but now its a hassle to get the hood to shut all the way, and when it does, it pins the center section of the bumper down
* I used the '95-'99 styrofoam crush support for the rear bumper, and its kinda pushin it out, creating a big gap between the body and the bumper.. I'm guessing shaving the styrofoam down will cure this.. ?
* the ends of the side skirts dont seem to wanna slide over the lips of the fender wells. if you slide one end into place, you really have the tug on the other end to make it slip over the other end, almost like they're not long enough... and the area that overlaps the rear quarter panel, - taking place of the Z24 moulding - is so stout, that its pushing itself out, even with the double-sided tape in place (I used the 3M stuff... was told it's the best)... anyway to "weaken" it so it'll quit straitening itself out and run with the natural curve of the body?
R.I.P. JessE Gerard 7.11.87 - 1.25.08
The Radiation Nation Facebook Twitter Twisted Metal Alliance
well, for #1 I would say that is normal fiberglass kit fitment, they require tweaking.....
#2, if the kit is made for an 00-02, get a support from there, and then trim as needed for fitment (see #1)
#3, use the proper panel bond, fuzor makes nice products for this.
when he says J type i think he means the RK bumpers. with mine i dont have the rear crush foam, to make it so the bumper dont sag alot and loosen up the bolts i have a screw going into the impact bar. as for my front i left out the crash foam as well since i couldnt get the foam cut to the right amout so i could use it
ShowOff Customz
03 Cavalier
73 Beetle
68 Fairlane 500
John Benham wrote:well, for #1 I would say that is normal fiberglass kit fitment, they require tweaking.....
Type-J = urethane
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Trimming on the crush panels is necessary. With a 2k+ the front will need the bottom-half trimmed off, and the rear will need to be trimmed down depth-wise.
Sure you can make do with the foam though and do likewise, the front will probably need additional reinforcement though because I know the weight of my IF front was too much for the styrofoam to support yet look good fitment wise. You may need to create your own support in some areas though with minor fab, whether it be use of angle-iron or L-bracket. Just make sure you support whatever equally so the urethane does not sag around it. If using L-brackets it's nice to wrap them in tape, or cover them with heater hose/similiar.
I didnt know the type j's were urethane......huh.
also with the hood, have you tried adjusting the bumpstops and latch?
All the RKSport kits are with an exception of some rare/early models/protos.
a good friend of mine suggested adjusting the latch, since I already adjusted the bumpstops for the hood... in fact, I set them so high up that when the hood is shut, it has a hump where the stoppers are. I'll give the latch a try later today, altho in the end, I wanna eliminate the latch altogether and go with hood pins (I have a ViS hood in my mom's garage waitin to go on when I get the trunk lid)
I did the driver's side skirt this morning, and it went on ALOT easier then the passenger side.. even the overlap piece isnt giving me issues (with separating from the body).. a different friend of mine who does construction suggested this urethane adhesive he uses for work.. he said it's PERMANENT tho, and you'd have an easier time cutting the sheetmetal around the adhesive than the adhesive itself
I'm think I'll use this when I go to putting the skirts back on (I wanna paint the kit and the car separately, that way underneath the skirts will be painted appropriately.. and it's gonna be 2-tone anyway)
I appreciate everyone's help here.. you guys are the best!! luckily, some of the tips I got I already had in mind, so confirmation sounds good right about now
R.I.P. JessE Gerard 7.11.87 - 1.25.08
The Radiation Nation Facebook Twitter Twisted Metal Alliance
the fuzor is basically the same way, but being urethane, try taking a heat gun or hair dryer to the piece that doesnt want to flow right. perhaps it got deformed sitting in a box or on shipping. Heat will usually bring it back.
And Joe, I totally had a brain fart on who made the type J kit, but yes you are right.
John Benham wrote:And Joe, I totally had a brain fart on who made the type J kit, but yes you are right.
I rocked the Type-J on the '01 for a short period of time, haha, go figure
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the Type J kit was my point of no return as far as what direction I was gonna go in. I've had the kit layin around for a yr now, but didnt wanna put it on til I could afford paint, but given my incident, I had no choice... I was actually up in the air about doin a Sunfire front end swap with the Streetfire front and evil eye hood, but I couldnt find anyone with the bumper and everyone and their mother told me to dodge Whiteboy's hoods, and sadly enough, he was the only one I found who was sellin the hood... so I abandoned the idea
R.I.P. JessE Gerard 7.11.87 - 1.25.08
The Radiation Nation Facebook Twitter Twisted Metal Alliance
hey guys i have a 01 cavalier, i picked up a type j rear bumper from a buddy, but can't it to fit on i need to remove the plastic bumper absorber.. but i don't wanna do that cuz i want to swap back to stock for winter.. is ther any way of going about mounting the bumper with out removing the bumper absorber? and the type j bumper was fo a 99 i belive because i need to get the filler panels...
Kory Harrington wrote:hey guys i have a 01 cavalier, i picked up a type j rear bumper from a buddy, but can't it to fit on i need to remove the plastic bumper absorber.. but i don't wanna do that cuz i want to swap back to stock for winter.. is ther any way of going about mounting the bumper with out removing the bumper absorber? and the type j bumper was fo a 99 i belive because i need to get the filler panels...
take a saw or some type of cutter to your crush guard at the bottom two bumps in the middle of the rear end. thats where it hits.
after that, it will fit perfectly... no need to remove it.
wouldnt want to get rear ended without that, or you can write off your car
