Due to the nonexistant lip choices for the 95-99 Sunfire SE bumper (Dont say WW. Hate that lip so much.), Ive been looking at making an LSS lip or something like that to my front. So how much work does everyone think this will take? I was looking at an 03-05 lip at the Bash and the shape looked similar enough.
Shouldn"t be a ton of work, because like you pointed out, the two starting shapes are similar if you go with a 03+ LSS.
I would leave about an inch of material on the top of the lip when you cut it, then trim later. Better to have a little extra plastic to play with then not enough. Then you basically want to continually heat the lip with a heat gun so you can mold it to the shape pf the bumper.
When doing my IF, I first clamped the middle of both pieces together as a starting point, then did one side at a time, working from the center outward.
You want to heat the plastic enough to get it pretty flexible (remove the paint down to raw plastic first), but don't over heat it..TPE plastic and urethane tend to get thin spots when over heated then will never sit totally flat. I heat about 8-10" lengths at a time, press it into the bumper to shape the lip, then chill it with water to help "shock" it into keeping that shape. Then I repeat, but on the 2nd heating and chilling, add another clamp around that 8-10" mark before heating, now that you started to shape it, this time it will start taking the shape of the bumper more on its own when you heat it.
I also find it handy to have a 2x4 or some flat piece of wood on hand...when you heat up the lip, use the wood to put pressure on the lip when you press against the bumper...this way if the plastic is too hot, the wood will keep a uniform press on it, while if you press with your hands you'll start pushing finger shaped indents into the plastic that are going to be a pain to pop back out.
I would say with an hour or two of heating and shaping, you should have it 80% of the way to fitting well.
I take it that youre using a heat gun for this? And how are you attaching the lip to the bumper once its finished? Some sort of adhesive or the clips the GM provides?
Now to find myself a lip.....
TheSundownFire (GME Chat) wrote:I take it that youre using a heat gun for this? And how are you attaching the lip to the bumper once its finished? Some sort of adhesive or the clips the GM provides?
Now to find myself a lip.....
Yup, a heat gun will be your best friend in this project. If you don't have one, you can grab one for like $10 at Harbor Freight that generate plenty of heat to shape plastic and urethane. As far as attaching, if you're using an 03+ lss lip, I don't think clips will work since you'd be cutting that off a bumper since it's not a separate lip..but the top edges of the lip should lay over the bumper surface enough to either use 3m double side tape, or epoxy it for a more permanent bond...I just cut the lip off of a trashed 03 LSS bumper and bonded it to a base model bumper, and the lip had plenty of overlap to be able to epoxy it to the bumper.
If you go the epoxy route, I recommend Speed Grip Urethane Structural Adhesive, made by Norton. It's a 2 part panel bond epoxy..I've used many different kinds and I think this is the best bang for the buck (and strong as hell too). I think it's usually like $50 a tube or something, I get mine at discount so I forget the regular retail price.
If you go the tape route, I would use plenty of tape, and maybe a screw or two in the wheel well...just the lip from the LSS was a bit heavier than I anticipated.
I was under the impression that the LSS lip was a separate piece. Where did you find your trashed bumper at?
Noo the 03+ LSS is a different bumper.. you can tell by the fog light holes for the most part, assuming the base model isn't modded to have fog lightst.
Yeah the 03+ lss front and rear bumpers were replacements, no separate lips. I got my trashed bumper from a junkyard..$20
does this mean your going to get rid of the retarded sunfighter front?
arrival_04_eco (green98cav) wrote:does this mean your going to get rid of the retarded sunfighter front?
I dont have a Sunfighter? I have the base Sunfire bumper. Jeffie and Meckster are the only ones with the Sunfighter.
TheSundownFire (GME Chat) wrote:arrival_04_eco (green98cav) wrote:does this mean your going to get rid of the retarded sunfighter front?
I dont have a Sunfighter? I have the base Sunfire bumper. Jeffie and Meckster are the only ones with the Sunfighter.
4
ignore him....he's retarded!! haha
(wishes i had sunfighter front
)
Godspeed wrote:TheSundownFire (GME Chat) wrote:arrival_04_eco (green98cav) wrote:does this mean your going to get rid of the retarded sunfighter front?
I dont have a Sunfighter? I have the base Sunfire bumper. Jeffie and Meckster are the only ones with the Sunfighter.
4
ignore him....he's retarded!! haha
(wishes i had sunfighter front )
God me too. But Jeffie keeps hoarding them. The bastard!
