Ordered new bodykit, how many of you did self install?
 

Ordered gt3 front bumper/side skirts, aero II wing, rear diffuser...can't wait to get them.

Question is, how many of you did the first fit/install of the fiberglass, and then brought to autobody shop for painting? And how difficult is it to do the dry fit/shaving/etc?

Thanks for your expertise.:cheers:

GT3 Front bumper cover is an easy installation provided you study the job first in the Bentley book. Take your time and go slow and careful as not to scratch anything. While you have it off don't forget to clean the radiators. I can't speak to the side piece install, the other question is are you going to have all this pre painted, other wise might as well let the body shop do the entire gig.

Good luck attempting this on your own . I suggest that you hook yourself up to a Haldol drip first !!!!!!!!

Yeah, this is just an attempt to save a few $. Take everything apart, fit to car, and bring to body shop to paint, install after paint done.

Or as Johnny put it so eloquently, I should just bring the damn parts to the shop, drive the car there, and throw them the keys. :D

Thanks for the replies guys!

Take it from someone who was involved in a similar project of his own, 99.99% of the time these aftermarket body kits and aero parts require a tremendous amount of "tweaking" in order to make them fit well . With that said, it's crucial to find a shop that has extensive experience working with FRP or CF . Otherwise, they'll be lost trying to work with said materials .

If the GT3 nose is factory, (mine was) it's going to fit with minimal if any slight adjustments of the hood to cover seam. If as Johnny suggests it's manufactured by anyone else, you need to capitulate and slide it to the bodymen. As Clint once noted and was true when I gave up on hurting my body to fix the 986 " A good man has got to know his limitations".

It sounds like it's an aftermarket kit made out of FRP. If that's the case, he's going to need someone who is very experienced working with FRP .

My first sobering experience was placing a front spoiler on my Fiat spyder around 1977, didn't fit worth a poop. Flash forward, my brother puts fiberglass fenders on his spyder, if not for our extensive knowledge from working on hundreds of Fiats that too would have been tough, even with our talents it was a bit of an Odyssey. Aftermarket body pieces are notorious for fitment issues just like you stated, I did read that M Shaw stuff fits right, if so he's the exception.

Well, I'm familiar with MA Shaw's stuff (it's actually made by Getty Design), and it's no better or worse than the rest of what's out there in terms of aftermarket FRP . There was a time when he was able to get his hands on some oem parts like the GT3 bumper . However, that was years ago . In any case, about 3 years back I did a body kit on my vehicle that consisted of a Hamann front bumper and side skirts, along with a high quality German made 997 rear bumper . Given Hamann's reputation as a world class tuner, along with the price that I paid, one would think that these parts would have had excellent fit and finish "right out of the box" . Ha ! You want to talk about a sobering experience ! It took nothing short of Michael Angelo to sculpt these pieces in order to get a perfect fit . The stuff was ******************** from the get go .


p.s. To this day, I can't imagine telling anyone what the final costs were to complete this project, for fear that I would be involuntarily committed to a locked facility !!

I have fiberglass sikde skirting but only because the MK2 style isn't available for the Boxster from Porsche.
I later found out why fibgerlass is a hassle. One side was about 4mm longer than the other side which left a gap. I was contemplating sending it back but the geniuses at the bodyshop decided to paint it before telling me the sizes were off, tough to return at that point. Paid $300 for them but was charged $700 to paint. The rinky dink shop down the street that worked on econo box cars but might have passed muster for a small job like side skirts wanted $400. Glad I didn't have to have a whole kit done. Paint work was expensive in those good ole days. Last spring I had my front bumper repainted for $200 which has to be painted again thanks to a careless driver backing into me at the local gas station.

I've found that the best shops for this kind of work are ones that cater to the "fast and furious" JDM crowd . These guys have extensive experience in doing all kinds of custom body kits, crazy wings ect..., and they really know their way around FRP and CF .

Like Mr. Danger said...Look for a NOPI National sticker, they will be your guys.

Wow, those are some body kits ! :)

Like others have said, fitting fiberglass parts are a ******************** no matter how well the manufacture says they will fit.

I learned my lesson on this years ago and thats why i've decided to stick with OEM parts if possible. Sure they cost more, but for me, it's worth it for not having to deal with fittment issues.

I recommend that you do as others say and let the body shop wrestle with it.

Good luck!

Cheers

Mark

wow, i guess you can't say "p a i n / i n/ t h e / a s s" on this forum without it being censored! :confused:

It's ok, it makes it sound all the more effective when it reads ********************. :D

I think the Pelican filter is very strict in comparison to the old system. PITA always works. ;)

http://986forum.com/forums/attachmen...endday2088.jpg

HEHE! The one on the far right in red has actually driven my Boxster S.

Cheetah,

Your post is totally worthless without pictures!

Good thing it wasn't the one on the far left. Somebody give that girl a sammich...

HEHE! The one on the far right in red has actually driven my Boxster S.


I remember being young enough to let that happen......

:cheers::cheers::cheers:

Thanks for all the advice guys...the shop will earn my $$$.

I will also look for a NOPI sticker---> you guys rock!!!!!

And these are aftermarket parts. Another thought, would asking the local P-dealer be a good idea? Can body shops paint wheels also, or do I want them powdercoated instead? Big price difference?

I have this forum to blame for the mod bug I am having!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just completed that install just last month....be patient....pre install and be meticulous with drilling holes...fixing blemishes..... sand and file...sand and file......sand and file... before paint. It makes it all worth it in the long run. Happy Sanding!!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net..._1775787_n.jpg

very nice...

986_c6 You can definitely get the wheels shot at a body shop, they come out really good too, it's the center cap matching that might get tricky unless you go original silver or opt for hand painting the crest in the centers or leaving them monochrome.

Again, you need to find a shop that has experience working with body kits . A traditional auto body shop, no matter how good their reputation might be, will be lost trying to deal with a project like this . As far as powder coating versus painting is concerned, in the past I've had both done. And, the long and short of it is, when it comes to powder coating it's very difficult to get good, uniform coverage on a multi surface object such as a wheel (i.e. windows and lugs) . Furthermore, if the project involves retaining a polished or machine lip on the wheel, powder coating uses a liquid based clear coat that looks absolutely atrocious on metal . I've gotten far better results with traditional painting .

Cheetah,

You da man!

thanks again Johnny, I guess it never hurts to ask, but who here is in NorCal and have had a great exp with body shop and body kit install?

Ghost: I didn't think about the centercaps, but I was thinking of painting the centers of aftermarket wheels seal grey to match my car and leaving the polished lip. There is a seller on ebay that sells center caps in gray...it might not be a perfect match, but I have oe centercaps on my other car that is night and day different (wheel is silver, cap is almost raw metal color, I checked ALL of the cars and they are all like that).

These are oem center caps that I picked for cheap . My "paint guy" simply taped up the crests and painted them to match.

Hey, im in the bay area. Not knowing exactly where you are in nor cal, you can try to talk to Sonic Motorsports in Mountain View (ask for Darwin). They do body kits on high end exotics and work very closely with a great paint/body shop.

I installed my factory Aero Kit II myself. I had a friends body shop paint it and I did the labor to install it. I don't think that I'd have the patience to try that again with an aftermarket one as I've have horrible experiences in the past.

Good luck!

Mark

Hey Mark, I am in the sacto area. I am pretty much convinced that the body shop will do everything for me. Now it is a matter of finding one worthy of a boxster without ripping me off. thanks for the referral to sonic, i may use them if nobody local is recommended,

btw, ur car is pretty damn awesome!!!

I just received my body kit today and was checking things over...thought I would take a pic of my baby sans body kit.

What do you think, should I leave the wheels silver center or paint center seal grey?http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1324363392.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1324363460.jpg

Are those Champion wheels ?

They are BSA wheels...I heard they manufacturer wheels for F3000, poss even some F1 teams eons ago.

I like your wheels better Johnny!!!!:cheers:

Hi, just wondering where can you buy body kits?
I can't find anything that doesn't look tacky.

I too am interested in the GT3 stuff, specially the diffuser and side skirts. I emailed them and they told me that their pieces are polyurethane not fiberglass. I believe the OEM pieces are poly as well. I've been researching these as well and all I have readto stay away from fiberglass pieces. I guess it's a price vs. body shop prep time trade off.

Mind if I ask who "them"?

This may be the "Them"

986 Spyder Boxster Body Kit, 1997-2004

Porsche Parts & Porsche Body Kits at the Best Prices - 997, 996 02-04, 996 99-01, 993, 911 74-89, Boxster Online