Body kit assembly ideas

[khan.cross]

Yo guys!

I have this rear bumper cover skirt, need to be cleaned and painted.
Previous owners assembled the skirt with sheet metal screws and silicone.

What is your idea to put that skirt on?

Could not find videos in the internet, showing a clean installation of those

 

[ttocs]

cheap/removable but not as sturdy of course is double stick tape and a lot of it after cleaning everything. You could use panel bonding adhesive for something that will not just fall off, but it will not be removable later. With the right screws you could cover them with some filler to never see them.

 

[Snorky]

cheap/removable but not as sturdy of course is double stick tape and a lot of it after cleaning everything. You could use panel bonding adhesive for something that will not just fall off, but it will not be removable later. With the right screws you could cover them with some filler to never see them.

The 3m double side Is a good way to mock it up.

 

[badass98svt]

Looks like an old school Xenon piece. Maybe you can find some info online.
I'd say either 2 sided tape or 3M panel bond

One is removable, the other is not.

 

[cobrajeff96]

Make several flat metal plates or sheets (of which exact length you can determine yourself) that have welded studs for attachment points for the lower half to secure to with nuts/washers. This would be permanently affixed to the hidden underside of the OEM rear fascia with some type of adhesive after a very thorough cleaning (and you can also take a heat gun to both surfaces to enhance the bond). Once the adhesive is applied, the two pieces should be clamped together for about 24 hours.

Bond a similar set of plates to the lower half but with slotted holes to allow precise control of alignment. Same boding process and timeline (24 hours).

Finally, just mount up the lower to the upper an secure the nuts. Strong and hidden.

 

[Slice]

You can glue it on with the LePage PL construction adhesive in a caulking gun but you will never get it off afterwards.

 

[MyLittlePony]

Looks like an old school Xenon piece. Maybe you can find some info online.

Possibly, or a knock off from this company.

Wayback Machine

All mustang parts made by this manufacturer have long since been discontinued. They sold them in the aughts as a full bumper cover and as a separate add on valence. They stopped producing the add on piece when people complained about fitment issues Those people wanted to make a one piece from the add on valence and their existing bumper cover but the cost of labor well exceeded the cost of just buying the one piece, but they refused to believe me and take my suggestion, instead they decided to go the other route, then get legal when it wasn’t absolute perfect (show car)

I’m surprised you found one in such great shape. Where did you get it?

My suggestion is to remove the bumper cover, install the valence with permanent adhesive, fiberglass the inside of the bumper and valence with a lot of resin and a metal screen, then decide if you want to utilize the existing screw holes for additional strength, or just fiberglass over it. If you intend to back into any spaces, then I highly recommend reinforcing it as much as you can.

I have had my 94 since 98, and almost everything is from that company. I’m on my 3rd front bumper. But my rear which looks like the one piece version of that has been installed since 2003. Bumper has over 100k miles on it, so I know they can be somewhat durable.

 

[khan.cross]

The single piece bumper look way cleaner! My SN95 is in Turkey. I bought it with a complete Xenon body kit but the rear bumper part was missing. I found a used bumper which had this Xenon skirt on it and removed it. They locked it with screws and body filler to cover the edge. I dont like this solution because it is sensitive to vibrations and causes cracks on the overlay. Thats why I look for better options.

 

[95 Blue GT]

I have that Xenon rear bumper cover and the body shop used panel bond. It has been on the car for over 20 years with no problems.

 

[khan.cross]

I have that Xenon rear bumper cover and the body shop used panel bond. It has been on the car for over 20 years with no problems.

I think I will give it a try. The only issue with this is, the Xenon skirt need to be fixed until the panel bond is fully hardened. This can be a little challanging

 

[badass98svt]

Possibly, or a knock off from this company.

Wayback Machine

View attachment 48925

All mustang parts made by this manufacturer have long since been discontinued. They sold them in the aughts as a full bumper cover and as a separate add on valence. They stopped producing the add on piece when people complained about fitment issues Those people wanted to make a one piece from the add on valence and their existing bumper cover but the cost of labor well exceeded the cost of just buying the one piece, but they refused to believe me and take my suggestion, instead they decided to go the other route, then get legal when it wasn’t absolute perfect (show car)

I’m surprised you found one in such great shape. Where did you get it?

My suggestion is to remove the bumper cover, install the valence with permanent adhesive, fiberglass the inside of the bumper and valence with a lot of resin and a metal screen, then decide if you want to utilize the existing screw holes for additional strength, or just fiberglass over it. If you intend to back into any spaces, then I highly recommend reinforcing it as much as you can.

I have had my 94 since 98, and almost everything is from that company. I’m on my 3rd front bumper. But my rear which looks like the one piece version of that has been installed since 2003. Bumper has over 100k miles on it, so I know they can be somewhat durable.

View attachment 48926

I spy a removable hardtop

 

[badass98svt]

I think I will give it a try. The only issue with this is, the Xenon skirt need to be fixed until the panel bond is fully hardened. This can be a little challanging

Remove the bumper first, and put it up on its edge.

 

[ttocs]

see now I would be pulling all my clamps out and 3 different types of tape to hold it in place along with some boxes or other crap below it that are the right height. Mark where you want the top edge to go with some tape and it will also keep that portion of the bumper clean if you happen to get it a little too hight.

 

[MyLittlePony]

The single piece bumper look way cleaner! My SN95 is in Turkey. I bought it with a complete Xenon body kit but the rear bumper part was missing. I found a used bumper which had this Xenon skirt on it and removed it. They locked it with screws and body filler to cover the edge. I dont like this solution because it is sensitive to vibrations and causes cracks on the overlay. Thats why I look for better options.

There are two body holes that the bumper screws into in each side of the wheel well. I’m not sure why mine never was, but you’d definitely want yours mounted properly to prevent vibrations that could damage it.


There should be these white plastic fasteners, but I guess I lost mine on the passenger side at some point during its life. Y2K was rough!

I spy a removable hardtop

Indeed you do. It’s topless at the moment. I was just looking for a pic on my phone of my rear bumper, and that was the best I had before I could take another.

 

[ttocs]

I have seen those fasteners at autoparts stores in the spare general part area.

 

[badass98svt]

I really dig that hardtop. Who made it? What holds it on out back?

 

[Snorky]

That removable hard top is so sick! I bet an s281 wing on that car would look amazing with that bumper.

 

[MyLittlePony]

Forgive me for hijacking your thread Kahn.cross

I really dig that hardtop. Who made it? What holds it on out back?

Smoothline. I don’t think they’re in business anymore. May have gotten the last one. They used to be good in the aughts but I think they were bought out by a crappier company. They wouldn’t take credit cards, so you had no buyer protection. My husband paid them to make me one but they stopped contact with him for months. He was going to have to get legal with them only he couldn’t locate where they were. Eventually they did finally contact him and shipped the hardtop to the body shop we requested.

The shop acted like it was for the wrong car as the fitment was so bad that there was no way it could be fit the same car. They somehow got it working, but the plexiglass back window was badly painted. Not a clear cut line. Just a bunch of overspray. My plan is to wrap it in vinyl and then cut out the clear part of the window, mostly because it looks as though the glue may be lifting (so no longer solid black all around.)

Installation is much different than the factory removable hardtops. Instead of closing like the convertible tops, it slides over the handle hook mount under the top windshield frame. Like my speedster covers, the rear has a lip that slides under the rear deck, while the top itself slides over. For additional support, there are these adjustable j hooks that hook into the folded top mechanism near the rear quarter windows, and tighten.

With the mechanical lift (separate purchase) I can install and remove it all by myself without assistance from my husband. I love rolling down all FOUR windows and showing off to people who know mustangs aren’t supposed to be able to do that. At a mustang club show, they announced the winning car as a “Mustang hardtop convertible.” Thing is, if it’s nice enough to roll down all four windows, then it’s nice enough to not have the hardtop installed, so I rarely get to do it.

 

[MyLittlePony]

 

[ttocs]

I never heard of anyone that was happy with the fit of the smoothline tops myself, no matter new/old there were always gaps that either needed some serious addressing or scrapping. Part of me has to wonder how much of that is a 20 yr old car that might be tweeked a bit but I never heard of those issues with the ford factory hard top so idunno. Then again I think I have only talked to one or two people that had the factory hard top so it might not be that great of a sample size.