Does anyone have any suggestions for installing the stillen body kit (besides double sided 3M). Trying to cut down on cost for my body work, or does the effort outweigh the cost?

 

unless you're painting it...let the shop do it. if you mount it the shop will have a harder time to paint it while it's on the car.

 

Rivets....

 

AHH why not just some sheet metal screws... LOL. No, just have it painted first like they suggested, then you can use 3m double sided, but a few well placed rivets will also give you peace of mind.

AND FOR GOD SAKES, make sure it doesn't flop around when driving... I don't think any of our body kits have that problem.

I saw this one car the bottom of the front lip was just shaking around. I was afraid to go near it. Might have come off, went under the car it was attached to, and end up hitting my car.

 

If you want the kit to look good then you should have a body shop do it.If you have no experience then you should not do it.

 

experence has to start somewhere...

 

EXACTLY... but it's also good to have someone on hand with some experience.

 

in my opinion your better off prep primeing and installing it and taking it to a body shop to have it color matched. When i put my kit on i called a bunch of body shops and they told me it would be easier for them to paint it and color match it if it was on the car. A couple shops told me they dont like painting kits off the car because they dont want to deal with people complaining about chips in the paint when the customer goes to install it.
here is how i installed my kit(please dont yell at me if you dont agree this is what i did and may not be the right way but it worked great for meand im just trying to be helpful)

1. wash and scrub kit with warm water and sos pad
2. sand kit with 600 grit sand paper thoroughly
3. re-wash kit with warm water and a degreaser (dish soap)
4. apply many lite coats of acrylic primer (i used an automotive dupli-color primer worked great had kit on for 2 years never have a chip and paint held great)
5. sanded kit lightly with 1000 grit to smooth out any bumps
6. re-washed kit with warm water and degreaser (dish soap)
7. install kit
-for side skirts i used double sided tape on the lip of the door runners (i dont know what to call it) and then stainless steel bolts and washers on the ends inside the wheel wells
-front bumper i used double sided tape along the seems where the kit lines up with the lower bumper lines stainless steel screws under front lip to stock bumper then stainless steel bolts on each end inside the wheel wells and then two stainless steel screws next to the foglight area to hold the corners on firmly
-rear bumper double sides tape along seem where lower bumper line meets same as front bumper stainless steel bolts on each side in the wheel wells two stainless steel screws behind license plate and one under exhaust outlet (i had trouble with a little gap where the body lines meet and this helped and was hidden)
8. after kit is installed i took a heat gun you can use a hair dryer if you dont have a heat gun and heated all the corners and ends and unersides where the kit need to form better it also helps the tape set up nice
9. drove car to body shop and had kit color match and day later the kit was painted and cost me only 200 bucks

eventually the kit forms to the body perfectly and will hold on great. When i took the kit off to sell the car it was a lot of hard pulling and took my about and hour to take off the double sided tape. Also remeber to wash and degrease the areas the double sided tape will stick and make sure once you install the kit to get it painted while the kit is clean and free from dirt or you need to clean it thoroughly before you get it painted and you will look like a gay ricer driving around with a primed body kit.

hopefully this will help

Harv

 

Thanx Harv. I was kinda adverse to using double sided tape. The reason i wanted to put my own kit on is because when a body shop hears you want to put a kit on they automatically inflate the price. I have moderate body expirience but havnt done a kit yet. Anyone else have see anything that might have been omitted?

 

Oh yeah how much time am i looking at?

 

here's what i did...

scrub the panels with 3M maroon pad with soft scrub
wash parts with soap to remove soft scrub
(your call if you want to install the parts now or later...painting on or off the car)

i chose both...(CH0 paint code - 3 stage)
dry parts and use prepsol to solvent clean
tack the panel(s) to be painted
sprayed adhesion promoter to the parts
(wait to dry)
spray down PPG base coat 2 coats
spray down pearl coat 3 coats (color matching)
spray down clear coat w/ flex 3 coats

install parts with 3M double sided tape and screw/bolt down the kit at the wheel wells.

if you opt to install the parts prior to painting...
after the scrub test fit the panel to the body. use double sided tape. drill 1/8 holes on the corner of the bumpers and countersink an alum/ss rivet on each corner. use filler/duramix and cover the holes/rivets. sand until smooth...then continue using prepsol and prep the kit. also need to mask off other parts that you don't want painted and go to town.
if you mount the part and paint then you can skip the flex with the clear.

IMO the front lip is the only panel that really needs the rivets...the skirts are good with bolts/screws on the ends...with tape. the rear is good with rivets behind the lic plate and the wheel wells...optional would be the corners.

of course prior to any of this you already test fitted the kit (w/o tape and etc) and made sure everything fits correctly..right?

 

Yeah, I guess ill go with the rivets and the 3m with the bolts at the wheel wells. I didnt realize that STILLEN included the hardware. A funny thing the i dont have the embossed STILLEN emblem anywhere on the kit. I kinda like it like that but was wondering if anyone else recieved thier kit like that.

 

Bite the bullet and have the front and rear molded to the bumpers, then just screw the sides in.

 

the newer kits do not have the stillen name on it.

 

My original plan was to mold but the more i read the more i realized if i mold it i will loose the advantage of having a polyurethane kit, flexibility. if it flexes too much the molds will crack then im back to square one.

 

okay guys i have a front spoiler on my car, and i have bolts on the front and the side however they don't seem to hold it to tight, it seems loose at times, and when i hit a bump the bolts come out slightly. should i use two sided tape, and does autozone sell two two sided tape