Some of you may remember my "interior decorating" thread a little over 2 years ago. If not, here is a link to the interior thread.

But, this thread is in regards to my recent exterior modifications on my '99. In late March my brother who works in the auto body industry flew out to CA and did the following modifications for me. I helped where I could but my brother did most of the work. The Wizard was at my house almost every night helping as well. We did all the work in my garage.

I'll list everything textually and then I will post pics.


All exterior modifications:

- Complete, new paint job. OEM paint color Icelandic Pearl White (available only in '99).
- Stillen '97-'99 front lip.
- Ionic side skirts. We modified them slightly to round out the angle point toward the front of the skirt.
- Ionic one-piece '97-'99 rear ground effect modified to be filled in flush (no wave) on the back end.
- Removed vertical slats and license plate holder section from the OEM front bumper.
- Mirrors painted all body color.
- Shaved door guards, all four doors.
- Painted the black ring around the SE door handles body color.
- Filled in/shaved the line that goes completely around our car except on the front-most portion of the front bumper where we did a smooth transition.
- Shaved antenna
- Shaved trunk keyhole
- Shaved windshield squirters.
- 4th generation Toyota Supra turbo hood scoop (available only on European Supras).
- One piece headlights
- Sarona grill (version 2)
- '95 trunk conversion (I know, I am probably the only person in history to go backward) with the "wave" filled in.
- Custom Enterprise diamond/euro red clear taillights.
- Body color license plate frame.
- All new SE window trim.
- I think I am leaning toward not installing it but we chopped off the inner two legs of a C.E. "Type II" spoiler.
- Again, I am thinking twice about installing it but we painted a Zendar roof-mount antenna body color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

O.k., it's after 2 am. I'll post more pics later. Good night.

 

O.k., sorry about that guys. I was on vacation and away from a 'puter. Here are more pictures:

 

 

 

 

Not bad for a DIY. Might want to think about some long sleeved shirts and gloves for welding, though.

 

looks good. I have heard that the painted door handle trim (that black stuff) can peel over time. Did you take any steps to prevent this.

Also shaved antenna ftw. Interesting look with the 95-6 trunk filled and the ce lights. Rather unique. I'm sure your going to start something here....
the rear bumper looks really good and so do the doors. +1. I was wondering if you thought of filling the seem between the bumper and the ionic one peice.

That's a lot of work and props to you for pulling it off...
The satisfaction of a job well done must be very rewarding for you.

 

wow thats alot of work but it def looks like it paid off. 95/6 red clears ftw too! I also like the one piece rear skirt over the two piece ones. Over all very nice, Im very jealous but I would have gone black with black housing r34 headlights . I also would have used the 95/6 front grille cause imo its the best grille for a maxima.

oh ya, love the hood scoop too, it gives the front a very aggressive look but its not too huge that it just looks dumb.
btw, put the spoiler on!

 

Wow talk about some decorating. Looks good, I love the color!

How long did the whole exterior take?

I vote for a spoiler on the trunk, either the modified one or an oem one.

Are you keeping the R34 headlights as they are or planning a retro? From what I have read the output is terrible. They look great tho!

 

this is cool


how will you get the trunk open without the keyhole? the electronic opener only?

yea i agree the scoop looks good.

i think you need 18" wheels tho, but thats just me.



nice job overall.

 

Wow very nice man

 

very nice. i like everything thing except the hood scoop but thats just me

 

wow I like the shaving but I dont really like the rear and side skirts. JMO.
nice work man.

 

good stuff. lots of attention to detail.

 

Wow damn . I like how clean it is. I may be doing that soon. I was thinking about molding my sideskirts also but man i dont want the pain in the ****.

 

very good look man. You do need some larger wheels though

 

wow, ya ride came out fawkin hott. I cant believe u actually did dat at ya home. propz to u

 

That's how I have opened mine for 3 years with a painted keyhole.

 

no such thing as a clean fast and delerious kit... you're out of luck.

 

Looks Good Bro!!!

 

not bad, waiting for the rest of the pics

 

props on doing this! can't wait to see it finished

 

Good job man, i just got my trunk and the trunk lock shaved and the whole car painted black again!

 

what kind of $$$$ are we talking bout here? i need to fix my fenders and hood so i was looking to get a lip kit and one piece headlights and shave b4 the paint. wat was ur total? well so far anyways because we never stop do we?

 

Pimp-a-lishious!

 

Thanks for the compliments guys. I finished adding more pictures, starting with post #8 above. I was away from a computer so I couldn't do it until now. I have more pictures but I ran out of "reserved" space. But I could add some more if you guys want. But they are basically just pictures of re-assembly and body kit installation. Again, thanks for the comments (positive or negative).

 

Well I don't like the look of the painted mirrors or door handle moldings. Everything else looks good especially the rear end. I would have also shaved the bumper lights and had the door pillars body color.

 

He has long sleeves on. One out of two ain't bad. ? lol



Yeah, I was worried about that black door handle trim too. I actually wanted to mold the door handles in but we didn't have enough time. To answer your question, no, we didn't take any extra precautions. It's a gamble. My '96 trim was painted and lasted for years though. Of course, I would like to mold the rear ground effect to the bumper. Not enough time this time. Next time for sure.



a lot. No. Black headlights look good on a dark car only. Yeah, the '95/'96 grill is rad. That was my back-up plan. I would have had to extend the legs but I'm sure my brother could do that.

 

Oh man, I don't even know. I lost count. My brother flew out for 5 days, by the 4th we realized we needed to extend his stay for another 5 days. And even after he left, The Wizard and I spent many, many hours wet sanding, buffing, polishing, assembling, etc. If I had to guess, maybe 80 hours. ?

Spoiler, huh? Mmmmm... not sure. I don't want the added weight and I'm trying to go for the clean look.

Yeah, the output of the headlights is bad. I don't drive the car much at night. For now, I'm just going to stick in the best PIAA bulbs I can in the headlights and fog lights and live with it.




I have had my '96 shaved for years. I have the popper on the driver's door and I have my remote. The problem is, since I gutted my trunk for weight reduction, it flies open violently. I need to fix that.

No, sorry. I chose 17" for a reason. 13.7lb each baby!




That's o.k. I did it for function, not looks. I really want to work on under-hood heat dissipation (I have other plans as well). And I figured this was a subtle way of doing so. I was hoping it didn't look too aggressive for a sedan.

 

Well, I did want to go with an all Stillen kit. But I really dislike having two pieces for the rear ground effects. It just kills me. So, that left me one choice - the Ionic one-piece rear. And, if I go Ionic rear, I have to go Ionic sides so they can transition from the Stillen front to the Ionic rear.



Doing what soon? Molding your side skirts? Why? The only visible seam on the side skirts is a few inches by each tire.



No can do! 13.7 lb baby.

 

Thanks Jeremiah. Hey, where did you get your hood? It doesn't look like either of the two Sarona offerings. Is it functional? Made of?





Done, let me know if you want more.



Uh......... I've been finished since post number 1.

 

Cool, good for you. Pictures?



Total for parts, materialsm, labor and everything??? I have been collecting the parts (ground effects, headlights, grill, etc.) slowly over the years so I can't help you there. The body work supplies came to about $1,000. My brother would have done the labor for free but I gave him $2,000.



I like the mirrors (oh, I shaved all the mirror lines by the way) painted body color but I don't like how they are separated from the car body by the black SE trim. But short of painting the SE trim, I didn't know what else to do. How can you argue painting the door handle molding? Why would I leave a ring of black on my clean white door? Shaved the bumper lights? Wow, didn't even consider that. I like the diamond bumper lights. No, no, no, the B-pillars should not be body color on a tinted car.

 

wow! that's some crazy DIY stuff right there! can you help me repaint my bumper and lip too?

 

wanna come over and do my car? haha looks good