Invader FB Doesnt fit! :( pics, pics up. Options

[mgnt232]

Ok I dont have much experience in "body work". But I know enough to do this. I installed the rear and it was no problem really had to fill a small gap, shave off a little, I mean I know how to do this. And the SS are fitted now, just not installed.
Size of the original high beam and how much needed to be cut out (the whole still is not even big enough as there is not enough just straight up material to cut off.

Pass- The curve of the low beam is very different from the kit, and allows it only to close that much while the other side looks like the pic below this one-

getting as close as I can (alos bolted one side after this and still no luck)

Showing the top, its about 3" away from being able to bolt in anywhere on top, and it can be pushed in because of the high beams not fitting, kit not being wide enough and the different shape of the low beams


So I was trying to get the FB fitted, and the damn thing just doesnt fit! I even took off the crash bar to see if it would help and it didnt . It looks like the whole thing is just to small! The high beams holes were about 1 1/2"too small so I cut it out and they still, well everywhere! it just doesnt fit, the low beams are too high and the kit covers 1/4 of them..... also at doesnt even reach the 5 bolt holes under the hood

I dont know what to do? Should i bring it to a body place? I mean I feel pretty confident it just doesnt! fit. (idk what they could do at a body shop... or should I try to return it?
I will post pics in a few mins, but idk what to do very upset

This post has been edited by mgnt232: Feb 17, 2010 - 9:59 PM

[Malek]

idk if this will help any but my splitters had that gap when I put them on. I lined the inside edge with super thick truck bed liner..the gap is gone and it kinda looks like it is supposed to be there..

more importantly...does your hatch have window paint on it? haha Seniors '09?

[ajmorris1977]

yep mine was the same way, it doesn't look to bad if you run a bead of paintable sealer in there like i did but i'm going back and blending the kit in now because of it. it must be the mold.

[mgnt232]

haha yeah that pic was from last summer, just graduated.
Would you mind sending me pics of what you did with the liner? thanks

idk if this will help any but my splitters had that gap when I put them on. I lined the inside edge with super thick truck bed liner..the gap is gone and it kinda looks like it is supposed to be there..

more importantly...does your hatch have window paint on it? haha Seniors '09?

what exactly is paintable sealer? lol Can you get me a link and tell me what i should do? thanks! The rear was rather easy i'd have to say though is the front harder of easier?

yep mine was the same way, it doesn't look to bad if you run a bead of paintable sealer in there like i did but i'm going back and blending the kit in now because of it. it must be the mold.

[ajmorris1977]

haha yeah that pic was from last summer, just graduated.
Would you mind sending me pics of what you did with the liner? thanks

idk if this will help any but my splitters had that gap when I put them on. I lined the inside edge with super thick truck bed liner..the gap is gone and it kinda looks like it is supposed to be there..

more importantly...does your hatch have window paint on it? haha Seniors '09?

what exactly is paintable sealer? lol Can you get me a link and tell me what i should do? thanks! The rear was rather easy i'd have to say though is the front harder of easier?

yep mine was the same way, it doesn't look to bad if you run a bead of paintable sealer in there like i did but i'm going back and blending the kit in now because of it. it must be the mold.

i looked through my photo bucket but i dodn't have a clear pic of the gap, i'll take one tonight when i get home and post it, as for the paintable sealer its available in most auto paint stores and hardware stores like home depot and lowes, its like bathroom sealer but it will have the words "sandable and paintable" on the label, just put it in a caulking gun and run a bead into the gap, then wipe and run off with your thumb and try and leave it as smooth a possible. its not the perfect solution but it looks good and is quick and easy. feel free to look through my pics on photo bucket to see mine...

click here for pictures!

like i said i'm going back and blending the kit with the body next week but that is a lot of work and you may not want to bother with it, personally i think its worth the time...

[mgnt232]

yeah the gap closed most of the way on the passengers side, and the drivers side is still about a half inch gap . You think I can close the gap with the sealer?

yep mine was the same way, it doesn't look to bad if you run a bead of paintable sealer in there like i did but i'm going back and blending the kit in now because of it. it must be the mold.

[ajmorris1977]

yeah the gap closed most of the way on the passengers side, and the drivers side is still about a half inch gap . You think I can close the gap with the sealer?

yep mine was the same way, it doesn't look to bad if you run a bead of paintable sealer in there like i did but i'm going back and blending the kit in now because of it. it must be the mold.

this may be a silly question but is the exhaust pushing it out some? mine needed to be rehung to fit into the cut out right, if its pushing on the bumper it might be giving you trouble....

[mgnt232]

No its not pushing against , just barely touching, and when I start my car the muffler moves quick and hits it.
I am going to have the exhaust redone anyway because its all still 1.75 piping while my res and muff are are 2.25
I just bought some all purpose sealer and going to put it in tomorrow and hope it sticks and makes it look better then sand it.
Think the sealer will fill a space that large?

yeah the gap closed most of the way on the passengers side, and the drivers side is still about a half inch gap . You think I can close the gap with the sealer?

yep mine was the same way, it doesn't look to bad if you run a bead of paintable sealer in there like i did but i'm going back and blending the kit in now because of it. it must be the mold.

this may be a silly question but is the exhaust pushing it out some? mine needed to be rehung to fit into the cut out right, if its pushing on the bumper it might be giving you trouble....

[ajmorris1977]

it looks about the same as mine did so yes it will work, the other thing you could try is to file the corner of the bumper where it lips to the wheel arch some. that should help but be gentle so not to crack it on the corner

[97toyotacelicagt]

i have a huge gap on my bumper,thats why im taking it off puttin my old one bak on plus i dont like the invader bumper its ugly

[joehernandez]

well i really hate the invader body kit,
it just seems so over exaggerated if thats how it is spelled haha
makes the celi look ugly
but it seems you did a good job man!
you shouldn't cut it man, it will start to break from that point

[ajmorris1977]

ok here is some close ups of mine....

[D-Man]

Intalled Invader RB!, What do you think

i think you need to paint it away from that ugly ass primer color

looks good on ya man

and about that gap; FG that sh!t right.

[mgnt232]

Thanks! it was hard! lol And the invader kit was the cheapest too would rather have gotten something diff.

well i really hate the invader body kit,
it just seems so over exaggerated if thats how it is spelled haha
makes the celi look ugly
but it seems you did a good job man!
you shouldn't cut it man, it will start to break from that point

[mgnt232]

haha well Yes im going to be getting rid of the primer, painting the whole car in the springish. Got to install the rest of the kit, and the Z3 fenders, and will have to be sanding and finberglassing some rust spots so the car is going to look veryy ugly for a bit lol
But thinking of painting the car black or white!

Intalled Invader RB!, What do you think

i think you need to paint it away from that ugly ass primer color

looks good on ya man

and about that gap; FG that sh!t right.

Yes I see now, I just some of the sandable filler last night and just got to do another "coat" (it slid down a little into the gap because it was so big) then sand it a little, and my RB is complete!
thanks for all your help!
Will be doing the FB next weekend, did you have any trouble with your crash bar?

[ajmorris1977]

yes i did, i removed mine as it would not sit right with it on, its never caused me trouble not having it but if you deside to keep it you will have some work to do, i have pics if needed....

[jordisonjr]

I really hope you don't use that liner stuff to fill it, in my opinion it looks really messy, cheap and lazy, find another solution, that just looks sloppy. just my two cents..

[D-Man]

did you have any trouble with your crash bar?

no; but i built most of my FB by hand so... idk if it applies the same to a real "aftermarket" bumper...

[mgnt232]

Can it be removed? I posted on here and they said its required for inspection and its my daily driver lol, yeah put up some pics if you can
thanks for all the help!

yes i did, i removed mine as it would not sit right with it on, its never caused me trouble not having it but if you deside to keep it you will have some work to do, i have pics if needed....

lol I did fill it with the cheap filler, but my dad owns a caulking business, so he did it and did it right and its actually all flat and just looks connected to the car, ill post up some pics. Only a temp solution too, will be doing something different when I get the car repainted.

I really hope you don't use that liner stuff to fill it, in my opinion it looks really messy, cheap and lazy, find another solution, that just looks sloppy. just my two cents..

[ajmorris1977]

here are a few pics...






i have had never had an issue with not having mine but i don't know the laws where you are, i have seen people cut the bumper and get it to work but you still see the crash bar and i didn't like that, if you do want to keep it then the bottom half needs to go or maybe painted black so it doesn't notice so much, also the lower frame below the radiator needs to be painted black also or that will notice like mine does right now, i'll be fixing that this week...

i just uploaded another 200 pics onto my photo bucket if you want to see any other angles, feel free....

[96stgreendemon]

^^ wow thats stupid why would you ever remove your crash bar, well hey if ya hit anything then your engine is toast

[ajmorris1977]

^^ wow thats stupid why would you ever remove your crash bar, well hey if ya hit anything then your engine is toast

lets face it, if you hit anything that metal bar can only protect you so much, i agree its not the best solution but for those of us on a budget we do what we have to, the only other way around it is to buy a gt4 crash bar that is smaller (so i'm told) and since i'm not in the position to be able to find one for a good price i do what i can.

i don't have all the answers i can only tell you what i found doing mine and tell you what i did.

[johnnehh]

You could just modify your crash bar to make it fit. That's what I'm doing when I get the GT4 bumper.

[96stgreendemon]

exactly, you could modify a crash bar with nothing more than an angle grinder with a cutting wheel, yes i love my car as much as the next guy which is why i would never take such a chance with it, you take one little hit and the car is done

[mgnt232]

So should I cut my crashbar, or try and sand myFB and modify it a little?

exactly, you could modify a crash bar with nothing more than an angle grinder with a cutting wheel, yes i love my car as much as the next guy which is why i would never take such a chance with it, you take one little hit and the car is done

[96stgreendemon]

^^ yes thats exactly what you should do, driving around without a crash bar is retarded, i dont care what kind of front end i have, i will always put in the extra work and not take the easy way out, when you take the easy way out you could really be screwing yourself in the future if you hit anything

[mgnt232]

Yeah ill be keeping the crashbar in mine. Ill do the work right and take all the time as soon as it get nicer out! Will be posting up the pics as soon as I do the FB

^^ yes thats exactly what you should do, driving around without a crash bar is retarded, i dont care what kind of front end i have, i will always put in the extra work and not take the easy way out, when you take the easy way out you could really be screwing yourself in the future if you hit anything

[96stgreendemon]

good to hear, never really been a fan of that body kit because most people that have it half ass the work and it fits and looks like ****, but if its done right then they can look good, and i just wouldnt wanna take that chance with losing my car over the way the crash bar looks imo

[yarik83]

blind leading a blind. you guys are just awesome.

first and foremost remove detachable lip of your invader bumper

secondly do this in a heated environment and not in the freezing cold since carbon fiber material does stiffen up and shrink

thirdly there is no such thing as 'on the budget' forget about the engine. during crash your crashbar is specifically designed to absorb damage minimizing it on other things. if you want to remove it... you better pray you have enough money to fix that car on your own because your insurance company will have a field day screwing you.

also when your bumper is unscrewed and is heated up in the sun so it has a little give to it, place it on top of the metal bar that is bolted on right on top of your headlights. with bumper hanging off that bar stretch one end out slightly and do so to other end. your bumper will almost snap into place. Reach under black plastic on top of tire and screw very top bolt (right next to your headlight) then do the same thing on other side. then bolt second one on both sides then third. If your bumper is pre-drilled holes may not align so you may have to re-drill.

after all of that you may have to re-drill holes on top of bumper and bolt that thing right in. now your bumper should be hanging by 10 bolts. at this time you would screw in bottom lip and drill and fit it to connect to holes on underplastic etc etc etc.

if your head lights do not match after all that (ie actual hole is shifted to left or right of headlight) then you may have to cut that bumper and fit it into place, fiberglassing and filling the gap that previously did not exist.

your bumper in all likelyhood will be offset from your headlights by as much as an inch. that gap can be filled in with fiberglass. Depending on quality of your bumper you may have do either do no extra work or a lot of extra work and possibly remove bumper half of dozen times and do all the fiberglassing.

in example below i had to cut a bumper and slap some fiberglass sheets over it.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8384/celicaxat017.jpg

[ajmorris1977]

i never had this problem, mine went straight on but when i was at the Foty meet i saw one of the guys has a problem that sounds similar to your discription, see the pic below....



not sure what you do to fix it, sorry

[SlvrCelica09]

^^ wow thats stupid why would you ever remove your crash bar, well hey if ya hit anything then your engine is toast

^^ yes thats exactly what you should do, driving around without a crash bar is retarded, i dont care what kind of front end i have, i will always put in the extra work and not take the easy way out, when you take the easy way out you could really be screwing yourself in the future if you hit anything

I removed my crash bar for the GT4 conversion, its not as horrible as you make it out to be. I've been crashbarless for a whole year now. I've dinged some things but haven't had any serious damages w/o the crash bar. Of course having the crash bar is better, but driving w/o is by no means "stupid" or "retarded" bro. If you crash your front end into anything bar or not your front end and engine will be toast. Maybe your front end wont be as damaged with the crashbar.. but I can 100% guarantee you will need to replace that front end anyway if you get into a serious accident.

This post has been edited by SlvrCelica09: Feb 14, 2010 - 10:05 PM

[95CelicaST]

Perhaps if you want a kit that is going to fit right the first time you shouldn't have purchased an eBay special. Did you think that the $150 bumper was going to be a perfect fit? Go fork out some real money for the REAL Veilside kit and stop complaining.

[mgnt232]

Yeah i dont know, I tried to bolt it on one side, and kinda of strecth it to the other, cut out the lights (alot) and it doesnt reach to the top bolts at all, it is like 3" off from where the top bolts would be. It just doesnt fit right... oh welll going to buy another

i never had this problem, mine went straight on but when i was at the Foty meet i saw one of the guys has a problem that sounds similar to your discription, see the pic below....

not sure what you do to fix it, sorry

[richee3]

Perhaps if you want a kit that is going to fit right the first time you shouldn't have purchased an eBay special. Did you think that the $150 bumper was going to be a perfect fit? Go fork out some real money for the REAL Veilside kit and stop complaining.

Yeah, that.

[yarik83]

Before buying anything post pics of everything from different angles. the more pics you have the better i can diagnose what's going wrong with your installation and help you appropriately before you spend any more money.

Before buying anything post pics of everything from different angles. the more pics you have the better i can diagnose what's going wrong with your installation and help you appropriately before you spend any more money.

[mgnt232]

lol I knew it wasn't going to fit great, but everyone else I asked (asked alot of people on here) said that it was not the greatest but it worked and i saw alot of pics and none look as bad as mine. Mine is like defective lol. Just going to buy another.

Perhaps if you want a kit that is going to fit right the first time you shouldn't have purchased an eBay special. Did you think that the $150 bumper was going to be a perfect fit? Go fork out some real money for the REAL Veilside kit and stop complaining.