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Okay, the shoulder is still sore and stiff, but I am allowed to drive.
Front bumper is repaired and now that I am driving it is time to do the rear bumper. The body shop went ahead and prepped and painted the rear bumper cover while I was laid up. Tomorrow I drop Chupi off and they will install it Thursday or Friday.
I'll post before and after pics as son as I get her back.
My other mini project is LED side markers. I put in the chrome amber bulbs but the previous owner broke one of the tabs on the lenses and glued it in place, so naturally it disintegrated when I removed it. Broke down and just picked up a set of LED markers. I'll be installing those alone with the chrome amber front bumper lights. Before and after pics coming on those as well. So happy to be back in the GP
I probably should have put some of this in a new thread, but I feel like half the GP threads are mine and I don't want to wear out my welcome
First, this is what the rear bumper looks like now. It is hard to see, but there are scratches all along the hatch opening, it looks like someone backed into something and the plastic is bowed and the paint is cracked and chipping and it looks like sap or some kind of glue marred the paint and left paint bubbles. I have a new skin that the shop has painted and is waiting to install...
The one from Outmotoring I have been desperate to receive. I can't say enough about their fast shipping. I ordered it Sunday and it arrived today.
It is the LED side markers I ordered to replace the damaged one(s). They look really good in place and were a snap to install. I like them, but they are not as visible as the stock ones - the lights are super bright, but they are points of light. The stock ones lit up the full lens. Easy to install. They match the other clear lenses better than the "frosty" markers.
The other box had some chrome/amber replacements for the front bumper. I originally ordered the wrong type (the Mini has "offset" not "straight" bases.). Another reasonably easy installation and I like the look of these as well. I didn't notice any diminished output, but it is bright day light. I am considering replacing the white bulbs with LEDs to get a white base rather than the black base, but I am probably being nit-picky at this point
I also have two chrome/amber bulbs for the side marker lights and one good stock lens free to a good home if anyone is interested.
<edit:>. I'll cover shipping... not going to make someone jump through hoops for a couple of bucks. If you need them/ want them, just PM me your shipping info (CONUS only, I'm not THAT nice )
And this is why you don't leave me home unattended. I just purchased new mirror gaskets. But, since I was going to have to pull the door pockets anyway I figured I may as well order new speakers at the same time...
Keep the posts coming! I'll be posting up a GP rebuild thread soon once all the parts arrive, but i love seeing your stuff!
BTW, any recommendations on where to get a touch up paint for the paint?
I had them bottle some of the paint from the rear bumper job. I picked up some Dr. ColorChip and the match was actually really good - but it was expensive, the plastic bottles cracked and it never works like in the adds (of course) but the match was good.
The body shop recommended https://www.paintscratch.com/ but I have not purchased from them so I can't personally recommend them. The good news for me is, all the chips and scratches have now been removed due to redos
The bumper looks really good. It is raining here because Florida, so I will take better pics tomorrow, but here are some pictures of the bumper. The only thing I didn't tell them was to repaint the silver parts as well, but to be honest, they look fine as is.
The last picture shows the color match. Damn good, but I'll be interested to see it in the sun. This shop is good...
<edit:> Dry weather pics added. I can't really get a good shot but I am pleased with the results. Color match is spot on and the bumper is perfect
As soon as the mirror gaskets arrive I'm going to pull apart the doors and start replacing blown speakers... suspect a weekend project. I want to replace any screws, nuts, bolts etc. with stainless.
Speakers are finally in and sound 100x better than stock, even before they blew. Kind of a hassle unbuttoning the wiring to sort out the input from the head unit, and I had to use hot glue to get the tweeters in place firmly, but well worth the hassle.
Nice, I did something similar to my '03 and had to use hot glue to get the tweeters to stick inside the oem holders. I could tell a difference and i still have the stock headunit. How do you like the new Pioneer? Would you buy it again?
Speakers are finally in and sound 100x better than stock, even before they blew. Kind of a hassle unbuttoning the wiring to sort out the input from the head unit, and I had to use hot glue to get the tweeters in place firmly, but well worth the hassle.
Next up, new brakes...
Would like to know where you got your tweeters for the door panel......the ones in my '04 are blown....I do not have the HK amp system in my car
Nice, I did something similar to my '03 and had to use hot glue to get the tweeters to stick inside the oem holders. I could tell a difference and i still have the stock headunit. How do you like the new Pioneer? Would you buy it again?
I really like the head unit, it fits without issue, matches the dash color and looks reasonably stock. I've heard some people don't like the Pioneer phone app, but I like the phone app to control the head unit - colors, equalizer settings, which apps you want active etc.
The only negative I have is the face is convex and reflections during the day make the display hard to read.
<edit:> I forgot to say, one thing I wanted to keep was the steering wheel control. The Pioneer is compatible and Crutchfield sent the adapter with the stereo.
Originally Posted by A383Wing
Would like to know where you got your tweeters for the door panel......the ones in my '04 are blown....I do not have the HK amp system in my car
Any help is appreciated
Bryan
I picked them up from Crutchfield. I find that there are cheaper places to buy, but they deliver quickly and include all the adapters etc. so install is quick and pretty easy. My biggest issue was finding the correct wires to connect the crossovers, but it was worth it. The sound is really good. I do know they have just tweeters available, but I just picked up a matched component setup.
I went kind of middle of the road - certainly not a top end setup, but far, far better than stock (especially after I blew the speakers.) I find that my ears don't hear the nuances in music like they used to, and the GP is not a particularly quiet ride so the nuances would likely be lost anyway. I get the volume I need to hear the music without distortion, even with open windows on the interstate, so I am pleased.
Zimmerman slotted and drilled front rotors w/ drilled rears. Running Akebono pads all around. Fresh brake fluid as well.
I had the alternator replaced with a remanufactured Bosche unit. I got a little lazy and paid to have it done (that and I don't want to turn my brain into a pot roast laying on the driveway in this Florida heat.) New drive belt along with a supercharger oil top-off. Also replaced the fan relay in the shroud - cheap insurance since it was accessible and the part is relatively inexpensive.
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