usma_2006

iTrader: (3)

I figured this was the only subforum here that would appreciate this... anyone looking to dress up the engine bay, this really wasn't that hard. It just took a CORDED drill (the cordless just doesn't cut it here), some sanding flap discs, cotton stitched polishing wheels, and a couple bars of rouge... oh, and a little patience.

The before picture:


The throttle body before:


The throttle body after a good sanding:


The intake pipe before:


The intake pipe sanded:


Starting to polish:


Just about finished:


The new engine bay:


And then I couldn't stop and went for the radiator and shroud as well:



The best website I found as a guide was this one: http://www.poleringsguide.se/english/

The best polishing kit I could find after checking out a bunch of different sites was here: http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/alpolkit.htm

If anyone else has some good links or products, feel free to post up. I'm always upon to additional tips... I still have a lot left to polish before I'm satisfied...

ByeByeSti

Oooo looks nice man keep up the goodwork!

Troux

iTrader: (6)

OT< but why aren't your headlights properly bolted down?

usma_2006

iTrader: (3)

Is that a serious question or are you just trying to be a douchebag?

Troux

iTrader: (6)

Well it is a bit of a concern, considering the forces of wind and unfortunately debris that may be hitting the headlight, but I was asking because I have that kit and had some issues with those specific inboard mounting brackets not lining up right. Wondered if your issue was something similar, or just got lazy or what.

usma_2006

iTrader: (3)

Alright, that's fair. There are a few people on this forum who'd rather spend all their timing nit-picking other people's work than actually contributing anything substantive. From your tone, I was leaning toward assuming the former.

I actually have no issues with the headlights moving or shaking from wind and I tend to make it a practice not to hit things with the front of my car. Each headlight cover is reinforced in the back, and that bolt alone is enough to hold the headlight covers in place. The inline brackets are handy, and I was driving with one bolt in one and two in the other, but the previous owner was lazy on the install. Since the installation of the headlights was nothing more than an eyesore, I've been focusing on correcting other mistakes. Just yesterday though I used some 1/4" cap head bolts, nuts, washers, and JB Weld to fix it for good.

Once I removed the headlight covers, I used the JB Weld to attach each nut under each bolt hole for the inline brackets. Once they dried I was able to firmly attach all six cap head bolts with washers through the inline brackets and into the frame. This is really the only viable solution I could come up with, as I couldn't unscrew the inline brackets from the headlight covers themselves and it's impossible to hold any of the nuts in place while the headlight covers are in because of the frame. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them up. I'm sure the headlights are more solid, although it seems marginal. The biggest improvement is just the looks of the whole thing.

Hopefully that gives you some ideas on how to fix yours if you're having the same problem.

Troux

iTrader: (6)

Interesting, definitely gave me a good starting point. I don't know how fast you've been, but I know I've heard of at least a couple of stories of those covers flying off the EVO-R kit, so I'm definitely going to be taking care of the mounting.

On-topic: the polishing came out great, and I don't know why more people haven't removed the HS logo on the fan shroud, looks so much better.