GT Racing RSR frount bumper install question

Groovy911SC · 08-07-2006, 08:50 AM

Not sure if this is the right forum but I am getting ready to install my new very cool GT Racing RSR fiberglass front bumper(#043). Before I proceed with this endevor I was wondering if anyone had done the work themselves and if any advice would be offered!

I have noticed that the mounting brackets on the new bumper do not match up exactly with the mounting points on my 911 and I may have to trim the upper portion of the bumper to get a good fit! Since I've never worked with body work before, I thought it prudent to ask some questions before I go grinding and making new brackets etc!

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!!!

drl911 · drl911's Garage

Having done similiar just a few weeks ago with a Rennspeed fiberglass front bumper (great quality and price, BTW), my best advise is to proceed slowly and only trim a little bit at a time. It is infinitely easy to trim too little and test fit many times then to trim too much!!!

Good Luck,
Dan

gestalt1 · 08-07-2006, 11:03 AM

if that is all you need to do to get a good fit you are lucky. on my 73 i replaced both fenders and the bumper with rennspeed parts and there was a lot of tweeking to get everything close. i reccomend using a sharpie and drawing the areas that need trimming and cut a little at a time to make sure your headed in the right direction.

stormmaster · stormmaster's Garage

If you have never done body work before it might be in your best interest to find a quality body shop in your area or find a good body tech and pay him on the side to do the fitting....will save you lots of time and aggrivation....just a thought.

drl911 · drl911's Garage

.... Also, make sure you are perfectly happy with the "final" test fit of everything (lights, grill, etc.) before prep'ing for paint.... The worst thing is to be "fighting" with the final installation and mess up a new paint job.

Dan

Groovy911SC · 08-08-2006, 07:35 AM

Thanks for all of your input. I am going to attempt to do the work myself. I've rebuilt the engine from the crank out and rebuild all suspension components so I've got to believe I can hang a bumper... right?

89911 · 08-08-2006, 07:38 AM

The only way to get an accepatable fit for the GT bumper we used for my brother 87 was to cut about an inch out ot the middle. The side didn't line up prior to this. Overall, it is a bumper designed for "racing" and needs much finessing to get it into the tolerances that the car came with from the factory.

89911 · 08-08-2006, 07:45 AM

The finished product. The back of the bumper where it meets up with the wheel well was off also. The body guy that worked on it is fantastic with fiberglass. He also had to fill in the light fixtures to get them to fit correctlys. (As a side note, the front end of this car was demolished a month later).

Groovy911SC · 08-08-2006, 07:50 AM

That is a pretty car! Sorry 'bout the accident... did buy a GT raing part or another manufacturer for the front bumper?

chrisp · 08-08-2006, 08:25 AM

It looks like from you sig that you're building a race car. There's no reason why race cars can't look good but keep it mind that at some point in the near future you might be playing bumper pool out on track.

With that in mind I didn't do any in depth modifications to get it to fit exactly. Ideally I would have done what 89911 describes because I have the exact same problem; about 1/2" too much bumper extending out beyond the fenders on both sides. It was far enough off that after scratching my head I thought I may have a turbo width bumper. I then realized I was expecting too much frm fiberglass suppliers. They get it close and then you do the work from there.

Engine rebuilds and suspension work takes the mentality of an engineer. Get an engineer around bodywork and you never know what you'll end up with. If you want it perfect get a body guy to do it.

drl911 · drl911's Garage

Just to reiterate... the Rennspeed iroc narrow body front bumper fit near perfect on my recent '86 Carrera project. I only had to cut 3/4" out between the fenders (i.e. under the hood) so it would fit further back on the car. This allowed the wheel well arcs to line up nicely. Very easy custom cut with a little thought and measuring. I imagine it is intentionally made this way so the customer can "custom" fit to their own car.

Dan

89911 · 08-08-2006, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Groovy911SC
That is a pretty car! Sorry 'bout the accident... did buy a GT raing part or another manufacturer for the front bumper?

He ordered a similar bumper from TRE and said that the preliminary fit was superior to GT.