Anyone replaced their rear valence? Was it this much fun?

[LeeH]

I'm in the process of replacing my rear valence. The original was bent beyond repair. I was under the impression that this piece was the same over many years, but the used valence I bought is slightly different.

The holes at the very corner of the bumpers on the original valence are at a slight angle. On the replacement, they are not. Plus, on the original valence there were bolts to attach the bottom of the heat shield to the valence. The replacement does not have the bolts. Is it OK to leave the bottom of the heat shield loose?

I haven't installed the new piece yet. I'm trying to decide whether or not to refinish the rear bumper while I'm this far into it. Removing the valence was a major pain! To remove the screws that attach it to the bumper I had to create my own impact driver of sorts. This involves putting the handle of a screwdriver on a floor jack and jacking the screwdriver up into the screw while turning the vice grips attached to the screwdriver's handle.

I went to the garage last night thinking, "Three screws and three bolts on the heat shield, six bumper guard nuts, and eight or so screws on the valence should all take an hour or so. It took 2.5 hours just to get the original off!

Now my car is missing the Targa bar cover, rear valence and bumper guards. It's going to be 84 degrees here in Phoenix today and my car is in pieces! Arrgghhh!!!

[dickster]

yeah, took mine off last night!!

was a tad easier than yours though!!