its kind of a pain on the 96-98 cars because there are some places were rivets are used instead of screws (go figure), but i think these rivets got replaced in 99 by plastic screws. ive taken off both the front and rear bumpers on my car, and the side moldings seem to be very easy as well, cant imagine it being harder on the 99+ cars. so long as the body kit already has the holes drilled in where they need to be, it shouldnt be too hard.
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RIP Gloria A. Torres
4/26/61 - 10/30/07
The best Mom-lady I could have ever asked for
1. Buy good parts. Some of the cheap kits are not worth the money - while some of the expensive kits are real deals. In general terms, NEVER buy a kit that has a fiberglass front or rear bumper - they should be polyurethane and nothing less. Make sure all the parts are already fully cured and primed. Unprimed parts require hours of baking in a heated paint booth (and this is not free - just ask any body shop), and then have to be primed with compatible primer (also not free) before the paint/primer/basecoat/clearcoat can be applied (for sure not free).
2. Buy from a reputable source. I'd say that I like CDC, Salleen, Rousch, Cervini and 3D Carbon (in that order) for fit and quality. As for styling, I rank them differently, but that's all subjective (look at my profile for some shots of my Cervini Stalker). The companies I list here are NOT the cheapest - and in fact, are probably the most expensive.
3. Pre-fit the parts prior to paint. You WILL be elongating the ocassional screw hole, or discovering that you need to do some tweaking to your existing unibody structure. DO buy all new plastic screws, rivets, etc. - you will bugger up the old ones getting half of them off.
4. Remove the parts and have them painted OFF the car. This is the only way to make sure they get good coverage all over. This also means that if you try to install them alone and after a dozen beers or so, you WILL screw them up and have to have them painted again. So make sure you have all your ducks in a row and some help before installing the new panels.
5. If you are painting them yourself and have never done this before, do a LOT of research, and prepare yourself for a learning curve. If you only have to paint them 3 times to get a good result, you've done well. Top quality paint jobs are the result of years of practice and professional knowledge.
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tripleblack
"You can never be free until you let yourself go."
1. Buy good parts. Some of the cheap kits are not worth the money - while some of the expensive kits are real deals. In general terms, NEVER buy a kit that has a fiberglass front or rear bumper - they should be polyurethane and nothing less. Make sure all the parts are already fully cured and primed. Unprimed parts require hours of baking in a heated paint booth (and this is not free - just ask any body shop), and then have to be primed with compatible primer (also not free) before the paint/primer/basecoat/clearcoat can be applied (for sure not free).
2. Buy from a reputable source. I'd say that I like CDC, Salleen, Rousch, Cervini and 3D Carbon (in that order) for fit and quality. As for styling, I rank them differently, but that's all subjective (look at my profile for some shots of my Cervini Stalker). The companies I list here are NOT the cheapest - and in fact, are probably the most expensive.
3. Pre-fit the parts prior to paint. You WILL be elongating the ocassional screw hole, or discovering that you need to do some tweaking to your existing unibody structure. DO buy all new plastic screws, rivets, etc. - you will bugger up the old ones getting half of them off.
4. Remove the parts and have them painted OFF the car. This is the only way to make sure they get good coverage all over. This also means that if you try to install them alone and after a dozen beers or so, you WILL screw them up and have to have them painted again. So make sure you have all your ducks in a row and some help before installing the new panels.
5. If you are painting them yourself and have never done this before, do a LOT of research, and prepare yourself for a learning curve. If you only have to paint them 3 times to get a good result, you've done well. Top quality paint jobs are the result of years of practice and professional knowledge.
Excellant advice tripleblack! Aacuna, you can try here, http://www.stage3motorsports.com/ as it is where I bought my front fasia.. Great parts, prices, and fit.
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This place makes me miss the days of the shop... sort of! and the information that I provide is based upon my experiences over the years and I do not profess to be any sort of pro any longer. I will do my best to help if I can and this constitutes advice only - no formal recommendations here unless I have just done the same thing to one of my rides in the past 6 months...
This looks very similar to the Cobra R. Some things to keep in mind...
1. If you also plan to lower the car, be careful using some of the deeper front bumper covers or air dams. I lowered my car 1.2", and used the Cervini bumper which does not protrude any lower than the Mach One chin spoiler, but which DOES jut forward a good bit. Because of this, I have to be careful to "stop short" when parking against curbs, and my exit angle for steep dips requires a little planning.
2. The Cobra R kit has been duplicated by virtually every manufacturer, and is widely available in fiberglass at very inexpensive prices. AVOID these fiberglass versions. If they don't list the kit as OE type cured, primed and ready to paint polyurethane bumpers, its a cheapo item that will shatter the first time you make a mistake.
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tripleblack
"You can never be free until you let yourself go."
Many of these manufacturers have links on their sites to suppliers that sell their stuff. Cervini's direct prices are essentially the same as the wholesalers that sell their stuff - and they also offer to paint the parts for you before shipping them.
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tripleblack
"You can never be free until you let yourself go."
they all say this. (Saleen Aerodynamics & ground effects parts are shipped unfinished and require prep-work before painting)
I this what u r talking about the Finish?
like they said dont buy a fiber glass. way easier to just spend the extra money up front for a good polyurerthane kit. itll save u alot of headaches.. kinda like the $200.00 crape kits they sell on ebay..stay farrr away from them
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1996 mustang vortech v-2 sq blower with aftercooler 10psi, proffesional products 75mm tb and plenum,bbk long tubes,custom x-pipe,flowmaster cat back,3.73, optima red top in trunk,steeda clutch quadrant and fire wall adjuster,poly motor and trans mounts,alum drive shaft,maxium motorsports suspension,tubular k-member/arms, qa-1 struts and shocks,steeda cc plates,custom subframe connectors,welded torque boxes,t/a rearend cover,walbro255, b&m shifter/triax handle,sct tuner.90mm lighting mam
If you decide to go with the Roush Kit (which was a seamless installation for my buddy and myself) The best price I found was from our fabulos AFM sponsor Hillbank Motorsports. I had my local Friendly Ford body shop paint the full kit for me after we pre-fitted everything.
If you decide to go with the Roush Kit (which was a seamless installation for my buddy and myself) The best price I found was from our fabulos AFM sponsor Hillbank Motorsports. I had my local Friendly Ford body shop paint the full kit for me after we pre-fitted everything.
I like Roush body parts. OE quality, and the Ford dealers are almost as familiar with them as their own parts.
Roush will also issue you a certificate, essentially making the car a Roush stage 1 (if you add all the right bits), which is nice - Salleen won't do this, no matter how many parts you buy.
Another potential source with a good rep for quality parts is Steeda - I have their suspension components on my car, and they work well together.
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tripleblack
"You can never be free until you let yourself go."
body kit question? 
and the information that I provide is based upon my experiences over the years and I do not profess to be any sort of pro any longer. I will do my best to help if I can and this constitutes advice only - no formal recommendations here unless I have just done the same thing to one of my rides in the past 6 months...
