RS front bumper?

[EzekeiL]

Anyone kno if the RS front bumper is a bolt on affair with a non RS? I understand I would need new fog light filler things (real tech talk here...) and grills, but I cant seem to find the RS FRONT bumper anywhere...haven't talked to GM yet...haha...just feeling it out cause I dont really have the money right now but I am weighing out options to get rid of the front mustache and make the car look better.

I have used the search, and I have used google, but if I missed something then feel free to point me back.

Thanks

 

[laborsmith]

It has been determined it is not a direct bolt on therefore would need modification to make it fit. I have noticed of late Chevy tends to do this, possibly to encourage trading up but more likely owners of the optioned up vehicle may have less than positive feelings when seeing a clone. Is Chevy interested in preserving positive feelings toward the brand? You tell me.

Laborsmith

 

[EzekeiL]

I think they are positively intent to piss me off :blankface: Besides some form of psychological shenanigans (as stated) I see no reason why the bumper shouldn't bolt up...thanks chevy...that seems pretty stupid considering they seem to want to market the car towards my age bracket and my age bracket (hopefully...still) likes to tweak stuffs...bah...spilled milk i suppose :/

Ok, I knew the grill itself wasn't a direct bolt on, but I wasn't sure if you could just buy the whole bumper cover and be done with it. It would obviously be a little more expensive...but oh well...I will have to try and be a little more creative when it comes to ditching the mustache~

I blacked out the chrome trim, but it came out so-so and I was going to pull the bumper off so I can paint the grill a little easier. At that point I started thinking about what I can do to get rid of the mustache since I have it of the car.

I was thinking a really think wire mesh, like so:

to give it the appearance that there is nothing there and its just open but still keep all the crud out. I was looking at some diagrams of the front bumper and I am not sure if I can cut out the chrome rim that sits around the grill as of right now, but I was thinking I wouldnt even have to bother and instead focus on mounting the mesh right in place of the grill entirely. I would paint the fasteners and the bumper thing thats under the mustache black to mask it ...and maybe throw a design on the intercooler if Im feeling particularly risky....I dunno. I know I saw a couple people attempting different things with the grill but none really fit what i am looking for...ofcourse...im not really sure what im looking for either

Thanks for the info labor!

 

[Beastlick]

I believe the main issues are the screw locations in the inner fender liner do not match up with the non-RS models. I know for a fact the headlights are the same and the bumper slides into the lower portion of the headlight bezel. Not sure if there are other issues.

A tight mesh like you have pictured will catch everything! While that may sounds good, after your first drive, it will be horrible to clean!

The chrome surround does come unclipped from the grill area with a flathead screwdriver fairly easily.

I don't know if you've peeked around my thread, as long as the rain holds off tonight, I got everything painted over the past few days. I plan on doing a mesh mustacheless grill next.

 

[Thaifight-R]

Do you guys know if that applies to the rear bumper and/or the side skirts as well?

 

[River_Rat]

Do you guys know if that applies to the rear bumper and/or the side skirts as well?

If my memory serves me, someone posted about successfully swapping an RS rear bumper a while back.

 

[5H1F7Y]

I know the rear has been done. Skirts i dont imagine would be that difficult.

Link to pacman's build thread:
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/build-threads/5861-autox-road-course-machine-5.html

the link to the write-up wasnt working for me.

 

[laborsmith]

RS side skirts on a HB should be easily done. The opening for the exhaust tip is not the same but it is easy to move the tail pipe.

Laborsmith

 

[Macehammer]

I thought the problem was only the grill...

 

[laborsmith]

Both. The grill shape for one is not the same as the other. My memory is once that was determined replacing the whole front fascia was tried.

Laborsmith

 

[EzekeiL]

Beastlick - if its just the inner fender lining that doesnt match up couldnt makeshift brackets be fashioned up relatively easily with some parts from home depot?? I guess my main concern is if there is issues with lining up with body panels like it not matching up to the fenders at the same spot or something...

Also...haha...totally didnt think about the amount of bugs and stuff that would get caught in that mesh...not a big deal but it would be difficult to clean. I am looking into different mesh's but i know I want it to look pretty much like nothing is there without nothing being there xD It is good to know that that chrome ring pops off! actually that would make life much easier ...

Hey beastlick, does the grill hide a bunch of fastener locations/tabs around the edge of the opening? seems like (from some diagrams I saw) that the part of the grill that isnt cut out is covering tabs that stick out.

Btw i have checked out your thread beastlick and I really like what you did. I havent been able to thumb through all 30 pages tho xD I wanna go with something different tho. maybe make it more invisible looking.

Thanks for all the info tho!!

 

[Beastlick]

Ha ha most of that is just process stuff during the construction. The hood is the same and I believe the fenders are the same, although I'm not 100% sure. I know another user needed to drill new holes to mount the rear RS bumper on a non-RS sonic.

The area behind the mustache does cover up the foam bumper cover pad which is directly in front of the metal crash bar. There is also a strip of plastic right below the bowtie which runs the whole length of lower grill. Here is a pic during a mock-up(foam pad not pictured).

Untitled by 4c4faa609f4f3024589c684288568332, on Flickr

 

[EzekeiL]

Awesome! Thank you so much for that information and picture! Im guessing in that picture the foam bumper support was taken out? Also, does anything attach to that plastic peice that comes down? and is there something like that on the top portion of the grill too?

Sorry for the 20 questions xD

I think I wanna try to replace the grill with something home made first. I wanna try the RS bumper sometime when I have more money, but im feelin creative also wanna make my own cold air intake...well...my own air intake haha

Thanks for all the help beastlick!