Finally did it! Custom frontlip for 1st Gen 3000GT !NO 56K!

[Shpyder]

I have forever been infatuated with trying to get some sort of front lip add-on onto my 1993 SL. I think lip-kits are the most economical way, by far, to add that aggressive look to a stock bumper, with minimal hassle. My 1997 Eclipse Spyder had an eBay urethane lip, and it changed the look of the entire car in a way that people would always ask what body-kit I had on there, whereas it was just a $120 urethane lip from eBay. The best $120 I have ever spend on a visual mod.

Folks might remember me as having purchased a '97'-98 bumper, trying to slap that on while retaining my pop-ups on my 3S. Didn't work; the crash bar had to be removed in order for the nose to fit, so I ditched that idea. Then, I tried a '99 bumper. I discovered that there was way too much custom work involved for it to be worth it. I just could not understand why there were no lip kits available for 1st gen 3S's. That Kaze one was rare and not worth the money (for me). So, you know what they say...where there's a will, there's a way!

So, I did something I had been planning to do FOREVER. I took a random urethane lip from eBay ('95-'96 2GA urethane lip made for an Eclipse), and hacked it onto my 1st gen GT. A summary:

1) The only way this worked was because the urethane was completely flexible and incredibly easy to manipulate.
2) The lip was obviously shorter than the 3S's bumper (see pics), so we hacked the ends off the lip.

3) Lots of long, self-tapper screws all over the place.

4) Made custom metal and plastic brackets on the underside to make sure the lip stayed put, while at the same time, had plenty of flexibility.

5) 1.5"-2" of bumper height was added due to the lip.

6) No bondo or filler material of any sort were used.


Now, I am completely aware that the lip, at present, looks a little tacky, but I am not done with it yet.The ends are too short to cover the bumper, there are bolts visible all over the place, and the design is so that it juts out a tad. I am not bothered by this, since the basic "framework" has been laid. I am going to work on those shortcomings later.

This is what the lip looks like now:



This is what I plan to paint it like (just like my Spyder):



Here are some more images:










If only the Bomex 2nd gen lip for the 3S had been urethane, it would have been great to work with.

All criticism is welcome, thanks for checking this out. I'm really happy that I finally got around to do this. Cost me $150. Another $100 for the paint (eventually) and some cleaning up of the rough edges.

-Shpyder

[AutostradaVR4]

damn man, thet looks amazing. The whole front of it looks great. only thing i can see that i would change is, when you extend the sides back the the wheelwell, trim them lower so it doesnt interfere with the stock vents.

If you dont mind i'd like to copy those pics and play with them on PhotoChop.

Nice wheels also, what are they?

[TorchedStealth]

Damn that looks nice!!! How much time has it taken you so far?

[AutostradaVR4]

will post pic#3 as soon as i finish. I would like to say though, that this is definitely something I, and probably others, would be interested in purchasing...if you feel that entrapreneurial spirit

[VR43000GT]

^^ I am with Blink on this one, you could market that things. Nice work

[Linebckr49]

on a scale of 1-10, i give it a 9.5, only because the ends are too short, as you pointed out. make the ends longer to fit the 3S bumper, and that's one badass job.

[Shpyder]

Thanks everyone! I know, I know...I definitely have to tie up a few loose ends (such as the obviously short sides, and the naked screws).

Originally Posted by TorchedStealth

Damn that looks nice!!! How much time has it taken you so far?

Thanks man. It took about 4 hours...but I'm really slow, so for a seasoned worker, it could be done in half the time. The hacking and mapping of the lip was really easy, but the brackets were a tad tougher, trying to see where on the underbody I could bolt them on so that the lip stayed on one place.

Originally Posted by BlinkRA182

damn man, thet looks amazing. The whole front of it looks great. only thing i can see that i would change is, when you extend the sides back the the wheelwell, trim them lower so it doesnt interfere with the stock vents.

If you dont mind i'd like to copy those pics and play with them on PhotoChop.

Nice wheels also, what are they?

Yeah, that's step two. I'm still working on how to "extend" that area to the back. I'm a complete rookie at body work; it was just an idea I wanted to do forever, and finally got to it. This is my first "custom" job of any kind. I'm not a very hands-on person, so I'll be asking around to see what the best way is to finish the sides off.

Those wheels are 18x9 ADR Version II rims, discontinued several years ago (they always d/c thir best wheels for some reason), and now I can't find center caps anywhere.

Nice job on the photoshop man, I really like the way it turned out with the red pain on there. Can't wait to get it painted.

Originally Posted by SL3000GT

^^ I am with Blink on this one, you could market that things

Dude, trust me...if I can do this, anyone can do this. I am the most "un-DIYselfer" there is. All I can put on is an intake, an MBC and some IC piping. The only thing that made this possible was the flexibility of the urethane. Plus, there might be other urethane lips out there that might look much better than this one. I totally chose this Eclipse lip at random.

Originally Posted by Linebckr49

on a scale of 1-10, i give it a 9.5

That's a lot more than I expected, thanks. It's certainly not for everyone...lots of folks said it looked better stock. W/e floats their boat, you know. I just wanted to be a little different. Can't wait to get it painted!

[vectorspecialist]

i'd buy it, but yea extend the ends and its great

[talskinyguy]

I think you have the right idea, and ya tried, but to me that looks horrible. Its obvious that its not make for the car, and doesn't fit correctly.

[Shpyder]

ARGGHHHHHu have GOT to be fcking kidding me!!! Just a few days AFTER I hack up a lip and drill holes in my bumper, a URETHANE 2G 3s lip comes along on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/94-98...QQcmdZViewItem

[AutostradaVR4]

look man. even though theres no pic of that actually mounted on a 3k, in all honesty that doesnt look like something i personally would be interested in. it looks like basically an extension, where as what you made really adds a whole new character to the front of the car, mainly because of the air inlets in front. I really dont like any aftermarket front bumper thats out for the 3/s right now, but if there was a lip like yours, i would buy it.

i know, opinions are just that. but if it was my choice, i would much rather have one that looks like the one you custom fabricated/adapted.

[vectorspecialist]

u could divide it in half, and split it(i know redundant) and put it on each side and take out the middle piece on the stock bumper, and make it look like a 360 modena

[Shpyder]

Originally Posted by vectorspecialist

u could divide it in half, and split it(i know redundant) and put it on each side and take out the middle piece on the stock bumper, and make it look like a 360 modena

That is exactly what I had as one of my two options before I started this "project"....the second one is what I opted for in the end, and what you see in the pics. It's a little late for me now, but I think the other option wouldve worked a tad better, since there would be no sides to cover. Bah, I'm a little slow with these things!

Originally Posted by BlinkRA182

look man. even though theres no pic of that actually mounted on a 3k, in all honesty that doesnt look like something i personally would be interested in. it looks like basically an extension, where as what you made really adds a whole new character to the front of the car, mainly because of the air inlets in front. I really dont like any aftermarket front bumper thats out for the 3/s right now, but if there was a lip like yours, i would buy it.

i know, opinions are just that. but if it was my choice, i would much rather have one that looks like the one you custom fabricated/adapted.

Thanks man, I your support. I will be trying to make that side piece tomorrow, and have everything painted by Tuesday...will post new pics once everything is done!

[planet_keeper]

like its been said, if you can get those side peices to fit better i think thats not half bad and definitly way better than anything else out there for 1g's. i'm kindof tempted to try it myself now because there are a ton of lips out there for eclipses. i'm just worried that it'll look like crap and then be out $150 bux, lol. the lack of lip kits for 1g's is frustrating.

[Shpyder]

Originally Posted by planet_keeper

the lack of lip kits for 1g's is frustrating.

Sigh, tell me about it. That's exactly what drove me to insanity and I ended up doing this hack job

BTW. If I could do it over again, I would try a WRX urethane lip...it seems to have longer sides and appears to be a better fit from the pictures. And as for the $150, you just gotta be brave about it...definitely worth more bang for the buck that that stupid Kaze lip that I can never get a hold of!