The Project Pad

I think I'll be doing the V8q front bumper conversion as well. I need more space to better package the secondary radiator so it doesn't heat soak the bottom half of my intercooler as much. I'm looking forward to pics of how it goes.

Looking AWESOME!!! God i love pearl white!!

And you better come through with lots of pics with the v8 bumper swap!! :woowoo:

So here's what I was able to get through this afternoon. Currently trying to figure out how to secure the bumper struts I drilled to move inward an inch or so.

The bumper:


The difference between the bumper struts - V8 on the left, 200 20v on the right



This is how the V8 mount looks put up to the 200



Here's where the signal buckets of the V8 bumper contact the bodywork


Decided to cut back to the square hole a slot about 3-3/4" wide - measured from the signal bucket on the V8 bumper


Note in this pic that the bottom line follows the crease in the sheet metal. I cut the passenger side this way as well after finding there was still contact between the fender and bumper with the first line i made.


The cut


Test fit after the cutting




That fitment was achieved with the V8 bumper struts removed and the bumper resting on the 200 struts. It was now time to modify the V8 struts. The ruler doesn't really help here, but 1" needs to be cut from each side of the V8 bumper strut to fit with the stock cross member and to keep it symmetrical 8) . The idea here is to cut the strut to fit and drill the 200 pattern into it.






Here it is sitting on the car


I didn't take a picture of how it fit at this point, but with the V8 struts, the bumper sat around 7/8" too far outward from the car - the trim and wheel wells didn't line up. This brought me to the worst part of this job...

Drilling the bumper struts! After some quick online research, I gave it a try. Wearing safety classes and drilling through a couple sheets of cardboard to act as a blast shield for whatever gas or oil may come out, I drilled both cylinders of the strut. The larger base gave a quick release of high pressure oily stuff and then slowly foamed. I drilled it with a small bit - I think 1/16"


The smaller cylinder let out a loud release of compressed gas...who knows what kind. Then both holes just sort of oozed this lovely blueish oil which is as far from nontoxic as it gets I imagine.




At this point I spent time making some cardboard templates to transfer the mounting holes to the V8 struts and called it a night since I needed some dinner. I need to either pick up some longer bolts for the struts or I need to get a die-grinder so that I can remove the cast gussets on the strut mounting plates so that the stock bolts can sit flush. I also need to figure out how to secure the bumper struts in the position I want them in since they move quite freely in and out now.

Link to all the pics: http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm181/Case1220/

Looks like you'll be finished tomorrow.

lookin good.

Interesting.

I wonder if it would have been easier to cut the ends off the struts and weld the V8 ends on the old struts...

Just thinking aloud.

Keep up the good work.

Steve

wow dude you are doing it!! This is a gift to the 200 20v world

Time to go to the junkyard and get that v8 bumper I think! Yesssssss

What tools shall I bring? I really have no idea how to get the bumper off of a v8. I'm sure I could figure it out easily but I figure its worth asking anyhow.

SteveAngry wrote:Interesting.

I wonder if it would have been easier to cut the ends off the struts and weld the V8 ends on the old struts...

Just thinking aloud.

Keep up the good work.

Steve

I was thinking the same thing but as they say, theres no right way and no wrong way. 'In this case'.

Plus wheres the fun if you dont get to play around with the stuff.

oldsklaudidub wrote:

SteveAngry wrote:Interesting.

I wonder if it would have been easier to cut the ends off the struts and weld the V8 ends on the old struts...

Just thinking aloud.

Keep up the good work.

Steve

theres no right way and no wrong way. 'In this case'.

Plus wheres the fun if you dont get to play around with the stuff.

Yeah, I wasn't saying he was doing it wrong. I was just looking at it from another perspective.

Steve

:stupid: Have been thinking about that. A quick measurement show a 20mm difference between the two struts so about .787" and I need the bumper to go inward about 7/8" or .87". After drilling those struts I felt like I had taken a wrong turn so when I get back at it, I'll get some more detailed measurements and see if I can get away with using the 200 strut with the V8 mount. I really want this to be as clean of an install as possible and the strut drilling kind of killed it for me. Thanks for bringing that up Steve - I'm more inclined to check it out further now :-D :thanks: There's definitely a couple of ways to get a few more mm out of those 200 struts - one would be cutting the V8 mount at the base down a bit, the other being getting rid of what appears to be a shim between the crossmember and bumper strut.

loxxrider wrote:wow dude you are doing it!! This is a gift to the 200 20v world

Time to go to the junkyard and get that v8 bumper I think! Yesssssss

What tools shall I bring? I really have no idea how to get the bumper off of a v8. I'm sure I could figure it out easily but I figure its worth asking anyhow.

I didn't remove this from a V8, but I think they're 13mm or 1/2 bolts holding the struts in and then a philips screwdriver perhaps to detach belly pan/brake ducting.

I imagine you'd be safe with a 3/8" socket set and screwdrivers

sweet thanks

LOL, I did the exact same thing to my Pearl car back in the winter including the trimming of the front inner fenders )oh no cutting a mint pearl fender sacrilige!)...
Never mind the donk status in front, there is no motor in the bay...

so that is sitting on the stock 200 struts no?

Mine? No, V8's w/the gas struts drilled and 200 pattern drilled into them..

I'm finishing up my v8 swap tomorrow. Though I was lucky and did a front mount and removed the cross member and made a new one to support the front mount



I was able to just drill the holes in the shock mounts so it will bolt up. it really helps that the v8 came with those metal plates made a great template for drilling

now I just need to drill the shocks and tap them back 1/2 inch for perfect fit

Hint: a V8 rear bump will also fit with a little work, here is a rough draft of me playing around with one my grey car:

Attachment ( 17854 ) : GEDC0144.JPG


Attachment ( 17853 ) : GEDC0146.JPG

nuugen wrote:Mine? No, V8's w/the gas struts drilled and 200 pattern drilled into them..

o ok, it looks pushed back a bit.

damn looks like everyone is doing it now! I cant wait.

what if you cut the V8 shock bumper plate off, removing the dimple and leaving a hole in the middle.

then took the 200 shock and cut the "tube" on the end down the long way leaving just a flat piece of metal about a 1/2" wide and still as tall as the tube originally was, on the end..

then weld the V8 plate with the hole in the center to the 200 shock.

The removal of most the diameter of the 200 tube and the dimple in the V8 plate, coupled with the fact that the 200 tube is shorter, should give you the 7/8" you need and you still have a functioning shock and dont have to cut/drill the base plate.



looks like that should be plenty, maybe even too much, and if thats the case, you could mess with not removing the dimple when you cut the plate off, or not cutting the tube as much... or at all.

If you do go that route, obviously weld a little ata time so the shock doesnt explode, the length of the tube at the end of the 200 shock should allow for some heat dissipation before that happens though.

nuugen wrote:Hint: a V8 rear bump will also fit with a little work, here is a rough draft of me playing around with one my grey car:

Yea, I really want to do the same - need to keep the look balanced

nice work Casey! How the hell do you stay so clean whilst working on das autos? I can get within 10 feet of my cars without ending up looking like pigpen.

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