Guide to installing the 89+ stock front lip/spoiler?

[loc182]

I am about to install the stock front lip on my car. I think I have all the parts, but when I removed it a lot of bolts were missing and it has been two years so must admit I don't recall exactly how it was mounted.

If there is no official guide (always wondered if something was in the body repair manual) I would appreciate any tips and warnings greatly!

Thanks!

 

[Silver MK3]

Make sure the metal plates that go underneath are straight, they are the support and if the plate is bent the lip will appear bent as well, and don't break it when you put it on haha. That's about it, it's pretty simple.

 

[loc182]

Yeah, of the six plates the front two were severely bent. Sides were not too bad, though some of the embedded bolts snapped due to rust. Happily I was able to get a replacement part for the side that broke.

I just want this thing to look nice and straight! (As I recall yours looked fabulous!)

 

[Silver MK3]

Mine's alright. It's not perfect but it better shape than most that are left. I'm also really picky about stuff so...

Hopefully your's goes on well!

 

[Roger UK]

I've got a brand new one (boxed) I picked up cheap on ebay a few years ago . . . but waiting to get my front bumper re-sprayed before I eventually fit it!

 

[Old Radar]

I just finished straightening the front lip of my car--shallow learning curve after lowering the suspension. That plate is made of the softest metal I've encountered on the car. I straightened it with my hands and a pair of pliers. Although the lip is now straight, there is about a 1/4 inch gap between it and the nose of the car. It seem the plastic has retained the out-of-true bend it learned while the lip was bent. It appears that there is a second plate above the plastic that holds the bolt anchors but going by the pliability of the anchors, that plate is just as soft as the first one. I doubt that even if I went to the trouble of taking it off and ensuring it was flat, it would be able to overcome the deformation of the plastic.

By the way, while I had it off, I used my orbital sander and a 220 grit pad to sand out some of the road rash on the rubber lip. It turned out well and after a healthy application of Armor-all the lip looks almost new.

 

[MK3pizzadriver]

Yeah you can work your way up from 220 to 2000 or 3000 grit to get it looking smooth again (use like 3 grits in between, ie 220, 400, 600, then 1000)

 

[Old Radar]

Aesthetically, I don't think the rubber lip would benefit from a glassy smooth surface, even if the the physical properties of the material didn't prevent you from actually achieving that level of smoothness.