just ordered an evo body kit- 03 cavalier

[pauleccles]

so i just ordered a evo body kit for my 03 cavalier. It is an evo front, an evo rear, and bc side skirts. Anyways i paid about 800 canadian (yes i'm Canadian), for it and am looking at the whole install/paint end of things now.

I guess the reason im posting is because the kit is indeed fibeglass ( i believe it is atleast) and i have certainly heard all the opinions about how much of an annoyance this ,aterial can be for kits.

I wanted to now opinions on the install/painting process. i.e. would i be better dry fitting, test installing and then sending the kit for paint (black by the way). or would i be better taking the car and my kit to the shop im using and having them do the whole entire process. Keeping in mind that im an 18 year old with a job but certainly not a ton of money to spend. Would i save myself money doing the process i discussed myself or pay to have the shop to the whole thing (they are asking about 800-1000).

Opinions are welcome and also if anyone has any experience on this particular kit (evo 5 for 03-05 cav's) then your knowledge would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and sorry for this ridiculously long post.

[PsychoJJ]

If you think you can hack it I say do it yourself. Granted its a giant headache/pain in the ass but it will save you money in the end....unless things go wrong during install then your just SOL.

As for the kit. Ive heard nothing but bad about it and the one I helped install for a friend was a nightmare. The front bumper snapped in half just trying to reach the fender bolt holes and that was with not even giving it any real amount of force.

So thinking about that I would say have them do it cause at least if they break anything you can point the finger at someone else and try and get the cost back.

[pauleccles]

thanks for the advice and i pray to god i dont have the problems u discussed. it was one of my only options (urethane was way to much for me).

also forgetting the kit i have and just assuming its your typical fiberglass kit what i am to expect assuming the work i have done is good quality. i.e. problems due to whether (its cold in winter and snows where i live but i wont drive if there is snow on the road). i guess the reason im asking is just to prepare myself for the future and as i know noone would recommend driving in the wintter i have absolutely no choice. i stress again that i wont drive if there is actual snow on the road tho.

i am quite confident that my work done will be great quality as a guy i know used the same place (they have years of experience in the body kit world) and his job was done with show quality.

i just bought it because i love the looks and because i could only afford fiberglass so i hope i dont have problems.

here is the pics that made me want it as my car is black too:

[PsychoJJ]

Its nothing to do with the quality of the install as much as the quality of the kit. If the kit was done with an in house evo mold from a good place you should be good to go as alot of places these days are going with flex fiber glass as opposed to plain old f/g. If you where one of the unfortunate few that picked the kit up off an ebay auction well your better off getting some chicken wire and some paper machae and trying to reproduce the kit your self.

Ive seen some clean installs on the model for older model cavs but the 03+ kit is just a poor design and poor quality overall.

[pauleccles]

alright well i certainly appreciate the honesty and at very least i can say that i DID NOT buy it from ebay. i bought it through my local shop (focus performance not that many people on here willl have heard of them) and they order from a site which is rather large and i hope well respected. this site is called www.onderground-design.com so at least i didnt get the ebay kit.

the exact link to the kit on that site is

http://www.onderground-design.com/sh...on=view&Id=600

as for material... those sites say "material: FRP"... im not sure what that stands for..??..

[PsychoJJ]

FRP stands for "fiberglass reinforced plastic". Its actually a pretty good material. Much better then f/g but I have yet to deal with it personally so I cant say that for sure.

[pauleccles]

alright great some good news... lol at least it sounds as tho it might not be as bad as i was thinking... certainly no urethane but regardless not AS bad. i appreciate the help and if you or anyone else has any other info about anything discussed in this thread id love to hear it. lol and dont hate on the GIGANTIC fog lights even tho they are not my fav part of the kit (although a large part of it lol)

[Lefix]

i was 16 when i install my bomex kit for my sunfire, front sides and back, wasnt hard at all, i had to drill holes on my own and fit everything on to the car by myself and im really proud that i did it myself, and till now, i havent had ANY problems with the fiberglass chipping or cracking or breaking in any matter...

My bodyshop wanted $600 to install and paint, and told me if i put everything on, then they will only charge $300 to paint... so i installed myself and they painted it, came out REALLY nice as you can see in my sig...

GOOD LUCK!! Nice kit btw!!! cant wait to see how it comes out...

[pauleccles]

thanks man i appreciate it alot... i am also rather young (18) and am quite looking forward to this. i bought the kit already and it is arriving sometime within the next week or 2. as far as install/prep/paint i was quoted the same thing, 600 bucks (Canadian mind you). i'll make sure that i ask the guy if hed give me a discount if i install it and all that. the guy is kinda like a friend of a friend so im hoping a can get a bit of a discount from that perspective also.

ill try to post pics of the finished product if not the process also. I will be saving up for the paint work so install should come in under a month. I cant wait.

Anyone on here with a kit drive it year round (assuming your in a location that actually gets any amount of snow). i will be doing this so i just wanted to see how tuff it is. i certainly dont plan on driving when there is actually snow on the roads tho so maybe its not a problem. i guess it will just be cold and slippery. (i live near toronto, Canada of course)

[pauleccles]

phsychojj... would you say i should give it a shot installing it now knowing that its FRP... i could easily find time and think i could manage such a job difficulty wise.

so my question for you is:
-should i try to put it on myself
if yes
-does it stay on when i take it to get painted or do i just put it on then take it off.
-and if so i guess i dont use the double sided tape if i just am going to remove it (or the painter is) before he paints it?

sorry for all the questions and i will pm you also (which is probably what i should have done) with the same questions.

[PsychoJJ]

check your box

[pauleccles]

i did.. and thanks man ill take your advice.

[Lefix]

When i take my kit in, i left it on my car and they sprayed it, thats why it only costed $300, if they take it off and putting it back on, its like them installing it...

The owner of the bodyshop that i go to is my friend's uncle, so i get good deals HAHA..

[pauleccles]

lol damn u... well the guy im using is a friend of a friend so i have some leverage that way... i feel better about the kit now tho because i searched it on car domain and found many people with the kit... sucks that other people have the kit but good that many of them said they had no troubles with install... anyways thanks everyone and if ne one has anything else to say its appreciiated.

also lefix... what am i looking at if i install the kit myself process wise. i notice on my 2003 cavalier there actually are no sideskirts so theres no old ones to take off and no hardware to transfer. i take it id have to drill... if so how much, where, etc... i know u cant tell me exactly as u didnt install my kit but im just looking to get an idea of everything.

also did urs turn out good from up close with them painting it on the car... or can u see white if you look close on the inside of it or something... just wondering

thanks and sorry for all the questions

[Dr.Mambo666]

I didnt get a body kit for my car but i have painted the front end so far. I suggest you take it to a shop for the painting ne way unless u know what u are doing. It take alot of time and patience for that(well actuall so doesnt everything) But unless you experienced with painting DONT DO IT! As for the instalation its really easy(did the body kit come with directions?) oyu can get a haynes reapair manuel and it will tell you how to uninstall the bumbers and stuff then work your way backwords.