pontifex4

Today, I finally started to install the Turbo nose panels I painted in a temporary outdoor shed (pictured, below), and I have a couple of questions regarding their fit.

1.) The passenger side gap above the bumper is bigger at the headlight than it is in the middle, or on the driver's side. Is this because (or related to) the two missing rivets at that end of the bumper's aluminum backing plate?

2.) On my N/A fender-lower valence joints (2) there were long metal pieces with three holes for the 3 bolts which joined them. The pieces acted as a washer, and likely had some other use I didn't understand. I don't have something comparable for the Turbo panels/bumper, so have just used big washers. Is that cool, or should I drill out and trim the N/A metal pieces to work with the Turbo panels? What do those metal strips do?

3.) Viewed from the front, the passenger side of the bumper is the right shape, but the driver's side is too rounded. In your experience, which panel is to blame for that shape?

4.) The pop-up headlights close too far with the Turbo lids on them. How can I adjust the limits of the headlights' travel?

5.) Feel free to laugh at my "diagonal draft" paint booth. My biggest problem was with bugs.

supes6

looks good.. what kind of paint did you use? I thought you needed an explosion proof fan for most auto paints?

pontifex4

Hi, Karl,

I used urethane from Dupont (Nason is the name of the line), in single stage. It would probably have been possible to do this without a fan, as well. For future projects, I'm going to look into getting an oven vent fan, or something. As well as a better tent.

Can anyone help with the fit of these panels?

royalschwarz

Has your car been in a front end collision? My old 88 had been and had the same fitment issues in the same areas. Try moving the aluminum bumper bar up or down to get the bumper to sit more level across the front. You may also have to tweak the metal under the headlights and nose panel to get a better fit. As for the headlights lowering too much, search for how to adjust them (plenty of info already out there).

pontifex4

Yes, I suspect it has been in some kind of accident: there had been a few touch-ups to the old panels on that corner, and I found that I had to tighten the bumper shocks last in order to get the bolt holes to line up properly. I also found some bits of another car's tail light in one of the cracks of the N/A valence I took off.

I actually didn't realize you could adjust the pop-up portion of the headlight. I thought the adjustments were limited to the aiming of the beams. I'll have a look.

Thanks for the help!

dillon410021

is that a NA or turbo header panel. I thought you had to use a turbo header panel for everything to line up nicely

944J

yeah, make sure you get a turbo header panel... ive done this conversion before.

Olli Snellman

You need 951&S2 nose panel and most likely also lamp covers.

pontifex4

Thanks for the replies. It is a turbo header panel, along with all the other correct parts (fenders, headlight covers, headlight surrounds, fog and turn indicators, etc).

I have to stretch the bumper a little to reach the holes of the driver's fender, but the hood gaps are all perfect, so I'm assuming that the bend is actually in the driver's fender. I'll try re-leveling the bumper support bar and see what happens.

83 944

looks great. i wantttt =[[

Burma Shave

Aside from the advice that has been given already, many 951's have a similar fitment issue on one side or the other (mostly rt side). I have noticed this over the years and you can see it in many pics posted in other threads.

pontifex4

I'm still working on the fit, but since I have it back on the road, I thought I'd take some celebratory photos of the car!

The left fender still appears to be the culprit. I think I'll work on it a little, this winter.

Thanks for your help, everyone!

pontifex4

Also, I now have to install the batwing under the nose, and the side skirts. What kind of screws were originally used to hold them on?

I'm guessing that they are the usual 10mm head, self-tapping kind which hold the front fenders on...

Marcquito

Wow, what a difference! It looks great!

harrisonrick

where'd you get the front end parts from?