Okay, I got the valance on, and have three words for
anyone interested in putting one of these on: Have no
fear.
The front valance is a very simple and straightforward
install, so if you're interested in doing it, go for
it. My install took only about two and a half hours,
and there are only a couple tricky points to watch out
for.
Removing the bumper and stock valance is an easy
affair. The problems to watch out for with fitting
the new valance are as follows:
1) Figuring out where to drill the mounting holes in
the Sebring valance is a bit touchy. The Sebring
valance - when it's off the car - doesn't follow the
contour of the mounting area. It's much more "flat".
So when you're test fitting it, you're applying
pressure to the ends and creating tension to make it
line up. While you're doing this, you have to figure
out where to drill the holes. I used a thick pencil
lead and reached around underneath and tried to mark
them back through the mounting holes underneath.
Working alone as I was, this was a real bitch. I
couldn't hold the Sebring valance in the proper
position and mark the holes at the same time.
Ultimately, the solution I came up with was to drill
only the center two holes first (because those are the
easiest to get right as they require the least tension
to line up correctly). Then I mounted the piece using
those two bolts only, and I left it a little loose.
This allowed me to work around both sides, pressing
the new valance into proper position and marking them.
Even so, three or four of my holes were a little off
(they were laterally in the wrong position because as
the valance wraps around, it shifts the position just
slightly, but enough to make it tricky) and I had to
ream them out a bit to the side using a Dremel. So
learn from my mistakes and get three buddies to hold
the piece up nice and tight and mark them all at once.
It will save you a lot of headache. Ultimately,
though, it worked out fine on my car because the
washer hides any slight imperfection in the
drilling...
2) The fiberglass mounting area of the Sebring front
valance seems to be thicker than the original steel
valance, so the stock mounting hardware doesn't want
to bite when you use both the mounting washer and the
lock washer. I didn't want to mount them without lock
washers, so I ran out to Lowe's and picked up some
slightly longer stainless hardware and it worked fine.
Looks better too.
3) The biggest pain, though, is that the Sebring
valance is physically too "wide". That is, from side
to side, it's too big, and when you mount it correctly
and get it all fitted up, the edges protrude into the
wheel wells almost two full inches on each side. WAY
too far. I assume this is because they want to make
sure it fits all years of cars and cars that may not
all be precisely the same dimensions, but in my case,
it wasn't even close. In addition to looking bad, I
was seriously worried that it might catch the tire
under compression and certain steering angles. I
pulled the trusty Dremel back out and cut each side to
roughly the correct contour, and then used a grinding
bit on the Dremel again to shape it exactly the way I
wanted it. It sounds like a lot of work, but it
really weasn't too bad, and if you take your time and
work slowly and carefully, it's not too big a deal.
That's it! Everything else was smooth as silk. In
it's finished form, the result looks really, really
nice. I am SUPER pleased. Best of all, the clearance
is fine. No worries. Before I started this, I got a
couple of messages from people telling me that the
Sebring front valance is so low, I would be bashing it
about on every road imperfection, but that is simply
not true at all. My original valance had a clearance
of 9.5" at each side (right in front of the wheel) and
7.25" in the center. The new valance has the same
9.5" clearance on each edge, and 6.75" in the center.
So I lost half an inch of clearance, and only right in
the center of the valance. It LOOKS pretty low and
agressive, but it's actually not that low at all.
I took a bunch of pictures, but they are still in the
camera (and at the rate I take pictures, probably will
remain there for a while), but I WILL eventually post
them to my site, and if anyone wants me to email them,
just let me know.
I hope my story helps alleviate the fears that some
people have about this mod. It's no big deal and the
result looks wonderful.
Cheers,
=====
Paul Misencik
1971 MGB Vintage Race Project
www.sopwithracing.com
Huntersville, NC USA
www.paoloroman.com
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