Fox 93 Gt Convertible Nose Repair Vs Replace
- Thread starter theYman
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gotcha, if it bothers you that much, i'd look into a Cervinis piece as a replacement. best quality out there
91TwighlightGT
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
If it is really trashed you should probably replace it. I don't think Cervini's offers a factory GT nose (although i could be wrong I suppose) but they do offer the stalker nose. I don't personally care for it, but Madspeed is right that they have top notch parts if you decide to go that route.
I know latemodel offers a reproduction GT nose, but I have no experience with the quality of it. You could probably find a used one in decent shape with a little bit of leg work.
What are your plans? If you are just doing a repaint of the nose then it might be worth it to try and save it. If you are doing the whole car, though, I wouldn't want to take the chance.
I know latemodel offers a reproduction GT nose, but I have no experience with the quality of it. You could probably find a used one in decent shape with a little bit of leg work.
What are your plans? If you are just doing a repaint of the nose then it might be worth it to try and save it. If you are doing the whole car, though, I wouldn't want to take the chance.
91TwighlightGT
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
To change it is not hard. From memory here...
1. Unbolt the two radiator to bumper brackets (obvious when you open the hood)
2. Remove the headlights (including marker and turn signal housings)
3. Remove the Fender extensions (the forward ones at the bottom of the front fenders)
4. I can't recall right now, but there may be some plastic push pins that hold the cover to the radiator support. Those should be removed if they are present. I think they were on my LX cover, but I don't remember if they were there (or should have been there) on my GT.
5. Unbolt the front bumper cover to fender bolts. I think there are like 5 per side, and they are best accessed from underneath the car.
6. Once it is loosened, it should just easily pull off the front of the car. I like to have a little touch up paint or primer to touch up the holes in the fenders where the bumper cover studs slide through just in case. Try to use care when removing the cover.
You have removed the bumper cover and header panel, so you can now reinstall your new cover. A used cover can often come with a header panel (not always, depends on the seller and where you buy from most likely). If it does be sure to check it very carefully for cracks as they can cause the cover to sag. If yours is cracked you should consider attempting to fix or replace the panel.
If you buy a new cover, they do NOT come with a header panel. This means that you have to separate the cover by removing the rivets holding the cover to the header panel. These rivets are no longer available from Ford, but I did get a set on Ebay fairly inexpensively. I would have them in advance because I could not find the right size at local hardware or auto parts stores.
Once you separate the old cover, simply rivet the new cover onto the header panel and you are ready to repaint and reinstall.
One tip! When reinstalling the cover I like to put a nice layer of masking tape around the bumper cover studs. Having a helper is even better, but you just need to take care not to scratch the fenders when reinstalling your cover. If you accidentally misalign the cover you can scratch your paint quite easily. Fortunately for me I learned this on primer and not my color coat
It really isn't that hard, so don't be intimidated. Removal shouldn't take more than an hour, unless your header panel studs are stripped like mine were and you have to hold them with vice grips while you turn the nuts. I would PB blaster them the night before if you can.
1. Unbolt the two radiator to bumper brackets (obvious when you open the hood)
2. Remove the headlights (including marker and turn signal housings)
3. Remove the Fender extensions (the forward ones at the bottom of the front fenders)
4. I can't recall right now, but there may be some plastic push pins that hold the cover to the radiator support. Those should be removed if they are present. I think they were on my LX cover, but I don't remember if they were there (or should have been there) on my GT.
5. Unbolt the front bumper cover to fender bolts. I think there are like 5 per side, and they are best accessed from underneath the car.
6. Once it is loosened, it should just easily pull off the front of the car. I like to have a little touch up paint or primer to touch up the holes in the fenders where the bumper cover studs slide through just in case. Try to use care when removing the cover.
You have removed the bumper cover and header panel, so you can now reinstall your new cover. A used cover can often come with a header panel (not always, depends on the seller and where you buy from most likely). If it does be sure to check it very carefully for cracks as they can cause the cover to sag. If yours is cracked you should consider attempting to fix or replace the panel.
If you buy a new cover, they do NOT come with a header panel. This means that you have to separate the cover by removing the rivets holding the cover to the header panel. These rivets are no longer available from Ford, but I did get a set on Ebay fairly inexpensively. I would have them in advance because I could not find the right size at local hardware or auto parts stores.
Once you separate the old cover, simply rivet the new cover onto the header panel and you are ready to repaint and reinstall.
One tip! When reinstalling the cover I like to put a nice layer of masking tape around the bumper cover studs. Having a helper is even better, but you just need to take care not to scratch the fenders when reinstalling your cover. If you accidentally misalign the cover you can scratch your paint quite easily. Fortunately for me I learned this on primer and not my color coat
It really isn't that hard, so don't be intimidated. Removal shouldn't take more than an hour, unless your header panel studs are stripped like mine were and you have to hold them with vice grips while you turn the nuts. I would PB blaster them the night before if you can.
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