Big Blue Update, Rims, Tires, Drop...

[meetthespeakers]

Well I worked a lot of overtime last week, and the boss is out of town this week. So that means lots of goodies coming to the office this week. I love it when it feels like xmas in the spring. Anyway, when the new goodies arrive this week and I have time to install them I'll get some pictures up, hopefully some before and afters. Here's the list, I will get pics up as soon as I can:

1. Safari Grill Swap, Billet Insert, and painted black (Installed)
2. 18x7 American Racing Torqlite's gray w/ 235/50/18 bfg g-force tires (Installed)
3. Belltech Rear Swaybar (BEL5528)
4. Ground Force Rear H.P. Gas Drop Shocks (Arrived)
5. Ground Force 2.5" Drop Leaf Springs (Arrived)
6. APC Super Sport Side Mirrors (Installed)
7. Volant Cold Air Intake (Installed)
8. New Rear Drums, painted black (Installed)
9. VHT Night Shade to tint taillights (Installed)
10. Red Caliper Paint for fronts (Arrived)

BEFORE

-BEFORE Stock Grill painted black, Boyd Cod Rims
AFTER

-AFTER Safari Grill, A.R. Torqlite Rims

-Safari Grill Swap, Billet Insert, Painted Grill Surround, APC Super Sport Mirrors, Shorty Antenna

-APC Super Sport Mirrors Manual (They are a little smaller than stock, blue tinted glass)

-New American Racing Torqlites Rims

MORE PICTURES ON SECOND PAGE .

[T.Low]

Interested in the red brake caliper paint. Let me know how much prep you do and if the stuff really works. I can't help it, I really like the idea of red calipers on my van and on Fiancee's Murano. Both our vehicles are pewter, and I think it would be a great detail with a touch of red calipoer to match the tail lights. She's got the factory 18" five spokes, and I wonder if you'd even be able to see the calipers on my 16".

[meetthespeakers]

I'll def get pics up when I can, at the latest this weekend, but wed the rims come in, so I will most likely do it then. Going to paint the drums black as wheel. I am not so great at prep work, I usually just wash it with soap and water, unless I need to use a wire brush on it. LoL.

REVIEWS OF PRODUCTS:
1. Safari Grill Swap, and Billet Insert: The Safari grill was cheap, and it's not a bad product, however there were a few small imperfections near the headlights. The Billet Grill Insert is a quality piece that replaces the stock one, cut out the old and insert the new one with a few bolts. So far I like the look, it's simpler and cleaner.

2. 18x7 American Racing Torqlite's gray w/ 235/50/18 bfg g-force tires:

3. Belltech Rear Swaybar (BEL5528):

4. Ground Force Rear H.P. Gas Drop Shocks:

5. Ground Force 2.5" Drop Leaf Springs:

6. APC Super Sport Side Mirrors: I was a little nervous buying cheap mirrors, but they actually turned out to be a pretty nice product. How can you really mess up Manual Mirrors? They are a little smaller in width than stock (1-2"), but in return they are a little taller. The mirror has a slight blue tint to them as well. The Super Sport Mirrors are 30% larger than other aftermarket mirrors (They were designed for trucks).

7. Volant Cold Air Intake:

8. New Rear Drums:

9. VHT Night Shade Tint and LED Taillights: I wanted a different look for the rear taillights, I liked the verticalness of the piece (LED arrangement). Easy to install, and actually a quality piece. I ordered the Smoked Led Taillights since I didn't like chrome. However the "smoke" still wasn't dark enough for me. That's where VHT came in, tinted them with 2 coats, followed by a clear coat. Still extremely bright to see even during the day, and the LED's have almost no power consumption.

10. Red Caliper Paint for fronts:

[peter]

Looking forward to the pics. It's gonna be awesome!

[Rockwerx]

Those are some nice mods. What are you doing with your old Boyd Cod wheels? What type of smoked clear coat paint did you use to tint your signal lenses. I want to try tinting some lenses that I have to see how it looks. Are you just going to loosen off the torsion bars to drop the front?

[meetthespeakers]

Sold the Boyd's last weekend finally. Partly the funding for the new rims. The smoked spray is VHT night shade. As far as lowering the front, I am hoping I can lower it a hair more with the torsion bars, thats why I got the least amount of drop. To my calculations the rear will sit 1/4 lower than the front with the 2.5" drop without any adjustments.

[LaGrasta]

Wow, I really dig the mirrors and the seats! Nice upgrades!

[Rebel]

Interested in the red brake caliper paint. Let me know how much prep you do and if the stuff really works. I can't help it, I really like the idea of red calipers on my van and on Fiancee's Murano. Both our vehicles are pewter, and I think it would be a great detail with a touch of red calipoer to match the tail lights. She's got the factory 18" five spokes, and I wonder if you'd even be able to see the calipers on my 16".

I tried the VHT yellow caliper paint and wasn't to impressed with it. Seemed to be thin and transparent, took alot of coats to cover and ran really bad. Just didn't cover very well at all. I'll be curious about how your paint works out.

[Merlin]

What brand of paint or dye did you use to change the interior pieces to black? I know the seats came that way, different ride, but the dash and other pieces, did you paint them or what?

[meetthespeakers]

I got DupliColor for the caliper paint. I think on my old mustang I just used Red High Temp paint and it actually did really well. Thats what I painted the drums with, flat black high temp engine enamel. Looks good.

As far as the interior pieces, so far I've only dont the console, but I am going to do parts of the doors, dash, and other pieces of trim. I used the Duplicolor vinyl and plastic dye. All I did was clean the console with soap and water, sprayed a plastic primer on it, then sprayed 5 or 6 coats of the black vinyl dye. Turned out really really good. Been on a month, no scratches, runs, etc.

[Rebel]

Yea,,the Duplicolor is some good stuff for sure. Have used it for years on interior parts. Guess I should have tried it on my calipers also. When ya find a good thing, best to stick with it I guess.

Has anyone tried the Krylon brand for plastic yet ? I haven't, just curious. :-k

[GnarliSafari]

if you didnt already, make sure you reinforce the grill insert. mine only came with clips for the top so it just kinda hung from the plastic and swung back and forth. i could not believe they expected that to hold up for too long, but what i ended up doing is finding some screws that just fit into the vertical running pillars that are on the backside holding it all together, still with me? i just crammed a couple locking washers inbetween there and screwed them from the bottom of the grill up and put some locktite in for reassurance. this made it feel much more solid and has been fine for 2+ years now, no signs of stress on the plastic. looking good, just get rid of that rear bumper and youll be all set!

[meetthespeakers]

GnarliSafari,
The Stull Grill I got had a total of 6 mounting points (3 top/3 bottom) with bolts, lock washer, and a metal piece tab. It is completely solid. I wonder if they updated it? What brand did you get?

[GnarliSafari]

GnarliSafari,
The Stull Grill I got had a total of 6 mounting points (3 top/3 bottom) with bolts, lock washer, and a metal piece tab. It is completely solid. I wonder if they updated it? What brand did you get?

mine was from ebay, its completely made of metal and the chrome seems to be holding up, looks like all the other ones ive ever seen, but maybe it is just some cheap tawain knock-off, i forget the brand. all i know is i only paid $50 and local shops wanted like $150. and i know the couple extra screws dont cost $100. i guess if your not good at doing things yourself mine would have sucked but it was worth the price difference for me.

[91AWDAstro]

I like the way the front looks. That would look really slick on all black van.