sotec

I have a 99 CL, and I was going to keep it as stock as possible, but summer is quickly approaching and I'm itching for projects, so I'm doing slight mods and upgrades right now.

So far I have golden yellow 5000k HID's in. Stereo is upgraded and hidden under stock speaker covers. 2 10'' subs in the trunk.

Current project (still in the basement drying) is a grill mod. I took the idea from an azine modder and cut cut away all the fins in the grill, replacing it with gutter mesh. My mod differs in that his mesh was behind the grill so that the A emblem sank into the hood. I'm doing exactly the reverse, whereas my grill bubbles out a bit.

Next project is the LED cluster swap. Smoking the tail lights. Probably just buy smoked out front markers.

Anyhow, here is a pre-paint picture. Speaking of which, it's probably time to go throw on coat #3.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Interested to see how the grill mesh comes out

sotec

It's coming along nicely. I have a couple obvious things to finish, like the emblem and that horrid white needs to be blacked out. Otherwise, very happy with the results so far.

sotec

sotec

Suppose I should fix that rust while I'm at it....eh

bbjm98CL2.3

yea that rust gots to go lol

sotec

I'm going to leave the emblem off. Looks much cleaner debranded.

sotec

Here it is finished:

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Looks nice man, I dig it

sotec

Thanks. Do you know if the headlight refurbisher kits actually work? Headlights go for $189/each, so I'm trying to avoid new.

shnee

I've tried multiple different headlight clearing kits. I've tried different "home remedy" tricks. Out of everything I've done, the only thing that made them look new was wetsand and polish. People are nervous about it, but just take your time. You can buy UV spray to apply to keep them from fading as quickly again. Wetsanding and polishing my bad headlight made my good headlight look like shit.

starboy2nv

iTrader: (2)

finally got hold of a WW lip and threw it on last night and sprayed it with flat black... pics to follow later today...

sotec

Thanks, I'll look into wet sanding and polishing.

sotec

Ok buddy, here's the results for wet sanding and buffing:

shnee

Very nice! Makes a huge difference

sotec

Yea, no doubt!

Sorry about the picture being so large. Thought it would resize it down on its own.

Yea, that method works very well for wet sanding. Think I need UV spray or sealer of some sort still. and it can probably go for another whole process before sealing it. I'm even thinking of using the electric buffer this time; mount some sand paper to the disk and really speed this process up. I did that by hand this time.

starboy2nv

iTrader: (2)

sotec... great job... you could have done it with the hood opened as well, fyi. lol

sotec

Now that you mention it, opening the hood might have saved me a little tape...huh. LOL

Well, I'm going to do it all over again. I want them crystal clear. You can't tell from the pictures, but there are still pock marks in the lenses that I want buffed out.

xdaex

iTrader: (1)

Finally, got these bad boys for a good price,some F2's coils, Ill try to install them tomorrow if I get a chance, if not on saturday for sure, sorry for the crappy pic,Ill get some nice pics up when I install them with my slr.

732xghost

iTrader: (1)

thinking about an absolute part out then junking the car. i will never be able to sell this car.

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

lol..??

732xghost

iTrader: (1)

disregard that post.

looks like im gonna keep my car. rust removal, new wheels, and coilovers installed hopefully soon.

but within this week new radiatior and silicone hoses.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

glad to hear you're keeping her Matt

f22vtec

let me know where u take it to get that rust fixed i have my small share too.

732xghost

iTrader: (1)

i got a qoute for $450 at a place in Linden. doesnt seem like a bad price for the amount of rust i have.

mitch14

^what kind of work?
cutting out, welding in a new piece, and blending paint? and if blending paint, how much of the QP are they doing?
and is your rust on both sides or just 1

...i had similar work done just after i bought my cl, cost me just over 200 bucks, to do all the things i said above, plus blending of paint up to the crease line of the QP..on only passenger side, and with rust so bad it had a hole in it
but that was a small shop with cash deals, painting wasn't that great, but as a whole has held up pretty well for the last 2 years or so, starting to see now where it was welded, but for the money i paid, i think i got a great deal

...on the driver's side i only got the little bit of rust fiberglassed and bondo-ed when my car went in for paint 1.5 years ago... but has gotten horrible now, and i wish i woulda got it to cut out and weld in a new piece for like 200 bucks extra... ohwell live and learn i guess
good luck

South Jersey CL

holy crap mitch has an avatar

i fixed the rust on my camry myself, sanded it down, filled some of it in, smoothed it, primed it and painted it.

mitch14

^haha, thought someone would notice pretty quick
i just realized i could crop and resize right on photobucket
i always thought i needed a program... wow i sound like a but mostly i'm just lazy

my project is get this back together, quite a bit more work than it looks like
anyone know how to remove the A-pillar panel things, they are tight as hell, and i don't wanna break em, all i need is the driver's side one off


and then probably install the supertones that have been sitting in my room for like a year

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

they're just clips yo

mitch14

^which way do you pull em off or just whichever way towards you?
i was pretty sure they were clips, just mine's on there so solid, so i didn't wanna pull in the wrong direction and break em all, it's not like a door panel, where you can feel it give a little, plus these are smaller pieces

mattastick

Mainly this part of it:

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

primer ftw

732xghost

iTrader: (1)

all the work that you mentioned is in the $450 estimate. i might have to start getting other qoutes then.

mitch14

depends on the shop, and the quality of the blend, this guy did not use factory paint, and the blend wasn't great, i was quote about 800 from a different shop for the same work with a better blend obviously... all depends on the quality of work you want

732xghost

iTrader: (1)

although anything is better then the rust i want something at least presentable.

i have 2 shops in mind that im gonna get qoutes from.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

My latest project, trying to get this done so I can get to working on the CL in my free time, got some stuff to do before I can bring it out for the summer. This is what stands in the way

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/03-toyota-4runner-full-audio-makeover-767796/

mattastick

I know the feeling Chris. Like I posted in that build thread, I've got my own problem with a 2nd car's stereo. But I also have issues with the Acura's stereo. I got a new Kenwood deck for comps, and if I put the thing in the dash, it goes into protect. I couldn't figure out why, but then it went into protect at a comp, so I sent it in for warranty. Come to find out, it had to be sent back to Kenwood to get fixed, so now the Acura has no stereo for "up to 8 weeks". Well, in that time, we have ~12 competitions. So in the meantime, I'll continue to work on my Celica to try to get it loud enough to run in competitions and keep everything going. We have a huge event the weekend of June 19-20th, so the Acura has to be ready for then. If nothing else, I'll swap the hu out of the Celica into the Acura for the weekend.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

9 speakers replaced


Sub is next

732xghost

iTrader: (1)

bought a new set of wheels. they're extremely rare, discontinued, made in Japan and found them at a cheap price. i never even heard of the brand until i did some more research.

17x7 +45 Black Racing Burning Bloods

South Jersey CL

pics or it didnt happen