August 8th, 2021 - Installing the ViS JDM Techno R (Mugen PRO.2 Replica) Front Bumper on Project PRO.2
I have a replica Mugen front bumper made by ViS for my CR-X. Bought it over ten years ago but haven't bothered to try and install it. I originally wanted it until I could find a genuine Mugen one in good shape, at the time thinking I'd have it installed in a year or two. Ha!
 |
| ViS JDM Techno R (Mugen Pro.2 replica) |
And I never did find a genuine Mugen front bumper in decent enough condition. With the current market on Japanese parts, Mugen pieces in particular, I can't justify the cost to get one when this replica is so well done.
 |
| Genuine Mugen Pro.2 front bumper |
Since the Mugen rear bumper install went fairly smoothly a couple of months ago, and now that I have the brackets, I decided it was time to install the front bumper.
The plan was always to take it to a body shop for the installation. Lately I've come to realize that the only one who will take the care and attention to detail I believe this installation needs, is me. There's no body shop in this city or province that I feel could take on this job and do it properly, the way I want it done. There's no body shop who knows this kit the way I do. Upon re-reading that sentence, I know that it sounds incredibly arrogant, but I've been studying the CRX/CR-X and the Mugen kit for close over 20 years now. I have hundreds of pictures of this kit, the parts, the catalogs, scans of the installation instructions... it may sound arrogant but it's the truth. Additionally, there's no body man as meticulous as I am when it comes to a job like this on my car. And I don't want it to be half-assed because "it's just another 'rice rocket', it's not like it's a 70 'Cuda..."
 |
| Mugen Instructions |
So I've decided that I will do the bumper prep and installation myself.
I have the genuine Mugen installation instructions, and since the ViS JDM Techno R bumper is a copy using a mold of an original bumper, the installation should be fairly close, if not identical. Other than the genuine instructions, there's nothing from ViS by way of instructions or mounting hardware for the bumper. I've always felt that was kinda shitty on their part, but I searched for 9 years for a set of original Mugen mounting hardware for the PRO.2 bumper, so I guess I can't really be too mad they didn't search for a set to reproduce too.
 |
| Genuine Mugen brackets installed |
I'm going to take my time and I will document my journey in the hopes that, like my Honda Access Momo steering wheel that didn't come with an installation guide, it could help someone install their own bumper one day.
Starting with the front bumper, the ViS looks like an incredibly accurate reproduction. The holes for the mounting screws are not pre-drilled, but the places where the holes were drilled on the genuine bumper can still be seen on the replica. The first step was to take some measurements.
 |
| Marks from the original mold for the cut out pieces |
The front license plate mounting is: 22mm for the large holes and 7mm for the smaller holes. The holes for the signal lenses were a little more difficult to gauge since they weren't well defined. So instead I decided to measure the signal light itself. I can always start the hole small and grind it out to be larger if necessary. The ones on the tabs should be roughly 6mm or 7mm. I'm still not sure about the size of the ones in the wheel wells, but the screw size is 5mm x 18mm, so I'll start of small and make it larger as needed.
 |
| 22mm |
 |
| 7mm |
Having taken all the measurements I needed, I next had to buy some additional tools. I began researching the best hole saws for cutting through fibreglass. There's no much information, most of it for marine applications, and especially for thicker pieces of fibreglass that in the end I decided to reach out to the shop where I purchased my replica brackets to see what they use for this type of application.
 |
| 5.5 - 6mm |
 |
| 36mm |
With the recommendation of diamond hole saws, I found a 22mm and a 1/4" (in between 6mm and 7mm) on Amazon and purchased them. The bumper mount bracket on the driver's side (right-side) has some damaged threads where the bolt goes in to hold the bumper in place, so I purchased a metric tap set to try and repair the threads. I also bought some small Dremel drill bits to start some of the holes for enlargement and a new rotary tool since my old one had died.
 |
| Diamond Hole Drill Bits and Taps |
 |
| Rotary Tool |
I made a template for trimming out the signal lens holes using some foam board. I made to the exact measurement of the signal lens tabs, so it can be enlarged as necessary. I will also be making a guide jig using some thick Styrofoam I have laying around the garage. I'll use this for the 22mm hole saw so that the drill doesn't wander during cutting.
 |
| Jig I Made For Signal Cut-Outs |
With all the tools purchased and the jigs made, it was time to start drilling. I started with the holes that made me the most nervous, the front license plate mounts. This is also where I'd made my first mistake. Everything went smoothly, drilling-wise. The jig kept the drill from wandering and the cuts were smooth. The one thing I hadn't accounted for, unfortunately, was when using the marks from the mold where the holes had been on the original bumper, I'd not measured to ensure they were level and evenly spaced. After drilling the second 22mm hole (left side when mounted to car), I realized it was too low and not even with the first 22mm hole. The 7mm mounting hole was also not aligned properly, which would make my license plate uneven. Luckily I realized this before I'd drilled the 7mm hole.
 |
| These holes worked out great |
 |
| Using the jig to keep the drill from wandering |
 |
| The left-side hole (right in photo) is too low |
 |
| Even the marks for the 7mm hole are too low compared to the other side |
Learning from this, when it came time to drill the slot for the signal light lens mounting tab, I measured the distance from the front edge of the bumper to the leading edge of the mark and found it was 1.5" on both sides so I knew that mark could be used on both sides.
 |
| Marks from the mold where the holes are supposed to be |
The jig I'd made wasn't working the way I'd hoped. It wasn't firm enough to not warp when I tried marking it so I decided to free-hand. Starting with the rotary tool and a cutting wheel, I made my first cut at the leading edge of the marks on the bumper. I measured the jig and marked where the rear cut should be, then I just kept enlarging gradually.
 |
| Free-handing the signal light slot |
 |
| Signal slot complete |
Another concern I had was the mark behind the signal light slot was very close to the edge of the fibreglass. The mark is for the mounting bolt and I was concerned there wouldn't be enough material to be reliable. Fortunately in this case, just like the left side hole, the marks were "off" and I was able to install the mounting brackets easily with more than enough material left over to ensure it would be strong enough to hold.
I started by clamping the bracket to the mounting surface and using a rotary tool with a 1/16" bit to make a pilot hole, then after removing the clamp and bracket, I widened the hole using a 1/8" bit, wiggling it around a bit to get it hole large enough for the 6mm mounting bolt.
 |
| Clamp on the Sharpe front bracket |
 |
| Drilling a 1/16" pilot hole |
 |
| Dremel bits - 1/16" pilot and 1/8" for widening |
 |
| Bracket attached |
 |
| Bracket attached |
I have a pair of genuine Mugen front bumper mounting clips as well as a pair from Sharpe Welding and Restoration that I'd had powder coated black. Lining them up side-by-side it's easy to see the quality and accuracy of the Sharpe replica brackets. Seeing the bend of the genuine bracket, I can see I may have to make adjustments to get the bumper installed, possibly using some shims or washers.
 |
| Sharpe Welding (Left, black) / Genuine Mugen (Right, gold) |
 |
| May have to make adjustments to bracket |
Signal light fitment was also a bit of an issue. They're an extremely tight fit into the cut-outs, even after some rigorous hand sanding. The left side does go in slightly better than the right side. This made ensuring the fitment of the signal light tab into the slot a little more difficult, but if I'd had more sandpaper on-hand I probably could have gotten the fitment a little better. I did manage to drill the hole for the signal light screw on the left side by piloting the hole with a 1/16" bit while the signal light was installed, and with it removed, expanding the hole to 1/8". This leaves room to expand the hole for adjustment purposes and to allow the U nut placement once the fitment issues on the signal lights are addressed.
I followed the same process with the three top mounting tabs, the wheel well screw holes and the bottom lip-mount bolt holes. I still need to locate some bottom lip mounts but I wanted the holes drilled nonetheless.
Turning my attention back to the last remaining 7mm license plate bolt hole, I decided to leave the 22mm hole as it is for now. With a license plate installed it's not going to be noticeable. So I got a level and marked off a level line with a Sharpie from the 22mm hole that I'd drilled that was in the correct position. I decided to take a risk and drill a 1/4" hole with my drill part-way through the thick fibreglass for the license mounting spot. I took constant measurements along the way to ensure everything was level and that the license plate hole is in the proper spot for a Japanese license plate.
To help with this, I grabbed my JDM license plate and slid a bolt through the 7mm hole I'd already drilled and stuck the other bolt into the partial hole. The distance between the 7mm holes was perfect. I put a level on top of the plate and it too was perfect. The new location I'd chosen to drill on with the help of the level line drawn earlier was exactly where it should be. I cleaned the hole with the 7mm diamond hole drill bit, and checked the license plate with the hole finished. Perfect.
Now that the mounting holes are pretty much mapped out, it's time to test-fit the bumper on the car. I removed the OEM front bumper and while that's off, I'll be re-adding the air intake tube and making sure the headlights are tightened down from a few years ago when I was working on the LHD headlight swap. I will also need to try and figure out why my horn isn't working, and I'll be repairing the threads on the bumper mounts. I'm torn on whether I will mock up the fog lights. Maybe I'll leave that for the final installation of the ViS bumper.
I removed the three bolts from the T-bar for the upper mounting tabs.
Getting some assistance to hold the bumper, I slowly lifted the VIS into place. Been waiting 12 long years for this moment.
Final consensus is that the fitment is great, in some ways better than I'd expected. There's some small issues that I still need to resolve - some I was prepared for and some I wasn't. Overall I'm very happy.
There is the expected gap between the mounts on the bumper and the mounts on the body. I measured it to be 17mm including the thickness of the mount itself, so it's about a 15 - 16mm gap. I must have done a pretty good job of lining up the brackets on the bumper because the gap is the identical distance on both sides.
The stock bolt to mount the bumper is 8mm x 20mm according to the Honda parts catalog. Some searching online showed an 8mm x 40mm as well as an 8mm x 35mm available from Honda. I have ordered four of each to use to mount the bumper. I also managed to locate some spacers, and will be calling the fastener company to see if I can get them ordered in.
And how could I resist closing the hood (not latched) and snapping a couple of pics?
Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.
No comments:
Post a Comment