RedraifExtras's 1987 Pontiac Firebird on CarDomain

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GROUND EFFECTS
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Before GFX:
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With KITT and Fog lights:

Yuck...something had to be done...

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ADDING FRONT & REAR GFX:
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Ok here were my options on GFX.

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Aftermarket
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Then you have the aftermarket GFX. Well I did some searching the kits have mostly been discoed. There are a few, but none to my liking. So I was stuck between a rock and a hard place!

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GM
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To get GM GFX on 85-90 models:
You would have to order a new frt. and rear bumper cover, side pieces to go on the frt. fender and rear quarters, plus the side pieces.
So $2000 + paint. Uh nope!

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Then I had an idea! The GFX on the 1984 TAs were removable from the bumper covers. I went to a local junkyard to see what they had. I found a junkyard 1984 model TA. From what I had learned the GFX were not supposed to fit, but for $150.00 I could not go wrong. Plus, they were already black! And they pulled them for me!

Front

Rear

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GFX REMOVAL
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Front
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For anyone wanting to remove there own set, say from a yard car...here is what we went thru to remove mine for the repaint.

First make sure they are not really wavy. The front gfx are bad about getting waves in them. When you pull those its important that you get the metal brackets that hold them to the car.

There are 2 on the front and 4 on the rear gfx. You have to have those to install the gfx and you can't buy them to my knowledge. They have square holes that special bolts go in and lock in the hole so they do not spin

when you are tightening. The nuts and bolts I had to replace. Home Depot had the right hardware.

The front is the easiest to get off.

The nose side gfx bolts are made into the bumper cover. They have nuts holding them to the body (10 or 11mm). They are accessed on the backside of the fender. These are a PITA! It will help to remove the inner fender lining to gain better access.

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Fender Liners
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The inner fender liner is held on by a bunch of push pins... Here are some pics of how they are made, work, and how to remove them.
Here is the push pin fastener out of the car.

When you have the fastener in the open position, you can put the fastener thru the hole, the legs of the fastener close and allow it to go thru.

Here is the pin in its locked position, you can see how the pin pushes the legs outward, making the end diameter larger then the base diameter.

Here is the tool and how I usually remove them...

Here you can see the pin pulling out.

Now completely out...

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Side of the front GFX
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While you are removing it, remove the screw holding the GFX in the inner fender well. Its either a 7mm screw or a phillips. Remove the 3 side gfx nuts.

To gain access to the rest of the nuts holding on the gfx in the bumper cover, you need to free the backside of the gfx...

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Under the car
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Get under the car. In the center, there are 4-5 straps that connect the center back of the front gfx to the body/bumper cover w/ push pins. (black straps in this pic)

Once this is free look to either rear side of the gfx. They are connected to the front airdam. You also have to disconnect the air dam from the rear sides of the gfx that come under the car. The sides of the airdam are attached to the outer most rear sides of the gfx by 7mm screws.

Next you have to separate the gfx rear sides from the center section attached to the body.

Im not sure if it is head together with bolts or some push pins.

***At this point you could remove the bumper cover and gfx as a unit... see below...***

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Front of the gfx
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Now on the the front of the gfx...You have to be under the car. Reach in to the back side of the bumper cover from underneath.

In front, the gfx is held on by a series of nuts and bolts runing the whole length of the bumper cover. The bolts are attached to the GFX as I described earlier (metal plate). The nuts hold the gfx to the bumper cover.

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Front bumper cover removal
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In some cases, it’s easier to just remove the front bumper cover and then remove the gfx.

To remove the front bumper cover...

The side GFX must be removed as described above, as well as the back underside of the gfx.

Make sure you pull out all the push pins in the bumper straps under the car. The straps are on the bottom rear most end of the bumper cover, all the way across. (grey straps in this pic)

Now there are 4 nuts on each side of the bumper cover holding it to the fender.

You may also want to diconnect the bottom of the fender from the body.

There is a "v" shaped bracket holding the fender at the bottom.

Now the bumper cover has a metal framework up top. You do not disconnect the urathane cover frrom it, but disconnect the plate from the body. The plate attaches to the larger nose panel that encompasses the area where the hood latch connects.

I believe this is all to remove the front bumper cover...

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Rear GFX
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For the rear gfx you have to get in the rear hatch...you will need to remove nuts from the bolts that are behind the spare tire (3 or 4).

On the other side I would remove the cargo panel. You have to reach down in that well also. There are 3 to 4 nuts to remove also.

There may also be some 7MM screws holding the gfx to the wheel well lip on the outside. Get the sides loose.

Since the rear gfx are mounted like so...

The easiest way is to remove the rear bumper cover. See unlike the front bumper cover, there is no clearance in the rear. The underside of the bumper cover wraps around light to the body. You can get you hands in there, but it is a major pain!

So I suggest removing the bumper cover. Get under the car, remove all push pins from the straps holding the cover to the body!

Back inside the car, There are 3 to 4 nuts that have to be undone holding the bumper cover to the body...

Next, I you have to remove the taillights. Twist the big black wing nuts that are located behind the rear cargo panel.

Once there are removed, you will see the push pins under the taillights holding the top of the bumper cover on.

Pull these loose and Viola. Off it comes!

***NOTE:***
You can remove this stuff with the rear bumper cover on, but it is a major pain and very cramped. Its hard as crap the get tools in there. Front is not to bad if you decide to leave the cover on, just an awkward position. Good for the stomach muscles though! :)

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INSTALLATION
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The nose and rear were a bit more angular on the 82-84 cars, but with a bit of coaxing, I got the gfx to line up and seat properly.

As far as mounting 84 front and rear gfx... They came with flat steel plates with square holes.

These holes take special bolts with a square upper shaft.

This square locks into the square hole in the metal bracket. This locking mechanism keeps them from turning as you install/remove the nut. The metal bracket then fits up under a molded lip on the backside that is part of the gfx themselves. You slide in the plate behind the lip and the bolts poke through a T shaped hole.

This T shape gives you some play right to left. The gfx's lip holds the bolts in tight to the steel plate.

Then I lined this up as a whole unit to the bumper cover. I measured where the holes need to be and drilled them. I then drove the car up on ramps and chalked the rear tires. I reached in behind the bumper cover from underneath. I put on a large washer, so as not to put stress on the urethane itself, and then add the nuts. It’s really not too bad.

Now you have to attach the side piece. See on the 82-84s, it was all one piece.

Once you line up the front, you have to push the corners on really tight to have them fit snug to the corner of the bumper cover. See the 85 and up had smoother curves. So you have to open that angle slightly by stretching it out. Then there are 2 holes to drill on the fenders. You hold the gfx tight to match the bumpers contour and mark the holes. Then you have to put a screw in the lip of the wheel well where the gfx wraps into it. When you see the gfx off it is pretty much self-explanatory. Heck, I did it by myself in one evening w/ no training.

Here they are after the repaint
Front

rear

On the car:

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LIGHTS IN FRONT GFX
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Now typically people want fog lights to be mounted in the frt. gfx. I was no different. I had had them hanging below the stock bumper cover previously (as the above pics showed) and it did not look good! So I noticed on my particular used gfx there was some damage on the lower part of the gfx. Coincidentally, it was in the perfect location for fog lights.

First I had to determine how much room there was b/w the bottom of the stock bumper cover and the inside floor of the gfx. Was there enough room for fog lights with the mounting bracket attached? I found there was so I was, so I was off to get some better looking fog lights. I found some I liked, they are driving lights made by Pilot.

Here is the info off my box:
They were called Cyberwhite Remote series. Navigator was a name on the box. They were made by Pilot. Part #: NV-504W. I got mine from Advance Auto. I have since not seen them there, but I have seen them at Walmart. ***I checked at AutoZone…they carry them now. New box is yellow. It says Pilot on the cover. Part #: PL-961W.

I then measured where it would have to sit to be able to be mounted so it could shine thru the hole. Once I determined the best location and height using the new fog lights, I traced out the hole design I wanted. I slanted them on each side to match the slant of the ridges in the hood. I then took my dremel and with a cut out wheel, carefully cut out the pattern. I then had to sand down the cuts to get them perfectly straight and smooth. To give it a more custom look I added smaller holes to each side of the fog light hole. To them I added some clear Plexiglas with a diamond pattern (florescent light diffusers). I then mounted the egg lights back further under the nose w/in the gfx to add a red glow that would shine thru these holes.

Now the worst part of this frt. gfx was the center of the nose. It had been hit and there was a tear in it. Well I wanted to retain my KITT light somewhere. This location would be perfect for it. So I used the same method I did on the fog light holes. I carefully did some measuring and marked my spot. I again angled the ends to match the natural line of the hood.

I then pulled out the dremel cut off wheel and slowly zizzed away. I then went back and dremeled the cut edge into a taper and finished with a good sanding to further smooth the surface.

This was such a long hole and the gfx was so weakened by the material being removed, that it could not be left open. When it was left open the lower part would droop slightly. So I got some sheet aluminum and cut a frame with the same hole size as the gfx. This I glued to the back of the urethane gfx and it held the hole fixed and rigid. For looks and added strength, I decided to cover this opening in mesh that matched the SunCoast Hood’s grills. On a trip to the local junkyard I saw the perfect mesh. It was on the grill of a 87-89 Nissan pulsar.

I got the grill and removed the mesh. I then bent it to match the contour of the gfx and mounted it on either end with 3m double sided tape. That did the trick.

I wired the KITT light according to the instructions. Flush mounted the controller box w/in my dash. I mounted it with its mounting brackets to the bottom of my stock bumper cover.

The distance b/w the bottom of the stock cover and the inside floor of the gfx was perfect. The case the KITT light came in, had to be bent slightly to match the contour of the nose. I left it back about an inch from the mesh.

Here it is in motion so to speak…

Back up a few steps…

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SIDE GFX:
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They are from a 1992 Camaro Z28. I wanted the side gfx pieces off of the 91-92 Camaros. Because they were only produced for 2 years, these side gfx are rarer. I thought they would give it a subtle different look.

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Purchasing
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So I searched all the local yards, nothing! GM wanted $700.00+. No way I wanted to pay that for unpainted side pieces.

I finally located them at Third Gen Parts

These guys were great. They were very professional and shipped them out amazing fast! And to my luck, they were already black. They had some silver pin striping on them. I covered that with 3M red pin striping tape and I was good to go till paint time.

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Installation
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Now I mounted them the quick way, without the metal 2-piece bracket that is typically welded to the stock bodied cars lower rocker panel. I mounted them w/o that. I figured it would be ok w/o it for the time being. Well I had them on like this since 2000 with no problems, so if you don’t step on them, you should not really need the metal skeleton.

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Drilling the holes
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W/o the bracket the install is pretty easy. There are only 3 holes to drill...2 in front of the door & 1 to the rear of the door.

Installation of GFX on a virgin GFX car can be pretty intimidating...I hate to say that I did not use a real precise way to line up and measure... I basically measured the bolts orientation on the back of the gfx and transfered that data onto the car. Let me explain...

I actually took out the bolt plate on the gfx.
Here is a pic of the front one...

Then I got some wood and got the GFX oriented to sit at the height I wanted. If you look at the gfx they are designed to mount above the body line on the side of the car. You can see the recess cut out in them if you look at the ends! I decided I wanted mine to install at the body line on the car, so I installed mine lower then factory. (Like the older style 84 TA GFX.) You need to note, while the bolt plate is out and the gfx is lined up on YOUR car, how the gfx sits left to right. Is it flush with the fender wells? Then when you go to mark your right to left bolt measurements, you can know where to measure from on the body of the car.

Once I was happy with the orientation, I reinstalled the bolt plates. I measured the back side of the gfx w/ bolt plates, from the top of the gfx to the base of the bolt to get a height measurement. I used the center of the bolt's diameter as my measure point.

Then I went back to the car. I measured from where I wanted the top of the gfx to sit and then down. In my case it was from the body line, down. I used the measurement I got from the GFX, then lightly marked a horizontal line across the panel with a grease pen at that exact measurement.

Now I had to determine the bolts orientation left to right. I measured where the bolts were from the outside edge of the GFX. I then used this measurement, remembering how the GFX was oriented w/ the fender well in that area, and marked that distance with a vertical line across the horizontal line I had already drawn. The intersection point is where your hole should be!

A faster MESSY shortcut to get your right to left vertical lines... once you have the horizontal line drawn, you can take the gfx w/ the bolt plate installed, line it up exactly where you want to mount it on the body. Then press the bolts into the body and rub up and down, scratching the paint. Where the scratches intersect the horizontal grease line should be the bolt holes. You just can't get carried away or you might scratch where the gfx will not cover.

Something I have thought about just now... you might be able to get some cardboard. Take out the bolt plate and push the bolts thru the card board. Now you have your hole. Now, reinstall the bolt plate. Put the card board on the bolt plate and push it flush with the gfx. Now carefully cut, with an exacto type knife, the carboard flush with the top, bottom, & sides of the gfx. Be careful with the knife to not cut the GFX or scratch the paint. Now you should have a template for the gfx. Take the template off the gfx and hold the template to the body exactly where you want the gfx to mount, and mark to holes from the template. Have not tried it, but don't see why it would not work. PLus it shouldbe a simple matter of reversing the cardboard piece for the other side. Still I would test fit it to the gfx and double check!

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Bolting up the GFX
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You have to get to the lower back side of the fender in front of the door. I recommend turning the wheel and taking off the back half of wheel well plastic guard. You just pull the plastic pop in pins out. Then you can reach in the backside to put on the nuts.

To get to the panel behind the door, you have to remove the vents in the door jam, or remove the rear arm rests below the sail panel. There is an access hole behind them covered with a sound proofing rubber mat. If you don't have small forearms, this is the way to go.

To get the arm rest out, you have to remove the door sill plate. Then the rear upper trim in the door jam. The arm rest wraps into the door jam and fits under this trim piece. Then you have to fold down you rear seat back. Find the screw in the back part of the armrest that wrap behind the rear seats. Remove it. Then gently work the arm rest out.

It was such a bother that I decided I would go through the vent. My forearms were just small enough that I went in through the vent in the door jam. To go this way, you must remove the vent in the rear part of the door jam. Take out the screw on top & then GENTLY pull the top up and out towards you & pulling up at the same time. There are plastic clips holding in the bottom half. Now put your arm in the hole up to your elbow.

Now I decided to leave off the top molding that attaches to the bottom of the door. It was initially because I wanted to wait till I took the door panels off to shave the handles, but as time went by; I liked it better w/o the top molding. Most people I asked agreed, w/o the top molding it really made the air channel stand out more. I also hung the side GFX a touch lower than stock, to further lower the look of the body. This would throw off the mounting of the side door pieces. It’s amazing what that inch did to the look!

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In summary
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So instead of paying $2700, I paid a total of $300 for all my GM GFX.
As far as paint... I touched them up at first. They were passable, for a daily driver, but soon after they received a beautiful Skies-Hecker paint job.

Here they are stripped for the said repaint...

Man they looked 100% better!