If you decide to do something to your car because you saw it here, please give me credit where it is due! (link to my page w/ my name or something) Thanks.

Body Work Round 1, Page Updated February 1, 2008

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Project Completed in January 2007

On this page I have some pics of the body work I did on my car. Yes, I did ALL the work myself (except for the paint), as you can see I am in some of the pics. Scroll to the bottom for details on my grille mod.

I basically did the following: installed z3 fenders, filled in all of the dents, filled in the pinstripes and door moldings on the sides of the cars, filled the gap between the fenders and the roof panel, and smoothed out/shaved the trunk and front grille. I had only done a little bit of body work before, so this was a lot for me. And when I finished, it looked really bad. Fortunately, I started the work one Sunday and finished less than a week later on Saturday. So my car did not look like this for long! Unfortunately, the trunk did not turn out too well. I was in a hurry, and it was not perfect. In fact, the Bondo had not even dried by the time it was painted, so there were some air bubbles and cracks in the paint.

The z3 fenders were difficult to put on, since I had to take the mud guards and the bumper off (plus the fenders, of course). The process went smoothly enough, and the fenders fit, even though I had trouble getting the hood closed. I drilled out the holes a little to allow for adjustment, and now there is no problem.

Here are some pics installed. You can see that I had to fill in the pinstripe, but the fenders did not have a place for the door bumpers, so that was good.

This is the car at Maaco. I took off all of the lights just in case.

The color: Daytona Blue Effect off of a 2003 Nissan 350z
The paint job: Maaco Presidential, 2 year gloss warranty
The price: $50 for primer of bodywork, $50 for color change, $200 for single stage paint job. $300 total, an unbeatable price!

They did a really great job, and it looks great. The color is exactly what I wanted, and it is glossier than my car was before, even without a clear coat. Here are some pics straight out of the shop. I have not installed my mesh grilles yet.

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Here are pics for how I did my grille. Actually, I have found out that this mod (or variations) are common for this Corolla, but it takes a lot of work. I have never seen the grille done like this, so I think that it is truly one of a kind.

I do not have this grille on my car any more, since my 2002 bumper has a built-in grille.

First, cut all of the little pieces out (I used tin snips). Then I broke off all the remaining pieces with some small pliers. Then I used the Dremel to sand off all the rest.

Then I used Bondo to fill in the two gaps where the logo used to be, and sanded it down nice and smooth.

Here is the gutter guard mesh I bought from Home Depot for $7 (pack of 5).

Then I put a piece behind it to see what it looked like. I liked it, so I cut a piece to fit and bent it around the back so that it would be held in place when I installed in on the car. There is no glue or anything for the top grille, it is just held in place.

I liked the result, so I did the same thing to the grille on the bottom, but I had to cut the mesh the perfect size to fit in the opening, since I could not just wrap it around the back. The lower grille is held in with hot glue, and it actually looks good, nice and clean.

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Don't forget that if you have any help, advice, comments, criticisms, or questions about my car and future mods, please sign my Guest book!

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Table of Contents

My Corolla Today
Page 1: Current Exterior
Page 2: Current Interior
Page 3: Current Engine
Page 4: Current Audio

Corolla Time Lines
Page 5: Phase Time Line
Page 6: Detailed Time Line

Other Stuff
Page 7: Photoshop
Page 8: Look at this page before you buy replacement LED bulbs
Page 9: Details on my current and future mods
Page 10: For Sale!

DIYs and Project Write-ups
Page 11: Bumper light LED retrofit 1
Page 12: Third Brake light LED retrofit
Page 13: Diablo Mirror LED replacement
Page 14: Taillight LED Retrofit 1
Page 15: High Beam DRL Mod
Page 16: Bumper Light LED Retrofit 2, PLUS detailed description of how I do LED mods
Page 17: Painting preparation (details on my fenders, grille, trunk, and Bondo)
Page 18: Side marker LED retrofit and installation
Page 19: HID fog lights and headlights
Page 20: Interior painting, modifications, and exterior trim painting
Page 21: Installing Halo/LED/Projector headlights
Page 22: Mirror cover LED replacement
Page 23: Installing a new stereo and speakers
Page 24: Body kit installation, front end conversion, and other body work for round 2
Page 25: Retrofitting LEDs into my third mirrors and front turn signals
Page 26: Putting interior LEDs behind the dash and in all the buttons and all over the interior
Page 27: LED tail light retrofit 2 and baking your lights in the oven to remove the lens