Jetta bumper

xr4man · Post by **xr4man** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:19 am

nope, i didn't think of doing anything like that at all. if rob did, he must have dismissed it early on, since he never mentioned it to me either.

btw, here's a couple pics of the finished product.

jay_tibo · Post by **jay_tibo** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:37 am

wow that really came out nice, dosen't look jettaish at all, I'm liking the wide grill with the bars

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 10:20 am

xr4man wrote:nope, i didn't think of doing anything like that at all. if rob did, he must have dismissed it early on, since he never mentioned it to me either.

With the way you guys raised the bumper up a bit to hide that 45-degree beveled edge on the fender, you were addressing one of the same issues I'm trying to - I'm just trying to hide it via an entirely different means and accomplish some other things at the same time.

Nice shots of the "new" car Ian!

I see you returned to the same parking deck - looks like a different car!

xr4man · Post by **xr4man** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 3:26 pm

yeah brad, we just addressed the shorty bumper issue by using an uber expensive chin spoiler. however, by cutting the top of the bumper, rob was able to use the stock vw mounts and the stock xr bumper mounts and keep the crash bar and foam from the vw bumper. i'm sure there wasn't any weight savings, but it looks a hell of a lot better than the stocker.

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:26 pm

Is that chin a VW part or after-market? What's it made of?

So just to make sure I've got your build list right Ian, you were able to use the stock XR bumper shocks with the Jetta bumper beam, foam and cover?

It's funny, you would think everybody on the planet is using the Jetta bumper now. When I went junking last week, I came across 7 or 8 bumper-less Jettas.

Whiplash · Post by **Whiplash** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:39 pm

xr4man that is pure sex.

xr4man · Post by **xr4man** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:06 am

^^^^^thanks.

brad, no, we scrapped the xr shocks, but the jetta crash bar bolts directly to the the same place the shocks bolt to.

oh yeah the chin spoiler, it's an aftermarket rieger spoiler. it's much taller than the usual euro splitters that everyone uses. but it was exactly perfect for the amount of bumper we cut off the top and how much we raised the bumper to line up with the stock accent strips.

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:18 am

xr4man wrote:brad, no, we scrapped the xr shocks, but the jetta crash bar bolts directly to the the same place the shocks bolt to.

Got it. I think that's what most everyone else has been doing - didn't know if you guys had come up with something different that allowed the use of the shocks. Semi-interestingly enough, I tried to use the rear bumper shocks when mounting the Escort wagon bumper, but eventually concluded that was a bad idea and just used some 1" thick HDPE as an adapter/spacer.

Post by **jkxr4ti** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 12:41 pm

Are those accent lines painted on the jetta bumper?
I think that really ties things together on the look and really makes it look like it was meant to be there.

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 1:13 pm

jkxr4ti wrote:Are those accent lines painted on the jetta bumper?
I think that really ties things together on the look and really makes it look like it was meant to be there.

Nope. All the Jetta bumpers are solid color. And yes, I agree, adding that stripe makes it look factory original.

In my case I won't be using the cladding, so no need to add the stripe. In fact, in my case, it's one more reason why the factory bumper has to go, as it would be the only thing left with that accent stripe!

Post by **Ed Lijewski** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 4:23 pm

Ian:

How much does a Vanilla Bean edition XR4ti cost? [Would this reaction be appropriate: ->

]

YMMV

xr4man · Post by **xr4man** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:03 am

yeah that reaction would probably be appropriate.

it cost me nearly $9k. but there were many other things that got done other than just the jetta bumper and paint. the bumper was a good chunk of change due to the extensive mods to make it fit like that. but once we took the cladding off, it turned into a rust repair project. last time i had the cladding off there was no rust, then all of a sudden two years later and the rockers fell off. so they had to be replaced, then there was a bunch of rust in the floor that had to be repaired. after that rob did some chassis stiffening. add in the cost of his grille and the insert, then the reiger chin spoiler and the kamei brake duct inserts, new wheels and tires, bmw head liner, silverado headlights, stainless steel mandrel bent pipe for the intercooler, silicone couplers, t-bolts, etc, etc. then we finally get to the body work, which i was told it looked like the car was on it's side in a hail storm. so that was more time paid to make it smooth. i got several death threats about the hood.

then finally it got painted. so it wasn't just $9k for a paint job. it turned into a whole mess that either had to be done, or there was no point at all to go any further.

the accent line on the bumper is just wide pin stripe tape. there is a groove that runs around the bumper. rob wanted to make the groove line up perfectly with bottom of the cladding. that's why the rieger spoiler was needed, we took so much off the top of he bumper that we needed 5 inches under it to line back up with the bottom of the cladding. anyway, with that groove lined up with the bottom of the accent stripe, we just put the pin stripe tape right along the top edge of the groove to carry the accent stripe forward.

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 2:17 pm

worked_xr wrote:I then trimmed the bumper. I put it on, marked where the inside edge of the fender is, at the point where the grill meets it, on both sides, and removed the flat 3/4 inch lip from the bumper with an exacto knife, leaving a notch at the end for the wheel arch.

Having just picked a Jetta bumper up, I'm starting to study the options on mounting it. First question is why did you remove the lip at all? Why not just tuck it under the fender edge, as is done on the Jetta?

worked_xr wrote: then I made 2 L brackets to attach the stock XR side brackets to the lip of the VW bumper

I see you removed the slide-in receiver mount on the Jetta bumper entirely and adapted the XR mounting instead. Did you consider leaving the Jetta bumper as-is and adapting the companion mount cut off the Jetta?

xr4man · Post by **xr4man** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:45 pm

DPDISXR4Ti wrote:
xr4man wrote:it cost me nearly $9k.
Damn, those junkyard Jetta bumpers sure are expensive!

I can only laugh at myself with some of my erratic spending trends on the project car.... Drive to PA to get a $25 junkyard bumper one day; get a $2000 Cro-moly roll cage installed the next; power-wash and install a free (yet filthy) short-block the following day - rinse, lather, repeat.

well, it started out as a simple respray. but then it turned into rust repair when the rockers fell off. and the body was much much more dented than we thought. add in the price of rob's grille, the headlights, the rieger spoiler and it starts adding up. then the wheels had to go, so add another $650 for new wheels and tires. then misc plastic pieces that broke in the process that had to be replaced.

it just all started adding up fast.

however, i do not regret a single penny of it.

xr4man · Post by **xr4man** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:30 pm

yes the spoiler on the back is from a saab 9000.