UPDATE -- AUG 2009--- FINAL PRODUCT PICS ON POST #31 ----

FIRST OFF THIS IS VERY LONG, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED OVER MONTHS, BUT WAS DONE OVER DAYS. i AM TIRED FROM ALL THE TYPING LO. I HOPE YOU LIKE TO READ, ENJOY

I have been really busy lately and I’ve not had a chance to post some pics and update you all until now. I started working on the body kit 3 months ago and the car was finally finished a month ago but I’ve not had a chance to take pics of it until now.

I was looking to buy a veilside front lip, and ING n-spec sides and rear for awhile. I priced out the genuine kit but with the dollar and yen it would have cost around $3600 plus paint and installation. Totaling around $5000, I wasn’t really willing to spend that much on just a kit, I would rather spread the money out, so I decided to buy a replica kit. All I could find was a very cheap replica kit or the expensive genuine kit, I would rather have bought a higher quality replica kit but I was unable to find one in the style I liked to I just bought the cheap one. I knew that a replica kit would not fit as well as a genuine kit but figured that some of the money saved could be used to make the kit fit better.

(March/April 2009)

Pic of the kit.



Now to test fit it.

Taped up the bumper to test fit the front lip.



Front lip on.



Close ups of the lip, fitment was better than I expected and heard of from a replica.





I bought a 2nd oem front bumper to mount the lip to because I didn’t want to damage mine making it easier to return to stock in the future.


After I removed the side skirts and front bumper.



Bumper done and swapped.



Test fit the sides. They fit badly, I was not even able to completely install them. They were to short from front to back as well as warped. They actually cracked on both corners at/in the wheel wells because of the pressure.





Time to remove the rear bumper.



Test fit the rear. I was able to actually get the rear on, unlike the sides but it still fit badly.

 

Now it was time to take it to the body shop to get the work done. I was looking for a body shop that deals with allot of aftermarket fiberglass kits and knows what is necessary to make the them fit right. Meaning they know what tricks/ steps are need to make them work without charging you hours and hours while they learn. I also preferred a shop that has worked on 350s before that way it would be easier to do the re and re and they would be less likely to damage something on the car. I would also like to see their final product in person and hear feedback from past customers. I would rather be recommended to a shop rather than just picking one on my own gut instinct.

After making a few threads and talking to some people in person I ended up with a large list of body shops but none stood out above the rest. Velocity did come up allot though, many, many people in the past recommended Velocity but recently a few people have had bad experiences with them and it has soured their reputation. Some people now say go while others say don’t, compared to the overwhelming recommendations before.

So I considered the pros and cons to going to Velocity.

Pros –
-They deal with a lot of aftermarket fiberglass body kits
-They have worked on a good amount of 350s
-They buy their fiberglass kits from the same place I bought mine from
-They have installed the same f/g replica kit I bought on a few other 350s before
-I was recommended by a few people I know and cars I have seen in person
-their prices are very reasonable

Cons –
-The shops looks very rough, dirty ect ect (if they were not recommended I would have turned around and walked away the first time I saw the shop, I would not have even considered going there)
-Lately people have complained about the quality of their work, prep ect
-Lately people have complained about them not having the same attention to detail and pride in their work
-Peoples stock parts have gone missing

After much consideration I ended up deciding that the pros outweighed the cons and even if I was still not 100% comfortable with bring the car to Velocity it was still my best option at the time. After talking with a few of the people that have had negative experiences with them I thought it would be best to make my expectations 100% clear. Be clear on what I want done and how I want it done, ask them if they can do it, get a price that they will stick too and make sure they do what they say.

 

looks sexy, finaly you posted more pics, but where are the finished pics, i was actually hoping for the fully finished cars about now lol =) we gotta meet up some time.. probably saturday?

 

--March 2009—

I called Velocity about the body kit. I was recommended to them by another member that has the same kit, I was told that they could sell me the kit painted and installed. I spoke with Barry, he said the rear bumper was around $300 sides $300 and lip $200, totaling $800 for the kit. He said they have installed a few of the exact kits and it would be around $650 to paint and install it. Plus I also wanted to get my front bumper repainted and a fender, he said $200 each. So it would be $1050 for the body work and $650 for the kit totaling around $1700.

A few weeks later I went to Velocity to speak with them in person. I spoke with Tim about the replica ING kit install. I came with a deposit in hand ready to get the ball rolling but he didn’t seem confident that he could accomplish the final product I was after. I said that I wanted a close to stock fitment and very close colour matching. I said I would prefer to buy paint and install the kit at one place to avoid a pass the buck blame game if something went wrong. He said he would rather I just bring the kit in, he will test fit it and give me a price with no guarantee on fitment, colour ect.

--April 2009—

I bought the kit from BC auto, the same place Velocity gets their stuff from, brought it home and test fitted it as shown in the pics above.
I called Velocity about booked a date and time to get the work done. They said to come in 2 to 3 weeks.


I dropped the car off at Velocity on Friday April 24th with the oem kit removed. I spoke with Tim, gave him a copy of my expectations and went over it with him. I told him that I wanted to be very clear on what I was looking for and if they said they can do it they better. Here is a copy of what I have him.

------------------------------------------------

Body shop expectations


-All parts will be painted using a base clear coat system, (or higher)
-No over spray on the car, none in wheel wells engine bay or under body
-Very little orange peel
-Colour match is very close, within the same variance as my OEM front bumper and hood (which are slightly off)
-Aftermarket bumpers, lips and skirts will be pre fit before paint to verify that body line are close to stock. (gaps, flush ect)
-If it is deemed that it may not be possible to have the body line close to stock fit I will be called and work will not proceed until approval has been given.
- If it is deemed that the costs will exceed the originally estimate I will be called and work will not proceed until approval has been given.

Work I would like to get done:

Do not drill holes in body of car unless completely necessary, I would rather use factory hardware if possible.
All parts painted off of the car except the fender, unless not possible. Contact me if not possible.


Front bumper and lip-
-nissan logo removed from bumper before being painted and reinstalled after (I do not want this to be taped off)
-OEM bumper painted blue
-Two license plate holes filled (to look as they were never there)
-Grill painted gloss black (oem is black plastic)
-Part of bumper under grill painted gloss black (veilside lip will cover most of this but some will be shown, this is why I want it black)
-lip painted blue
-lip may be screwed to the underside of the bumper and in wheel wells if necessary.
-Veilside lip attached with urethane under lip

Rear bumper-
-I would rather use all factory clips, bolts and screws to attach the bumper if possible. The 3 screws on the top of the bumper and 2 for the license plate may be used if necessary.
-Top of bumper under the hatch painted flat black just like the oem bumper. Same colour as the tops of the tail lights, so it will match.

Side skirts –
-Sides line up with fender and quarter panel, side is the same length as the fender and quarter panel, not recessed back slightly. The side may have to be cut and lengthened slightly.
-Screws can be used in door sills, with screws painted blue to match car (paint baked on)
-Screws in door sills evenly spaced from each other and mirrored on the driver and passenger sides of the car. (in the same spots on both sides of the car) unless not possible.
-use factory pop clips and screws in wheel wells, unless not possible
-use factory bolts to attach to the underside of the car, unless not possible

Fender –
-deep scratch on fender edge repaired
-Small scratch on front of fender repaired
-z logo removed from fender before being painted and reinstalled after (I do not want this to be taped off)
-blue colour “blown in” on damaged areas and blended across fender
-clear coat entire fender

Side Mirrors –
-black plastic part of mirrors painted gloss black


Can you also save me a small “jar” of touch up paint.

If you have any questions or need to get a hold of me you can contact me at

Thank you

Kevin Logue

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I really like these step by step processes you've been doing to your car!! waiting for final conclusion!

 

If they are smart they will do a half decent job and won't cheap out like they did on the car's of Smasher and I. Maybe they can rebuild a little reputation, but, I doubt it.
If anyone is at the speed star meet and wants to see some crappy prep I will be glad to show the mistakes made.

 

When I dropped the car of at the shop I walked around and looking at some of the other cars they were working on. I saw a RSX, civic, cobalt and a few other cars getting kits done. The RXS was just being picked up when I got there. I looked closely at all the other cars with replica kits and found the fit and finish bad, I told them that I would not be happy with this kind of final product. So I took the original $850 estimate to do the lip, bumper, sides and rear and added an extra $300 to that in my head. Figuring that that would give them an extra 6 hours to make it fit they way I wanted / the way it SHOULD BE as far as I am concerned.

I told them to install the kit as they normally would but call me before paint so I can come down and see how it fits. I wanted to see how it fit and if I found things I didn’t like ask how much time it would take to fix.

I came back 4 days later on April 28th. I asked how it fit, they said it was a bit worse than others but does fit on. I came down to look at it and it DID NOT look ok to me, I told them I would not drive a 350 with a kit that fit like that. They said most people are happy enough with the fitment and just drive it. I said maybe if it’s a $3000 civic or cavalier but not a 350. I said I would rather stay stock than have my car look like this.

Here’s some pics and what was wrong, the pics don’t really do it justice, it looks much worse in person.







Large gaps below the taillight, I could stick my fingers between the taillight and bumper.




Large gaps around turn signals, I could stick my fingers between the turn signals and bumper. The opening was not close to the same shape as the turn signals.



The sides of the bumper were not flush with the quarter panels, in places it stuck out further and others in way to much. This is very difficult to see in the pics but very noticeable in person to me. There was also larger uneven gaps.



It is hard to tell in the picture but the rear bumper is really wavy. When you brush your hand across it you can feel it.
The hatch would not close all of the way because the top of the bumper was wrapped. Leaving a larger gap.

 

On to the sides:

The sides were too short, they had to be bent and forced just to fit on the car causing cracking. The front skirt was not flush with the wheel well. I have seen a bunch of 350s with the short sides but it really bothered me.




The sides of the skirts were not flush with the car, in places it stuck out further and others in way to much. This is very difficult to see in the pics but very noticeable in person to me.




It is hard to tell in the picture but the sides are really wavy. When you brush your hand across it you can feel it.


The front was not too bad, it had small gaps. i didn't take pics of it.

 

So I spent about an hour on my own looking at the car and writing down what I didn’t like and what I wanted done. Then I went over it with Barry and asked him about pricing. He said roughly around 3 hours to fit the rear bumper gaps, an hour or 2 of block sanding. 2 hours to fit the sides, an hour to block sand. An hour or 2 to fill the front license plate holes and attach the front lip. So I was adding up the total in my head, it would be between 8 and 11 hours or $400 - $550 extra. Before we started I knew it would not fit the way I wanted because it was a replica allowing an extra $300 worth of work in my head to be done. Then I thought it would be between $400 and $550, so around $100-250 more than I originally expected. But I was ok with it, I would rather pay a bit more and be happy with the car then cheap out and be unhappy.

I told Barry to look over my notes and come up with a confirmed price, I didn’t want to be told it was going to take hundreds of dollars more right in the middle of the job. He said he would get back to me. The next day in called and said that because it is very detailed job he had to charge $55 instead of the normal $5, then added up the hours. He said 4 hours to repair rear, 3 hours to block sand, 4 hours to repair the sides, 2 to black sand, 3 hours to mould the front lip and fill the license plate holes. Totaling 16 hours extra at $55 an hour = $880

The original estimate was $650 to paint and install the rear sides and lip. $200 for the front bumper and $200 for the fender. So it would be $1050 for the body work . Now it was $1050 plus an extra $900 = $1950 to paint and install a lip, bumper, sides, rear and fender. So now I was unsure what I wanted to do, it was going to cost more to make the kit fit well $900 then the original cost to paint and install it $850. And they made no guarantee that I would not crack right after being done.

I was unsure what to do, I seriously considered just selling the it and putting the stock kit back on or buying another kit. I told Velocity to hold onto the car while I figured out what I was going to do. I called BC auto where I bought the kit and told them how badly the kit fit, they said it was how they are, if you can get it on the cars it fits. They said that they would let me return the kit with a 25% restocking fee if I wanted. Over the next week I spoke with a few other 350 members and called other body shops. I went back to velocity paid the $100 I owned them to test fit it and took it a few other shops in the area with the kit on for a estimate. Many shops did not want to touch an aftermarket fiber glass kit but the 3 that I stopped at all said around the said amount of labor as Velocity 16 hours, but at a higher hourly rate. So I brought the car back to Velocity a few days later around May 4th . They were no busy again to they said they could not start working on it for a few days. I went over what I wanted done again with the body guy that was going to work on the car that way there could be no miscommunication, I think this was my 4th visit to the shop.

They stated working on it again on May 8th or 2 week after I dropped it off. They said it would take around a week to complete. 3 days later I call to see how things were coming and if it was going to be ready on may 15th, they said no way, only the sides are done right now. It’s a week and a half job, so it would be ready around may 20th. I called them a few days later around May 18th to see how they were coming along, they said the were done filling/fixing the gaps in the sides and rear but have not started the front or any block sanding, Telling me that it was going to take another 3 days. I went to the shop the check the progress and if the gaps were filled/fixed to my satisfaction.


Heres a few pics

I told them that the gap between the bumper and the hatch was still too large and I wanted it taken in. Also a few small other things around the turn signals and taillights.

 

I was out of town from the 25th to 27th so I was not able to pick it up before I left, but I did go down again to check the car out on May 22nd just before paint. The front lip was on, all body work and block sanding done, I just wanted to do a final inspection and test fit before giving the go ahead for paint.

Heres a few pics










They were going to paint the kit on May 22nd and the fender and mirrors on the 25th. I stayed in the area for a few hours and came back to see how the paint went. Kit was being sprayed and fender was being prepped.

Pics

 

The car was ready on May 26th but I was not able to pick it up until the 28th. The car was at the shop for a long time, 5 weeks in total, I was hard to be without it for so long. The 1st 2 weeks was because I held it up but then it took them 3 weeks to finish the job. They said it would take a week but took 3. From start to finish I was at the shop 5 or 6 times, to approve the cars progress and discus what was going to happen. I never really rushed them because I didn’t want the final product to suffer but I did call them every few days to check in and let them know I am here. That being said I know a bunch of cars were completed WHILE my car was there, including 2 350s on this forum. So I do feel that I was pushed to the side burner a bunch of times to work on other cars.

Conclusion:

I am happy with the fitment. (its still not perfect but when dealing with the aftermarket thats what you get unless you spent a ton)

I am happy with the paint finish.

I do think that the front chips a bit too easy, but I am told that this is not un common

I don’t know what to say about the cost difference between the estimate and the actual total. They have worked with 350s before, they have worked with F/G before, they have worked with this kit from the same manufacturer before. I would have thought that there quote should have been accurate. I ended up paying double the price I was original quoted, that seem like allot more to me. Maybe I am just allot more pricy than the average person, in that case it would have only cost them half of what I paid, but I would not have been satisfied.

The quote was $1100 for the front bumper, lip, sides, rear and mirrors. It ended up costing $2000

I am not 100% happy with the colour matching, I was told that they are very good so I did not request a test pattern to be done. In the sunlight I am happy but in lower light or cloudy days it can appear darker than the rest of the car.

That being said, I have brought the car to 4 other body shops to discus the paint matching, and they all agreed that it is very difficult to match this colour. 2 said that they could possibly do a bit better but make no guarantees given all of the variables involved in colour matching.

So as of right now I can recommended them, BUT I would be very specific on what you want. Don’t just take their word on something, if they say its good you may not, everyone has a different opinion. I think they can do good work but you have to basically tell them too.

 

TO THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE ATTENDING THE SPEEDSTAR SHOW TOMORROW, GET READY FOR THE UNAVAILING LOL

to all others, i will post pics in a few days, sorry

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pics?

 

That kit sure did suck for fitment but it looks like its coming together finally.

The labour costs are adding up fast hope this works out and holds up for you long term.

I think shops should strive for perfection for the customers right away not quote you an half azz job and hope you will accept it. All of this work in setting up your expectation on how the job should look when complete should be a given from the get go. Like you say its not a $2,000 civic but then even if it was there is no excues for poor workmanship in my book. Sounds like there still needs to be some pride at Velocity vs just a quick buck.

 

Communication is the key, and it looks like Kevin is putting in all the leg work himself.

 

looks good so far

 

ok a teaser i guess, lol

 

Bastard lol cant see **** =P

i guess ill see you tomorrow, hope weather is going to be good, after that im off to casino rama

 

PS skillz!

 

lol ownt car is all washed, just gota do the rims and its ready for tomorrow