does anyone have any experiece installing one? any tips? its been the biggest pain in the ***. I got so pissed today that I kicked a hole in it. It was a $100 dollar cover off ebay so maybe it was just bad fitment. I don't know. Im pissed at it right now.

 

Non-GM body parts can be very poor in quality and fitment.

 

I HIGHLY recommend no one buys after market body parts on ebay. My buddy made that mistake with his mustang, buying some new front fenders. They looked nice but nothing lined up, and around where the door mirror is, the fender just dropped off... very crappy and customer service on ebay is basically non existent. You get what you paid for

 

Main things I noticed..

Connection point at each fender has 2 flat metal "braces" (3 attachment points each)... You gotta get those right first.

The normal push in clips I did last... (several of them right by the top of the radiator)

IMPORTANT to snag the funky little metal brackets off your OLD bumper cover that attach to the very edge of the light opening... These brackets get screwed into the top/flat surface ??? tough to describe, but if you look closely you'll see screw hole(s) where I'm talking about... (This is the ONE thing that "cleaned" up the look of the bumper cover when I pulled it together)..

As for underneath, I couldn't roll the extra plastic up and into position for 3 "push in" plastic thingys... (in front of the air dam)... SO... I just cut that piece of the bumper cover off neatly w/ a dremmel... I figured it is way under the car and isn't visible... and when I left it in place it was kinda in the way of the air dam..

I put it all together loosely first, and then tightened bit by bit...

I had the black plastic "corner pieces" OUT while I did it, and it provided enuf room to move it around easily..

Good luck... DON'T rebuy your pieces from pershing auto body... THEY SUCK

 

I've read a few threads and most people said that those $100 ebay covers were good quality and fit. It didn't look to bad. I put it in place and started with the driver side where the fender and cover meets. I bought a bracket for it today because it didn't originally have one. I installed it and there is about an inch long lip that sticks out about a quarter inch right below the outer triangle things outside the headlight buckets. Its the bottom of the curved section right where the fender and bumper section join together. no matter what I did I couldn't get rid of it on either side.

 

I've got one of those covers and it fits just fine

 

I heard they were good too. im scared to buy a GM one if its gonna give me fits like this too

 

go only gm parts theres no replacemnt in quality just have to pay more

 

pics of yours?

 

I bought one off ebay from D+H in chicago and it was an excellent fit. The shop that does the body and paint work for my garage recommended them to me. And from what I was told by a friend at my local GM dealer, most of the panels they are using for replacements now are made in china by a company called Tong Feng and relabeled, especially for most of the vehicle older then 1999. It just so happens that most of the larger distributors use panels from Tong Feng as well such as Empire Astro and many of the other companies.
As far as getting the bottom panel that bend up infront of the air dam to cooperate, use a heat gun or a high powered hair dryer if you dont have a heat gun. Just be careful you dont get it real hot and bend it wrong and let it cool. Its not too easy to bend back after you do it the first time so take your time doing.
My car just went out for paint today. i should have it back Tuesday or wednsday so I will post pics of it with the new bumper cover and both fenders from D+H.

 

Dang, if you have to use a heat gun on body panels to make them work, something is wrong.

 

I bought mine two years ago on ebay (and a fender too) and had no problems. Granted, it's not perfect, but it was hard to spot a difference. That was on a 97 v6, since then I've sold the car.

 

the part giving me trouble was the driver and passenger sides where the bracket is required. the fender and cover wouldn't line up right and the bumper cover stuck out a good 1/4 inch.

I'd love to see pics after you paint. I need some inspiration to not give up on my car. someone drive me around in a camaro for a day so I'll miss Z and get this **** done.

 

The section infront of the air dam is left flat mostly for shipping and packaging purposes. The heat gun is not a necessity but it makes life a lot easier. The couple I have ordered from the local dealer came the same way. The replacement panles area little thicker and a bit more sturdy then the ones that roll of the factory line.