Originally Posted by madmax1911

Well today was a mixed bag.
Got the front end bolted up, gaps look great. Got the rear end debadged, looks much cleaner.
Then it was time for the fixed wing install......crap.
I had printed TheRock88’s instructions weeks ago, read the part about the pentalobe bolts and thought, man I have hundreds of bits of all shapes and sizes, I must have a couple of those.
I even casually checked my tool box and sure enough, I am good.
Well not so fast skippy, those were security torx bits not pentalobes 👎
So I spent half the afternoon running to every auto parts and tool store in my area, no dice.
The fastest I can get them is Wednesday....crap.
So tomorrow I will see if I can make one.
Almost forgot, the sensors worked perfect, no adjustments needed.( work as well as they did previously, they go from orange to red at about 18 inches)

MM

Originally Posted by madmax1911

Well today was a mixed bag.
Got the front end bolted up, gaps look great. Got the rear end debadged, looks much cleaner.
Then it was time for the fixed wing install......crap.
I had printed TheRock88’s instructions weeks ago, read the part about the pentalobe bolts and thought, man I have hundreds of bits of all shapes and sizes, I must have a couple of those.
I even casually checked my tool box and sure enough, I am good.
Well not so fast skippy, those were security torx bits not pentalobes 👎
So I spent half the afternoon running to every auto parts and tool store in my area, no dice.
The fastest I can get them is Wednesday....crap.
So tomorrow I will see if I can make one.
Almost forgot, the sensors worked perfect, no adjustments needed.( work as well as they did previously, they go from orange to red at about 18 inches)

MM

Originally Posted by OzXFR

Yep, I fell for the same trick, buying a new set of Torx bits only to find there were no good. From memory you need a Torx Security TS27 to undo the spoiler base plate bolts.

Originally Posted by madmax1911

Yup, really easy to mistake the Torx security, which has 6 lobes and the pentalobe which has 5 lobes.
I think I can make a impression with putty and then file down an oversized Torx bit to fit. Worth trying since I have a day to wait for the right ones to show up.

Originally Posted by Therock88

That is interesting. Again on Jaguar using whatever they have around when they build cars..Like my RWD front Springs on my AWD R.. and I have Pentalobes (security - thankfully had them from my Porsches) and you have Torx. Wow!

Glad you found what you needed. If you do not want to wait, you can try Harbor Freight (if you have one around?)

DC

Originally Posted by madmax1911

I think maybe in my frustration I didn’t make the situation clear.
The car has pentalobe bolts, I have security Torx bits in my tool box.
I need to modify something today and try to get the bolts out, if not I have the pentalobe bits on order for tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Therock88

Ahhh...Got it! Yes, I took it as you had them(Pentalobes) and that is not what was on the car. Easy to misunderstand I even went back and checked my photos and zoomed in and counted the lobes to be sue I did not misinform folks.

Well, now you are on your way! And I love that grille! Looks awesome.

DC

Originally Posted by WayneB

On a brighter note I hope, does your tow hook go in without any problems? That's the $800.00 question some of us want to know. Photos to prove it, please.
Plus the car looks great!

Thanks,
Wayne B.

Originally Posted by madmax1911

I will try to get some better pics tomorrow if the weather permits.
A couple things I learned while doing these mods.
#1 Don’t breeze through the information you collected, there are details that matter (pentalobe)
#2 Plan on long lead times for your parts.
#3 I should have had the body shop fill the holes in the spoiler so that I could drop the leaper about 3/4 of an inch (just a visual preference)
#4 If you like doing this type of stuff yourself, the Quickjack is worth the investment

Thanks again for all the support and inspiration, this really is a great forum.

PS. Thinking of yellow calipers since I have removed all the red on the car except that. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by madmax1911

Here’s the money shot gent’s 👍

Originally Posted by gg2684

Thinking about sending your bumper bar photos to my welder to get his thoughts - btw, is there a welded piece on the front and back of the bar that would need to be relocated? Looks like removing two weld, moving to appropriate area, cutting a hole and welding front and back pieces back on?

I’m also re-thinking doing my surround in gloss black and maybe going body color - mine is rhodium silver which is somewhat similar to your color.

Originally Posted by madmax1911

The part that receives the tow hook is a solid machined piece and is welded into the beam front and back, I would think that if you ground out the welds on both sides it would come strait out. Then weld a couple new plates over the holes front and back. Now that a flat surface has been created, cut a rectangular hole in the correct area, insert the machined hook part and re-weld.

I decided on the body color since the wing was already being painted. Figured I didn’t like it I could have it wrapped in gloss black later.
I have only seen a white car with the body color and it looks awesome, so I thought I would try it. Honestly I think it would look good in almost any color, even accent colors.

Originally Posted by gg2684

Great info, thanks - that's what I needed to know; thinking I can cut out the welds and carve out the new area and then smooth it all out so that the welder could just get the depth set and start welding.

Yes, smart idea to paint it body colored knowing you could change it later. I actually had my car paint custom mixed to spray if necessary; I usually do that with all my cars. Funny enough, I also saw the white grill on the white car and thought it made the grill look smaller disproportionate - also why I bought a specific gloss black paint and clear for mine. How do you like the body-colored bar? I think most people picked a favorite sheen of black, but yours looks good from the photos, curious if the sun or extra light makes it more obvious behind the grill.

Side note, nice work and great write up.

Originally Posted by madmax1911

Hmm, must be my crappy pics, the bumper bar is flat black, the original bar was body color but it was hidden by the original grille.

Originally Posted by madmax1911

Hmm, must be my crappy pics, the bumper bar is flat black, the original bar was body color but it was hidden by the original grille.

Originally Posted by gg2684

okay, I see that now. in some of the photos the bar blends with the surroundings which are also black but kind of looked similar to the car color and I guess the close up photos with glossy paint were the original. I guess I thought you ordered the new one and had it painted. I just talked to my welder - he seems to think its an easy fix - your photos and measurements will make it significantly easier and - so I am eternally grateful. I will try to document the moving of the receiver so others can undertake it - Teamwork makes the Dream work right? Now I'm free to paint my surround without carving it up first (at least I think so...) - BTW what did you use to adhere the wires to the grill to hide it? I was assuming something that sets quickly and is black?