[Somnambulator]

My car was purchased used in Jan. While i received it in relatively great shape, I found that there was previous damage to the front bumper and the entire area under it. I could tell the bumper or fender was replaced or that the bumper is misaligned, but it's even worse now. I live in a city and am always running over **** in the road and hitting put-holes and generally driving on ****ty roads. plus I hit some roadkill at 95+ MPH and a tire tread from a tractor trailer that got lodged under my car at 60+ mph. needless to say I;m glad my intercooler is still in one piece. the bottom half of my front bumper, and basically everything below it and behind it up to the intercooler, is basically missing. The bottom of the bumper, right below the grills and above the spoiler, is even scraped up from hitting the street on dozens of occasions.

The front spoiler is dangling. Also, is there supposed to be some sort of cover on the bottom to keep crap on the road from hitting the intercooler? Mine is wide open. I can touch the intercooler by reaching under the dangling front spoiler. The car came this way and it looks there there are some busted holes from a piece of plastic that would have covered this up.

If i wanted to replace whats busted/missing, what are my best options? For the splitter it looks like i'd have to replace the entire front bumper cover.

OE/AM doesnt really matter but I don't care for overly aggressive and I dont want to have to mod anything to get the fog lights to fit. I want a simple installation.
i looooove the look of Norm's "front splitter" here, but is it the entire bumper cover or just the lower part with the splitter? (http://www.normsfiberglass.com/images/sol/gxp-grd/gxp-grd01.jpg) His site doesnt really have any information and I dont even seen a place to order the parts online.

I want to replace all the brackets as well, but am completely confused on what I need. Do most after-market bumper covers clip into the stock brackets? Do they usually come with brackets? What OEM parts would I need to replace the entire shebang, bumper and brackets and everything?

Also, there are 2 brackets dangling behind the bumper and low enough to be below where the front spoiler normally is. I have no idea what they were supposed to hold up or support. I have zip tied the front spoiler to these to keep it off the ground. Ill try and get some pics this weekend.

BODY HARDWARE BUMPER & COMPONENTS Parts for 2008 Pontiac Solstice

 

[rob the elder]

Talk with Tom at Crate engine depot on the phone. He can tell you part numbers and prices then you can decide.

There is a honeycomb that mounts inside the lower hole above the splitter. Also, there is plastic ductwork that pulls air from near the ground and sends it through the intercooler and on through the radiated. It is backed by a rubber air dam.

It looks like you are missing a number of key parts

 

[rob the elder]

An old shot

 

[normsf]

Hello and thankyou for the kind words, just call me is best.

The splitter will cover up your damage, though you may need some support braces underneath that lip area.

To be honest, how you drive and where you drive may not work for our splitter in the long term. Not to be a smarty at all its just that you will have to park short as the splitter protrudes out. It wont go over a parking curb, but then again neither will a stock bumper as you have found out. Just give me a call. thanks again Norm

 

[TX08manualGXP]

It's hard to tell exactly what's going on with the photo's but if it was mine, I'd try bending it back straight ( heat gun ) and do some patching and probably fabricate a couple brackets for support. there's this 2 part flex bumper repair stuff you can buy that is sandable and paintable that works great and you could even add some mesh inside there if need be.

 

[SOLSTICE-D]

I have seen a grand prix the other day and they almost have the same lip, long story short he cut his off. I even thought it was an after market bumper but nope it was O.G but it looked cool. If mine ever rubs off from hitting dips and speed bump, its getting cut.

 

[TX08manualGXP]

Yeah, the NA bumper doesn't have the lip and looks fine without it so it's not like it would look as if something is missing. that's a good option for sure.

 

[Somnambulator]

I have seen a grand prix the other day and they almost have the same lip, long story short he cut his off. I even thought it was an after market bumper but nope it was O.G but it looked cool. If mine ever rubs off from hitting dips and speed bump, its getting cut.

This is my next step, at least in the short term. if there wasn't a lot of damage behind the bumper itself I might be content with just cutting the spoiler/splitter/lip off.

I took a closer look during my lunch break and snapped some more (and more current) pics... HAH. wow.

passenger side - splitter and intercooler

passenger front wheel well, looking in twds the engine

a bracket or mount under the engine that looks like something should be clipped to it

top of the bracket that's dangling - it's bolted to the front/side area of the intercooler (this one is driver's side)

splitter zip-tied to the bottom end of the dangling bracket

driver's side wheel well busted up

my horn flopping around in the top-front of the engine compartment? This is forward of the raised hood, directly above the front bumper. the wire is still connected and it works... is it normally mounted up here? where is it supposed to be attached? LOLOL

 

[Somnambulator]

Yeah, the NA bumper doesn't have the lip and looks fine without it so it's not like it would look as if something is missing. that's a good option for sure.

Is norm's bumper the NA bumper + his custom splitter attached below it?

Maybe I will just snip off the splitter/spoiler and hold out on replacing the bumper until i move out of the city.

I'm still scared about the intercooler picking up dirt and debris, though, and would love the replace the cover or whatever is under the car. does anyone know which part that is in the diagram I posted in my first post? Also, which are the brackets that would need to be replaced? There are a lot of parts listed there...

Thx,
Scott

PS - I've been street parking the GXP since i bought it in Jan. I looked into garage parking nearby but I can't make it up the ramp without the front hitting the ground...this was NOT meant to be a city car. FML

 

[SOLSTICE-D]

The plastic underneath is 100$. I have the same problem, mine flew off on the freeway. I just live without it now.

 

[TomatoSoup]

my horn flopping around in the top-front of the engine compartment? This is forward of the raised hood, directly above the front bumper. the wire is still connected and it works... is it normally mounted up here? where is it supposed to be attached? LOLOL

Yes it is. Attached is my dual-horn setup. The stock horn is the one on the right, mounted to the front of the left main longitudinal beam:

Another pic from someone else:

 

[TX08manualGXP]

I think my bigest concern would be the damage to the intercooler. from the looks of the photo's, I doubt it's gonna hold pressure for much longer. Looks like someone priced a bumper, intercooler, few brackets and labor and decided to trade it in. I have an NA and a GXP and the bumpers are somewhat identical except for the additional vents and the lower lip to protect the intercooler. Norms bumper is a completely different animal and is probably cheaper than stock. However you decide to rig it, make sure nothing else slams into the intercooler.