Shock drilling COMPLETE

["Pete Jacobsen" <fluidweb@hotmail.com>]

Props to everyone for their help. I managed to get all 4 shocks on my 
1980 drilled out and the bumpers look trick, as trick as stock rocco 
bumpers can get. Both the front and rear went in about 3 inches each. 
Now my new sport exhaust sticks out beyond the rear bumper -- not too 
safe but it looks dope. 

Some hints for future bumper-drillers:

1. Remove both bumpers to drill the shocks. Much easier to drill and 
hack of you can put them upside-down in a vice, rather than lay on your 
head and spray oil in your face.

2. For the front shocks, I drilled a single hole in the fluid-end 
directly (parallel). It took about 2 minutes on my old Makita with a 
1/4-inch bit and then air pressure took over. Fortunately I surrounded 
the offending area with a cardboard box and two holes for my hands to 
keep the drill steady. The drill got a little wet but the important 
thing is my complexion stayed oil-free. The rear bumper shock was a 
little harder -- I could only access the air-filled end, so drilled 
there. I hammered it in as far as it would go and then drilled in the 
existing hole until the fluid-filled end was breached. I could then 
hammer it in the rest of the way.

3. Wheel clearance is paramount! Make sure that the ends of the bumper 
will not be touching the tire once you've pushed it in! I may have to 
shave the ends a bit, as right now they are about an inch beyond the 
edge of the wheel well, but it doesn't seem to matter. For looks, 
shaving them short of the well is a good idea.

4. The only cutting necessary was on the metal frame of the rear bumper 
-- to make room for the hauling hooks. This part is invisble to the 
public, so who cares, hack away. I cut just enough to allow the hooks to 
"slide into" the frame, without cutting the bumper would be out by an 
inch. 

5. That rear bumper trim piece has to go! I had to ditch that pair of 
trim pieces on top of the bumper -- they stick out beyond the bumper 
now! I filled the mounting holes (8) and pushed the bumper in as much as 
I could. I still had about 3/4 of an inch between the plastic bumper and 
the rear of the car. This space was just enough to allow a pair of 
pliers to hold the nuts while tightening the bolts from underneath. I 
might cut and replace the trim pieces to fill the gap, although it would 
be quite hard to hold the pliers without any space!

6. The front bumper had to be slid under the turn signals. Be careful, 
they might crack if you apply too much pressure! I haven't yet... 

7. I need a body kit. I hope the Kamei bumpers come thru. If anyone has 
a kit for sale, I'll pay top $. And a FUBA... i'll need one of those 
too.


Peace,

Pete Jacobsen
1980 Scirocco GTI

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