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Anyone self install their ADV front/rear quarter panels - DIY?

rinconryder

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I want to get the ADV front and rear quarter panels. I called ADV and they quoted me 2500 to install them and said it would take three days. I was pretty surprised by the pricing and length of time to do it. Has anyone done it by themselves and what was your experience? I am pretty handy (built my own deck, etc.) but I havenā€™t worked on cars much so wondering if this is something I can take on.
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SuperFord

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I donā€™t have any firsthand experience with ADV, but I know that fiberglass body panels often require a lot of sanding and final fitment prep work to install.

Given the modular design of the new Bronco, I canā€™t think of any other reason that bolting on some fenders and quarter panels should take 3 days unless they are super busy and were just leaving some breathing room for their scheduling purposes.
 

OddBall88

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I was watching a video on ig of an install and it looked like you have to cut the openings out for things like the lights. I imagine stuff like that and prepping for paint is what takes so long.
 

Mdsuits

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Yes. It just a lot of drilling and cutting of fiberglassā€¦.then getting them to line up. One of my front fenders was kinda of a pain in the ass to get the door gap right, so the door didnā€™t hit the front fender. For the most part they fit pretty decent tho. They will require a lot of sanding to get them pretty enough for paint. I plan on doing that after I finish building my rear bumperā€¦.
 

Mdsuits

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I should probably mention they have a good install video on their website. That would give you an idea if it is something your comfortable doing or not.
 

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Check out local shops. I had a local shop do my ADV hood. Lots of sanding, paint, and prep. They charged by the hour. Cost about $800 for all of it installed. Overall, it was way easier because I shipped hood to shop and they did everything. Frankly, I didnā€™t want to mess it up and knew if there were any issues, they could fix it. Last thing I wanted were imperfections that would be there forever. that would drive me crazy.
 

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I want to get the ADV front and rear quarter panels. I called ADV and they quoted me 2500 to install them and said it would take three days. I was pretty surprised by the pricing and length of time to do it. Has anyone done it by themselves and what was your experience? I am pretty handy (built my own deck, etc.) but I havenā€™t worked on cars much so wondering if this is something I can take on.
I did myself. Probably in a similar boat to you; Iā€™m handy but no body shop tech. I test fit them before taking to a body shop to paint and then I did the install myself when they got back.

Removal of OE fenders, drilling, test fitting, and then removing the ADV fenders to send to paint took about 8 hours. Final install of the fenders and fender liners after paint took about 4 hours.

I found the install very straight forward and doable. There were a couple tough spots but as long as you have a dremel tool, drill, and the required nut inserts you will be good to go. If you have any specific questions PM me and Iā€™d be happy to answer.
 

ryannshit

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I did myself. Probably in a similar boat to you; Iā€™m handy but no body shop tech. I test fit them before taking to a body shop to paint and then I did the install myself when they got back.

Removal of OE fenders, drilling, test fitting, and then removing the ADV fenders to send to paint took about 8 hours. Final install of the fenders and fender liners after paint took about 4 hours.

I found the install very straight forward and doable. There were a couple tough spots but as long as you have a dremel tool, drill, and the required nut inserts you will be good to go. If you have any specific questions PM me and Iā€™d be happy to answer.
Hey, I'm doing the ADV fender install now myself. Where did you get the M6 threaded inserts for the valance mounting bracket? Can't find any at local hardware shops.

Pretty irritated that ADV doesnt provide the inserts and 3M tape. I can't finish the install.
 
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jalawson

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Hey, I'm doing the ADV fender install now myself. Where did you get the M6 threaded inserts for the valance mounting bracket? Can't find any at local hardware shops.

Pretty irritated that ADV doesnt provide the inserts and 3M tape. I can't finish the install.
I was pretty frustrated by that too.

I got them from either Ace Hardware or a similar smaller name hardware store here. I couldnā€™t find them at Loweā€™s or Home Depot. It was in the hardware isle with all the other hardware in metal drawers
 

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ryannshit

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I was pretty frustrated by that too.

I got them from either Ace Hardware or a similar smaller name hardware store here. I couldnā€™t find them at Loweā€™s or Home Depot. It was in the hardware isle with all the other hardware in metal drawers
Thanks, didn't see ones that would work at Home Depot or Ace. It's really stupid. So is having to drill all the holes. Had to take the fenders back off several times to make the holes bigger to shift the fenders around. My dislike for that company continues to grow and I haven't started the rear panels yet.

Thanks @HeliPilot are these what you ended up using? The ADV guy was stating they need to be threaded and sent this link for some site I've never heard of: Zoro

I'm thinking of going with these from Amazon to not have to deal with waiting even longer from some random company.

It's one of those things I dont wanna do wrong or else I'll be down at the šŸ¤¬ Ford store having to order new valance brackets.
 

jalawson

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Thanks, didn't see ones that would work at Home Depot or Ace. It's really stupid. So is having to drill all the holes. Had to take the fenders back off several times to make the holes bigger to shift the fenders around. My dislike for that company continues to grow and I haven't started the rear panels yet.

Thanks @HeliPilot are these what you ended up using? The ADV guy was stating they need to be threaded and sent this link for some site I've never heard of: Zoro

I'm thinking of going with these from Amazon to not have to deal with waiting even longer from some random company.

It's one of those things I dont wanna do wrong or else I'll be down at the šŸ¤¬ Ford store having to order new valance brackets.
Yeah, I learned after the first one to drill the holes out to the same size and shape they are on the OE aluminum panels.

Just so you know too, on the back you have to dremel out the opening for the gas pod. I was surprised to find that but it ended up not being that difficult.
 

Mdsuits

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Thanks, didn't see ones that would work at Home Depot or Ace. It's really stupid. So is having to drill all the holes. Had to take the fenders back off several times to make the holes bigger to shift the fenders around. My dislike for that company continues to grow and I haven't started the rear panels yet.

Thanks @HeliPilot are these what you ended up using? The ADV guy was stating they need to be threaded and sent this link for some site I've never heard of: Zoro

I'm thinking of going with these from Amazon to not have to deal with waiting even longer from some random company.

It's one of those things I dont wanna do wrong or else I'll be down at the šŸ¤¬ Ford store having to order new valance brackets.
https://www.grainger.com/product/4Z...cupCc3c33NH9SUfo3NsaAlS7EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

These are the ones adv recommended to me. I was able to order them online for pickup the next day at grainger.
 

ryannshit

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Yeah, I learned after the first one to drill the holes out to the same size and shape they are on the OE aluminum panels.

Just so you know too, on the back you have to dremel out the opening for the gas pod. I was surprised to find that but it ended up not being that difficult.
Yup, second side went smoothly. I always seem to get really good at certain bronco installs when I likely no longer need that skill anymore.

Fantastic about dremeling out the gas tank, can't wait šŸ¤£ thanks for the warning.

Fricken dirtbags. Really wish I didn't like thier products
 

ryannshit

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