Yes by all means eaiser!
NO Rad support Changing and cutting and swapping Hood latches,cutting - rewiring NOTHING like that.

This is swapping a bumper and a Bumper support I'm sure.Thats it. Don't even have to take off the hood or fenders

 

Wow, sounds good. Can't wait to hear how it went. I recently had a small accident on my front bumper and would like to do the switch ASAP. Please let us know at your earliest convenience. Thanks.

 

Bump... so how did this end up?

 

The Bumper came in..WHITE (but not Weightless) and its killer...but still have to paint it.They are sanding it down now @ my work.
Got the 2 side grills,Front lip,emblem and 2 little Hole covers that are factory painted too.They go where the EVO VIII 2 screws that hold the bumper on go right next to each side of the intercooler.

*The 2 parts that were on back order are the "Middle Grill" where the Emblem goes..and the "Bumper support"...so I can't try to mount it...though I may try w/ the regular VIII support.Depends if I have time to do it.

I missed 3 other grills:

The (2) grills that go where the Nostril/Giallia holes are and forgot to order the LOwer Big Grill that goes over the intercooler.

SO I ordered those 3 today.

It may be 2 more weeks..becuase my JDM IX rear bumper will be here soon and were going to paint them together.

I'll get a complete Part list w/ numbers together if I can.

Updates as I go.

Kinda wishin I went EVO VII conversion (hood,Bumper/lip) instead...may be willing to sell the stuff I got for the dealer-to-dealer price I got on it and it was still over $1100...so it did help...w/o that pricing its probably a $1600-$1700 conversion.

may take applicants if you live Close???

 

My Evo IX front bumper just showed up!

I'm going to test fit it tomorrow.



Yes, that also means my Apex Silver VIII front bumper is for sale, and the rear will be for sale soon as well for anyone who may be interested.

 

Yes please test fit it w/ VIII bumper support.

If that works that will be killer!

Please let me/US know as soon as you try it.

 

Start:



Finish:



Outdoor Pics:




Now here's my thoughts and experiences with this:

The bumper I have (shown in the pictures above) is a JDM Spec bumper, and consequently, there are difference to the metal bumper retainer that prevent this bumper from fitting with the OEM bumper support in place.

I DO NOT KNOW IF A US SPEC BUMPER WILL WORK OR NOT AS MINE WAS A JDM SPEC BUMPER!

The biggest difference between the US Spec and JDM Spec bumpers is that the JDM cars are able to use and are pre-built with the intercooler sprayers of which there are actually 3 nozels instead of just one. Two on top and one on bottom. The brackets for the sprayer nozels are part of the metal bumper retainer and even if the nozels are removed, the brackets are still in place and create a conflict.

I do not know if this is an issue with a US Spec bumper or not.

I do plan to modify my bumper support and/or the bumper retainer to be able to use it, but that will take some time.

I can also confirm that the Evo 8 undertray DOES work with the Evo 9 front bumper, though my 'prototype' Forge intercooler sits a little too low so I had a difficult time reattaching everything, but it DOES work.

The Evo 8 fender liner holes line up perfectly as well.

The driver's side of the bumper does seem to hang a little too low right underneath the headlight, but I think this will be easily remedied once I have a chance to modify the bumper support.

I do have the tri-star emblem, but I think the bumper looks better without it.

I need to get the 2 circular caps for the bumper and the three other holes are for the liscense plate bracket. I will get those filled when I get the bumper repainted. The bumper is used and has some scratches and damage that is easily fixable.

Let me know if you guys have any questions!

 

So your bumper support is on there or no support what so ever?

damn I guess I need to take my bumper off and try it.
And that is FOR sure a JDM Spec bumper.....hmm..Guess theres only way one to find out.

I'm only waiting on the bumper support and some grills.Otherwise I'm done and can get to painting it.

Thanks for the write up.

 

My bumper is most deffinetly a JDM bumper since it arrived pre-assembled with hosing and three nozels for the intercooler sprayer which is something that US Spec Evo 9's do not have.

The brackets for the nozels are part of the metal bumper retainer (different from the bumper support) and are positioned as such that they create a conflict with the US Spec Evo 8 bumper support.

I do not know if this would be an issue with a US Spec Evo 9 bumper support or what the situation with a US Spec Evo 9 bumper would be as I have neither part to play with.

So my car right now (as nothing has changed since those pictures were taken a few hours ago) does not have a bumper support installed.

I plan to modify the bumper support to make it work, but as it sits, I could not do it.

Hopefully you can figure something else out!

 

Decided to post here,...if anyone is intrested in this I may sell my conversion:

for instance the OEM bumper new (w/o lip)is= $729
*my price now is= $547
Lip New is= $263
*my price= $197

etc,etc depending on what you need.

lemme know will ship at buyers expense but have ALL OEM IX parts at a Dealer to dealer price

 

Are there anymore people with conversions?