Yet Another First Mod Thread - Fuel Door
 

My first mod - a chrome fuel door (wohoo!) See the before and after pics below. I know there's other threads that discuss this (shrug). I took pics each step of the way for anything I thought was significant outside of the directions. It still only took about 30 min.

Good directions (English & French) come with the new fuel door. You can also see them on Rosenthal's site (pdf file). I got the fuel door for $84 US over at Rosenthal (within driving distance).

First you must remove the OEM filler neck (otherwise you won't be able to reach the bolts for the fuel door). Below you can clearly see the three 8mm bolts to be removed. The instructions say to use blue painter's tape around the opening; DO IT! The parts are metal and at times have to be jiggled around, and the tape WILL prevent scratches. Also use a fuel rag to keep from accidentally dropping a bolt down the fuel pipe.

The second pic shows tape in place, filler neck removed and rag in the fuel pipe. Now you're ready to remove the OEM door.

Remove two 8mm bolts holding the OEM door in place. I had a 4" straight extension for my ratchet that worked perfectly in the available space. Remove the OEM door carefully to avoid scratching. In the first pic below you can see the two holes for the 8mm bolts.

Now install the new fuel door starting with the top bolt. The chrome door is heavier than the OEM door, so again take your time. The area is restricted; what worked best for me was starting each bolt with just the socket and extension, then tightening after each was started. Don't over-tighten before getting the door positioned.

The trickiest part is getting the door position just right. See the second pic (from the instructions). Try to close the door, and check the alignment. Further tighten one or the other bolts to raise/lower the door, and both bolts to move it further left.

When the door position is right, replace the OEM filler neck. The first pic shows the completed job with all parts in their final places. In case it's not obvious, remove the tape as a last step. :D

And voila! The "after" picture shows how it looks when it's done. When I did this, it was obvious that the fuel door was the shiniest part of the car. Since the stock wheels are more of a satin finish, you may want to consider the satin finish door. But I think it will look better if you have side strakes and clear corners (both on my list of to-do's). :)

As you can clearly tell, I took these pics the week before the snow hit.