tonyponykay

i'm lookin at AIM and ecklers install pics and everywhere I can look and don't see any HOOK that attaches to the front of the air dam beneath the front of my 1980 vette.


contemporay corvettes sent me an air dam that is bowed on the backside, too short to drill holes in on ride side lip, has huge spider cracks in the top, etc.. etc.. not a good experience. They'll refund but theres no guarantee that ecklers isn't just as messed up.

and Contemporary guy keeps talking about some kind of hook in the front of the air dam but I have never seen any hook? Anybody know what the heck this guy is talking about?

also, ecklers diagram shows the air dam going in with two bolts, the one i took off, the original air dam came off with 5 small bolts that go into the lower part of radiator housing. What's up with that?

anybody with air dam replacement experience got any ideas?

I sure need help and any advise would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
tony

BillysRed1980

I know what they are talking about... mine has one. I'll post a pic later if someone else doesn't first.

tonyponykay

thanks a ton for replying and yes a pic would absolutely make my day so I can figure out why the hook isn't in the aim or anywhere else i look...

thanks a bunch
tk

SharkintheWoods

There is a piece of curved strap metal welded to the front nose brace about three inches long. Mine had fallen off when I received my car years back. I welded a replacement. You are correct, there are five bolts on the backside bolting to the radiator support. It also bolts on the sides to splash shields on the either side. I will check later and if there is not pic, I have one as well when I get home.

Eric

Easy Mike

tonyponykay

to the bottom of the air dam? i sure dont have that but where does it attach on the other side of the air dam?

i see a piece of metal in the pic cuting through the middle of the two pieces which ecklers calls front spoilers, but i don't see how that can attach to the frame or whatever it is on the other side

thanks for the pic! got one of the other side?

IrishJoker

There is a "Brace" - not really a Hook - Most get knocked off or bent really bad when you park too close/run up on those big concrete blocks in parking lots. If a pic isn't posted tonight I will post one. Fortunately mine is intact and as of today it's perfect (mainly because I know it's there and I am very careful how I come up on those things in parking lots).

BillysRed1980

Here's mine, as promised:

tonyponykay

yes thanks so very much for the photos

i truly appreciate it, I did manage to hook up my air dam, used a bevy of tricks etc but i do not have that welded piece.

just so happens i was staring at the massive metal piece that that strip of metal is welded to for quite some time trying to puzzle out what the heck it was for

I noticed that the metal brace in front of the metal loop is blocking air from going into the air dam however, i determined through the process of deduction that this metal brace painted red in the pictures above, must be the first line of defense against crushing the air dam into those darn parking lot pylons that everybody fears like devil.

i wonder where i can find the other piece that hooks onto the air dam from, eckers sure doens't show anything remotely like that.

of course I had to manufacture some thin bracing and what not to get my air dam connected to my nose piece, (nose piece being kinda old and the holes torn out) i cut some metal pieces up i bought from Lowess that actually are gutter straps..

and drilled some holes and viola.. i got it in good. i duno if i actually even need that strap but i imagine i can manufacture one out of a strap as well..

thanks very much for the photos. I was in total denial


tony

mark79,80

The bracket on the red corvette picture is bent too far upward.
The front part of the bracket should be almost vertical with
hook angling backward. The air dam fits in the "v" portion of
hook with the front of the air dam pressed against the front
portion of the hook. There is not a bolt going thru the hook.
That is, the rear portion of the hook is actually below the air
dam.

MN80Vette

If your bracket does not fit this way, one of the POs of your car may have hit a curb HARD or had a front end accident like one of the POs of my car. If the bracket is bent, you will have to design your own air dam support. I will post pics of my accident-damaged support and air dam some day soon.

akulhavy

yeah, the metal is supposed to be below the air dam. Think about it; if you are going 80mph, the air down will be forced downward. If you have 1 bolt supporting it from the top, it will pull through it. You just need to bet a piece of sheet metal and weld it so that it hangs down then bend it to sit under the air dam....then you can attach it with a bolt if you feel like it.

tonyponykay

i think in the pic, that is the original air dam which i believe was made from rubber, as was the one i took off my 80 vette, which looked exactly like that one in the pics, except that it was crushed in the front and split up the middle, totally broken.

the fiberglass laminate one that i put in its place is very rigid and firm. it is attached by 4 of the 5 screws in the rear, and it is very secure back there, and the front corners actually rest or sit on the sides of the lower nose piece so the front corners are also supported..
I have screws holding each corner to the edge of the nose piece.

what i am wondering is do i really need the HOOK? I think i can manufacture a hook by drilling a hole into the metal piece that the Hook is attached to and screwing a metal piece into it there, instead of welding as I have no welding equipment and don't really know anything about welding.

i can take that metal strap or piece that i attached by bolt and drop it down and around the front of the air dam, drill a hole in the bottom lip of air dam and screw the band in, effectively adding a hook.

but as i said, it seems very firm to me now, without a hook, securerd on edge front corner/edge of the air dam to the lower nose piece.

what do you guys think? heck a short bunge cord through the hole in that metal piece and hooked to the front of the air dam would even work but look pathetic lll

thanks
tony

BillysRed1980

One of the PO's of my car did more than hit a curb hard... he totaled the car completely.

Doesn't surprise me that something like that is off... there are far worse issued that I've uncovered doing even the smallest repairs.

Anyway, thanks for letting me know how it is supposed to fit! I will repair it accordingly!

IrishJoker

There should also be a rubber spoiler (2 piece) attached under there as well.

gbvette62

THe "hook" was originally welded to the lower back side of the license plate portion of the front bumper reinforcement. Many 80-82's have bent or missing hooks (and valance panels) from years of contact with driveways, curbing and concrete parking bumpers.

As stated previously by others, the "hook" goes under the lower front valance. The valance panel just layed on the hook, it was only attached at the sides to the fenders and at the rear to the radiator core support. Attached to the bottom of the valance was a 2 piece black rubber spoiler. Both pieces of the spoiler are notched in the center where they meet. When installed properly, the valance lays on the hook and the hook goes through the notches at the center of the 2 spoiler pieces, those capturing the hook between the valance and the spoilers.

Original valances were made from the same urethane material as the front and rear bumpers. GM discountinued the urethane valance years ago, the only thing currently available is a fiberglass reproduction. Without the hook, original urethane ones tended to "flutter" from the air flow as they were driven down the street (especially if the spoilers are missing). I don't think this should be a problem with a rigid, fiberglass valance though.

These cars really do need the valance and spoilers to run properly. Like all 68-82's, these cars are bottom breathers and need the spoilers to help direct air up from under the bumper and into the radiator to help cool them.

Easy Mike

The carriage bolt isn't stock.