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Just looking for some members to guide me in the right direction. So I purchased a urethane front 3 piece pace car spoiler for my 78. I had it painted and its ready to go on. I first mounted the center section and now its time for the sides. So this is an aftermarket spoiler which the side pieces have 1 stud mounted on the inside at the top and none at the bottom. The side pieces slide over the ends of the center section. I was trying to eye ball where to drill and needless to say, I was off lol. Tried another time, off again! Hopefully these will be concealed once mounted. Its kinda hard to know where to drill with that stud sticking out.
So a few questions...
Are the backsides of the side pieces supposed to be flush with the wheel well? Reason I ask is b/c theres a lip on the top inner side of the side pieces almost like it wraps the inside of the wheel well. But that lip does not continue all the way down. Does anyone have any 360 degree shots of their spoilers mounted...especially from the wheel well and underneath? Might answer a lot of my questions. The other question I have is does anyone have a good way of figuring out exactly where to drill for the stud. I dont wanna keep guessing and end up with 37 holes in the fender lol.
As always, thanks in advance for any pics & tips you guys can provide!
Added a few pics if they help? Holes drilled in fender. Backside of left side piece. Lip I am referring to. Is this supposed to be flush with wheel well or does it fit inside of it? 1 stud at top.
Last edited by austinseanchris; 09-27-2018 at 09:49 PM.
Who made your spoiler? The manufacturer should provide installation instructions. If your spoiler is supposed to install the same as stock for the Pace Cars. the 78 assembly instruction manual shows the intended installation. Due to shipping clearance issues, the spoilers were shipped with the car and installed by dealers after the PC was delivered.
Yea, no instructions. I bought the spoiler from Riks corvette parts here in NC. I did pull out my assembly manual but it doesnt give me any answers as far as the questions I have asked...
If they would have cast nuts into the fairing instead of the studs, it would be a lot easier to find the spot to drill. As it is, it sucks finding the right spot to drill. Mine was no fun. I added a couple of mount bolts and screws to get it to follow the fender better. The fenders were also cut on the Pace Cars for extra tire clearance for the 255/60/15 tires. My fenders had already been cut for bigger tires, so that helped fitting the fairing some.
If they would have cast nuts into the fairing instead of the studs, it would be a lot easier to find the spot to drill. As it is, it sucks finding the right spot to drill. Mine was no fun. I added a couple of mount bolts and screws to get it to follow the fender better. The fenders were also cut on the Pace Cars for extra tire clearance for the 255/60/15 tires. My fenders had already been cut for bigger tires, so that helped fitting the fairing some.
Mike
Mike, can you advise how the spoiler fits on the wheel well? In other words does it wrap around? Yea, I was thinking the same thing about the stud. I just dont wanna keep drillin holes in the fender lol.
Mike, can you advise how the spoiler fits on the wheel well? In other words does it wrap around? Yea, I was thinking the same thing about the stud. I just dont wanna keep drillin holes in the fender lol.
Not really, everyone of these cars is different. You just have to work it out until it fits on your car properly. At least it is fiberglass and repairing the holes is easy. You won't see them either after the spoiler is mounted.
When I installed my side pieces I made a cardboard temple of the mounting surface. Attach cardboard to the side piece using the mounting bolt as the guide, trace out the surface and then transfer the cardboard to the fender to mark the hole location. Also I mounting the side piece to cover the fender edge. I also used a self taping screw at the half way spot through the fender and into the side piece at a point where the side piece had a lot of material to screw into. I also used a self taping screw through the side piece and into the center section.
Last edited by cagotzmann; 09-29-2018 at 10:43 AM.
Installing three studs in the reproduction spoiler will make installation easier... see the picture below... I've also included the AIM sheet on the pace car spoiler installation.
As mentioned in another post these spoilers were originally intended for the 78 pace car that had the front opening of the fender lip trimmed for tire clearance.
My white 79 came from the factory with the smaller tires so the fender would normally not be trimmed BUT it also came with the optional for 79 spoiler. Fenders trimmed. I can see looking at it that the spoiler blends in nicely with the fender trimmed.
Hard to see on the white....example of trimmed fender lip.
Are the backsides of the side pieces supposed to be flush with the wheel well? Reason I ask is b/c theres a lip on the top inner side of the side pieces almost like it wraps the inside of the wheel well. But that lip does not continue all the way down. Does anyone have any 360 degree shots of their spoilers mounted...especially from the wheel well and underneath? Might answer a lot of my questions. The other question I have is does anyone have a good way of figuring out exactly where to drill for the stud. I dont wanna keep guessing and end up with 37 holes in the fender lol.
I have my Pace Car on jack stands and the front spoiler is off so I can take photos for you but let's start with the one below and see if this helps. But I'm working with an original three-piece "air deflector" rather than aftermarket. I'm rebuilding the front end and installing a new NOS spoiler. See if this helps, but I recognize that you don't have a "redline" to work from for your application.
Last edited by hunt4cleanair; 09-30-2018 at 04:05 AM.
Alright all, thanks for the help thus far. So from the pics you guys have sent, it appears the side pieces do in fact tuck around the inside of the front fender.
I definitely agree with adding studs once everything gets mounted up to help stabilize everything.
I have my Pace Car on jack stands and the front spoiler is off so I can take photos for you but let's start with the one below and see if this helps. But I'm working with an original three-piece "air deflector" rather than aftermarket. I'm rebuilding the front end and installing a new NOS spoiler. See if this helps, but I recognize that you don't have a "redline" to work from for your application.
Thanks for the pics...so it looks like Im close as far as holes I drilled on the lip of the fender, just didnt hit it at the right spot. Like you said, I dont have the red line to go by and I dont really have any point to measure from unfortunately. I would say I could maybe measure from the top of the fender down but being fiberglass, it could be off somewhat...
Just wanted to thank you guys for the help. I was going bananas not wanting to continue to "eyeball it" and keep drilling holes in the fender. That being said, I found a interesting way of measuring where to drill. Somewhat ghetto, but it worked. Got the center section mounted...snug but not so tight it wouldn't give a little. From there, I took the pre-mounted bolts out of the spoiler. I found a long tack sized nail with a head small enough to fit in the hole the pre-mounted bolt was in. I checked the measurement to make sure it was just long enough to make sure the tip of the nail stuck out of the hole. From there, I put a drop of glue on the nail head and pushed it into the mount hole(head first). After letting it dry, I took the spoiler to the fender and found its best position. Once in place, a slight push on the top corner of the spoiler made a tiny indention on the fender. From there, I layed the side spoiler piece to the side and drilled a hole. I took a pair of pliers, pulled out the near and re-threaded the original fixated bolt. Popped it in there and presto! The drivers side was the first side I started on and also the same one I had drilled 2 prior holes in. Went to the passenger side and did the same thing. Hit it first time and took less than 10 mins to mount. Just thought it may help someone out in the future who doesn't like eyeballing it...
Like all the other posts and pics I've seen, there was an issue with the spoiler not fitting flush to the front end. These aftermarket spoilers only have the bolt at the top. That being said, I tightened everything down and drilled 2 holes(one on each side) towards the end of the bottom curve. From there I ran a threaded bolt(with no head) and place a washer and lock nut on each end and tightened down until it pulled it snug to the fender.
I know it may sound like a stupid way of doing it but it actually worked out rather well! The passenger side fit perfect, the driver side has a slight gap. Im debating taking the entire thing off or leaving it as is. Not sure that most would notice unless they were specifically looking for it. I thought about tightening it down more but its pretty tight now to the point I feel like I may start cracking glass if I do. Overall, I love the appearance...completely changed the look(I think). Now I think back and laugh at how naked she probably looked before!
09-27-2018, 08:40 PM
Front Pace Car Spoiler fitment...
