A recent test drive by a mechanic left me with a scraped fender underside and a busted off front air dam on the pass side.

Hard too see under there, but whatever that little clip and screw attached to has broken off.

I'm guessing next step is maybe drill a small hole and secure the rubber with a simple bolt washer and nut setup.

..sorry for the crappy pics, I don't have a jack to get underneath for a better shot.

 

It won't hurt a thing to take the two side air deflectors OFF...I did on my 04 I am also going to trim the actual center air dam so it's not hanging so low and always getting hit by dead critters... trash on the highway... or whatever else pops up...

 

73 you inspired me on my last project. I'm on a roll..I have decided to take a better look at the air dam issue. With the help of a custom driveway lift I can see a bit better. At least I'll have some space to work, last resort I'll rip the suckers off..

more to come on this..

 

Honestly, if the mechanic did that damage to my car, I would be getting estimates from a body shop for a complete and proper repair. The garage / dealership insurance would be liable for that damage.
Sorry that happened to your vette.
Ray

 

I would reinforce the attachment from behind and reuse the existing hole, it's not a critical attachment, it just has to work well enough to hold the flap at speed. The same fastener that you select for the new hole can be fitted with a flat washer and installed in the torn hole. I favor plastic washers or balsa wood for hole reinforcement, anything weaker than the body. I am using material from worn air dams to reinforce the new rubber holes, just because it was handy.

Since these are a consumable part, a new hole will only mean every new part in the future won't fit, and performance is unchanged, no matter what hole is used.

My car is lowered so I deal with this stuff once in a while. I am careful to make sure my various schemes to hold the parts together is still break away. I want to sacrifice the rubber, not the body.

I like my air damn stock, I feel the leading edge entering the air is important , plus , as designed , it is guiding airflow into the cooling system and away from under the car. Sure, you can drive the car without them, but then you are saying that this part is a mistake , and GM should have saved the money and left it off. a few engineers and cost counters at GM probably would disagree, so I side with them, additionally motivated by the temps in my area and my plans to go car camping in the future.

 

Ray wish I could, the guy recently gave me a super sweetheart deal on what would've been a VERY expensive motor repair job. I had some other scuffs and scratches too, but my feeling is that it's a small price to pay for the overall job he did.

Some of those scratches on the front of the underside I did myself first night I had it..now I got matching scratches I guess..

well wtf I'm sure it was an accident, I didn't even really notice it for a few days.

Anyway back to the damn dam, using a little sax player ingenuity, I took the clip and screw/washers thing apart, as it was screwed through the hole in the rubber dam holding nothing.

I scratched my head for a few minutes.

Then I reversed direction of the screw and put it back through the hole in the dam, I used the clip to simply hold the the dam up.

The little bolt head screw and double washer part fit up into the fender edge.

It actually kind of clicked into place and the pressure of the bend in the rubber dam itself holds it in place very snug. I wiggled and jiggled it didn't want pop out.

I think I'm good to go with this simple fix.

As always THANKS for the support..

 

 

So, I guess if you bypass the CL your making a mistake also? The GM engineers made SEVERAL mistakes on these cars and many have been documented in recalls and aftermarket fixes and law suits... the stupid little plastic piece of crap air deflectors might actually serve some usable function if your tracking your car... or maybe not, most of those guys take them off and run splitters...they are crappy, useless, pointless, pieces of plastic that get beat up and look bad...but, if you feel like your car is going to overheat and your car maybe be less aerodynamic then keep them in place....better stay with 17" and 18" wheels also, 18" and 19"... not sure the GM engineers approve that modification. DO NOT upgrade your shifter to MGW or Z06... DO NOT get larger brakes... or put full synthetic fluids in your car... and NO way should you ever change your air intake or exhaust... Not sure what the ramifications would be if you deleted the CAG's...the GM engineers knew exactly how and what your C5 needs so DON'T touch the damn thing....or modify it in ANY way if it isn't OEM then it is a MISTAKE. The BIGGEST mistake of all would be to let someone manipulate your PCM... I wish ALL the tuners around the country KNEW that they should not be messing with what the GM engineers did...shame on them.

 

2 years ago my buddies blew their motor on the hot rod power tour. I convinced them to put car on a uhaul trailer and tow with uhaul truck. I was following them and they hit a 2x4 and i didn't see it in time. It hit my right side dam. Months later i was under car and noticed it tore that clip out and the chunk of bumper cover was still in the clip. I took some fiberglass mat and 5 min epoxy to it. After it dried I used the dremel to make a new hole and put the clip back on it. Good as new and no issues since. Glad you made something work.
Chris

 

another 5" forward on your jerry rig ramp & you'd have a scratched up door also

 

Those are just attached to a little piece of the bumper cover edge that rips out really easily. You can buy plastic air dam reinforcement pieces that tie into the 3 air dam screws plus they T back to another screw behind it so that doesn't happen again. They also keep the air dams nice and square looking by taking the droop out between screws. I put them on my car shortly after I bought it because it had an outer screw ripped out.

 

Believe me I was pretty freakin' cautious rolling up on that mess. Did the trick OK though. Saw a nice little floor jack at the hardware store for $42 I'll grab one soon. (then pucks, then stands, damn will it ever end??

 

I ordered a new air dam and cut 1 inch off the bottom all around. Much less scraping. Hey, these cars as they come from the factory, don't have the ground clearance to run over a tennis ball. You people who lower your cars, good grief, where do you drive?

 

Vinny I've wondered that myself many times..!

 

This is just ONE source. Been on the market for YEARS and years.


http://www.zip-corvette.com/catalog/...category/8013/