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Spoiler install

got a used third brakelight from hawks for the street/strip car ..... the painter told me not to blow compessed air through the holes in the spoiler as it will come apart ... he was trying to get trash out of a hole on another persons car he installed the spoiler on and it cam apart ... my factory spoiler looks yellow ??? anyone elses
 
I'm not sure which spoiler you're talking about, but the stock spoiler is a plastic/rubber and will start to come apart with some compressed air since it's normally dried out. With a new Hawk spoiler they're fiberglass and I wouldn't be worried about it coming apart.
 
Awesome Joe, Did you just use the paint code 40 or did they mix to match? Or did you take the car to the paint shop and let them look at it first?
 
TTA984 said:
Awesome Joe, Did you just use the paint code 40 or did they mix to match? Or did you take the car to the paint shop and let them look at it first?
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Hi Mike, I brought the spoiler to him. Then, I drove the TTA to his shop. I asked him to use my fuel door for the color match.

Joe
 
Dragging up this old thread wondering if there are any new " gee-whiss why didn't i think of this before" ideas, or is the oval sheet metal screw's still the best way? I was going to wait till 818 was painted to install the spoiler, but damn this car's are butt ugly without one...
 
I learned something quite by accident, i sat the spoiler on a table in the sun and like magic the tips opened up like a rose, THEN set it on the car and mark your screw hole's, this little trick make's it a one man job when you mount it.
 
Oval sheet metal screws are the best way. Install was easy just reread the thread 2 or 3 times before you do it. I took my fuel door to match the paint. Looks better than stock imo, fits great and weighs 13 lbs less Robert.

Joe
 
Just came across this thread. Just ordered the Hawks spoiler for my 89 Formula. Is there a reason the tapered head screws work better than pan heads and what bolts are everyone using in the back into the spoiler. The ones that come from Hawks or a stainless steel equivalent. Thanks for any input. I don't think this thread will ever die.
 
The tapered head is much easier to work with, are you talking about the bolts in the deck of the hatch ? Reuse the ones that come out if possible ...
 
robert lee said:
The tapered head is much easier to work with, are you talking about the bolts in the deck of the hatch ? Reuse the ones that come out if possible ...
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Yes I was talking about the rear bolts that go thru the deck into the spoiler. I didn't examine the holes in the new spoiler but I'm assuming there is threaded inserts in there. I guess if the stock bolts are no good Ill get some stainless ones that match them. Are the tapered head screws just easier fitting into the factory brackets on the glass. I guess once I actually take the old one off things will make more sense. Thanks for the help. Now to wait for warm weather to get here soo I can work on her.
 
Also remember that the angle and depth of the T H Screw is important, i usually test fit numerous times and stock up on beer... anyhow don't run them in too far when starting the screw and adjust as you test fit... and most important don't get in a hurry.. ask me how i know.
 
Well I took the factory spoiler off yesterday to dry fit the hawks one. My 2 outside bolts snapped off as soon as I went to loosen them so I guess I'll be getting some stainless steel replacements. I have to say the hawks wing seems like they could have made it about a 1/2" wider in the back. It barely fits over the factory tabs in the back. I had to put the screws,so close to the edge to be able to get them to go into the slots. Also the factory holes through my deck lid were off from the factory so I had to use a rat tail file on the passenger side hole so the bolt will go into the spoiler. Also it seems like the passenger side sits pretty tight right were the bolt goes but as you get towards the glass it sits up a bit so you can actually look under it from the side about an 1/8". I also noticed as I spread the tips out to get them in the slots I noticed a fine line right in the inside corner where the side leg starts to wrap around into the actual spoiler. I don't know if it's just the gel coat but hopefully the body shop will be able to take care of it. I plan on using strip caulk on the washers when I bolt it back down but it seems like if I put anything under the spoiler to seal it, it may hold it up off the deck.
 
I had the same problem on mine with the fitment. It was horrible! I will never purchase another spoiler from Hawks again. No matter how much work that you do to one of these spoilers from Hawks it will never fit right, well at least the two I bought. I even had to modify the holes in my brake light because the inserts in the spoiler were too far towards the drivers side and the brake light wouldn't cover the holes in the deck lid.It was that far off. Very poor quality. As for the bolts I believe they are 1/4 20 thread and not metric like the factory bolts.
I hope you have better results than I did. Good luck
 
So you think the inserts they use aren't the same thread as the factory. But they only give you 2 new bolts with the spoiler so what bolts would they expect you to use for the brake light then. I just assumed the factory bolts would be reused.
 
I have bought and installed 4 or 5 Hawks spoilers and i can tell you guys that you will never find a repo fiberglass spoiler that fits like a Fac. rubber one that conforms vs rigid, as far as the brake inserts being that far off i would have sent it back, Hawks is one of the few vendors i have dealt with that have good customer service... and i did reuse the Fac bolts that were still good with no problems.
 
Did you guys seal between the spoiler and the deck lid or just on the washers. I didn't even try my brake light for fitment. Maybe I should. I actually took the plastic off and unclipped the whole light and took it completely off. What about any small cracks in the gel coat. Is that normal. Not used to dealing with fiberglass.
 
I used this stuff20170502_110739.jpg.

I bought it at Oreilly's and it worked out great. It is wider than the factory seal so I trimmed it to about 1/2 in wide. Unlike the factory I totally enclosed the bolt area in the spoiler. I also used windshield butyl (wrapped around the bolt) on the under side of the hatch.

I am actually doing a spoiler replacement on one of my GTA's now but I am using an original GM spoiler. So if you need any pics just let me know.

Also forgot to mention, if you have any hatch alignment issues now is the time to fix them. I had to separate the metal hatch from the glass on the GTA im working on now. The hatch hung past the quarters 1 1/2 inch on the pass side and 1/2 on the drivers.
 
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