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Spoiler install

Q

Quiky One

Silver Member
This thread won't be completed for awhile but I figured if 11 of you bought a spoiler maybe a reference would be good. I will Jared (72firebird) and Jan (Jan Larsson) credit for how I plan on installing it.

To start you need to remove the old spoiler. There are four bolts you need to remove from the underside of the hatch. One in each corner of the spoiler and two in the middle where the 3rd brake light is. These are all 10MM. You will need a ratchet as the bolts on the corners are in there TIGHT.

You will need to pop the little plastic covers off with a screw driver or flat bladed scraper.
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Then the middle ones.
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And the right one.
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The far left one on my car would not come out. There is a metal nut inside the rubber compund and what happened was the rubber was so detiorated that is wouldn't grip the nut anymore. So it just turned. More on this later.

To remove the spoiler you push the corner toward the front of the car to remove it from the little plastics clips that hold it in. Do not worry about breaking these off as you will not need them. Just hit the spoiler forward and lift it straight off. It will move about 1/2" to an inch. This worked for the right side. If you happen to have a screw that is stripped like I did you will have to lift up the spoiler off the screw and hit it forward. The rubber is pretty pliable and it didn't even crack. I didn't care if it did anyway but for those of you who want to keep it, just be careful. Once you get the spoiler off you will have to tilt it towards the ceiling to remove the lighting fixture. There are two more 10MM sockets that you remove for the third brake light as seen here. I was able to remove these without a ratchet and just a socket on a screwdriver deal. (sorry my terms are off I haven't had to think in over 14 days :wall: )
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Be careful not to rip these wires out....

You should have seen the dirt and grime under the spoiler. I spent about an hour with an orbital polisher and a fine cut polish to remove the yellow tint. I can't get it all but I will continue with it.

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I hope to update this thread more tomorrow if I feel like it.

Jason
 
Jason,
Thanks for posting this - it's going to help a lot when we all get our spoilers in. Thanks also to Jared and Jan too.

-Lance
 
Worked on it today about hour and a half. It is now ready for paint and reinstall.

First thing I did today was go out and by some stainless steel sheet metal screws so when they get wet they will not rust and stain the paint. I would recommend this to all.
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I then put some masking tape on the paint without the spoiler installed. I then marked where the slots began and ended. If anyone does not understand exactly what I did please post. I will be happy to answer.
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I did this for all 6 slots.
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Then I marked on the spoiler with a sharpie where the slot ended. Make sure the rear hatch area is closed or else the marking will be scewed. Notice I have two marks??? The farthest ones back are what I ended up using.
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Then I went and drilled the pilot holes. Make sure the pilot holes are not to small or to big. I did mine to small to being with and heard a "crack"....dont let it happen to you. You want the screws to bite hard but not that hard.

This fiberglass spoiler does not fit quite as good as stock. I drilled my first holes square in the middle and the spoiler would not fit with them drilled here. I then moved the holes to the outside edge and it fits great. Notice the double holes?? I also had to remove and reinstall 3 times to get the screws the right length out. Two loose and the spoiler had a gap. To tight and it wouldn't fit.
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Here you can see the depth I used.
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Here is the spoiler installed.
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Any other questions?
 
Quiky One said:
Any other questions?
Click to expand...

Yes, how much lighter do you think the new one is?

And, are you concerned about how closely the paint will match?
 
WS6 said:
Yes, how much lighter do you think the new one is?

And, are you concerned about how closely the paint will match?
Click to expand...
I will weigh it tonight.

No I am not concerned. I am going to take the third brake light piece that is painted and get it computer matched. The 3rd brake light matches the rest of my car perfectly. If they can't match that, they can always match the fender. Whichever they prefer.
 
WS6 said:
Is this a definite two man job?
Click to expand...
Definite? No but there are a few stages where two makes it a lot faster. I could do everything myself except for when I actually mounted the spoiler. It was nice since one person could hold one side of the spoiler down so when you got the screws in the clips one side wouldn't pop out. I can see you going in a circle pulling to get them in. One side in, one side out, one in, one out, ect.

All you need it someone to push the spoiler down. It is not very complicated. My sister could have done it.

Jason
 
For the people who are doing this in the future, I would suggest using painters tape on the spoiler too. I thought Jason understood it that way when I explained it to him, but oh well it'll still be alright just have to sand the sharpie out. I would use painters tape there so then you don't need to touch the gel coat you can just let the painter do what they feel is necessary. Besides for that, that's exactly how I installed mine which has been on for over a year and I'm very satisfied with. Also, for mine where he was saying the front screw didn't line up, we pulled on the arms a little because they naturally bow in. The original design is for you to clip the arms around the glass using the spring of the fiberglass to told it on. So if you need to pull the arms out to get the screws started in the slot that's alright, it's momre flexible than what you may think.
 
Good point. I didn't even think about that aspect of the sharpie but it will come out pretty easy. There are a few spots that need some work anyway. If I have time tomorrow I am going to call the painter.
 
And yes I also pulled the arms out but with the screws in the middle I did not feel comfortable pulling that much. I didn't want a two piece spoiler.

Jason
 
Quiky One said:
And yes I also pulled the arms out but with the screws in the middle I did not feel comfortable pulling that much. I didn't want a two piece spoiler.

Jason
Click to expand...

I felt the same way at first which is why I installed it with my painter (he's a Turbobuick guy) and the spoiler is made to flex a lot, to the point of the edge of the arms lining up with the edge of the window trim.
 
I did this fiberglass wing install last year, but the one I got only came with one little u shaped clip to hold each front arm down. I have never been happy with the fit of this. From the pics here, it looks like I might be able to use screws where the original clips from the old spoiler once were. Does my logic make any sense?
 
captainsin said:
I did this fiberglass wing install last year, but the one I got only came with one little u shaped clip to hold each front arm down. I have never been happy with the fit of this. From the pics here, it looks like I might be able to use screws where the original clips from the old spoiler once were. Does my logic make any sense?
Click to expand...
Kinda. It seems like you need to uninstall and install screws like I have done. What exactly are you asking?
 
No real question really. I guess I was just commenting on the nice fit of your spoiler. Mine came with there crappy clips that I have never been happy with. I will attempt to do a similar fit as yours hopefully with the same result.
 
Yep mine came with those crap flimsy aluminium clips as well that's why I decided to use screws as described in this thread to make sure it fit properly and would not come off by accident (I can see the clips unfolding at some point).
 
Shane,
Where is Gilbert, AZ.?
I'm in Kingman, AZ, and a friend of mine, Ken, who owns a 20th TTA, just moved ot Lake Havasu City.
It would be fun to have a mini gathering this summer.

:beach:
 
oh what a freakin nightmare getting my spoiler off... first the far left bolt head breaks off while im unscrewing it, then the whole housing for the screw on the right side for the center brake light breaks off and pushes into the side of the brake light housing snapping a piece off. i had to cut the housing to get the spoiler off. now i need to disconnect the wiring for the whole harness, and cant figure out how to do that. its cold dark and windy and im quite frustrated at this point x.x
 
well i finally got it off... i ended up having to cut the bolt with a hacksaw. i now have a long scratch in the paint cutting down to the metal -.- so it looks like ill be getting the hatch repainted. i only hope i have more luck with the new spoiler install.
 
I'm curious as to why you chose oval headed screws and not Pan head? The pan head seems a more logical choice but maybe you have reason why, do they install easier?

And what length of screw? 3/4" 1/2" 1" ???


...
 
There is no specific reason why I chose oval over panhead. The panhead might work better but the oval will work just fine and I had no problems installing them. The only problem I can think you might run into is the hole not being large enough for a panhead.

They are 3/4" long.
 
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