TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

Put in a Lokar flexible trans dipstick, today. Had only my phone, but took a couple of pics.
First one shows the wood and carriage bolt with nut (bolt was then cut to desired length). As you can see, the wood is cut/sanded to be 1/4" inside the line of the legs to allow for glassing-in.
Second pic shows driver's side where I plugged the big hole and shows how the neoprene covers all contact surface. You can see the 1/2" thick piece and the .093" pieces on the back edge and on the leg.
Third pic shows how I beveled the thick piece, and the rubber grommet for the third brake light wiring. There is also a rubber grommet on the deck lid as well - it all mates up and should be water tight.

I used 3M weatherstripping to glue the neoprene to the wing - the leg pieces are waiting for the glass and sanding before gluing those. Oh yeah, the wood pieces are sanded/beveled/angled to be flat on both surfaces.

I hope this gives you a good idea - it's all trial & error, and time.

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

Here's the wood glassed in and ready for primer.

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

Block sanded and ready for final primer. Looks like stock!

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Ted did you reshape the bottom at all? I see the neoprene but curious if you did anything else.

The contour of this is not flat like the hatch, so their is a gap under the arch. Looks like crap. Like, Horrible (see pic)

How much of the ends that go forward do you cut off? Unless you guys are leaving them the way they are but they seem long

I know BlackenedBird keeps saying the earlier wings are different, but this one is out of a '94, I removed it myself, and the center posts (and outside posts) are arched just like the '01. I will happily take pictures if you'd like.

-- Joe

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

There is at least 2 wings & LT vs LS is all I've ever figured out. Was the one you pictured from a Firehawk? Mine was & the only other thought I've had was maybe the Firehawks got a different hatch piece too?

My buddy put a 97 wing on his car & it was FLAT.

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

used a '96 TA wing. No cutting, some slight grinding that is all. Yes, the arc by the quarter panel has a gap. The neoprene closes that gap. There's black gaskets under mirrors, too. Only visible looking from inside out. Only mod to wing is the extended feet with bolts - I wanted 4 attachment points.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

My wing is from a '94 trans-am.

The formula/base model is obviously different, but from what I can tell all the fourth gen TA wings are the same part number.

I'd love to see a picture of your buddy's wing on the car BEFORE the center posts being extended.

Firehawks are almost all formulas, which have the base model hatch/wing. They did make some "Comp T/A" firehawks, but based on what I can see in my books and google, they are regular t/a wings.


-- Joe

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Hrmm. So you didn't cut the tips? I was under the impression that they went too far forward and people cut them down.

I'll have to do some grinding at least on mine. You saw my pic, it's horrible.


-- Joe

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

First pic: black lines point to bolt eyelets that I ground down. The ones inside the "feet" I needed to get the wood block flush for the epoxy. I used a dremmel to rough up the inside surface. The wing tips I ground to ensure no contact. The red arrows show where I ground the outside edge - this ensures flat contact on the back of the foot and further up the wing tip to ensure no vibration contact with glass hatch.
2nd pic: you can see that my gap is no more than the .5" neoprene. You may need to grind that outside edge from 1st pic, but you're gap sure looks like a lot more. Grind/sand that lip off the outside edge so that the back of the foot lies flat - no need to sand inside edge (maybe I did an inch, can't remember). That may reduce the gap, but that gap is produced by the arch in the wing - can't be eliminated. It took me many fitments, be patient. A half inch gap is liveable in my opinion and if you look at my earlier pics, it cannot be seen from the side (outside looking in). The neoprene goes all the way up to the end of the deck lid.

The back edge of the outside feet needs to be flat - flat up to the bolt, or very close. As it moves up the deck lid, the gap will widen and the neoprene fills it. I do not feel that is a problem. Hope this helps

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

Here's a pic of the first time the wing was laid on the car. You can still see the plastic clips on the metal band from the original formula wing. Looking at this pic, you should be able to see the advantages of sanding down that outside edge/back of foot to lie flat. It brings the wing tips down so that they lay perfectly (bolt eyelets ground down).

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

Here, you can see how flat the outside foot is. The double hash tag is where the wire harness holes are. The single hash tag nearest the tape is the bolt hole. Wing is snug but not fully tightened down - too many repeated fitments.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Thanks for all the info and pictures Ted. Very helpful!

Do you happen to have a shot of the under side of the hatch where the nuts are? I'm curious if yours are as close to the edge as mine. I'm about .800" from the glass on the stud centers.

-- Joe

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

No shots of underside, but that sounds about right. I think Stephen had some measurements on an older thread that I used. It is tight and I had to cut the metal band going around the glass a little to get the flange nut to seat properly.
Here's a pic showing that I ground down those bolt eyelets and the outside raised edge. I did grind the inside edge of the outer feet about 1 1/2". Like I said, getting those outside feet to sit flat at the back is key to everything else, and brings the wings down close. If I remember correctly, that's when I knew I had to grind the eyelets (not using, anyway) as they would vibrate against the glass. There's plenty of fiberglass at the back of the feet, just take a little at a time and be patient and re-fit--- most is on the outside edge.
Car is ready for spray & bake. Scheduled for week of the 10th.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Spent some time with the hand air grinder. Reshaped the bottom flat and it sits nice now. The inside is obviously arched but you can't tell unless you go hunting for it.

What do you think?

BlackenedBird, took a picture of the center posts for you showing the 'tilt'.


-- Joe

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

Much better! Night & Day difference.
Once you've got that fitment worked out; wood blocks, epoxy with carriage bolts, and glass it in. It will look like it belongs.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

The fun part will be extending those. Maybe next week

-- Joe

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

At first, I attempted to use plastic blocks. Guys at automotive shop said I would have problems with adhesion - fiberglass and wood have a long marine track record. Fillet pieces of wood absorb moisture, so used pressed pieces (less chance of flex, too).
I took one of the existing bolts to a hardware store to match thickness and thread when purchasing carriage bolts. While there, get acorn nuts to thread match.
Starting out, block should be thicker than needed, then sand on an angle to match the feet-deck lid angles. It's hard to tell on this white plastic but one end is thicker than the other. If you're going to error, error on the thin side when you are finished. You don't want the inner feet pushing up on the wing. If the blocks are a little thin, you can compensate with thicker gaskets of neoprene. I'm talking fractions of an inch, here. You can also lay a yard stick across all four feet to see how even you are.
The feet have a raised edge around them. Mine are finished so I can't post up a pic of that, can you post a pic for the record? You can see that I put these block edges on my bench grinder. You want that raised center portion to fit up into the feet. That's why you'll have to grind the bolt eyelet inside the two inner feet - just don't touch the actual bolt hole. I used a dremmel and scuffed up the rest of the surface. Once you've got that recessed space for the nut to fit in on the deck lid side of the block (previous pic), pour epoxy in and tighten down the bolt and the nut. Tape up the feet so epoxy doesn't run down the feet (my blue tape in the pics) and harden. I waited a couple of days to harden just to be sure.
Once you've marked and drilled holes in deck lid for these inner feet bolts, put the wing on and see how much of the carriage bolt you can cut off while leaving enough thread for the acorn nut. You'll be close to the weatherstripping, that's what the acorn nut is for so you don't rip anything.
Then only glassing in is left. Epoxy, carriage bolt w/nut, and fiberglass will be plenty strong and not move/crack.

Brian

ratfink6923

iTrader: (2)

How did you remove the factory studs from the wing? Did you remove all and epoxy your own, or did you leave the outer two intact? Great work man, inspired me to buy one today.

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

I left the outer ones intact, but they all screw in anyway. Take the others out and you'll see. Take one to the hardware store to match.
Here's a couple of pics since the new paint.