My right front fender bows out just a bit. It's been that way since I have owned it, but I have done nothing to fix it. I could use a little advise before I start hacking away....

 

where does it bow out?

Has the car every been in a wreck or has the nose ever been repainted?

These questions are important before you go hacking away!

There is a possibility that the frame could be out of whack on one side?

There is the possibility someone went to lift the car by the wheel opening to get a jack under the car?

Need more info!

 

I believe someone jacked up the car in the wrong spot. There is a hole underneath the car right about where the rs badge is but under the car. As if a bottle jack was used.

 

I have the same problem so i am going to watch for an answer lol

 

was yours from somebody jacking the car in the wrong place?

 

I think so, the flange on the bottom is bent.. and there is a gap by the door and the fender is sticking out a bit.

I'll go ahead and screw with it tomorrow and tell you how it goes. My bird is one big experiment anyway.

 

I need to take the ground effect off I believe, to fix it. Something I dread doing.

 

I have had a similar problem. Only mine was jacked improperly on both sides and had both front fenders coming out a bit. I used a piece of wood and a hammer to hammer the flange under neath where the fender attaches back into its proper position. That fixed the problem. On the passenger side it was much worse, since the flange was completely bent. I had to use a large screw driver to straighten it out some, then used the wood and hammer to straighten it out. On the driver side now my fender lines up perfectly. On the passenger side it is still sticking out a little since the flange is still a little messed up and needs to be straightened out. I plan on removing the fender when I get around to repainting my car and at that time fixing the problem permanently.

 

I had the same problem with my passenger side, it had been bottomed out a few times and bent the whole bracket for the fender and bowed the fender out. Since for me the bracked was wrecked, I cut it off and made a new one. I will see if I can get some pictures later on. It was also easy for me because I got whole new front fenders anyway.

 

Did you have to remove the ground effects?

 

No mines a sport coupe, it had no ground affects, although if you can get the car up on ramps you may not have to take the ground effects off. I'm not positive as I've never really taken a close look at the ground effects on the camaros.

 

I'll do this. I made my own ramps out of 2x8's that graduate up so I don't hit the front or rear valances. I can do just about anything I need to do with these except rotate tires lol

 

Wow if its as easy as straightening out the flange im in luck lol

 

Passenger side of mine was all messed up by someone jacking it up in the wrong spot. The bracket had split in two and was bent up. Straightened it out and welded it back together plus beat the crap out of the area to get it so so again.

 

you take the ground effects off by taking the emblem off thats on the front of the ground effect, behind that will be 2 phillips head screws. Nextly you'll need to take out the 6x9 speaker and look down in the hole, there should be 2 10mm nuts. Once you have that done then there should be a row of phillip head screws that connect the ground effect to the rocker panel. After that they should just pop rite off.

 

I need to take the rs emblem off?

 

I just take a pair of vice grips and bend the flange back down, that usually fixes it. Channel locks will work also. Once you get the flange back down a hammer and 2x4 will complete the job.

 

i have the same problem on mine too. i want to thank you for starting and contributing to this thread.
some darn fool did not pay attention and moved the jack and did the same thing. i cuss that fool every day as he looks at me in the mirror as i shave him.
so that is why i cant get the ground effects off - i have to take off the rs sticker?
good to know.

 

It takes a big man to admit his mistakes. It wasn't me that bowed out the fender, but I will admit I lost a t top once to the middle of a lonely road. I thought it was my window whistling, but all the sudden I saw sky through my passenger window and the t top was a hundred yards behind me. I bought one for get this... 20 dollars! and quietly replaced it. Glad there wasn't a car load of nuns behind me or something.

 

i lost my hood once lol came clear off the rear hinges.. stupid me forgot to lock the hood pins

 

Yeah, well I forgot to latch the t top. If it killed someone, I could have had to do time for it. "what ya in for? not latching my t top down"

 

This is exactly what i did on my car. Straightened where it connects to the body. Thats all you can do basically to fix it.

Also you dont need to take off the Rs emblem to get the Gfx off. atleast not on both sides of my car.

 

i had to on mine. i will post pics when i am done. there are two screws behind the plate and the gfx dont come off unless i take them off, and i tried.

the have two plastic pins that go into the car and are held on with a really good double sided tape.

if you take yours off be very careful you dont break it.

i will post pics of everything.

good luck to all of you.

 

ok i have a problem.
i got the top ones off
i got the bottom ones off
i got the two under the rs sticker off
but the rear will not pull off.
i looked and it appears there is some kind of brace there - but i cant see enough to ID it.
anyone know how to move that last part to take it off?

tony

 

If it's the same as mine, you'll have to slide the ground fx forwards or backwards to slip it off some big "washers" that clip in. Make sure your door is closed and the other ground fx is off of the door.

 

thanks
going to try it now

 

ok i tried and while i can get it to move some i cant get it to slide off. is it metal to metal down there? if it is i will use some lube on it and maybe it will break free.
for now i need to do some real work again.

 

did you remove the nut that holds the back part of the gfx from the inside of the car? there is one under the plastic armrests in the backseat area.

 

damn i keep being first on the idiot rating. no i did not do that but i will right now.
thanks.

tony

 

well i tried and i was all over that thing and no bolt. not on the bottom. not on the side. not on the inside. here is what i found after i took off the insides and the seats.

 

There is a nut inside th speaker opening. Remove the speaker and any baffle, reach into the bottom and feel the speed nut.

 

so now i have to undo the speakers - take them out and see if i can reach down 2 feet to get to the bottom of the inside where a nut is?
let me ask - is the pictures i gave you where the nut is supposed to be, because that is bare metal there. the first pic is without any padding. and there sure is not a speaker there. the speaker is up at the top by the seatbelt.
got a pic to show me cause i am not seeing it.

 

ok found it. do they really put a speaker down there? its about 3 inches by 2.5. hell my exhaust internal diameter is bigger than that.
thought you were playing me - like meet me a 9 on the 9th green stuff.
but you were playing it true.
anyone know where i can get that sticky stuff - after 20 years it is still pliable.
in the picture it is the little black square. no adult can put his hand in there. you need a long 7/16 socker - short ones will not clear the pin that sticks up in the middle.
this deserves a write up with pictures - will do it when project is done.
actually had to take out the seat to get the panel out and has to undo the retainer above it at the door to do that.
what a pain.
actually it looks kind of good withot it.
has a sort of nice roundish look to it fore and aft.
thanks for the help now to actually take time to fix what is broken.

 

Well, I am watching this thread carefully. I tried to take my ground effect off last fall, and couldn't get it.

 

SCOTTMOYER was right on. behind that little black piece in my pic is a deep hole with a nut over a piece of plastic. at first i doubted but now i am a believer. can we get an amen brothers?
once i got the rs off i was able to reach the 2 hidden nuts and there are x screws on top and 6 or 7 mm bolts on the bottom.

thank you again SCOTT!

 

You didn't need to tear the car apart to get at that nut. The speaker I was referring to is the rear sail panel 6x9 speaker opening. If you have the Bose, the speaker won't be there and is even easier to access. If there is a 6x9 speaker, you have to remove the speaker and dependant on the year, there may be an insulation piece. To get the insulation out of the way, you ned to loosen the plastics surrounding the area. Removing the seat may be easier, but if there is an access opening down there. I used a small ratchet, stuck my arm down the speaker opening and ratcheted away.

 

see you are in an 87 and im in a 90. the pic that shows the little black square is where i had to get into to reach the darn nut. there is no speaker there for me. the plastic is a single piece that has to be unscrewed from the top of the door and the rear by the shock but lower. that is the only way to reach it. my speakers are about 2 feet above that black square and the speaker is in an area that not even a 5 year old could get to.
the way it got to it still had me using about 6 inches of extension to just get over the darn nut.
and mine did not have the bose system, it was a stock rs 305. but if it was not for you i would not have known that somewhere down there a nut existed.
maybe i will post a pick if i can the the phone to shoot in that dark area.

the first pic is of the panel where the hole is located. the only way to get that panel off is to take the seat off.
the next pic is the small hole where the nut was located. there is a screwdriver with a socket on it - that is what i used.
and the last photo showed the length of that screw driver - 12 inches - to get the darn little screw out.

i have pulled that out so many times - if there was any way to do it without doing it i would be on it like flies on honey. there just isn't a way to do it on this one, maybe others.

 

I have the same nut in the same place on my 86 and my 87. I just pull off that little rubber insulation piece on the bottom and it's right there, well way in there.

 

now i have to figure out how the heck to fix the bow. it appears to be under the car and not just the gfx. so more research but i will get under there tonight and make the bow go away. or so he says.

 

evil - did you have to take the internal mud flaps off from inside of the wheel well?
i have everything off and while i can fix the gfx i am having a problem making the fender line up.
maybe i will have to wait until i take everything out to repaint baby.
what is your advice?