New 3rd gen owner. I just purchased a 91 Firebird convertible with a semi sloppy paint job. I have to do floor pans and some quarter panel repair in future. The rear deck lid wing was loose and I pulled it off to fix it. They did not paint under it and probably did not paint under ground xfs. I am going to get it more mechanically sound, get it echecked and drive it as is for the summer.

Questions:

Since I'm pretty sure ground xfs were not removed for paint can or should I remove them easily to inspect the car further?

Is there any two way tape involved in there attachment?

I do see some attachment screws underneith is that the major holding power for it or is there some hidden hardware?

It seems that some have some dirt and leaves inside, should I do it now or later?


Thanks for any help in advance.

 

The only ones that are on with double sided tape are the front fender ones.

The rocker is held on by 2 nuts in the front on the inside of the fender. Best way to get to them is through the fender well. The rear of it just slides up and out

The door gfx you'll have to take your door panel off. The bolts are inside the door.

The rear i'm sure is just nuts, i've never taken mine off.

As to whether you do it now or later is up to you.

 

I have a 91 Trans Am convertible that I'm working on now and I had to remove all of my ground effects. Yes I would strongly recommend removing them if you're gonna paint it the right way. I found a little rust hole on mine in the rocker under the door hidden by the gfx but its no big deal. They're a little tricky but Charcoal got it pretty good.

If I remember correctly, the little sections in the back between the rear wheels and bumpers are held by 3 bolts each that you have to remove by taking out the panels in your truck and reaching down near the bottom. That plus a few screws on the outside.

AND if you're gonna remove the little sections that are between the front wheel wells and bumper, BE CAREFUL! Those are taped onto the fenders near the top. I learned this the hard way and cracked mine (glued em back together) while removing them and they are almost impossible to find... let alone at a decent price. So get a putty knife and gently pry them off.

Good luck!

 

Thanks a bunch. I'm going to hold off on door panels for now. I have to put new lock cylinders in and find some electrical (door lock switches) items. Plus I wanted to do the derattling and some sound deadening.

The car looks alright with it's paint job for now so I'm probably making any body stuff a winter job. Plus I only have 6 miles on it with the top down (rainy day drive) and too cold right now. Maybe tonight.

Three questions:

When you pulled yours off was there a bunch of cr*p in there? My guess maybe behind the wheels. Mine I think was sitting with a bad top on it for awhile.

Second, when you wash the car since there is no sealer on the top of the ground xf does the water run down between the sheet metal and the xf and sit there?

Third, I got online and found door sweeps or felt cheap from a northern tool or something like that (I can't remember) for $15. Are you guys familiar with any of the aftermarket weatherstripping stuff. It seems like I only need outers.

Thanks again.

 

Oh yeah there was a lot of garbage in mine, especially the little sections in the back. There was a little in the rocker panel gfx as well. Oh and if you're gonna remove your gfx, you might as well remove your plastic inner fenders and check the inside of the fenders since mine had about 3 inches of crud built up in the bottom of the fender by the door.