i have a 1986 trans am with 222,000 miles on it and its in needs of some repair. the rear wrap around foam spoiler is very deteriorated, and one of my buddies suggested fiberglassing over the spoiler and molding it into the rear hatch. im not very experienced with car body work, but i thought now might be a good learning opportunity, not to mention my cars white and it would look better if the spoiler was painted the same color as the car.

would the best option be to remove the glass from the back metal part of the hatch and mold the spoiler to the metal section? id have to do something about securing it back to the glass, all the clips are in pretty terrible shape.

im not sure what kind of prep would be needed in order to prevent cracking or how hard its going to be to make straight, so any and all advice is welcome, was just looking for other options than dropping $400 on a new one.

 

Before you go and spend a lot of money and time on your project,we are having a group sale on brand new fiber glass wrap around spoilers,check it out in the bodt thread.We need a couple more members to commite to get the discount.

 

I felt like this thread deserves a bump... I'm just looking for advice as to the best course of action, I'm not really in a rush

 

unless you can clean and prep the metal frame that's inside the orig wing your going to keep having the same issue of it splitting and such. mine lived in a garage for the past 8 years and the part that mounts to the deck separated from the wing and I knew it was time to purchase a glass replacement.

 

In the long run,you'll save a lot of time and money.

 

Thats depressing... Here in Wisconsin its nearly impossible to find a used one in nice shape and new costs a boat load. I might end up going with the older style straight across spoiler. Those are dirt cheap and don't really go bad.

 

you will need the whole hatch or swap just the deck panel unless you are good at drilling the holes where the wing will be straight but it is an option.

 

Does't matter where you live,your not going to find an original wrap around spoiler in good shape,unless it's it's been inside for 25 yrs.

 

My understanding is that the metal spoiler frame rusts and pushes out on the rubber causing cracks. I always wondered if southern cars didn't have this problem... i guess they do.

Its a shame, the wrap around spoilers look so much better in my opinion.

 

that's exactly what happens. when I got my FORMULA the wing looked good from the front and sides but had 2 splits on the pas side and 1 on the dr side at the back. it was my daily for the first few years and would reside outside and then I go my S-10 and the FORMULA sat with a light weight car cover outside.

when we moved the car has stayed in the garage for the past 8 years and developed a crack on the top of the wing and started to get a bit distorted. if GM protected the metal I think the wings would live a little longer. my car is a southern car and yup, its bad down here as well.

this was one of the best big purchases iv made for my car. nothing like hitting the hatch popper and the hatch raises on its own.

 

Put a '97 wing on mine. No regrets. Saved 20lbs. probably.

 

I do love 4th gen wing but I thought the centerposts weren't long enough to touch the hatch? Am I wrong..? It looks like yours sits on there nicely.

 

I thought the centerposts weren't long enough to touch the hatch? YES
It looks like yours sits on there nicely. YES

In these two threads I show how it's done.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...ody-paint.html
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...n-wing-my.html

 

WOW that is nice paint job you had done there. I might attempt the 4th gen spoiler over the winter, it looks doable. Thanks for the link Does anyone know how much those spoilers are sold for?