He Guys,

Recently started on doing some body work. I have a '91 Firebird (black) and ever since I had my fbody i'm pondering to remove the ground effects. I removed the fender for spotrepair and removed the Groundeffect that's connected to the bumper. This convinced allmost 80% to remove the ground effects. But as with all the work i have done on my fbody, a good Plan-of-attack is a must. Therefore, reaching out to you guys for info and experience.

Here are my questions

I removed the front ground effect, no holes in the fender, so it's just polishing

1. But how can I fill in the smalls holes at the door side of the fender and all other holes in the door that will appear after I remove the ground effects. I mean, i don't want to do a fullbody repaint. It's a black Fbody. Anybody great tips to get these holes closed?
2. I saw a picture of '92 Fbody where the was metal strip spot welded parallel beneath the door. Does anybody know if that's the case with the '91
3. Are the any more surprises that I can encounter when removing the ground effects?

Any help appreciated

Cheers!

 

From the rear fenders back, its all bolted on and there are welded on supports in the rocker area under the doors. The only way I know how to fill the holes is with a welder, body work and paint..

 

1. [*]

You can weld a strip of metal to the bottom side of the doors and fenders. I think they are 20 or 22 gauge. You would probably need 16 gauge to raise the area without having to use too much filler. With such a broad area you would want to use as little filler as possible. The other area to contend with would be the support for the side GFX just below the doors. You would have to remove the spot welds, grind, sand filler then paint. This would be a bit of work.

You may find rust under the ground effects but beyond that there shouldn't be any surprises. Some may be a pain to remove but no surprises.