PLease Post pics of a few new or almost new air dams. I have a piece on the bottom of the radiator that curves back toward the rear of the car. Is that the dam? Thanks

 

bump

 

85TPITransAM,

I would consider this the air dam on my Z28.

Chet

 

ya i dont have one of those lol thats probally why my car is over hearting correct??

 

i took it of because i bottomed out on everything with it on..

 

I don't even drive mine and it looks like it has been hit.

Chet

 

could that be the reason for my car over heating??? for not having it?

 

I would have to say yes---- comparing it to myself. When I don't have my teeth in I don't eat.

Chet:sillylol:

 

haha yup i dont like it bottoming out though i took off my front ground effects also because of this im guess my spirngs/shocks are going out. late reply ive been staring at your iroc for the past hour bad *** car!!

 

I didn't know there were more of us old guys in here, I thought I was one of the few. Still have my teeth though

 

Try getting a little creative with it rather than taking it out. I worked on mine, carefully, and actually got it to bend toward the front of the car about 30 degrees. It gave me a little extra clearance, and forces more air up. My car ran about 5-10 degrees cooler. Of course, in Kansas, we have enough wind that even city traffic lets you move air.

 

more so on the highway then city traffic, if you are overheating at stop lights i might look somewhere else for the cause.. but if u are overheating on the highway or while driving then yup thats most likely the cause...

 

Did all 3rd gens have the air dam? I don't have one on my '89 305 RS, (didn't know they existed 'till now). Have a manual fan switch anyway, but don't get any issues running on the open road.

Hey is nearly June and we had a high temp of nearly 70 today in the UK. better get the sun block ready!!

 

Yes, it should have one.

Chet

 

Hey Chet, did you replace those hatch supports yet? And I noticed in one of your past pics, you have the hood held open with a bar, front ones bad too?

 

I have replaced nothing and yes the front are bad too. All four have lost there charge and they were hardly ever used. I guess if I show the car I am not sure whether to leave the bad ones on since they are original or replace them.

Gas Spring Company ---- Colmar, PA

Heres a picture of the supports. I don't know who makes them now.

Chet

 

This may be getting off topic a bit, but I found both front and rear lifts at PepBoys, AdvanceAuto, and AutoZone, so it would seem like just about any auto parts store. Expect to pay about 15-20 each for the front and 30-35 each for the rear.
But back on topic for this thread, I am looking for that piece for my car also. When I look for 'air dam' I keep finding the front spoiler looking piece that goes under the front bumper, and not the one under the radiator.
Any help here would be appreciated. TIA

 

thats cheap for the lifts.. i'll have to check that out.

 

here is a pic of an air dam

 

Hey I just noticed the new cooling board.

There's actually two parts for the air-dam. I can't show you since my car doesn't have them.

 

Flamingo, your right....you can find replacements just about anywhere.....but I am not sure if you know so much about raptoryfm660r's car. Its has 2,XXX miles on it, and he's the original owner. Everything on the car is exactly the way it was if you were to go buy when it was new. Considering all of that, I am not so sure what I would do in his situation either. Leave it exactly the way it is....or change them. I guess IF i where to change them I would buy exactly the same ones....but, I definately not the right one ask about starting to replace parts on the car.

ME, I kinda like the fact that they're shot because they are the original ones...I think it ads to the nestalgia of the car....even if I did see it at a car show...I would be like, "thats unbelievable". 'Cause it is. Its like looking at a real life picture ya know.

 

Sorry about being off topic.

I think what I am going to do is if I ever start showing the car and the hatch and the hood need to be in the up position I will purchase a set of lifts at the local parts store.

I will keep the:hail: old struts and display them in a strutting way and will tell of their failure with little use.

Until then the broom handle works pretty good.

Chet

 

Broom handles are good for a lot of things. Your idea was basically what I was going to mention, but you beat me to it.
I saw your license plates and had to do a double take; I recognized the county 82.

 

Seems like we all have broom handles or something. since I live up north, ice scraper it is lol. the front ones are usually easy to find, the rear ones I'm too cheap to get and I spend more time in the front than the rear anyways. Also when its hot, the rear works! On to the air dam... yes get one, put it in. Without it you're gonna overheat. My rad exploded (bad cap, stock rad) when I had mine out for a day while waiting for a replacement. For ground clearance issues, Get some L brackets from home depot or any store that sells similar household items with some extra nuts and bolts You can bend the brackets to ge the desired angle for good clearance for your air dam. Its actually good to do it anyways since by altering the angle so the dam points through the front it makes it more of a scoop than a deflector. When in line with the rad, the dam flexes back and air slips below the dam rather than goes up into the rad. By tilting it by even 10 degrees, it can increase highway cooling greatly. Now for t/a's and firebirds, its an air dam. For camaro's its an air deflector. Good luck getting a replacement, i'd get one new though. Deflectors have a tendancy to scrape the ground for the low profile uninitiated so odds are they're weak and or cracked.

 

I got a new air dam off Ebay. Some guy there musta bought an entire warehouse full of 'em because he's always got one or two on there. Do a search on Ebay for the seller named "raformula" - he has one up now at $30. I did a "buy it now" deal and got mine for around $50 or so from him. I needed one bad, so I payed extra and got it right away.
Here's what mine look like:

From what I can tell, the Camaros don't use the outer two pieces, just the center section.
Rob

 

I suppose the TA ones might run a little more because of the extra pieces, but you can pick up the Camaro ones for $25 brand new. On the cooling board, somebody even gave the part number.

 

just got one today for 31 dollars from the chevy dealership!!

 

On the struts subject. I found fronts for 14.99 each and 19.99 each for the backs. And on top of that they have a lifetime warranty. They said if they quit bring them in and get a new set. I replaced all four. Place to go NAPA!
:lala:

 

1987fbd,

Thanks for the information. Lifetime warranty would be a good thing for my car. I figure it has many more years stuck with me.

Chet

 

Picked up the new pieces this week. $25 for the lower deflecter shown in everyone's pictures, and $37 for the upper deflecter. The parts guy couldn't get me the hardware though. Since my car didn't have an air-dam I don't have any bolts for it. Unless someone is feeling kind enough to tell me what size/thread bolt these take, I'll have to go to the hardware store and play the guessing game.

 

I saw an extended air dam on the board somewhere to go below his/her intercooler. Anyone recall who's car? I would like to replace mine with a lower one.

 

Yeah, my '86 car has the "rounded" one. It's straight in the front, then "curves back" at the sides, under the fenders. In fact, it completely blocks off the bottoms of the fenders.

A guy I knew had a '91 Formula- and his air dam was missing; the dealer put the "one center piece" on. Is it a "year" thing, or did that dealer give him an air dam for a Camaro?

 

I know the air dam is a cheap part (under $20), but the shipping (and waiting) to the UK would make it near $$80!. The junkyards for US cars are few and far between, so I made my own, what do you think?

 

Can you find GoodYear industrial rubber products in the good old UK? Makes a great air dam that actually provides ground effects instead of decoration:

 

I know it's shiney, but it does have some (a little) effect other than being decorative. Is that air dam you have flexible enough to withstand road humps etc. I'd never be able to run one that low in the UK.

edit. OK, Ok, it is mostly decorative, I have a manual fan switch that does me just fine if I need it.

I think you bring back your avatar, doesn't seem quite the same.:hail: :hail:

 

Where do you get a Manual Transmissions for a third gen Firebird? I didn't know they made them. I have an 86 Firebird but its automatic. I'm not sure what type mine is but the speedometer goes up to 140 mph. I think its just the 5.0L but i'm not sure.

 

the dam on my camaro is split in the middle so its a two piece lol, should i replace it? im not sure on how these work or what their purpose is

 

Why are you asking about a transmission, in an air dam thread?

 

wow, this thread is old!

 

so does an air dam make a real big difference because i have a 1982 belinetta that had all the openings in the front bumper than swapped it with the 1988 iroc z bumper and it dont have an air dam. the temp. has increased major. its went from 160 to 170 with the old bumper to 220 225 with the new. and everything else works the water pump a new fan and no leaks. i just dont see how an air damn would make that much of a diff.

 

It makes ALL the difference. Despite the opening in the nose, 99% of the air for the radiator, is caught by the air dam & fed through the radiator.

No air dam=overheating.

 

I'm really starting to believe this is true. I just put my new one on but can't put the side pieces because the gfx were cut-off on the bottoms and they have no place to be hung. I have to fabricate something if I want them to be one solid piece.

 

I just bought a brand new air dam from chevy parts. It had about an inch of dust on it. I haven't put it on yet but it was 39$ on thursday last week and they said there were 2 more in the country in stock. Mine is cracked and on the highway I notice above 2500rpms my temp will just slightly increase. Im hoping this will fix the problem but certainly it will add aesthetical value for cheap money. I'm told this can increase milelage and power highway by the parts guy for sure, and is a major must have part for these cars.

 

We have had 5 third Gen Camaro’s between myself and my sons, and yes with out the air dam you will get very hot, my oldest son, fried 2 motors before we figured it out. if your car is lowered at all it really f ---- fowls things up (air flow) worse. If the car can’t get enough fresh air in, the fan will pull air forward from behind the radiator, and back through the radiator via under the radiator. Can you see where this is going? It will cascade until you are f ----- fowled up. On my "newest acquisition" a 1988 convertible the air dam is missing, and I am going to try to fabricate one, if it is successful I’ll post pictures and instructions.

 

well lets see those pics???

 

sorry I forgot to post the link here it is
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinbender59/sets/

I have about 50 feet of this belting if anybody would like some, probably shipping and $10 for my trouble, it is 3/8 thick X 18inch to begin with I cut mine to 6" x 48" went a little wider than stock. PM me with info if interisted.

 

did you notice an improvement from it ??? it realy doesnt look all that bad

 

oh ya an imediat 30 to 40 degree drop ad I can now let it set and idle. the temp never gets over the thermostat rating. However it does drag a little in dips.

 

I have a 1989 Camaro. This air dam hits on everything, and it is behind the radiator, so I'm taking mine off so I can access my front end alignment parts more easily. I find no use for this part. Radiator air is not effected by it.

 

What about the other dam? The one that's a foot behind the radiator?