GT500 replica rear spoiler install...56K WARNING!

[kooldawg6]

I got the spoiler from http://www.atlantaauto.com/ford/mustang/rearspoilers/3d691038p05.html on the advice of DarkFireGT Under $230 prepainted and shipped to my door!!!!!
The wing is near awesome as far as paint match and paint quality. Install time start to finish was about 1 hour and 10 minutes. I had my dad help as we fitted the wing to the car after peeling the adhesive backing. The rest was solo.
Here is my detailed install.

There are 4 bolts holding the factory spoiler on(2 on each side).

Remove the nuts using a 10mm socket.

Once all 4 nuts are removed, remove the spoiler. There is adhesive on each side that has to be "broken". To do so, I used a "credit card". As I slowly pushed up(from the back)the spoiler I took the card and carefully started slicing at the adhesive which cuts fairly easy. It gets a bit tricky the farther under the spoiler you get. I alternated sides working once I reached the first bolt stud, then went back and did from there to the rear of the adhesive. After that...off she came. Be careful as to not damage the trunk lid since the studs are still in the bottom of the spoiler.

Time into project-20 minutes

Now it is time to remove the remaining adhesive on the trunk lid(quite a bit).

I carefully used the card for this as well since the adhesive was still relatively thick and didn't have to worry about paint damage. there will still be a thin layer left behind.

Here is the amount removed in the above step(just from 1 side...not both). Also what adhesive still remains.

To remove the remaining adhesive, I used rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and wet the area. After letting that sit for a few seconds I started rubbing it off using my thumb(tedious work, but works for me). You may have to rewet the area a few times to keep the adhesive pliable(I did). I'm sure there are chemicals specific to adhesive removal, but this seemed the inexspensive and at the time easy route.

The 3 clumps on the upper left is what was removed from this step(once again, just 1 side).

This is where I got using the rubbing alcohol/thumb technique. The rest was removed using a hand glaze. That cleaned the area real well.

Time into project-50 minutes.

For surface prep for the adhesive strips on the bottom of the new spoiler, I used rubbing alcohol and went over the section that needed to be cleaned 10x(used a new cloth every time). It may seem like alot, but it's only a matter of seconds each time. I let the surface dry in between cleanings as well which only took a few seconds.

Time into project-55 minutes.

Now comes the time to test fit the new spoiler. That was amazingly easy! Eyeball it from the top, hold it in place, open the trunk and see that the holes line up. I got pretty darn close the very first time

Here are the parts included and supplies needed to complete the job.

Bottom side of spoiler to show adhesive tape placement. It is the red backing adhesive. It got painted as well, but you can see the rectangle if you look closely(look closer and you can see where I scratched some paint off near the lower left side, revealing the red backing).

Here is 1 of the mounting holes(there is 1 for each side as this spoiler does not use all 4 of the factory holes-it does cover them).

During the test fitting, I used painters tape to mark dead center on both the spoiler and the car(used a raised dot in the center of the thrid brake light for a reference point). This was to make it alot easier during final fitment(this is where dad came into play )so no guess work as to location.

After placing the spoiler in the correct location, I went around the spoiler pressing firmly for about 5 seconds in many places all the way around to get a good bond.

Now it is time to use the 2 screws, washers and pads supplied to firmly attatch the spoiler.

Here is a view as to what it looks like so far. Only the hole closest to the back of the trunklid gets reused.

I removed the backing from the foam pads and placed 1 on each hole per side.

Next, I tightened the screw(applied a bit of silicone caulking in the hole prior to putting in the screw-to keep out water)just until I noticed the pad becoming indented. I stopped to check how tight the screw was. It was still loose. So as a gauge I pressed my fingernail to the washer and if it pressed in(it did), I would give a few turns and check again. I did that until I could no longer move the washer.

Since there is now an open hole on each side of the trunk lid, I used clear silicone caulking to fill the hole. You can see the adhesive strip is over the hole. That made it nice due to the fact I wouldn't need to fill such a deep hole.

Time into project-70 minutes(not including polishing and waxing the spoiler). That took another 15-20 minutes.

Here are the pics

Before

During

After

 

[ScottM]

Very nice write up man! When I installed my GT500 spoiler, the worst part for me was removing the additional adhesive that was left behind. I used my thumbs like you did and just kind of peeled the adhesive up, but I kind of pressed to hard for to long and literally pulled the skin away from my finger (not really, it just pulled to hard) leaving an instant blister! That was worse than a paper cut! One thing I did though was remove the bolts completely from the spoiler while it was still glued down to the trunk, that way, I could use fishing line to seperate them while my wife applied a little upwards pressure.

Again, great write up!

 

[kooldawg6]

Thanks ScottM Both of my thumbs are sore(no blisters)as all get out, but was well worth it. Good idea on taking the studs out first. I thought about the fishing line, but by myself that may have been trickier than the card. Using the card(library-good use for it huh?), it took maybe 5 minutes to seperate the adhesive.

 

[hutcccch]

Very nice keep it up!

 

[DarkFireGT]

Nice write-up. Spoiler looks great! Glad it worked out for you. I didn't get all the adhesive off mine. Enough to bolt her down and not be visable. I'm lazy.

 

[CRoberts91]

beautiful work and great write up. i think im gonna get the ducktail though.

 

[bigcat]

nice write up! i also copied it to the technical write up thread.

 

[kooldawg6]

I didn't get all the adhesive off mine. Enough to bolt her down and not be visable. I'm lazy.

Well, I had plenty-o-time to get it clean...I saw that it was out for delivery at 6:32 am yesterday morning from UPS. I got started around 9:30am. I had someplace to go at 7pm. Guess when it arrived...I drove past the UPS truck in the next neighborhood over from mine Over 12 hours on a truck that was in the area??? Oh well, I had an empty schedule today. Tomorrows tasks...change the oil/filter and install my CDC hood struts that came today

 

[gashog]

looks great! i eventually want to throw one of those on my ride. definitely a good look. Great write up kooldawg.

 

[ScottM]

Thanks ScottM Both of my thumbs are sore(no blisters)as all get out, but was well worth it. Good idea on taking the studs out first. I thought about the fishing line, but by myself that may have been trickier than the card. Using the card(library-good use for it huh?), it took maybe 5 minutes to seperate the adhesive.

I didn't think about that, that probably would have been tougher with fishing line to do by yourself. Awesome use of the library card though! Speaking of, I can't remember the last time I've seen the inside of one (I know, it's sad)!

 

[NotQuik]

nicely done, and spoiler looks great.....really makes me want one more and I think you made up my mind with what I wanted.

 

[wotfr]

Nice, though I was kinda wishing you would have used a real credit card so I could get me one to.
I think it would go nicely w/ my Cervinis 500 Chin Spoiler.

 

[LV51FER]

Perfect timing as I have one coming from The Spoiler Store on ebay which has had some very positive reviews and is only $150 for a painted version. Even paying $160 shipping to the UK, it's still amazingly cheap. It's due here next week.

Has anyone used a hairdryer on the adhesive to soften it?

 

[69mach1-409]

Nice!

 

[SlideWRX]

I got the spoiler from http://www.atlantaauto.com/ford/mustang/rearspoilers/3d691038p05.html on the advice of DarkFireGT Under $230 prepainted and shipped to my door!!!!!

So this wasn't one of the copies that has extra screws? I looked on ebay previously and didn't find any that clarified they didn't have extra screws. I noticed the OEM uses both holes. DarkFire, how long has yours been on? Thanks!

Tom

 

[LV51FER]

I don't think any of the replicas have extra screws, they use the original holes just like the OEM version. It's only the spoilers that have extra end pieces separate from the main spolier that usually have extra screws such as the Roush and Cervini.

 

[kooldawg6]

nicely done, and spoiler looks great.....really makes me want one more and I think you made up my mind with what I wanted.

Thanks! Seeing it on DarkFireGT's car just over a week ago got me thinking and when I saw the price and how he was satisfied with it, it only took me a few hours to go ahead and order it myself

 

[kooldawg6]

Has anyone used a hairdryer on the adhesive to soften it?

It should work, especialy if your weather is cooler(it was in the 80s those days here). The reason I don't use it is more time gtting the hair dryer and dragging the extension cord out as well... It only took a matter of 5 minutes to seperate the spoiler from the trunk lid. It was the other 20+ minutes getting the leftover off of the trunk lid.

 

[DarkFireGT]

Perfect timing as I have one coming from The Spoiler Store on ebay which has had some very positive reviews and is only $150 for a painted version. Even paying $160 shipping to the UK, it's still amazingly cheap. It's due here next week.

Has anyone used a hairdryer on the adhesive to soften it?

I tried a heatgun. That made it worse. That's probably why I never got all of it off. It just made it soft and stickier.

So this wasn't one of the copies that has extra screws? I looked on ebay previously and didn't find any that clarified they didn't have extra screws. I noticed the OEM uses both holes. DarkFire, how long has yours been on? Thanks!

Tom

The spoiler has two holes near the very end of the trunk. You can drill your trunk and use those for extra stability if you want. I didn't see the need for it. I've had mine just over a month now, holding fine. Plenty of rain and heat and carwashes, too.

 

[LBJay]

I noticed the OEM uses both holes.

The factory 500 spoiler and the aftermarket ones are built totally different. The factory 500 has a piece of metal that runs the length of the base to keep it from warping. That's why they can use only the 4 factory holes.

The aftermarket ones seem to only have metal at the holes. Some of the early ones had problems with warping and lifted at the ends, so additional screw mounts were added on the ends to prevent it.