Ricing My s13, need YOUR help!

[Repo Man]

Not really ricing, but I am putting a spoiler on my hatch. Reason being is that I had to replace my hatch due to rust and the new, rust-free hatch (thanks Nathan!) has the factory holes for the spoiler. I figured I would just fill them with bondo, but I'm told that it won't hold up by some experts in the field. Welding metal in will warp the hatch, so that's out.

I was going to go with the clean, smooth look but the best solution as it turns out is to put another spoiler over the holes and seal it with silicone so it doesn't rust out again.

So guys, I need your help. I've found a couple of spoilers that I think would be good for this situation

First:

[Repo Man]

Second:

[Repo Man]

They both look like the same piece to me, but are from two different sites. The first one I posted is $169 through Phase2, a NICO sponsor. The second is $180 and is through Jspec.com, a non-NICO sponsor. Obviously I would buy from a sponsor before I bought anywhere else, but the second one looks to be better quality, or I may just be imagining it.

Any thoughts???

[GhostDriver]

Not bad....I like this one however.http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...=WDVWTotally coincidental that bomexs13 just so happens to sell it.

[D1SR240]

I say go kouki

[j-z]

whoever told you that welding the holes will cause the hatch to warp has no clue what they are talking about. doing it is the only correct way to do this.

[Repo Man]

I say go kouki

I like the kouki but it doesn't accomplish covering the holes in the hatch that I need to cover, which is the whole point of spending money on a body mod before I have an SR. If there were no functional purpose to this, I would absolutely NOT be doing it. The purpose in this case is to keep water out of the car and rust out of the hatch.

For those that are not familiar with what I'm doing, I am prepping my recently acquired 240 for an SR swap (or RB) and making sure the chassis will last for quite a while. I'm also autocrossing it this summer. The 225k mile single cam runs like a champ, so I figured I could have fun with the auto-x this summer, prep/restore the chassis and build some power this winter now that I have a garage.

Luis, thanks for the link. I like that piece too.

repo

[Repo Man]

whoever told you that welding the holes will cause the hatch to warp has no clue what they are talking about. doing it is the only correct way to do this.

I think he was saying the metal in the area around the holes, not the hatch itself. This was our body shop manager with over 20 years experience, so I do trust his opinion. Have you seen the finished product of someone who has done this?

[cdlong]

that's how i did it. it did warp the metal a little but i don't know what i'm doing. just weld them up, smooth it all out and bondo the whole area. it works.

but to answer your other question, try a wangan spoiler, it'll cover the whole area and look cool.

[colies97~240sx]

They both look like the same piece to me, but are from two different sites. The first one I posted is $169 through Phase2, a NICO sponsor. The second is $180 and is through Jspec.com, a non-NICO sponsor. Obviously I would buy from a sponsor before I bought anywhere else, but the second one looks to be better quality, or I may just be imagining it.

Any thoughts???

Yay 3 piece! Very clean. I saw the one on jspec.com the other day, that’s what I would get if I had a hatch. Anyway, do you happen to know what material they are made of? That would be the factor I would consider most when deciding between the two.

As far as filling the holes, I can’t help you too much. I did have the third brake light filled on my s14 trunk lid. They used the metal backing, welded it, and then filled it. It turned out fine. However, some of the filler has started to settle/sink a bit and I can see the outline of the hole, not a huge deal, probably just the combination of time and heat over the last few years. I think I'm the only one who can see it. That will probably get fixed when I get rear bumper repaired. Other than I haven’t seen any visible signs of the trunk lid warping but keep in mind I don’t have a hatch. I have no idea how the hatch would react to the heat from welding, I would think it would be fine but I'm not a paint/body expert.

[Repo Man]

Nic, they're both fiberglass, which is fine by me. Side note; Have you gotten a second car yet? I know you were thinking about one and I haven't talked to you in a while.

I think the wangan wing could be cool, but I think it may be too over the top to be by itself, meaning that I think it would be better with the rest of the body kit to complement it.

I'm not much of a wing guy, so whatever I get I want to be low-profile, subtle.

[mmatl16]

I dont know where to find it but.....a friend of mine has that wing in carbon fiber....it looks really good. you should try to find that

[colies97~240sx]

Andy, I called about the g20 and it was already sold, which really works out for the best. Since the 240 will be paid off in three months Im just going to sit tight for a while and concentrate on getting through school and paying tuition. If I play my cards right I will graduate in three semesters. This way I can cut my hours at work and not worry about it too much. By the way we should get a little Indy gathering together sometime soon... I havent seen or really talked to anybody from up there in a while. I missed bud and cliff when they were going through dayton the other weekend.

[Repo Man]

I dont know where to find it but.....a friend of mine has that wing in carbon fiber....it looks really good. you should try to find that

Dude, call your friend and find out! That would be sweet. Let me know where I can find such a piece.

Nic, we should certainly get together again soon. I'm off next weekend, so maybe if you and/or Chris is coming through we could grab a barley soda or two.

[Bandit240]

I dont know who said bondo wouldnt hold up on the hatch. The holes on my 240 were filled about 10 years ago and still looks great.

[BomexS13]

FYI the spoiler on the red hatch and the ones JSPEC and PHase2 sells are the same as mine....literally.

[projectka-t]

I would try allsteel to patch the holes..... its not bondo it will harden like the factory sheet metal sand it down and paint and wha la. i know this product is sold in GA and TN it might be something worth looking into if you cant fine this local let me know and i will ship you some .... i used it on my 55 chevy and wouldnt go back or do it any other way.

[574-240sx]

I say we go to the local high school football field, borrow an aluminum bench. Then, stop by the local home depot and pick up some duct tape and plummers putty and mount it.

[AZhitman]

Andy - My trunk spoiler holes were welded in and are perfect.

There were 14 of them, to hold on one stupid wnig.

[Repo Man]

Andy - My trunk spoiler holes were welded in and are perfect.

There were 14 of them, to hold on one stupid wnig.

What did that piece of body work cost you?

[wild_maxx]

mine were welded also. they look great. cant even tell there were 14 of them. and the cost to me was about 80 bux cause i bought good paint and a clear coat. an older friend of mine did the painting and i did the other work.

[AZhitman]

What did that piece of body work cost you?

$100 in bodywork, and for $300 I got my kit, mirrors and decklid painted.

[Repo Man]

mine were welded also. they look great. cant even tell there were 14 of them. and the cost to me was about 80 bux cause i bought good paint and a clear coat. an older friend of mine did the painting and i did the other work.

Very nice! This may be the way to go. I love the fact that your car is still pigfaced, just like mine.

Greg, it's time for an exhaust as well. I'll email you on that.

I appreciate everyone's input. It's been a big help. I'll get before and after pics and post them when the work gets done. I can only hope that mine turns out as nice as all of yours!

repo

[amolao]

If you can find a real welder or auto body shop, there is no problems welding the holes in the hatch. On mine you cant tell where the holes were. I did put a wangan to complement the JDM look on my car but that another story...HEHEH!!! Patch the holes, good welding, filled and sand, paint...Done.

[GhostDriver]

Patch the holes, good welding, filled and sand, paint...Done.

That's exactly what I had done to mine. It looks great. I would adivise to seal the under side with some kind of rust proof spray.

[j-z]

I think he was saying the metal in the area around the holes, not the hatch itself. This was our body shop manager with over 20 years experience, so I do trust his opinion. Have you seen the finished product of someone who has done this?

how its turns out is all about the amount of skill and knowledge the body tech has. ive done it myself plenty of times on tons of different panels than just a trunklid or hatch and more than just a little hole. every single job turned out perfect because i knew what i was doing thanks to a 1600 hour auto collision rep/ref course. 20 years of experience and scared to weld shut a hole....

as far as filling the holes, I can’t help you too much. I did have the third brake light filled on my s14 trunk lid. They used the metal backing, welded it, and then filled it. It turned out fine. However, some of the filler has started to settle/sink a bit and I can see the outline of the hole, not a huge deal, probably just the combination of time and heat over the last few years. I think I'm the only one who can see it. That will probably get fixed when I get rear bumper repaired. Other than I haven’t seen any visible signs of the trunk lid warping but keep in mind I don’t have a hatch. I have no idea how the hatch would react to the heat from welding, I would think it would be fine but I'm not a paint/body expert.

this happened because of someone not knowing what theyre doing. you cant just fill over sharp edges with any filler because after the metal heats up from the sun and contracts, the filler will leave an impression on your paint from where the direct line of metal was moving and the filler wasnt. if you wouldve welded from the outside and then grind the transition smooth from one piece to the other, you wouldnt have this problem. same principle goes for when people decide itll be alright to just fill little trunk holes with filler.

[Repo Man]

Damn bro, I wish you were a little closer to home! I'm sure the guys at the body shop where I take work will tell me it's no problem.