84 rubber spoiler

[norton]

Hi all,
I'm about to start on the bodywork on my 84 spider,the rubber spoiler is in poor condition,does anyone have a source for these or any info on fibreglass replacements,[ understand that it might not be a good idea to do away with it altogether ( is that even possible ?) .Any suggestions ?
thanks.

(No one calls from Vegas just to say "Hello".....)

[dwc]

Hi Norton:

Bruce's Parts Bin sells a repro to replace the earlier type rear spoiler w/o the third brake light. He sent a pic in an email newsletter a few months ago, and it looks like fiberglass, which is likely an improvement. I don't recall the cost.

bruces@fiatparts.com

Regards,

Dean
Lutz, FL
'74 & '87 Spider Veloce's

[mwilkie]

I have been looking for my 1983 Spider and Bruce's seem to have a more original looking piece for sale. You can put the badges on the back like it came with. They also have a Zender fiberglass piece that is much smaller, with noroom for the badges. Some of the other parts places have the 85 and older model, with the second brake. Price at Bruce's, acoording to the website is $325. Let us know if you get one, I would like to know how it looks.
Marc
1983 Spider

[Davy13]

I have often wondered if it would be feasable to coat one of the foam spoilers with fiberglass, then later have it sanded to perfection. The spoiler on my '83 is structurally fine, it just looks kinda crappy. Actually, if I could just paint it, I would probably be happy with the result... Perhaps a couple cans of bumper paint, or maybe a flex additive added to a generic black. Has anyone ever attempted such a thing?

[WopJob]

If the spoiler has turned gray but is structurally sound, you can use "BACK TO BLACK' to restore the blackness of it. I had a 86 spider bought new in 85, hence it had a foam spoiler like yours. The spoiler kept turning gray after a coiple of months, back then I used "black Chrome" with excellent results. I now have an 87 with the new solid plastic spoiler with the light in the middle. Black chrome is no longer available so I use back to black, it's not a paint.

I often wondered is we could remove the spoilers and have the spiders look like S2 types.

TonyG.
Pequannock NJ.

[mwilkie]

I looked at the lights on my 83 and I think there would be a gap where the side marker light raps around. The side spoilers come down and cover these up. So if they were left off it would look like you were missing something. I like the look of the Zender, check out his picture, looks like it is on a later 3 series, it realy cleans up the back end. I know it is not original, but the new ones areout of a hard plastic, so the originality is already lost.
Just my opion, but painted body color is nice.

Marc
1983 Spider

[Davy13]

I just went on that Carshine web site... The price for that spoiler is $197 AUD, which converts to $137 U.S. -- A pretty fair price for what seems to me to be a great looking spoiler. If I were to get it, I think that it would look just fine painted black... I would then be able to keep the stock bumper coloring, too... I think the spoiler in the picture actually looks better than stock, and the price is certainly more reasonable than a new Alfa piece (nearly $300 U.S. from what I've seen)... Thanks for the tip, Tony, on the back to black... I had always thought that was just a glorified Armorall, which only seems to work on my spoiler for about a week...

-Dave.

[bill_bain]

You could remove and paint it with SEM flexible bumper paint spray cans. They have a semi-gloss that just about matches the black on the bumpers.

I've not been impressed with Back to Black. It may be OK for keeping a black part looking new but the effect on old faded parts is short-lived in my experience. On the other had, I removed the black trim from my 83 about 5 years ago, prepped it like the body shop told me to and painted the black parts with the SEM paint (inc. mirror frames, cowl louvers) and the bumpers black and silver, like the original. The mirror frames have scuffed a bit but most of it still looks pretty good.

[desert spider]

I just went to the Carshine website and then exchanged e-mails with the company. The spoiler is made out of a material which he called PU RIM which can be painted to which he recommends adding a flexible additive. I asked him what else PU RIM may be called but he didn't have an answer. He did say that this spoiler is not bolted, but is glued or bonded to the deck lid and sides. That does not sound like a rigid fiberglass piece to me. Has anyone used one of these spoilers? Just as a clue, it is shown on a page with several Zender made parts, so it may well be one of theirs. Comments anyone?

Jim

[Gubi]

Well, PU is polyurethane. Doing a search I found that RIM = "reaction in molding". So basically it sounds they charge it to the mold as a liquid and then polymerize it to rubber in place.

Polyurethane is generally a rubbery/foamy type stuff so probably it's not going to be as rigid as fiberglass (though it comes in a wide range of densities so, hell, maybe it could be). The fact that they're telling you to use a flexible additive to the paint also suggests that it's going to "give" a bit if you lean on it. I would definitely do my homework on how soft the material is and *exactly* what type of paint to use before I decided to paint something like that.

[Davy13]

If I read the carshine web site correctly, Zender is no longer making these parts for the Alfa spider (early models, that is), so they will sell these spoilers until they are gone, then that is it...

-Dave.

[desert spider]

Has anyone installed this particular spoiler, and if so, is it reasonably rigid and does it take paint well?
Desert Spider

[twistyeyes]

I would like the whole back end of my spider to look like that (picture from car shine)bumper, spoiler, and the lower panels. Does anybody know where to pick that whole setup at. It also looks like the fender flare extends all the way to the end of the car. I dont think i ever noticed this from my 85 or a later model. Any help would be appreciated