The front fascia on my '87 coupe has a bad sag in the middle. It's where the metal bracket is supposed to attach the center of the fascia to the space frame. The bracket and the flange it's supposed to attach to were long gone when I got the car.
In this photo, the sagging part is where the clamps are attached.
I'm thinking about cutting some aluminum plate and using fiberglass to attach it to the inside of the fascia to straighten out the sag.
The front fascia on my '87 coupe has a bad sag in the middle. It's where the metal bracket is supposed to attach the center of the fascia to the space frame. The bracket and the flange it's supposed to attach to were long gone when I got the car.
That's the same nose as on my (and everyone else's) '88 Formula. I forget exactly what the factory bracket looks like that's missing on your car, but why not simply fabricate one up. It just needs some support in the middle. Or is that what you're doing?
I converted my 85 SE V6 to a 87-88 base nose like that...I did not have the center bracket, so I took some aluminum flat stock (1/8" thick) and bent it so I could bolt it to the bumper and down at the center of the fascia....
The one I built went up inside the center piece...there was room for only one- but it is strong......I may try to get in there and take a pic- But I am not disassembling it.....
I should have specified. I've obtained two replacement brackets, one from a member here and one from a salvage yard car. The tab on the space frame is missing on my car, so I'll weld on a replacement.
The problem is, my fascia has sagged so much I don't think the bracket will be enough to straighten it out. The bend is worst right where the clamps are attached in my photo, so I need something solid to hold the material flat.
In the next few days I'll try to post a photo or two without the clamps so you can see the problem.
Do you have all the rest of the metalwork (associated with the air dam) to put back on the underside of the nose? If so, I think you'll find that installing that supportive center metal bracket will be more than enough to take the sag out of the nose. If you don't have that metalwork, you need it.
I fixed my sagging in a different manner. I used the broken GT fascia and cut out a section of it slightly smaller than the entire width of the mouth opening. A strip of fascia. This section was bonded to the underside of the nose just below the license plate in the picture. I removed the center spire that the GT nose has in the middle which was the area where my plate is mounted. It sagged badly and bonding another piece of the nose to the underside helped a lot.
In the pic it looks slightly sagged, but it is not. It has been like this for five or so years.
Yes, the plate is readable from a Police cruiser. It has been tested, and Seattle approved.
I used NAPA Flex Bumper Repair Kit No. 765-1540. I let it harden to directions before use.
[This message has been edited by Tony Kania (edited 10-19-2017).]
Do you have all the rest of the metalwork (associated with the air dam) to put back on the underside of the nose? If so, I think you'll find that installing that supportive center metal bracket will be more than enough to take the sag out of the nose. If you don't have that metalwork, you need it.
Thanks to this car, I finally do have all of the hardware that was missing.
I don't think installing the missing bracket will fix the problem. My fascia has a 90-degree bend in it right where I've placed the clamps, almost like the car sat with the fascia squished against a wall or something. I'll post photos this weekend of what it looks like without the clamps.
[This message has been edited by Quad Raider (edited 10-20-2017).]
Finally got some time with the car today. After sitting for a week with a piece of wood clamped to the sagging part, it looked much better.
I cut a piece of aluminum to attach to the top of the sag. Not sure how I'll attach it, fiberglass or panel cement.
As I mentioned, my car was missing the small bracket that holds the center of the fascia to the space frame. It's also missing the flange on the space frame to which the bracket attaches.
I think the previous owner either hit something with the car, or it was damaged when she had a friend tow it when it quit running a couple of months before I bought it.