Turning the factory Buick Grand National 3 piece spoiler into a 1-piece rear spoiler was completed yesterday.
Today we’re going to show you how to make it a taller rear wing!
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There’s a few options to obtaining a taller rear spoiler on your Gbody Regal if that’s your goal.
Several companies offer plexiglass type pieces (both full width and 2 separate piece styles) than can be bolted onto existing spoilers.
Aluminum versions are also available,
with some being “trim to fit” so you can make it look or fit the way you want.
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Prices vary from $40 and up.
Sizes are usually somewhere around 5″ tall x 60″ wide, with a 70º angle.
Some spoilers / wings require body braces to mount them.
(search for monte carlo ss spoilers, as some are based on that)
(also look at street stock / dirt track car types)
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Back to the one we wanted to create.
We can’t take full credit for the one we’re making, as while doing research, we saw a post on the (turbobuick) forum about how someone else made a rear wing on their Turbo Regal (pretty similar to what we want).
(and it gave us some other insight into this entire project)
[do note they left the spoiler as a 3 piece unit, and reshaped the end caps to make them as tall as the center piece. The center section that is lower, is actually the top of the stock spoiler. They added about 1.50″ on the outer sides for the extra height]
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HERE’S THE ONE WE SAW ON THE BUICK BOARD:
(this is the finished product)
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We think that looks fantastic!
(and almost exactly what we wanted to do for years now)
See the pics below to see how they made this.
That’s a ton of work to make that look like it does!
(it keeps a similar look to the original factory version while also adding a few special touches to separate it from the pack!)
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To make this new rear wing taller, it’s easiest to start off with closed cell foam that can be shaped however you like.
(“closed cell” foam does not crush/compress like regular foam)
[search online: Closed Cell Neoprene Sponge Rubber Foam Sheet]
[these foam pieces are available in thicknesses from 1/8″ to 2″, about 12-13″ wide and 60″ long, making them a good size for this project]
[we were going to use 1/2″ thick pieces and double (or triple) them up where needed to get it to the proper height required]
[we saw 1/2″ thick x 13″ wide x 60″ long, for $22 shipped]
[closed cell foam pads are an option as well. you can get it in 2″ thick 1 foot squares]
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Once you get it shaped exactly the way you want, you need to seal it (so it is waterproof), and make it a solid strong and sturdy piece (since it is foam).
[that car above said they used “aviation foam” poured over it, which is a liquid similar to the below product]
[there are other similar products you could use, do some research to figure out what’s best for you. check both aviation and watercraft products as a start]
Here’s what we intended on using:
[while not exact to the aviation foam stuff, this is similar according to our research]
There’s a few different brands that offer “Spray Foam Sealant, Polyurethane Expanding Foam” type products. Loctite, Red Devil, etc.
These come in 12 oz (or larger) cans, and they’re used just like a can of spray paint.
Prices run $10-20 per can, and 1 can will probably be enough for this entire project.
The most IMPORTANT thing to note, make sure it’s waterproof!
And sandable and paintable!
[primer and paint will also help seal everything up to make it waterproof]
When applying it, you don’t want to go crazy spraying it, since it expands!
Just put enough on to cover the entire spoiler, which will seal the closed cell foam.
[minimal expanding foam is available]
[alternatively to using the closed cell foam, you could possibly use the expanding foam by itself, and then final shape that into the desired form. of course, you’ll need to figure out how to get it into roughly the shape you want to end up with, rather than starting with just a big pile of the stuff laying on the top of the factory spoiler and then trying to form all that into a sloping wing, that’d be a lot of sanding and shaping to get the proper form!]
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After you seal it, sand and smooth it to the proper shape, primer, then paint.
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HERE’S SOME OF THE PROCESS DONE ON THE CAR FROM ABOVE:
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[NOTE: we didn’t actually do any of these steps within this post, but they are laid out exactly how we intended to do them]
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These last 2 days we showed you what we were going to attempt to do to our OEM 1987 Buick Grand National Spoiler to turn it into a 1-piece NASCAR style Rear Wing!
[still some useful articles for those considering a modification like this!]
When we figured out the time required to perform this job, along with the associated costs (not that they were a lot), we decided not to go this route.
Especially considering we didn’t really want to hack up an all original stock Buick Regal GN spoiler.
(but we were seriously considering it, before we discovered a different thing to do)
Check back tomorrow to find out exactly what we did add to the 1987 Buick Grand National!
(and the best part is we got what we wanted after all without doing the things we mentioned above!)
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