Rear valance feature strip instalation

1985 Motorsport Capri · Wed Jul 10, 2019 5:21 pm

Looking for tips on installing the rear Valance feature strip that hides the seam between the valence and the rear bumper.
This is driving me crazy. Been trying with 2 sided tape and getting no where.

Anyone know how asc did it originally?

Post by **negusm** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 6:47 pm

Screws I think.

My body guy just gave up and mated it with 2 part epoxy and filler.

I can see where he tried to attach with screws but the valence which was the old hard plastic just kept breaking at the screw holes.

Not Original...but meh...the way he did it actually looks better.

-Mike

Post by **negusm** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 6:51 pm

Actually, he might have tried a few rivets too because asc used rivets in a few places on the front air dam.

1985 Motorsport Capri · Thu Jul 11, 2019 1:04 am

I tried 2 sided tape with no luck. Also attempted clear silicone. This is what i think might work. But so far no success due to needing 5 or 6 people to hold it in place while drying.
2 biggest problems is the corners where it wraps around and the leading edge on the quarter panels. Both spots pop off.

I dont think the strip goes all the way to the edge off the quarter due to the vallance curving up.
Anyone with an original have any pics of where the strip starts on the quarters?

Also starting to think the strip henry sells is not what was orginal.
My original feature strip was missing when i got the car. But i seen no evidence the original strip was held in by anything. No glue residue or addition holes in the valance(other than the holes that used to bolt valance to bumper/quarters)

Post by **negusm** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 3:13 pm

For the rear, the finishing strip should be just a thin welting with a bead on one side.

You need SEM flexible plastic repair FAST setting. Amazing stuff and bonds fast and hard.

Sort of like this...but this is a 20 second hold. You gotta work super fast or get some stuff that is slower to set. I can't find the stuff I used on a bumper once, but I'll keep looking. Also...if you have a body shop you know...drop in and ask about what they use. I am sure they use SEM for things like this...just find out what product number.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SEM-40207-Quic ... SwyXVbYzv5

If by clear silicone, you mean caulk...that ain't gonna do jack. Otherwise, I'm not sure what you're referring to.

-Mike

Post by **negusm** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:56 pm

If you're going to go the gluing route, I would just glue the pieces together...then trim the bead off the finishing strip and glue the bead into the joint where the bumper and valence meet. That's probably about as close to stock as you'll get.

Here's maybe what I used. 5min set time:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SEM-39767-PROB ... Swa~BYZbs0

I know Sandy said that only one of the finishing strips was NOT painted. I think it was the back.

-Mike

Post by **negusm** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 5:00 pm

I didn't get pictures of the back of Sandy's car...probably someone else has that.

http://www.ascmclarencoupe.com/misc/San ... G_2494.JPG

But the above looks like the front strip was not painted. Meaning the back was.

-Mike

Post by **negusm** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 5:03 pm

http://www.ascmclaren.org/phpBB/viewtop ... ip+painted

Read it here. Sandy corrected me, and agreed back was painted.

So glue the whole thing together how you want it, smooth it out and paint it in 1 shot.

The post pics

-Mike

1985 Motorsport Capri · Fri Jul 12, 2019 5:06 pm

That photo of the strip is definitely not what I got from Henry.. photos of original Grand Prix cars the rear Valance feature strip was not painted. the rear Valance strip that I got from Henry is like a plastic T in. long portion slides in to where the gaps on the bumper and Valance meet.
I dont want to permanently bond it. Going to try the clear silicone option again.
Should work if i can get the end of the valance on quarter panels and curve around the bumpers to play nice.

Post by **negusm** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:02 pm

1985 Motorsport Capri wrote:That photo of the strip is definitely not what I got from Henry.. photos of original Grand Prix cars the rear Valance feature strip was not painted. the rear Valance strip that I got from Henry is like a plastic T in. long portion slides in to where the gaps on the bumper and Valance meet.
I dont want to permanently bond it. Going to try the clear silicone option again.
Should work if i can get the end of the valance on quarter panels and curve around the bumpers to play nice.

The photo is the front strip. The back strip is nothing like the front.

Just showing it to illustrate the front on Sandy's car wasn't painted.

Looks like paint is maybe a change from 85 then for the 86 cars? Or they just did it based on color of the car?

1985 Motorsport Capri · Fri Jul 12, 2019 8:54 pm

Not sure on f.p. , EuroCoupes or verts but gpiv's had the lower body in the factory charcoal grey. And the lower feature strip was black and not painted.
GPIV also had the factory RS airdam so no front feature strip.

fascat · Post by **fascat** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:49 pm

Here is a photo of the rear valance on Sandy's coupe. It is the only one I could find. Maybe this with shed some light on it.

ChuckG · Post by **ChuckG** » Wed Jul 17, 2019 1:16 am

Sandy even put stickers on his exhaust tips....

Jason had a chance to inspect mine Sunday in person.

fascat · Post by **fascat** » Fri Jul 19, 2019 10:47 pm

Seems he did like to put extra stickers on his car. Glad Jason got to see your car in person to look at the feature stripe. More helpful to see in person than in pictures.

1985 Motorsport Capri · Sat Aug 03, 2019 2:47 pm

What i finally did for the feature strip was:
1. Cut the inner portion that slides between the bumper and the valance in the sections that curve around the bumper. There is too much tension in those spots plus they start getting waves when the strip is bent.
2. Then i also trimmed the inner portion at the ends of each side about 2 inches per side. This is due to the valance curving to hug the quarter panel body line.
3 i then put the valance in place but didnt tighten it all the way.
4. Then i used heavy duty clear silicone on the inner part of the filler strip.
5. Once in place i taped the strip to hold in place while silicon dried and tightened the bolts and screws.
6 once silicon dried, just wiped off the excess.

Only part that didnt come out good was the passenger side where the bumper and quarter panel meet. Seems its not a smooth fit due to the different angles on the 2 sections due fuel filler being right there. But it seems most original examples seem to separate over time in that spot.