Flaps to Minimize Tire Debris

Dave Hood

Lifetime Supporter
Paul Whitlock recently installed rubber flaps on my back and front clip to minimize the amount of debris my Avons kick up. It's amazing how this easy fix (which you hardly notice) works. Now, instead of having to vacuum my engine bay after every drive, there are virtually no stones to deal with at all. A great help to protect the paint on my frame as well as other surfaces.

Not sure if anyone else has done something similar, but if small stones are something you deal with constantly, this is a great solution.
 

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I have done the same, also in the front just forward of the hinges it stops all the crap getting into the hinge area and under the front of the doors.

Like you say you dont notice them after a while.

Jim
 
can you gents please post detailed picts of the fix, back and front... please.. thx - Kurt
 

Dave Hood

Lifetime Supporter
Kurt:

I've attached some additional photos from my rear clamshell. There are two separate rubber flaps, and each is mounted to an angled metal brace attached to the clamshell. The longer rubber piece is 9 inches long and 2 inches tall. The smaller rubber piece is about 3 inches wide at the bottom. Since Superformance has tweaked the design of their clamshell over the years, your dimensions may need to vary a bit.

The metal brackets are attached to the clip using small screws and lock washers. The rubber pieces are secured to the metal bracket using small rivets. Both rubber flaps are no more than 1/8 inch thick.

As I mentioned, these were made by Paul Whitlock here in Charlotte. If anyone would like to have Paul make you a set, or if you have questions for Paul, the best way to reach him is via e-mail at [email protected].
 

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Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Dave, what was your solution for keeping pebbles out of the gas cap area? I've got a plan when I get the car back.
 

Dave Hood

Lifetime Supporter
Mike, Paul Whitlock also fabricated similar flaps for the front wheels, and those keep any pebbles from coming up around the gas caps. I don't know if I can take photos of those without having to remove the front clip. But they work equally well as the ones he installed in the rear.
 
I have addressed both sealing the front and rear wheel well areas in my build log "Tornado GT40 in Texas". I will repeat some of it and update it here.
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The next photo shows rubber strips added that seal off the small gaps when the front clip is closed.<o:p></o:p>

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The last photo in this sequence is the backside of the wheel well as finished. It is a little hard to see since everything is black.<o:p></o:p>
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Rear:<o:p></o:p>
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The front of the wheel well on the rear clip had a big gap that would let water and dirt be thrown onto the top of the rear sills. The first photo is a view from the rear tire location looking forward.There is almost a 2” gap.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
I added a flat sheet of fiberglass on the front and a tapered sheet of fiberglass on the side to cover that area. I then added a curved section of fiberglass to join the two sheets.The next photo is from the engine location and the second photo is from the rear wheel location.<o:p></o:p>
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As clever this seemed at the time, I had to remove a lot of the side portion to make room for the antiroll bar. At least this prevents throwing dirt and water on the sills.<o:p></o:p>
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The final photo shows the finished work as viewed from the rear wheel location (not installed on the car).<o:p></o:p>
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-Bob Woods<o:p></o:p>
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I'm pretty anal about adding undue weight to my car so I keep things to a minimum. I have used small pieces of the McMaster-Carr reinforced rubber sheet at the front of the rear wheel wells to effectively keep the rocks/water out of the engine bay.

For the front fenders, a thin fiberglass sheet and expandable (> 2") weatherstripping in front of the doors will help seal the rear of the front fenders when driving in the rain. However, no seal job keeps the brake dust and fumes out of the cabin during hard/hot braking at the end of the straights when you're on the race track.
 
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