Great 1st drive today and car runs great. However, when I hit 100 mph, the entire under-tray flew off and was destroyed ! How should I replace this ? Available anywhere ? Do I have to make one ? Thanks, Skipp
Early cars are a flat fiberglass sheet while the later cars are aluminum. Your biggest problem is going to come in matching the rivet holes. Chances are you best bet is to have a new piece made locally because the cost of shipping will be high and it will still not yield you a ready to install piece.
It's just a flat aluminum sheet with a few V-grooves from a bead roller. Easy to have made at a sheet metal shop. There are also the recessed access panels that need to be made. If you have your old one you may be able to transfer your rivet hole locations to the new one. I did that on mine and all the holes lined up perfectly!
I thought the engine was blowing it made so much noise. It was right at my first trip toward redline. I saw stuff flying in the rear view mirror. It almost seemed like cardboard and saw dust. It was on a freeway, so I couldn't really go back. Probably way to late now.
Searched 485 loop around Charlotte last night and saw no sign of it. Oh well. Time to fabricate. Thanks for the feedback.
That must have been an exciting ride.. lot better then engine parts flying.... hopefully no damage .....to the car etc...
Been doing that. Luckily it's all of the surface variety. Going to do the POR-15 treatment before undertray gets fabricated. Any tips ? Thanks, Skipp
Has anyone had experience with these under trays from Superformance? Body Parts for Ferrari 206 & 246 - Superformance Halfway down the page. Thanks
I have never bought one but I cannot imagine that there is anything wrong with the SF under tray. You will be down with +- 500$ before it is delivered at your doorstep and still having to make dimensional adjustments and holes for rivets. I had an under tray produced in high quality aluminum locally for my 308 for a fraction of that price and that worked out perfectly. Personally, I would do as Rob recommends and take the time to make a template in wood or cardboard. The challenge is to transfer the existing rivet holes to the template, but that should be feasible. Then make that template into a sketch / drawing and go to the local cut & bend factory and ask them to produce the bottom. Maybe someone here can provide you with detailed pictures / drawings of an original bottom so you can get your new one close to original with respect to inspection hatches and V-groves? Best regards Peter Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
You don't say which undertray you need but the FG undertray from SF In my experience is a good copy and needs minimal modification and is a lot less hassle than getting it made by a local shop even in ally, your biggest problem is locating the existing rivet holes which is feasible but a waste of time. Just drill new ones once you have it in position. Fix it with self tapping screws in opposing corners first to make sure you are happy with the position. Treat the chassis with Dinotrol beforehand and after on the cills. My concern would be why it fell off in the first place as it has a lot of rivets to secure it. My car is a 73 e series and has a fibreglass full undertray.
Tony wrote: My concern would be why it fell off in the first place as it has a lot of rivets to secure it. +1 The panels are rivited to the bottom panel as well so it should be a fairly rigid construction . Why this have happened to a car in good condition is quite strange unless the previous owner have jumped over a lot of bumps.
My hypothesis is that the previous owner took the tray off for inspection and did not re-attach it correctly. I can see the remains of many of the new looking rivets on the chassis. Since it was my first drive, I never had it on the lift prior to the drive to view the situation prior to the panel flying off. I do know the chassis is solid and the rivets are still attached to the chassis, so this issue was likely with the condition of the now destroyed under tray or the quality of the rivets themselves, or the quality of the rivet installation. I'm pretty sure the owner did this work himself, so who knows. Once a corner came loose at 100 mph, the wind force easily started popping rivets and once part of the tray hit the pavement, the violence began.
How's this idea : -Buy Superformance under tray ( I know shipping is expensive but don't care ) -POR15 rust protect the chassis areas filling in the previous rivet holes. -Install new undertray by drillling and riveting new holes.
Nothing wrong with that plan. Also consider the Dinitrol suggested earlier and then it might be wise to put in some noise reduction foam....The list is long...-. Try the search function for inspiration and lots of good advise. Best Peter
An easy way to make an exact template of your rivet holes is to take a roll of tracing paper, cut long strips, tape them together then tape the large sheet to your underbody and mark out your unique rivet locations and the perimeter of your underbody. Then spray mount the big sheet on the aluminum or fiberglass tray. Pretty straightforward. Freeman
Just finished sanding and scraping the surface rust. Zero rot thank God ! POR15 up next and then the Superformance tray. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.
I would highly recommend you treat the area with a good quality cavity wax like dinotrol. por 15 is a paint and it will not penetrate everywhere, especially the joints and seams, also the product comes in spray cans for easy application. Treat exposed areas with a rust converter and then a good cavity wax. Check out there site for tips and recommendations. No foam or sound proofing as this can trap water and / or moisture.
Thanks Tony. I'm going to do this in stages as time allows. Right now I'm only working on the under tray area. I'll consider spraying Dinitrol, etc in the future. Right now it's POR-15 on the frame areas and structures under the tray area. Before any work. Image Unavailable, Please Login
