SVO Wheel Spats

[ponydude]

Just learned something today. It appears that Ford changed materials in the wheel spats after 84. That's why the newer ones deteriorate so fast. All my experience previously has been with 84s. I'd never seen this problem before.

[XxGATORxX]

Its true, pretty common knowledge in the SVO community.

The 85-86 spats seem to get very brittle over time.

No worries though, SVPU.com makes replacement spats out of Fiberglass that work very very well, and you'll never have to worry about them falling apart.

[Asha'man]

News to me, I'll have to keep an eye on my '86.

Brian

[Ken P]

While I don't know it for a fact, I think that some of the more popular wheel cleaners / tire dressings may contribute to the failure / brittleness of the spats. Possibly overspray or fume exposure over time? I've always washed my cars, spats and wheels included with Meguires car washing soap. I also use plain old Comet on a brush to scrub my tires as I don't care for the "shiney tire" look. I know products like Power Clean or Purple Power will melt printing off of some under hood labels and will streak paint and etch the aluminum badly if left on too long. My spats on both my 2R & 1B are still very pliable and I've washed them countless times. Like I said its just a possibility and I have no real proof.

[AT6svo]

I wouldn't be at all suprised if the older material was similar to what bumper covers are made of and suffer from M.A.D.S.

That could explain the deterioration effect.

[KCoker]

I had two 86 cars that they just fell off in a pile of little pieces but I have never had a problem with the 84 cars.

[Ken P]

While not exactly SVO spats I used to have quailty problems / FAA burn test failures at my old job when our vendors didn't follow the "receipe" when blending the vinyls with the flame retardant chemicals before coating the fabrics for interior blankets like used in C-5s & C-130s ( sorry for the run-on sentence ). Maybe the guys in QC at the vendor who supplied Ford with the spats fell asleep on the job? It could have also been an attempt at cost cutting by the vendor. Since they plastisize over time who's going to know? Take a component out of the mix equates to at least an equal reduction in unit cost(s).

[svopaul]

While I don't know it for a fact, I think that some of the more popular wheel cleaners / tire dressings may contribute to the failure / brittleness of the spats. Possibly overspray or fume exposure over time? I've always washed my cars, spats and wheels included with Meguires car washing soap. I also use plain old Comet on a brush to scrub my tires as I don't care for the "shiney tire" look. I know products like Power Clean or Purple Power will melt printing off of some under hood labels and will streak paint and etch the aluminum badly if left on too long. My spats on both my 2R & 1B are still very pliable and I've washed them countless times. Like I said its just a possibility and I have no real proof.

I don't think the cleaners have anything to do with it.....I had a set of 50K mile spats on a shelf when I was preparing to make my molds and they just fell apart sitting on the shelf....then the ones on my Teal SVO while sitting in the showroom just started to shrink and crack. The material dries out and starts shrinking and then they crack and fall apart...portions of my teal spats were still pliable while other parts were brittle. The '84 spats may eventually suffer the same fate as the later ones but so far they far outlast the newer versions.

[not-a-stang]

No worries though, SVPU.com makes replacement spats out of Fiberglass that work very very well, and you'll never have to worry about them falling apart.

wow...$199.** for a set. Might as well run full skirts.

[XxGATORxX]

wow...$199.** for a set. Might as well run full skirts.

WTF does that mean ?

[gregpro50]

Full skirts on a svo would just look silly.

Actually the price for the fiberglass ones isnt too bad considering what the originals sell for and the fact that the fiberglass ones arent going to fall apart on you.

[svopaul]

wow...$199.** for a set. Might as well run full skirts.

Would you rather them not be available at all???


Here you go...a set of used originals on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1984-Ford-Mustang-SVO-Side-Spats_W0QQitemZ180034791357QQihZ008QQcategoryZ3365 4QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[not-a-stang]

Oh no...I have GT and was looking for SVO spats for my car. I found some at a wrecking yard but it they were so badly degraded, i just bought one.

If I had an SVO, I would not think twice about buying the fiberglass pieces.

[Chuck W]

Does anyone have a single spat in fair to poor condition? I want to test-fit one on something and am just looking for one to try at the moment. Either side, it does not matter.

[Travis T]

Wow, I must have gotten lucky. I bought a pair a few years ago for $55, and the guy had them for sale over a month. They were black and I don't know what model year of car they came from. They were to replace the ones on a white 86 SVO that had completely crumbled.