When I bought the Impala, I wasn't really sure if I wanted skirts or not. However, it was sort of assumed that I'd get them eventually. I could've lived with or without them though. We go to the Charlotte Autofair at least once a year...specifically for the awesome swap meet. A couple years ago, I went to find some spider caps and whatever else I could squeeze in the budget...or as close to the budget at possible, right!? So as you can see from this post, I found some skirts. The price was right, and I figured I could get my money back out of them if I didn't want them.
| This is what they looked like when I got them. They were in pretty good shape overall and needed very minor bodywork. My uncle has a sandblaster and paints so I knew they'd come out great. Below the skirts is the installation kit. | |
| He sandblasted the skirts all around, and I sprayed a sandable spray can primer. I dusted with black spray paint, wet sanded, and re-applied the sandable primer about 3 or 4 times on the outer surface of the skirt to try to fix a couple small dimples on them. It was really more effort and work than I intended because my intent was to match the originalness of the rest of the car, but... | |
| It took me a few minutes to figure out how to put the weatherstripping on. Of course, there were no instructions, BUT we have the internet these days. It would be sort of embarrassing for someone to walk up who knew how it was supposed to be and point out that I did it wrong. I eventually figured it out. In case you can't, see my photos. | |
The original rubber was held on by staples, but my thought was to pop rivet them on. It seemed like a good idea, but I'm glad I didn't go that direction. I decided to install them like they originally were. My folks have compiled all sorts of stuff over the years so I dug around and luckily found some T50 staples that were the right width. They made it simple and work just great.
| Not sure what these clips are called, but they're not the easiest to figure out how to install. And good luck on finding photos of them online too. I eventually figured out how they went on after talking to my uncle. The clips mount to the fender lip and the tab sticks through the slot in the skirt. The rubber is slit so the tab would stick through but would provide resistance so the skirt wouldn't rattle. Unfortunately, I don't have any good shots of them installed. You can see how I mounted the skirt to mark the locations for the clips. It all worked out pretty good. | |
Overall, I'm satisfied with how they came out. You can see from the photos though that the color doesn't quite match. I took the gas cap to the auto paint store so it could be matched, and they put some satin in the mix to tone down the finish. The gas cap seemed like it would have a good fade to it to be the best match...but not quite. Originally, I intended to leave the paint alone and embrace the original or survivor look because I really don't like washing and waxing my cars. The plan is now to rub out the rest of the car to try and match the skirts better. The skirts DO match the front end pretty good actually. I understand that the front end was repaired in the 70's or 80's which explains the richer color. Now I just need to put in the time and use some elbow grease.
RSS Feed
