The one drawback of Sharka’s new side skirts is the lack of mud guard and increased danger of rock chips. Ever since my first few years with sticky tires and the near total paint loss behind them on the fenders, I’ve run mud guards. And after the repaint? I’m CERTAINLY running them. Hell, I run clear bra AND mud guards. But there’s just no way to keep that huge OEM guard and also have the skirt.
Something had to be done.
Driving around, I noticed a new Mustang with these tiny little black nubs sticking out between the wheel and the bodywork, just barely protecting its side skirts. An idea formed.
The robots came out to help me. A quick template with some paper and a tape measure was then traced onto some scrap 1/8″ ABS plastic I had lying around.
It’s really bad to laser cut ABS, as it produces hydrogen cyanide, so Shockwave’s job was done with the paper. The paper template fit well, so I transferred it onto the ABS and cut with tin snips. Then I sanded the edges and test fit on the car.
The guard fits well by itself, but a bit of forming with a heat gun helps get the curve nice without a lot of tension on those three little bolts. Be careful to not burn your paint or hands if you choose to do this.
That’s just what I was hoping for! A small guard to protect the front edge of the skirt from damage and keep big rocks from slamming into side body.
I flipped the template over and traced the other side onto the ABS.
They’re simple and unobtrusive. You don’t see these baby mud guards unless you’re looking for them. And they attach with the same hardware that held on the OEM side skirts. I’m really proud of them.
I haven’t had a how-to or free template on this blog for a really long time, so I thought I’d offer up these baby front mud guards to the Roadster community. Download a PDF here.
You can use either ABS plastic like I did or a set of those cheap, universal $10 mud guards you can buy at the local auto parts store. Trace the template onto them and then cut and install.
Please feel free to use and modify the template as you see fit. Just don’t sell it or try to make a commercial product out of it please.
Not bad at all!! I want to apply some clear bra to the new side skirts, but I should wait a couple months until the paint is fully cured. But while I wait, these little guards should help the skirts (and other body work) stay damage free.
If you have any questions about the baby mud guards, leave a comment below.
Kudos for creativity!
Hey Adam: I don’t think NB’s use bolts in that location. Do you think you can see if a set would fit on Bucky? This seems like such a great idea!
Pretty sure he can’t, unless he stumbles into the new owner!