Airdam Retrofit

[69timemachine]

Here is the setup that I built to attach the airdam to the bump. It consists of three components: the main bracket, the frame mount brackets, and the outer support brackets.

1) The main bracket has all its nuts welded on top (except for the outermost hole) for easy, one-wrench installation of the airdam to the bracket. Next to the frame rail area on each side is a pair of holes that have a pair of washers stacked and tackwelded on top to simulate the frame thickness.

2) The frame mount brackets have their nuts welded on top too, again for easy installation. A slight downward bend in them allows them to bite down onto the truck frame for an adjustable, yet clamp-on installation.

3) The outer support brackets have the nuts (that were not welded to the top of the main bracket) welded to them instead. The top of these brackets will attach to an existing fender-to-core-support bolt.

To install, simply attach the airdam to the main bracket. Then install each frame mount bracket to the main bracket using only the innermost bolt; this will allow you to rotate them into place when you lift the entire assembly up to contact the frame rail; then install the second bolt for each bracket. With the assembly dangling under the truck, you can loosely bolt the outer support brackets to the airdam assembly and remove the fender-to-core-support bolt to put the top end of the bracket in place. Make your final adjustments and then tighten those eight bolts down. If you ever need to remove it, simply remove the outer support brackets' upper bolts, loosen two of the frame mount bracket bolts, and remove the other two so they can be swung out of the way, and the assembly drops out totally. No drilling or modifications to the truck required!

[69timemachine]

Here's one more shot from the rear of the entire assembly ready to be installed. All total, I'd say I have about $25 worth of metal and bolts, and about four hours worth of time involved. I did get the airdam for free though! I'm sure there are plenty of people putting full-replacement bumpers on their 2011 or 2012 F250 FX4 or F350 FX4's, so there may be some of these airdams for sale out there.

I'll try to post some pictures soon of the truck with it installed!

[69timemachine]

One last little thing I made for the airdam is a pair of filler panels to cover the area between the bumper and the area where the airdam curves back to the wheel well. I simply made a cardboard template and transferred it over to a flat piece of black plastic I had lying around. It is sandwiched between the airdam and main bracket when the outermost 3 bolts are installed, and basically just keeps the air moving laterally instead of deflecting upward behind the bumper.

[69timemachine]

And here it is; the finished product! It definitely makes the truck look lower and meaner from the front. It looks better than seeing the beams and frame underneath, and just makes the truck look more complete from the front. I'm toying with the idea of possibly taking an inch off the bottom, but haven't decided just yet.

For anyone interested, I saw a 2011 or 2012 F250/F350 2WD the other day with the same airdam, just about half as tall since the 2WD is much lower.

[Kraig]

I like it. Nice job!

[HIO Silver]

Thanks for following through and posting the fab job. I gotta find me one and eke maybe one more MPG on my 70. At $4.35 a gallon right now, that extra mile is worth 48 cents!!!! Payback galore!!

Nice stance. I'm gonna be using the same dog dish hub caps. Say, what wheel and tire size are you running?

[69timemachine]

Thanks guys! The front wheels are 15x8" with 245/60/15 rubber and the rear wheels are 15x9 with 275/60/15 rubber. I usually have my gray '70's FOMOCO hubcaps on, but I decided to swap on my '90's caps for a little while just for a change of pace.

Oh, and here is what a 2WD airdam looks like. As you can see, it is about half as tall.
http://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/ford/ ... _1_423.jpg

[69timemachine]

I recently replaced the original one I used with one that doesn't have a small crack at the bottom. I got lucky and found one in like-new condition for $70 on craigslist. I figured since the first one was free and I used it to make the mounting bracket, I could spend a little cash to put a perfect one on. As I did on the first one, I trimmed a little off the bottom just to add a little ground clearance. I get many people at shows asking what the airdam came off of.

[HIO Silver]

For those wanting the same style air dam, visit your local Ford dealer or an aftermarket replacement:

Built 2/22/2010 to 2015 SuperDuty F250/350:

BC3Z17626AA......4X2 valance... 4-inch
BC3Z17626BA......4X4 valance... 8-inch

69timemachine, which one you running?

[69timemachine]

I'm running the 8" with about .75" trimmed off the bottom for extra ground clearance on my lowered truck.
The two cast numbers on the actual airdam are:
BC34-17D997-BAW and BC34-1B635-BAW
I'm not sure why it has two numbers.

[addseo1115]

Glad to see your posts.
I have enjoyed with your posts much.

[48prerunner]

took a bit of searching to find this but thanks to hihosilver original post found it. looks cool.

[69timemachine]

Thanks! I still have it on my truck and still like how it looks. I don't plan to change anything. I get lots of people asking me where the airdam came from. I've only drug it once or twice, with no damage, so even though it looks pretty low, it isn't too bad as long as you're careful.

[48prerunner]

It does look good tracked it down by the pic of your truck. The search on here sucks used google. I have a 69 style spoiler on the front of my lowered mustang so I know low, biggest problem is road kill, a beer bottle laying down wont fit under it. I dont wanna go that low with the truck, I'd like to build a 60's nascar style front one, maybe this winter. I'll have to measure how low I'm pretty sure the 8" might be too low.

[69timemachine]

I trimmed about .75" off the bottom of mine with my die grinder cutoff wheel, then smoothed out the bottom edge with my pneumatic orbital sander. It worked great and gave the little extra clearance I wanted.