Vannin' Home Forums Dodge How To (Dodge) DIY Air Dam

I made an air dam for my van from two '87-'90 Dakota air dams. My van is an '87 but I think the '86-'93 bumpers are the same. Here is how I did it.

The air dams were literally pulled from Dakotas at LKQ. The bolts were too rusted to loosen so I pried it off with a screwdriver. Only the center is used and can be welded up later.

I used an oscillating multi-tool to cut the ends off the first air dam 26" from the center. The other air dam was cut 20" from the center on each side for the corners.


The pieces were clamped to the bumper to check fitment and mark the mounting holes.

There was a 1.25" gap between the bottom of the fenders and the corners of the air dam. From the ends of the first air dam, mark and cut 1.25" by 7.5" sections from the upper corner.

I clamped the pieces to a hood and welded them together with a cheap Harbor Freight 80w plastic welding kit. I used SS screen to strengthen the inside of the seams.


I then made some nut plates to bolt it to the bumper, it had three mounting holes. Clip nuts hold the ends to the fenders which I drilled for the bolts.

The ends stuck out past the wheel well so they had to be trimmed also. Not show quality but neither is the rest of the van.


Cheers

Nice job Biscuit Gravy! And thanks for the tutorial. Your air dam looks better than the bulky, low-hanging one I got for my old B-100 van from J. C. Whitney back in the 1980s.

Have you noticed any difference in how your van feels while driving, or in under hood temperatures or fuel economy?

That looks great

Nice work man 👍

Thanks! The handling doesn't feel different, but I've just been putting around town. The temp seems a little lower but I'm missing the panel at the bottom of the radiator that keeps air pressure from bleeding underneath. I haven't had a chance to test the mpg yet. Hopefully I can drive it to Florida in January to get new mpg numbers. I average around 15.5mpg (freeway) but if I keep it under 65mph I can get 17. I plan to make an undertray that spans from the air dam to the crossmember.

BiscuitGravy has that Dodge sitting right.

The Dakota air dams also fit the late 60’s to mid 70’s A body Mopars. My buddy pulled one for his Barracuda not too long ago.