Making an Explorer wing from a Kia Sedona Wing

 

I wanted something more than the OEM spoiler that came from Ford. There are companies making wings for Explorers, but I did not like any of them. The only one that looked good to me was made by Saleen and was on the Saleen XP8 Explorers. They have since quit building the XP8's and all the parts for them. The only option that left me was to make my own. I started looking at different vehicles to see which wing could be modified to fit an Explorer and look good. I ran across a Kia Sedona and their wing was very close and could be modified fairly easy to fit. This is the way I did it:

 

These are pictures of the wing from a Kia Sedona.

 

This is how it looks from the side when held up on a 1995-1997 Explorer hatch. You can see where I had to trim and modify the edges to fit the contour of the sides of the hatch.

 

The stock Sedona wing is too long for an Explorer, so the center has to be trimmed to fit the width.

 

I cut a section of the center out. You want to measure the center and cut the same width from each side. If not, the wing contours will not match up when you put it together.

 

The wing is hollow. You need to make a biscuit to hold the sections together. I used fiberglass matting folded over many times. I next measured the rear of the hatch and where mounting holes would go so I would know how wide to make the wing. Next I filled the matting with fiberglass and began filling in the gap to hold the sections together.

 

After the center dried and was solid, I began measuring the edges for fitting the contour of the hatch. I cut the ends off so that the wing would sit flush against the hatch. This will make it easier to finish the final contour later.

 

Once I had the center solid and knew the width was correct, I finished the center by applying a layer of kitty hair fiberglass filler. Next I applied a layer of body filler to smooth the final shape. Remember that between each of these steps - you have to sand each coat to smooth them for the next layer.

 

Once I had the final shape of the center complete, I began working on the edges. I aligned the wing and marked where the mounting holes will be. After that, I began shaping the edges. You need to mark the mounting holes first and tighten the wing so you will know exactly where to trim the edges to match on both sides.

 

This is the wing when I finished the final mount. The entire Explorer was going to paint, and the bodyshop finished the final sanding and filling of the edges for me. My first thought was to make the wing roll into the hatch and look like one piece - the hatch and wing together - but after debate on vibration and wind velocity over the wing, we decided to keep the wing as a bolt on item. This also works better because if something happened it gives you the opportunity to make another one.

 

 

 

This is the finished product.