[chabot150]

I have been hearing many different stories about clams being damaged by 2mph bumps and bottoming out. Just how fragile are these? How much does one cost to replace?

Would a rock from another car break the clam? Thanks for any info you have.

 

[Brennon]

Depends how big the rock is...most likely not. It's about as strong as most hard plastics from what I've seen.

Rear clam is 8-16k at a dealership (painted and installed).
YMMV.

 

[chabot150]

wow. 8-16k!!!!! How much is a front clam?

what objects have broken clams before?

 

[Brennon]

wow. 8-16k!!!!! How much is a front clam?

what objects have broken clams before?

Walls, other cars, animals in the road, etc. Essentially anything that would damage a 'normal' car in any meaningful way will crack a clam. Front clam is usually a bit more expensive at the dealership as there's other things that tend to get damaged.

Keep in mind, the clam itself is only about $2500 and MOST of the time can be repaired and painted for less than $1500. Fiberglass is very cheap and relatively easy to work with. Most people want a new clam though and they call them "stealerships" for a reason.

 

[serpent]

I have been hearing many different stories about clams being damaged by 2mph bumps and bottoming out. Just how fragile are these? How much does one cost to replace?

Would a rock from another car break the clam? Thanks for any info you have.

Very fragile, a fly hitting the clam could crack it. Thats why the mileage on these cars are soooo low.

Seriously though, its not THAT fragile...but a 3-4mph bump could crack it, theoretically.

Cost depends on where you go....8k-12/14k

i doubt a rock from another car would crack the clam...unless your offroading.

 

[andykeck]

My wife bumped my car while parallel parking hers. The impact didn't even disturb the dirt on her bumper but it fractured my front clam in two places. I was able to get it repaired, but it still ran $3K.

 

[mjf]

Pothole pulling into a driveway did some damage to mine where the front scraped. Nothing I couldn't fix with a DIY kit though.

 

[chabot150]

Pothole pulling into a driveway did some damage to mine where the front scraped. Nothing I couldn't fix with a DIY kit though.

what kind of damage occurred to your clam?

 

[Brennon]

damage to mine where the front scraped.

I think he answered that already. :shrug:

 

[mjf]

what kind of damage occurred to your clam?

The winglet bit on the bottom of the clam got damaged, visible crack, whole area smaller than a dime. I sanded it down and then applied new fiberglass and repainted.

I might have been able to avoid fiberglass if I had been more careful sanding as I underestimated how thin the clam was on the winglet and ended up with repairing a larger area than the original crack. Though to be honest the fiberglass in the area was loose to the touch so I think I did need to sand away as much as I did.

For an amateur repair job it came out ok. You can see in these pictures how much of an area I cleaned when sanding.

 

[stinkyonion]

I hit a rabbit at 60mpg, damaged front bottom of clam. Later was removing rear clam and cracked it in nonvisible portion where boot lid hinge attaches. Both repairs were about $500.

 

[ZAMMY1]

i hit a raccoon at about 35 mph, cracked the clam, ruined the grille.
i fiberglassed the inside of the clam and replaced the grille.
not really fixed but it's functional and the crack won't spread.
later hit a deer at about 2 mph, deer fell on clam, got up and walked away.
replaced radiator...and grille.
still need the 'roo bars..:wallbang:
sam

 

[turbophil]

Exige clams are WAAAAAAAAAY tougher. I've had both and they're not even comparable. I feel like I can run over a herd of deer with the exige clam...

Seriously, it really can take a beating by comparison (still fragile compared to most cars though)... It's also more conducive to repair since it doesn't flex as much...

Regarding replacement, a chimp could replace the clams on these cars. People need to be just a little more adventurous and try doing their own clam replacements (and work on their cars more in general).
Have a body shop finish and paint a replacement clam and do the removal/installation yourself over a weekend with a neighbor and case of beer… and save a few/several grand...

There's plenty of documentation about how to do it right here on LT and it requires all of 3 hand tools available at home depot. We all were born with a knowledge base of zero and most on a forum like this likely has a higher IQ than their local body shop guy. I assure you that you can do the work and figure it out... Plus you'll have learned something in the process:up:

My 2 cents...

Best,

Phil

 

[Minnis]

thanks to my wife I had some damage to repair which I have now turned into clam I am going to duplicate for a group buy. These pics. suck but the final painted product I will post this weekend with price.

 

[luxige]

Nice updated look!

 

[Brennon]

Exige clams are WAAAAAAAAAY tougher. I've had both and they're not even comparable. I feel like I can run over a herd of deer with the exige clam...

Seriously, it really can take a beating by comparison (still fragile compared to most cars though)... It's also more conducive to repair since it doesn't flex as much...

Regarding replacement, a chimp could replace the clams on these cars. People need to be just a little more adventurous and try doing their own clam replacements (and work on their cars more in general).
Have a body shop finish and paint a replacement clam and do the removal/installation yourself over a weekend with a neighbor and case of beer… and save a few/several grand...

There's plenty of documentation about how to do it right here on LT and it requires all of 3 hand tools available at home depot. We all were born with a knowledge base of zero and most on a forum like this likely has a higher IQ than their local body shop guy. I assure you that you can do the work and figure it out... Plus you'll have learned something in the process:up:

My 2 cents...

Best,

Phil

I don't think anyone (rational) actually pays $15,000 for a clam replacement when insurance isn't involved, and if they are, might as well save yourself the time and have the dealer do the work. The price is ludicrous. Anything over $2,000 for a replacement is ludicrous in my eyes, but they don't really care what I think.

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

If this were Jeopardy, the answer would be, "How fragile is an egg shell?"

 

[kestrel74]

.

 

[Vishus_1]

Minnis - why are you duplicating the look of the 2010 Exige that many are decrying as an awful attempt at a redesign? The changes just don't fit the design.

 

[chapster5]

They are VERY!!!! fragile dont even breathe at them or theyll crack!