I just purchased an unused fiberglass set of 99 style side skirts from a forum member and started to prime and paint them. My question is for anyone who has this kind of side skirt, how did you install them?
I can see the screws that go into the ends by the fender wells but on the bottom there are indentations for some kind of rivet or screw. I noticed on the car there are rubber grommets covering factory holes.
So what kind of hardware are folks using? I was thinking of the expanding rubber nuts. Like the one in this pic.

 

Under the 1/4 panel there's a plastic guard, remove that guard and you can re-use the mounting point and hardware. For the front I use the mud flap mounting point and hardware, and then add some 3M double side tape along the skirt for extra security. You can use the fender bolts for the front too, but that push the skirt too far in and not parallel along the body line IMO.

 

Here is the factory parts/hardware guide for installing the side skirts if you wanted to follow OEM spec.

Mazda's part number for the side skirts is F100-V4-910E. A Google search with the part number may yield further information.

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Never screw, always glue👍🏻 Or in the least, never svrew in metal. Plstic plugs are nor that strong but works while the glue dries

 

I agree with you Zepticon. I would not screw, but there are rubber grommets covering factory holes along the body under the door. Therefore, there are existing holes that seem to be there for a reason. I figured someone might have some kind of hardware suggestion that would capitalize on those holes without screwing or drilling since those holes are already there. My suggestion was the rubber expanding nut.

 

I painted and installed the skirts. The only problem is they are fiberglass and it does not quite line up under the door. I am seeing a 1/4 to 1/8 inch gap. I tried to used double sided automotive tape but it is not strong enough to pull it against the body lines. Any ideas how to close this gap?

 

Loosen up your fasteners and try to allow the skirts to rest on the surface of the car before tightening it down. Hopefully you don't have to redrill. My holes were off and was causing the skirts to bulge. Luckily I was able to line it up just by releasing the fasteners but I did have to redrill 1 or 2 holes for the new alignment.

On a different note can anyone comment on how these things drain water? They are literally a trough and I don't think there's anywhere for the water to go. Should I drill a few holes along the bottom?

 

Some oem body work has drainage holes built in. I would go ahead and drill holes for drainage (probably in the front and rear). Just don't drill into your body/rockers!!!