914 Can Am front spoiler, Is yours factory or aftermarket? Options

[JeffBowlsby]

Spotters guide: There are other differences, but here some basics to help you recognize them from a distance.

The factory valence has this part number molded proud into the inside center surface, aftermarket does not. The numbers are about 1/2 in high, near the bottom edge. The VW symbol is dead centered on the valence. This part is NLA. The inside surface is raw white plastic, not painted.

The factory valence has 2 metal angled support braces and hardware, aftermarket does not.

The orange valence in these photos is factory, the black one is aftermarket. There are several different aftermarket companies making these so called 'LE spoilers' and each one is different, this black one I show is only one of several styles. Look at the photos for differences in details and quality.

I have not seen a believable aftermarket unit, but I would not think these would be hard to copy perfectly. Can anyone here mold these and repro an excellent copy? I bet there are some LE owners who would want good repros, only about 25% of the surviving LE cars still their have factory spoilers.

[sww914]

Are the factory originals molded plastic? All of the A/M LE spoilers that I've seen are fiberglass and that would explain part of it. Some things are possible with molded plastic that are very difficult with fiberglass, for instance the dimples in the ends.
A mold for an injection molded plastic part runs around 10K and up, a fiberglass mold can be made by a bonehead in his garage in a weekend.
I think that the glass spoilers may very well have been made by people that didn't actually have an LE spoiler to copy, just pictures and a bumper to work off of. I've built a grand total of 3 fiberglass molds and I'm sure that I could build a better part than the black one in your picture.