Front Wing Removal

[adrianscott]

Hello,
I’ve got some rust issues at the bottom of the left front wing, And running up and down the right wing vertical edge running up to the door.
Has anybody taken this wing off?
Are there any things I should look out for or any tips that you’ve got for me.
It’s on the petrol cap side!
Thanks very much,
Adrian

[Gary71]

Tips? Leave it and enjoy driving the car whilst trying not to look at it

If you really want to take it off then start by removing the lamps, horn grille and attachments to the front bumper.

If I remember correctly you don't need to remove the filler neck itself as there is enough clearance from the big rubber gasket. You will need to detach the release cable from inside the filler bowl.

There are the obvious bolts inside the luggage bay and around the wing joining plate (where your rust is) to the A-Pillar wing support, and three not so obvious. One right at the very front corner tucked away out of sight and two M6 screws into the bottom of the screen area you can access with the door wide open and a 10mm socket on a 1/4 drive and a decent extension.

If the wing has not been off for a long time it will likely be firmly stuck on along the top edge. Light use of a heat gun can soften the underseal/joining compound and then you can gradually peel the wing off.

Good luck, and try not to look too hard at anything you find underneath

[adrianscott]

Thankyou Gary!
Great response. Very knowledgeable.
I pick up an underlying message - DON'T DO IT!

[Gary71]

You picked up on that?

You need to be prepared to find the top of the inner wing missing, the area around the filler gasket like a Swiss cheese and the wing support not doing much supporting.

Knowing what your wing will be like I'd imagine you'll need a new one rather than repair it as it fails down the double skinned section and rots

[ghia70]

Hi Gary, I've just removed my wing and had stripped back to bare metal, Bottom of rear needs replacing plus a small strip where the wing bolts to the inner fender. Wing can be removed from filler neck, large circlip holds the filler neck rubber to the wing filler neck. I was pleasantly surprised with the small amount of rust - car was originally from Nevada. I got my repair panels from restoration design - very good quality and fit. I had the dipped to remove paint and bead blasted to remove other areas.

Danny

[Gary71]

I also recovered my RH wing by replacing the bottom edge, the LH one tends to suffer with the filler neck.

Hopefully Adrian will be lucky with his, but I'm guessing if it's made it to the surface then it will be messy once you've dug it all out.

[adrianscott]

Yes thank you. If only I could get the f••ker off.
Feels like it is welded on. Taken two bolts out of door access, 8 inside wheel arch same again in luggage compartment. Tried heat gun - nothing. Might be missing something?

[Gary71]

It’s still bolted on

On my ‘72 I’m counting 11 in the luggage bay (including the little one at the front, 6 on the closer panel and 2 M6 into the scuttle.

[Gary71]

PS just noted your car is a SWB. Don’t know if the earlier cars had different fixings

[adrianscott]

Great photo!
Yep I have 11 luggage
Wheel arch 6
Door access 2
1969 LWB

[Gary71]

Just pull it then

[adrianscott]

Yes - got it out! Rusty but could be worse.
Will post pics later.
It was nut and bolt X that fooled me - Secured bottom of headlamp cowl to top of battery box.
LWB feature? Also rubber petrol cap surround perished.
I bet that’s expensive!!
Thanks everyone for your help.

[adrianscott]

Wing turns out to be a bit of a bother. Mostly ok, except down the bottom
Patch? Any thoughts?

[PeterK]

Yep, patch it. Cut out all if the rust and butt weld in new steel
Enjoy -it’s fun really


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gary71]

Fun? Maybe sometimes when it goes to plan.

Patching is an option, but that double skin section is definitely in the ‘fun’ category. I can’t see everything in your photo but the rot on the inner and outer seems to run up to and inside the hem flange. If you tried to weld close to the edge, just where your obvious hole is, it would just vaporise.

I’m sure it’s possible to make this whole section, inner and outer, but unless you are feeling very confident in 3D fabrication it maybe easier and have a better end result to get a better used panel, glass fibre or even a new one.

I love to repair rather than throw away, and often spend many hour trying only to realise it’s hopeless and buy new having wasted a week.

Best of luck!