Rear wing repairs

[jamesm]

I ran over a lump of debris at the w/e which was flung up by the front wheel and neatly ripped off the rear wing. All of the rivnuts have been ripped out of the aluminium panel - how do i go about repairing this

 

do i just hammer the old holes flat, then drill new holes and fit new rivnuts or is there some clever way of using the old holes?

 

James M

[Dave H]

IMHO rivnuts are a c**p way of attaching parts to the car. I am currently rebuilding my seven, and have drilled out all the rivnuts and used nuts & bolts. I have drilled through the inner panel and used round/flat headed bolts inside the car, so the rear wings can be removed without having to drill out the rivets holding the inner panels (again).

Alternatively, James Whiting had some rubber wotsits that Lotus used instead of rivnuts, which could be pushed through the exiting hole and would expand the hold the wing.

A number of the racers attach their wings with plastic numberplate bolts, so they will break rather than the wing/body.

 

Dave H

[Dave H]

Oh B****r - sorry, double posting

 

Dave H

 

Edited by - Dave H on 29 May 2001 12:55:14

[jamesm]

putting bolts through from the inside sounds like a good idea, but if the wing gets a knock again what gives? do you use the plastic number plate screws - if so are they reliable or do they stretch and need changing all of the time?

 

James M

[murph7355]

James - what on Earth did you hit?

[jamesm]

not sure but it was black and quite large - tried to avoid it but brain didn't connect with arms in time. could have been a piece of rubber from a destroyed lorry tyre

 

James M

[Dave H]

James,

 

I haven't tried the numberplate bolts, but apparently they work quite well. They shouldn't stretch. I've never had a problem (cross fingers/touch wood etc) with impacts on the rear wings sufficient to rip them off. I'm replacing them because of damage from stone chips and some s*d leaning on one of them and cracking it.

If a wing does get ripped off I guess I end up with a hole in the inner panel and the skin, so the next time would either require a reskin or the use of large washers.

 

Dave H

[John]

Number plate screws will not stretch but the nut will pull off the threads very easily in tension.

 

John

[CHRIS CLARK]

I am in agreement with John in that the plasic nuts don't hold too well.I have used the plastic bolts with std. steel nuts on the inside which grip better. You still have to be careful though as the nylon thread is not that deep on the bolt. I have found a stronger version from a model shop. They're used to hold model aircraft wings in place. They have a larger diameter flat head which spreads the load better. well over long, but can of course be cut back easily. Not yet got around to fitting these yet though!!!

 

Good Luck with the repair. What a b.g..r!!!!!!