Ian Longhurst Posted July 30, 2001 Share Posted July 30, 2001 Some idiot has crashed into my car ripping rear passenger wing clean off (only held on with rear light loom) As it was ripped off it's made fixing holes in Aluminium bigger. If I buy a new wing is it easy to fit or is it an insurance job. I've got a rough idea how to do it but wouldn't mind some advice. Are there any tips out there, or is it easier to make a claim with £250 excess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg Posted July 31, 2001 Share Posted July 31, 2001 How damaged are the fixing holes ? A rear wing is 60 quid IIRC, and a few larger washers may cover any enlarged holes. How is the stone guard fixed - mines got nuts and bolts, so changing a wing on mine is arround an hours work (allowing for "adjustment time") - If the aluminiom panel is not/verylighty damaged and the holes are not too big then why not do it yourself ? If the holes are enlarged / bent outwards then can light usee of a small hammer adjust them back? Greg, Q 880 RAE (Green/Ali XF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Elizabeth Posted July 31, 2001 Share Posted July 31, 2001 Before heading off to scream round the cones at Brool;ands, James Whiting told me in uncertain terms "not to hit the cones" since rear wings were difficult to replace. Not good news I am afraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Alston Posted July 31, 2001 Share Posted July 31, 2001 I replaced an offside rear wing an found the biggest problem was the fixing hole spacing as new wings come undrilled. I made a template from a large sheet of hardboard marking the hole spacing from the existing wing. It was then simple to lay the new wing onto the template and drill holes where marked. Whilst most of the enlarged holes in the aluminium can be dealt with by using large washers, the blind holes are rather more difficult as there is only access from one side. Good luck John A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Longhurst Posted July 31, 2001 Author Share Posted July 31, 2001 Thanks everyone, I'll probably give it a go myself. Is it a nightmare drilling and replacing the interior panel rivets? Also what else do I need to remove for access, the boot? If so whats the best way to do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpa Posted July 31, 2001 Share Posted July 31, 2001 Hi Ian, the internal panels aren't too difficult to drill/re-rivet. you may even be able to get away without removing anything - just put bigger rivnuts into the enlarged holes blush.gif You shouldn't need to remove any boot stuff. There are holes into the boot, which just use bolts with washers inside the boot. Lower down I thing there is a rivnut where the tank sits behind - again, just try a larger one. When refitting, a lot of people have recommended using plastic bolts/nuts. This way, the bolts should strip rather than make big holes smile.gif You can get plain nylon cheese-head bolts and nuts from some hardware stores. AHC in Camberley/Farnham have loads. If you can't get any, let me know and I'll post you some. Cheers, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lali Posted August 28, 2001 Share Posted August 28, 2001 I have just managed to lose my rear passenger wing as the result of a differnce of opinion in corner apex with a cone at bruntingthorpe. teh plastic nut and bolts that have been mentioned are these the same type of thing used to hold registration plates on or are they more sturdy than that? cheers lali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lali Posted August 28, 2001 Share Posted August 28, 2001 I have just managed to lose my rear passenger wing as the result of a differnce of opinion in corner apex with a cone at bruntingthorpe. teh plastic nut and bolts that have been mentioned are these the same type of thing used to hold registration plates on or are they more sturdy than that? cheers lali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lali Posted August 28, 2001 Share Posted August 28, 2001 I have just managed to lose my rear passenger wing as the result of a differnce of opinion in corner apex with a cone at bruntingthorpe. teh plastic nut and bolts that have been mentioned are these the same type of thing used to hold registration plates on or are they more sturdy than that? cheers lali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted August 28, 2001 Share Posted August 28, 2001 They're much less substantial than number plate bolts, they're the same size and thread as the original bolts just nylon instead of steel, M5 I think. They hold the wing on very well, quite strong enough for the job. Then, in the unfortunate event of an impact, they work a treat the threads just deform and the bolts pop straight out of the nuts and the wings come away without any aluminium deformation at all. For carbon fibre wings the wings themselves are very strong so they too will often deform and then fully recover after the impact. For GRP wings they're fairly cheap so easily replaceable (provided you have a standard colour rather than a custom paint job). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Smith Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 You don't need to use all the fixing holes either. I've stripped most of the riv-nuts out, so my rear wing is held quite securely by about 5 bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 It's OK to use all the holes/bolts as long as you put the large washers between the head of the bolt and wheelarch, and between the nut (where used in place of rivnut, as in the back section) and the alloy panel of the car. This makes sure the bolt snaps and doesn't pull through the alloy or fibreglass/cf damaging either. Also, make sure you use 2 nylon nuts in the back section. You can't screw a single nut tight enough to hold the wing tight against the body of the car with one nut. The thread just isn't strong enough. I've been using nylon bolts since I built mine, and have had 2 opportunities to "test" them, quite successfully. They are, as said, much less substantial than those used for reg plates, and I think different in size anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie_boy69 Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 For fitting the rear wing the way I used to do it was to take the wheel of and mark where the old holes were with a marker pen in the direction of the axle about 2" long so that you can see when the wing is in place, then place the wing using dirt marks etc back on the car then mark back onto the wing this gives you the right place for your drill hole then measure again using dirt/scratch marks the depth of the hole on the flange then just drill and use M6 bolts with very large spreader wshers. Or at the front make new holes if you can't use existing rivnuts. Keith Pickering superlight T7 KCP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfreeman Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 I like the idea of replacing my existing wing bolts with the nylon ones. Does anyone know if I can buy them from Halfords - or an online supplier or someone who does mailorder ? Also - do you still need to partly cut through the bolts to make them weak enough so they will definatley pop before the wing ? Thanks ! Paul R500 SPL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lali Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 Cheers to everyone for that, no prizes for guessing what I will be doing this weekend! lali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted August 31, 2001 Share Posted August 31, 2001 Mine are from RS comps, not the cheapest but convenient, http://rswww.com I used M5 x 20 nylon bolts, part no 527-757, less than a fiver for a bag of 100. M5 nylon nuts, part no 525-723, and M5 nylon washers, part no 525-751, both a couple of quid a bag. I fitted them without any cutting and, when required, they have pulled out of the nuts without any damage to wing or bodywork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now