Anyone done it, how hard is it, need to repair my NSF wing as there is abit of a crust appearing below the stone chip so was thinking this may be better done off the car or is it a complete pain, other alternative is to find another wing and swap them but I get theimpression S2/Turbo wings are in short supply, it isnt that bad, just want to get it sorted, could buy one and get it painted up ready, then just swap over, whats the going rate ?
Removing a wing ?
- Thread starter J4CKO
- Start date
Quite a few track/race cars sport fibreglass wings and doors etc. that's the route I'll go when the steel ones get bent.
944 man
Active member
Great for track cars but terrible for road cars. Even the best GRP wing will take more in bodyshop labour to make it look presentable, then a new Porsche panel would cost.
Id always say repair the existing wing, and usually do it in-situ. It is indeed a massive PITA to remove the wings - even when youve got all of the hidden bolts out, itll be secured by the sealer.
Id rule out a new wing too, as they wont last for more than a couple of years without the factory sealers and youre looking at north of £600 for a new wing fitted and painted. Used wings arent rare particularly, but theyre all as knackered as yours and probably even worse.
Simon
Id always say repair the existing wing, and usually do it in-situ. It is indeed a massive PITA to remove the wings - even when youve got all of the hidden bolts out, itll be secured by the sealer.
Id rule out a new wing too, as they wont last for more than a couple of years without the factory sealers and youre looking at north of £600 for a new wing fitted and painted. Used wings arent rare particularly, but theyre all as knackered as yours and probably even worse.
Simon
JamesO
New member
I repaired mine in-situ,using the bottom mount point to hold the section in place for welding. I'm not the best welder in the world, not helped by using a crappy old 'buz box' style arc welder but it came out well. Better than the distorted 'pro' repair to the rear sill/wing anyway.
I used non turbo wing bottoms on both sides. The tabs that hold the turbo/s2 trim pieces on can be added. Mine are left off, mostly as I cant find one of them.
I used non turbo wing bottoms on both sides. The tabs that hold the turbo/s2 trim pieces on can be added. Mine are left off, mostly as I cant find one of them.
If you are handy with a pair of tin snips you can make a replacement part out of some sheet steel fairly easily.
I did one for mine having never done this sort of thing before, and it looks as good as when it came out of the factory. (It helps a LOT to make some mock-ups out of thin cardboard beforehand.)
Oli.
I did one for mine having never done this sort of thing before, and it looks as good as when it came out of the factory. (It helps a LOT to make some mock-ups out of thin cardboard beforehand.)
Oli.
olli, think that will be the route, the ares doesnt look that big (though my be the tip of a rather rusty iceberg), I have a grinder with the 1mm cutting disks, a Mig Welder, tin snips, some steel etc, have had a practice on an old Fiat 500 door I had around and it wasnt that bad, I used the piece I cut out to weld back in and had to bridge the gap with weld which was a bad move, an extra mm is a long way with weld so next one I wont be lazy and cut a proper repair piece out.
Will have a few more practises and improve my technique and then take an angle grinder to my lovely 944 [&:]
Need some decent weather first as cant get it in my garage.
Do you guys disconnect the ecu or just the battery when welding ?
Will have a few more practises and improve my technique and then take an angle grinder to my lovely 944 [&:]
Need some decent weather first as cant get it in my garage.
Do you guys disconnect the ecu or just the battery when welding ?
Hi Mark
I am in the same boat with my 944, having taken it off the road a couple of years ago now to get the bottom of the wings sorted and unfortunately other things have overtaken my time!
I would say that depending on the amount of rot it may be best to take the wing off to fabricate a decent repair, but it is not for the faint hearted. As mentioned earlier after removing all the bolts (including the hidden ones behind the ABS pump on the offside), cutting through the sealant without causing any damage is quite a mission. I have now removed my offside wing (the worst one) but reckon the nearside isn't too bad and can be cleaned up in situ.
Due to the shape of the wing bottom which has a constantly varying curve I don't think my skills are up to it at the moment, so have spoken to a friendly local classic car resto company who are willing to fabricate and blend in a repair section for me.
Interestingly when trying to find out if anyone did a repair section the only ones I could find were fibreglass ones from Jon Mitchell and I decided I wanted a proper repair in steel.
It seems that a lot of these cars are suffering in this area now so I had a chat with the repairers to see whether they could make a mould to fabricate repair sections as I reckon there is a market/requirement and they don't think it would be too much of a problem.
I know the bottom of Lux and S2/Turbo wings are slightly different which would have to be looked into but do you all think this type of thing would be of interest as an off the shelf repair section? Any feedback welcome.
Cheers
I am in the same boat with my 944, having taken it off the road a couple of years ago now to get the bottom of the wings sorted and unfortunately other things have overtaken my time!
I would say that depending on the amount of rot it may be best to take the wing off to fabricate a decent repair, but it is not for the faint hearted. As mentioned earlier after removing all the bolts (including the hidden ones behind the ABS pump on the offside), cutting through the sealant without causing any damage is quite a mission. I have now removed my offside wing (the worst one) but reckon the nearside isn't too bad and can be cleaned up in situ.
Due to the shape of the wing bottom which has a constantly varying curve I don't think my skills are up to it at the moment, so have spoken to a friendly local classic car resto company who are willing to fabricate and blend in a repair section for me.
Interestingly when trying to find out if anyone did a repair section the only ones I could find were fibreglass ones from Jon Mitchell and I decided I wanted a proper repair in steel.
It seems that a lot of these cars are suffering in this area now so I had a chat with the repairers to see whether they could make a mould to fabricate repair sections as I reckon there is a market/requirement and they don't think it would be too much of a problem.
I know the bottom of Lux and S2/Turbo wings are slightly different which would have to be looked into but do you all think this type of thing would be of interest as an off the shelf repair section? Any feedback welcome.
Cheers
Hi Mark
You are right in that it would have to be a reasonable price but not sure what that will work out at the moment until they start on mine and see what could be done to replicate it. I guess most repairs would be below or just up to the stonechip line which could be cut down if not all was needed to keep the painting to a minimum as you and I are attempting to do.
The fibreglass repair sections from Jon Mitchell were £65 + VAT the last time I enquired which was back in May last year and they would need to be bonded in. I have not been able to find any one else producing anything so far, so may proceed and see what we could come up with. I may also have to get hold of a Turbo or S2 wing to compare/take measurements or a mould from to enable both types to be produced.
Regards
You are right in that it would have to be a reasonable price but not sure what that will work out at the moment until they start on mine and see what could be done to replicate it. I guess most repairs would be below or just up to the stonechip line which could be cut down if not all was needed to keep the painting to a minimum as you and I are attempting to do.
The fibreglass repair sections from Jon Mitchell were £65 + VAT the last time I enquired which was back in May last year and they would need to be bonded in. I have not been able to find any one else producing anything so far, so may proceed and see what we could come up with. I may also have to get hold of a Turbo or S2 wing to compare/take measurements or a mould from to enable both types to be produced.
Regards
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