Front Wing Fitting - Maybe FAO Munter
Discussion
Just wondering if anybody has any experience of fitting new front wings on their '5, in particular the offside wing?
Munter - I noticed yours has a new nearside wing fitted (looking through the hardtop thread). Is that one you fitted yourself, if so how difficult was it?
My offside wing has a blemish. I'd rather fit a new wing than repair it so that it's perfect.
Munter - I noticed yours has a new nearside wing fitted (looking through the hardtop thread). Is that one you fitted yourself, if so how difficult was it?
My offside wing has a blemish. I'd rather fit a new wing than repair it so that it's perfect.
Sorry. I didn't fit mine myself. I needed someone to bend the structures behind it into shape....
When I did read up on it though It should be quite simple but I think theres one bolt thats a bit of a bhitch to get to.
Personally I'd see what the cost is of getting the blemish fixed at a bodyshop 1st.
When I did read up on it though It should be quite simple but I think theres one bolt thats a bit of a bhitch to get to.
Personally I'd see what the cost is of getting the blemish fixed at a bodyshop 1st.
i bent the structures behind mine with a jack, old cricket bat, very big hammer and lots of swearing and falling over
the wing is fairly easy - just bolts off. bit awkward where it connects up with the nose, mine was a little out of joint so access to bolts there may have been easier (or more difficult!) than normal...
the bolt in the middle by the door gave me real trouble as i didn't want to ruin the wing - it had to go back on. but if i was discarding it, i could have just bent it out the way (taking care not to scratch the door)
i have a new wing on teh way now so i'll get that painted up and stick it on if you can wait a month or so!!
the most difficult thing is bolts shearing. i'll tell you now, it will happen
the wing is fairly easy - just bolts off. bit awkward where it connects up with the nose, mine was a little out of joint so access to bolts there may have been easier (or more difficult!) than normal...
the bolt in the middle by the door gave me real trouble as i didn't want to ruin the wing - it had to go back on. but if i was discarding it, i could have just bent it out the way (taking care not to scratch the door)
i have a new wing on teh way now so i'll get that painted up and stick it on if you can wait a month or so!!
the most difficult thing is bolts shearing. i'll tell you now, it will happen
Edited by skinny on Tuesday 1st April 17:39
Yikes how did you manage that John?
Put a big order in today for odds and sods at AutoLink:
Front discs/pads
Oil Filter
Air Filter
Wiper Blades
Clear side repeaters
Bumper hangers.
Ours is going into the bodyshop a week on saturday so i'm longer forward to getting it back and seeing the results
Put a big order in today for odds and sods at AutoLink:
Front discs/pads
Oil Filter
Air Filter
Wiper Blades
Clear side repeaters
Bumper hangers.
Ours is going into the bodyshop a week on saturday so i'm longer forward to getting it back and seeing the results
Thanks for the help guys, it looks doable with a bit of swearing anyway!
I did get a quote on repairing the blemish from a bodyshop but when he heard I could buy a brand new wing for £80 or second hand for £50 he said it'd be cheaper to spray and fir the new wing.
I was a bit dubious about repair anyway due to me perceiving the quality wouldn't be as good but better quality + cheaper = a happy MX-5 owner!
As it' s a bolt off/bolt on job I'll have a look myself but if I run into trouble I'll happily let the bodyshop do the work as they're very reasonable with labour.
Thanks again,
Matt.
I did get a quote on repairing the blemish from a bodyshop but when he heard I could buy a brand new wing for £80 or second hand for £50 he said it'd be cheaper to spray and fir the new wing.
I was a bit dubious about repair anyway due to me perceiving the quality wouldn't be as good but better quality + cheaper = a happy MX-5 owner!
As it' s a bolt off/bolt on job I'll have a look myself but if I run into trouble I'll happily let the bodyshop do the work as they're very reasonable with labour.
Thanks again,
Matt.
Wigeon Incognito said:
Thanks for the help guys, it looks doable with a bit of swearing anyway!
I did get a quote on repairing the blemish from a bodyshop but when he heard I could buy a brand new wing for £80 or second hand for £50 he said it'd be cheaper to spray and fir the new wing.
I was a bit dubious about repair anyway due to me perceiving the quality wouldn't be as good but better quality + cheaper = a happy MX-5 owner!
As it' s a bolt off/bolt on job I'll have a look myself but if I run into trouble I'll happily let the bodyshop do the work as they're very reasonable with labour.
Thanks again,
Matt.
That's interesting... How old is your car? I did get a quote on repairing the blemish from a bodyshop but when he heard I could buy a brand new wing for £80 or second hand for £50 he said it'd be cheaper to spray and fir the new wing.
I was a bit dubious about repair anyway due to me perceiving the quality wouldn't be as good but better quality + cheaper = a happy MX-5 owner!
As it' s a bolt off/bolt on job I'll have a look myself but if I run into trouble I'll happily let the bodyshop do the work as they're very reasonable with labour.
Thanks again,
Matt.
I've had a quote recently for repairing some damage to our front wing and the guy recommended repairing instead of replacement as he'd have less to paint (he could blend the new paint into the old on the wing rather than having to spray along the door as well.
pmanson said:
That's interesting... How old is your car?
It's one of the last of the Mk1s, a 1998.My metalwork guy (more of an artist than a mechanic so I trust him) said that by the time he has cut, shaped the metal, welded, and painted the area the labour on the metalwork would be far greater than that on paint alone even if it was an entire panel.
Maybe using filler would be cheaper than a new panel but that's a route I really don't want to take.
Gassing Station | Mazda MX5/Roadster/Miata | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff