Lower wing repair panel
- Thread starter markmsa
- Start date
Monkeythree
New member
You can get fibreglass panels like this :
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/944-n-s-l...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2589d1f2fd
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/944-n-s-l...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2589d1f2fd
pauljmcnulty
Active member
This has come up often, and the answer is always that you have a scale of quality and longevity to the repair, with prices not always rising to match.
Firstly, has the rot spread up beyond the stoneguard line? If not, I'd be repairing it personally, and if you can't fabricate the metal then get it done by a local, economical, passionate, expert classic car restorer. Not a Porsche specialist necessarily, it's just a simple piece of metalwork, and has a very convenient line to repair/spray to.
If it's more serious, or the wing has further damage, then the only real option is a new one, plastic or original. It's a part that lasted 25 years without being looked after, so a new Porsche one, regularly cleaned out and protected, will last double that. You also have the advantage that you can address any possible early rust underneath the wing when it's removed, which is rare but increasingly possible as the cars age.
I can't see the logic of a plastic repair. By the time it's properly fitted and finished you could have bought a plastic wing, and be done with it. It's like the sill "repair" rubbish, that ends up costing the price of a Porsche sill once it's been messed around with, but is laughable compared with the real thing. If you want to go for plastic wings that's a good option, as a cheaper, lightweight alternative, if you are happy to live with the finish, and the possible loss of value in the car.
Which raises the other big problem if a localised repair isn't possible (and in 99% of cases it is [
]). Once you're spraying a panel as big as the front wing, you might as well budget to respray the car. Mine was done because the insurance repair to the wing involved spraying the wing, blending in through the door and rear quarter, the bonnet, front PU and badge panel, and up the a-pillar. That's half the car, so I decided to go all the way and spend the extra.
I'd assume that a 944 with a rotten front wing also has another one on the other side? Also, some minor issues around the rear arches, number plate lights, hatch latches, plenty of stone chips to the front, probably some dinks and scratches on almost every panel, let alone the issue of matching paint that old.
All that said, if Porkaparts can sell you a 944 wing, for the S2/turbo bodywork, in totally rust-free condition, for £50-£70, then buy them all. They are almost impossible to find used without at least some issues, so you're back to new ending up the most cost-effective option if yours is the incredibly rare one that's past saving. [&:]
Firstly, has the rot spread up beyond the stoneguard line? If not, I'd be repairing it personally, and if you can't fabricate the metal then get it done by a local, economical, passionate, expert classic car restorer. Not a Porsche specialist necessarily, it's just a simple piece of metalwork, and has a very convenient line to repair/spray to.
If it's more serious, or the wing has further damage, then the only real option is a new one, plastic or original. It's a part that lasted 25 years without being looked after, so a new Porsche one, regularly cleaned out and protected, will last double that. You also have the advantage that you can address any possible early rust underneath the wing when it's removed, which is rare but increasingly possible as the cars age.
I can't see the logic of a plastic repair. By the time it's properly fitted and finished you could have bought a plastic wing, and be done with it. It's like the sill "repair" rubbish, that ends up costing the price of a Porsche sill once it's been messed around with, but is laughable compared with the real thing. If you want to go for plastic wings that's a good option, as a cheaper, lightweight alternative, if you are happy to live with the finish, and the possible loss of value in the car.
Which raises the other big problem if a localised repair isn't possible (and in 99% of cases it is [
]). Once you're spraying a panel as big as the front wing, you might as well budget to respray the car. Mine was done because the insurance repair to the wing involved spraying the wing, blending in through the door and rear quarter, the bonnet, front PU and badge panel, and up the a-pillar. That's half the car, so I decided to go all the way and spend the extra. I'd assume that a 944 with a rotten front wing also has another one on the other side? Also, some minor issues around the rear arches, number plate lights, hatch latches, plenty of stone chips to the front, probably some dinks and scratches on almost every panel, let alone the issue of matching paint that old.
All that said, if Porkaparts can sell you a 944 wing, for the S2/turbo bodywork, in totally rust-free condition, for £50-£70, then buy them all. They are almost impossible to find used without at least some issues, so you're back to new ending up the most cost-effective option if yours is the incredibly rare one that's past saving. [&:]
Elliot
New member
Sorry Mark
sold my last S2 wings earlier this month.
if your wings are good with exception of the base get them repaired. An original wing with repair is far better than one replaced with a newer one as the factory backing on the original is better than anything.
Postage comment relates to a courier dropping a dashboard on its end and creasing it during delivery mark - unfortunately it happens occasionally.
regards Elliot
sold my last S2 wings earlier this month.
if your wings are good with exception of the base get them repaired. An original wing with repair is far better than one replaced with a newer one as the factory backing on the original is better than anything.
Postage comment relates to a courier dropping a dashboard on its end and creasing it during delivery mark - unfortunately it happens occasionally.
regards Elliot
Diver944
Active member
I'm sure you've seen more rusty wings than most Elliot but I have to disagree there. Modern underseals and cavity waxes are far superior than anything applied 30 years ago and if a wing has already needed one repair it shows that the factory backing is not impregnable. I have seen more wings with a repair that is already failing than I have seen new wings with rust starting to form again.
What is important is that the person fitting a brand new wing makes sure that the correct underseal is applied before spraying it and fitting it. Fitting a new wing also gives you the chance to attend to any nastiness forming on the inner wing at the bottom of the A pillar drains.
George Elliott
New member
Paul,
I'd have to say my experience of getting the original factory under-seal off 80's production 944's or VAG cars is that the factory material is miles better than any motor factor stock in England or Ireland. The original factory fit panels are also superior fit, alignment, and panel gaps - wide though they are. Probably because the Tooling was fresh when they were produced, and the mass production process controls were better than the occasional batches produced for spares and knocked about in spare parts storage. Nothing like a production line to keep parts quality tight.
I have one new OE wing on a turbo S, and its in worse condition than the opposite side Original with lower edge repairs done. Its as i bought it.
Just my 2p of experience
George
944t
I'd have to say my experience of getting the original factory under-seal off 80's production 944's or VAG cars is that the factory material is miles better than any motor factor stock in England or Ireland. The original factory fit panels are also superior fit, alignment, and panel gaps - wide though they are. Probably because the Tooling was fresh when they were produced, and the mass production process controls were better than the occasional batches produced for spares and knocked about in spare parts storage. Nothing like a production line to keep parts quality tight.
I have one new OE wing on a turbo S, and its in worse condition than the opposite side Original with lower edge repairs done. Its as i bought it.
Just my 2p of experience
George
944t
Diver944
Active member
My thought process is quite hard to explain without chatting face to face, but I'll have a go []
I believe a new wing that goes bad quite quickly is all down to the way the installer painted and sealed it, not the manufacturing process.
The original Porsche underseal is good (lets face it most wings have lasted 25-30 years) but it won't last forever and the testament to this is the fact that they are pretty much all rusting (and have been for the 15 years that I've had 944s)
If a wing is repaired then the bottom needs to be cut off and a repair panel welded in. To weld in a patch, the factory underseal and the galvanising needs to be totally ground off down to clean fresh metal. This area is then welded to the non galvanised repair patch, after which it will have to be covered over with fresh sealer. The most rust prone area is the fresh weld, with no galvanising intact and it's now sitting in the bullseye zone to collect all the damp mud and crud that collects at the bottom of the front wing.
If done properly a good repair will last a long time, but to suggest a patch down there is better and longer lasting than a brand new wing is I think misleading. Virtually every post on here where someone starts to repair their rusty wing bottom finds a previous repair already there. There are only two reasons I can think of why someone recommends repair patches:
1. Its cheaper
2. They are selling patch repairs
]I believe a new wing that goes bad quite quickly is all down to the way the installer painted and sealed it, not the manufacturing process.
The original Porsche underseal is good (lets face it most wings have lasted 25-30 years) but it won't last forever and the testament to this is the fact that they are pretty much all rusting (and have been for the 15 years that I've had 944s)
If a wing is repaired then the bottom needs to be cut off and a repair panel welded in. To weld in a patch, the factory underseal and the galvanising needs to be totally ground off down to clean fresh metal. This area is then welded to the non galvanised repair patch, after which it will have to be covered over with fresh sealer. The most rust prone area is the fresh weld, with no galvanising intact and it's now sitting in the bullseye zone to collect all the damp mud and crud that collects at the bottom of the front wing.
If done properly a good repair will last a long time, but to suggest a patch down there is better and longer lasting than a brand new wing is I think misleading. Virtually every post on here where someone starts to repair their rusty wing bottom finds a previous repair already there. There are only two reasons I can think of why someone recommends repair patches:
1. Its cheaper
2. They are selling patch repairs
George Elliott
New member
What if the patch was 316 stainless steel, tig welded in, and purged from both sides? (something I am looking at for that tired wing)
There is little that cannot be improved, but hey as you said Paul, the Originals were very good but are getting old now, it comes down to workmanship, opinions, notions in heads.
George
944t
There is little that cannot be improved, but hey as you said Paul, the Originals were very good but are getting old now, it comes down to workmanship, opinions, notions in heads.
George
944t
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