Paul brex Posted May 22, 2017 Report Posted May 22, 2017 I've been stalling the next part of my resto for a few weeks now! The inner wings have the usual strut top rot and the wing rail seam is too thin to reuse. My question is....does anyone repair inner wings these days? Or is that a thing of the past now?! I've have done top strut top repairs and wing rails countless times and always had good results with wing gaps etc! I just keep thinking that for the price of one inner wing I can get a lot more for my money panel wise! What are your thoughts?
Admin Vista Posted May 22, 2017 Admin Report Posted May 22, 2017 I guess it depends on how extensive the repairs necessary are and how good your fab skills are. Changing an inner wing is a pretty daunting and difficult task for most DIY mechanics, get it wrong and you can really mess up the suspension geometry.
OSF Contributor Mexican Gerbil Posted May 22, 2017 OSF Contributor Report Posted May 22, 2017 I just bought a pair of fully dressed ones for mine when I had to make the same choice. The drivers side had a patch on already. In the end I had the whole front end new apart from one chassis rail leg.
colr6 Posted May 22, 2017 Report Posted May 22, 2017 As stated a lot depends on the amount of corrosion, can you repair to look well finished by repairing. No doubt there will be an Auto- data measuring sheet on the net to check any measurements even on an original wing which has rotted then repaired there will be some deviation from original. If your into strut top/ strut turret/ wing rail and any further remedial work the I would be popping a full inner wing on.
Moderator Rally Pack 2000 Posted May 23, 2017 Moderator Report Posted May 23, 2017 The irony is that many cars that went to the breakers yard are far better than those some are trying to repair today. The local one where I would get parts had dozens of Escorts simply with a damaged front wing.
puddy Posted May 23, 2017 Report Posted May 23, 2017 The irony is that many cars that went to the breakers yard are far better than those some are trying to repair today. The local one where I would get parts had dozens of Escorts simply with a damaged front wing. Lol , how much salt do they put on the roads in an Australian winter ? puddy
Moderator Rally Pack 2000 Posted May 23, 2017 Moderator Report Posted May 23, 2017 Lol , how much salt do they put on the roads in an Australian winter ? puddy What is this Winter thing of which you speak? Salt goes on your chips with a bit of vinegar not roads silly! 2
Paul brex Posted May 23, 2017 Author Report Posted May 23, 2017 Thanks for your replies everyone....fish and chips it is for dinner tonight!! 1
colr6 Posted May 23, 2017 Report Posted May 23, 2017 If only!!!!! Our cars would be in as good a nick as yours over there and we wouldn't have to be shipping them back over to try and get something that resembles an ' original' or as Ray likes to bounce around 'kit' cars. Tbh isn't that what an escort is that's been restored using all new panels.........a car in ' kit' form! One thing about my Anglia and Cortina for that matter is they still have their original panels on them! Transmission changes yes but as a shell of a car as FORD made it with a few tweeks! 1
Danish Posted May 23, 2017 Report Posted May 23, 2017 I started making repairs to my inner wings, they were fairly solid, but had lots of small areas that I patched and eventually I gave in and had new inner wings fitted. I did one myself and it was OK - a lot of time measuring everything, and I welded some lengths of box section to keep everything in line. But for the other side I farmed it out to a professional.
Paul brex Posted May 23, 2017 Author Report Posted May 23, 2017 The repairs to the inner wings wouldn't be a problem for me to do....the wing mounting rails are still intact all the way along so I've got a good reference point when I'm lining the new wing rails up for height. The strut top corrosion is confined to just above the under wing cup so I wouldn't need to put a full top plate on. I still intend to paint the engine bay satin black or a semi gloss black so I wouldn't have to spend quite as much time filling and smoothing.
Paul brex Posted May 27, 2017 Author Report Posted May 27, 2017 What has alpha's got to do with it?! 1
Grant Posted May 27, 2017 Report Posted May 27, 2017 What has alpha's got to do with it?! They always need welding
colr6 Posted May 27, 2017 Report Posted May 27, 2017 The repairs to the inner wings wouldn't be a problem for me to do....the wing mounting rails are still intact all the way along so I've got a good reference point when I'm lining the new wing rails up for height. The strut top corrosion is confined to just above the under wing cup so I wouldn't need to put a full top plate on. I still intend to paint the engine bay satin black or a semi gloss black so I wouldn't have to spend quite as much time filling and smoothing. Found this in my photo file might be some use for you checking measurements
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