Removal of front wing

[DerekJ]

I had an 'off' at Goodwood which re-arranged my front wing and shroud (ouch!). Not to mention the rear wing but that isn't too bad. The body shop can't start work for a while yet so we decided I would remove the wing and shroud to move things along and save a bit of money.

I have successfully removed the bolts below the headlights and the three underneath the wing between the wheel and bulkhead. I have a few questions.

1. How many bolts run along the top of the wing?

2. Are they all accessible? Anything need removing?

3. The door rubber by the dashboard appears to be attached to the top of the wing by three pop rivets that would appear to need drilling out. Are there any other wing fixings at the door end? I can't see any.

4. The manual says the door should be removed but as of now I can't see why this should be the case.

Any comments, suggestions and advice most appreciated.

 

[DerekJ]

Update. I checked in the shop manual (should have done that before!). I have now managed to remove all the top bolts after a struggle due to the wing being deformed.

The two rivets need to be removed to free the rubber and I am still searching for 'a number of metal thread screws to be extracted that fix the wing, on the inside of the door pillar..'

 

[British_Recovery]

Are you going to remove the front shroud too? There are sheet metal screws holding flanges onto the vertical hinge pillar that have to be removed, allowing the front wing to be slid rearward before removing it. There are bolts under the dash, as well as those accessable from the engine bay. When removing the door, unscrew the hinges from the hinge pillar after marking their position on the pillar, since the threaded plates slide for adjustment.
Bob

 

[Brinkerhoff]

Yes , what Bob said . The door needs to be removed so that the wing can be slid back and removed . The sheet metal screws are exposed when the door is opened.

 

[DerekJ]

Guys,

When I open the door fully I can see all of the face of the hinge pillar but nowhere do i see any sheet metal screws? The wing doesn't really attach to the hinge pillar except at the top where the rivets holding the rubber are. What am I missing here? Where are these screws?

Also, why does the wing need to be slid back to remove it? It already appears to be separating from the shroud as it is?

 

[Brinkerhoff]

Originally there were 5 or six pan head #6 philips screws ( close enough?) securing a flange that was spot welded to the wing's edge. Perhaps yours has been modified?

 

[DerekJ]

Did the flange run down the full length of the pillar attaching the wing to it? Mine definitely does not have that but I know the car was restored about 10 years ago as a fast road car with no real need for originality.

 

[Brinkerhoff]

Yes, except for cut outs for the hinges,it ran the full length down to the sill .

 

[DerekJ]

OK.

I guess I have 6 less screws to remove then!

 

[Randy Forbes]

Pity, I went to great lengths to recreate that flange for my LF "quilt"** fender.



** Quilt: made up from many parts__at least five (>5) in my case!!

Bummer about the off, but that's the price. I hope it's not too bad (and worth it for the bragging rights; I stuffed mine into the side of a mountain out in California back in 1978. I didn't appreciate it immediately, but it sure beat going off the cliff...!).

 

[DerekJ]

i'm not sure about bragging rights but I did go off at St Marys, the same place that ended Stirling Moss' career! The feeling was a mixture of embarrassment and stupidity. Why the **** did I do that! etc, etc,

The wing and shroud are quite damaged and the steering arm, tie rod and steering rocker arm were all bent. Luckily The chassis appears to be straight. I have fixed the steering items and driven the car and it tracks OK. Now for the bodywork. As they say, it could have been a lot worse.

 

[Randy Forbes]

i'm not sure about bragging rights but I did go off at St Marys, the same place that ended Stirling Moss' career! The feeling was a mixture of embarrassment and stupidity. Why the **** did I do that! etc, etc,

The wing and shroud are quite damaged and the steering arm, tie rod and steering rocker arm were all bent. Luckily The chassis appears to be straight. I have fixed the steering items and driven the car and it tracks OK. Now for the bodywork. As they say, it could have been a lot worse.

And we're all glad that it wasn't!

Not that pride heals overnight, but that's a healthy scar to be mindful of!

 

[Rob Glasgow]

Here's a photo of the flange on the rear of the front fender. There are six screws holding the top of the fender and 3 more in the front below the headlight. I think there maybe some additional bolts on the top edge of the fender. There are about six small sheet metal screws that mount the flange to the door pillar.

 

[Keoke]

'm not sure about bragging rights but I did go off at St Marys, the same place that ended Stirling Moss' career!

Well that just goes to show you good as Stirling Moss.:congratulatory:

 

[DerekJ]

...and to this day nobody knows exactly what caused Moss to crash, although he was driving a Lotus which might explain it! On the other hand my crash was caused by my inability to drive in the wet.

Rob, thanks for the pic. My car doesn't have those pieces fitted, it doesn't seem to make any difference.

 

[Keoke]

my crash was caused by my inability to drive in the wet.

WOT!!:

You sure you in the Cotswolds??----:highly_amused:-------