Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Electrolysis in wings

Hello,
I am looking for a few comments on what and when I should do anything about the electrolysis in the wings of my 1982 Plus 8. I will put sacrificial anodes on each wing, in fact I do not understand why Morgan didn't put them on when the vehicle was manufactured, especially when I see forums here about electrolysis on the bonnet belt attachment, windscreen attachments, side screens or wings.
My car has a few patches on the edges of the wings, two of them are two inches long, some just lumps. I do not necessarily have to have a pristine car, and would rather have it as a driving car rather than one to put in a shed and pat in fact. My question is, at what stage should a panel beater deal with it, and what should they do. I look forward to hearing some varied opinions.

The pre-Superform wings are prone to corrosion caused by the small diameter mild steel bar used to reinforce the wing edge that reacts with the aluminium. In essence the wing became the anode and I doubt that there was much to be done to prevent electrolytic reaction other than to change the method of construction.

Replacing with new factory wings will remove the corrosion issue at the expense of originality as the wing shape is different. You could have the steel reinforcement replaced with aluminium but it will be costly to have your wings repaired. I believe that it may be possible to get new wings from the original manufacturer based in Lancashire and you could see if they could repair. Alternatively, you could fit fibreglass wings from Sid Watson who bought the moulds from Rutherford Engineering; right shape, more durable and say good bye to any corrosion issues.

I think David's analysis is spot on. For me it comes down to a cost issue. The most expensive solution would be to have a new set of wings made up to the original shape using the original technique. This preserves originality but means the electrolysis problem remains.

Both of the other approaches sacrifice the originality aspect in favour of solving the problem. Factory superform wings are the right material but the (slightly) wrong shape, fibreglass wings are the right shape but the 'wrong' material, in the sense of preserving originality.

Either solution is going to soak up a good few hours of labour unless you can do the job yourself, I have a similar challenge in that the old steel wings on my 1986 car are on their way out, I have been quoted £5k to replace them with modern Superform wings (all 4).

Whilst the options are clear, what possibilities exist in Australia? Most of the suppliers of components are here in the UK, getting anything large and light weight to Australia is going to be expensive.

I'm surprised that electrolytic corrosion is a problem in a country that is mostly dry and I understand, doesn't salt the roads in winter. Sacraficial annodes only work when there is an electrolyte present, usually salt water on a boat. I suppose living near the sea is the cause of the salty moisture. Especially in Melbourne.

As Dave and Tim have said , the only reason to replace your current wings with "originals" would be an insistence on total originality. The Superform wings are a much better option if you want alloy , and the Sid Watson glass fibre wings are a better option if you don't.

On a question of supply in Oz , I would imagine that getting the importer to add an order for 2 (or 4) new wings to his normal spares order from MMC would be easiest option. Although not heavy, the package to contain 4 wings and allow them to arrive undamaged will be very large indeed.

Thank you for the replies. They all suggest replacement, which means I drive it as is, put a bit of bog in holes for a while, then ultimately replace the wings. Alternatively, can I pull out the wire and replace it with aluminium,stainless, or some such thing, or put an anode on to sacrificially prevent more corrosion in the meantime?

Even for a highly skilled person, replacing the wire is a really tricky job. Plan A sounds your best potions.

Plus, as has been noted already, a sacrificial anode is going to require the constant presence of an electrolyte (e.g. salt water). Not sure how you're going to manage that?

Tim's correct and this applies to a concurrent thread on anodes.

Stainless wire won't work as this will also cause a reaction with the aluminium. I suspect that aluminium wire of larger diameter than the original mild steel wire would be the best solution for restoring the wings.

My car has fibreglass wings and are fit and forget and even sustained being t-boned at 85 mph by another race car years ago. The front wheel took the brunt of the impact and the wing just flexed and returned to shape although the wing stay needed a little bending to return it to its correct shape.

On the topic of fibreglass wings, I just called Sid Watson to enquire as to costs. £900 a pair for fronts, £380 for rears, another £40 to have them coloured (although they will still need to be painted).

So not such a cheap option, although still a deal less than alloy and their durability is much better.

I have always been a bit anti fibreglass, but whenever I've seen them on a Morgan I've been impressed by the quality - and of course they are probably a great deal easier for an amateur like me to fit.