Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Rusty wings - repair or replace?

Re 1997 P+8 3.9 Would appreciate members’ advice on dealing with problem of rust on wings, primarily on the edges also on front where chipped by stones etc. Not sure exactly what material the wings are made of. Car first registered in april 1997.

Question is whether replacement is more cost efficient than repair.

Advice/experience much appreciated, cheers. Nick

Nick, as you say you have rust appearing they must be steel, I'm quite surprised really I would have thought aluminium and the outer edges rolled over spring steel is the normal corrosion point on these pre superform wings it is caused by electrolytic action between the dissimilar metals being in contact with water and possibly salt. It will have a white powdery appearance where the corrosion has started.

Replacement for superform is the absolute purist answer this also preserves the value of the car.

Fibre glass replacements are available and I once viewed a White Plus8 with them and visually they were very good.

Hamwich on here recently completed a great job on his car by replacing all four in fibre glass and it really looked great. There is a thread somewhere on here.

I think the general consensus is repair is a temporary and quite costly exercise.

I would just rub it down and re spray the wing edge and just enjoy the car..

Keeps the corrosion at bay and makes it look a lot better, rather than £4K+ for new wings and re spray

This is the thread on fibre glass wing replacement from Tim and it is well worth a read before deciding which direction to head in.

http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/479032/1

Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Depends how bad it is: If the rust has actually perforated the rear wing then its repair (if possible) or replacement. If the rust hasn't perforated and there is sufficient metal in the rear wing to stand taking the affected spot back to bare metal then it can be blended in.

I've repaired wings in the past where the metals got a bit thin by lead loading them but that's another story....

Arwyn

Repair. I had all 4 wing edges done and wings off respray on all four for £1800 by a Morgan specialist about 5 years ago. Still perfect.

I would get advice from a Body/Paint shop that has done Morgans in the past. Too many "Arm chair experts" on the internet. Including Me. Especially Me!!!!!!!!

As Rich noted, I replaced my knackered old steel wings with fibreglass, mainly because I wanted to do the job myself and repairing my wings was beyond my skills. It was a bit of a gamble because getting a good colour match is tricky and if it ain't worked out I would have had to get the new wings painted. Fortunately it came off and I'm pleased with the result.

But it's not a job for the faint hearted. Button's advice is bang on the mark. Get a body shop to have a look at it and tell you how much a repair job would be, from what you are saying they don't sound too bad.

The key is a GOOD bodyshop where they have the skills. Arwyn, the leading is a great technique but how many modern “panel beaters” can do it?
I helped my dad do it once when in my early teens. Not that difficult BUT I had an expert watching/guiding me. Would I try it now? On an old banger ...yes. Just out of curiosity. The right tools would be needed though.....

Most of the panel lads I know prefer to use bog or pudding rather than lead as insurance firms won't pay for anything else on repairs.

Nothing more technical needed than a good blow torch with a wide soft flame (never a gas welding torch as too hot/concentrated), a pot of Fryolux solder paint and moleskin!

Arwyn