Fitting a rear wing

[Tom]

Dear all,
recently I bought a P5B saloon which has had a replacement N/S rear wing fitted...badly. At the leading edge it stands proud of the door and the main body shell. It seems if the rest fits OK and only the first 10 -15 inches don't line up properly.
By the look of it the wing is a used one so should fit OK, but it doesn't. Any advice/experience on this matter is very welcome.

regards Tom

[richard eglinton]

It might be easier to remove the wing and see what is lurking underneath. From memory the area which forms the top of the inner wing sits quite close to the outer wing at the top and if some dodgy repairs have been made this will cause the outer wing to stand proud.There has to be enough clearance to allow the outer wing to line up with the body and door.Is the beading in place? That should run along the gap between the wing and body and is frequently missing from bodged jobs
The outer wing won't line up unless the structures underneath are o/k.
Richard

[Tom]

Hi Richard, the beading is in place and it might well be there is something underneath that shouldn't be there. I just wondered if the wings are sort of easy to fit or not. Never have taken one off, see. (in the manual it say slacken bolt this, remove bolt that, take off wing. refitting is reversal of removing...well we all know what that means )

come to think of it, I remember an article in the club mag ages ago by someone who jammed a length of wood between the wing top and the roof of his garage, then jacked up the car to force the thing in place....

I'll let you know how things go on.

Tom

[richard eglinton]

It is easy to remove....in theory!
If the wing you have is a replacement and not the original you should be able to unscrew the bolts without too much trouble as they must have been removed in recent years.I assume you have the workshop manual which gives the location of the bolts.There aren't very many as the back wing is quite small in relation to everything else.
Be prepared for some horrible sights when you do remove it as new wings are a relatively easy way of covering major rust damage
Take the wheel off, adequately support the car and try to shine a light in to the recess.If that same light shines into the boot you have got a problem!!!
Good luck
Richard

[Phil Nottingham]

8-)Look at Glen Reeves Duchess site for pictures?

Its a well known corrosion and bodging area but can be sorted if you know what you doing it just knowing when to stop

[glennr]

This could be for a number of reasons. A badly fitted rubber, maybe the striker plate was removed and not put back properly as when it is loosened can move around to assist how the door shuts. The wings can be a pain to get off as the bolt on the lower rear tonneau is usually rusted bad. I had to cut this of with the welding torch. I also had to heat the bolts up from within the boot so they could be undone. (petrol tank was removed months ago)! I think there were 6, 1/2 inch bolts that run along the top edge. (Quite right to jack the car up and remove the wheel otherwise you will get your arm caught under the wheelarch. I would also remove the bumper.) One under the wing where the door catch is, one where the front bracket is and one on the lower bracket where a mud flap would go. The rear light must be removed by the solitary chrome screw at the bottom of the light disconnecting the wires from inside the boot by pulling them apart.(bayonet type). The four screws can then be removed to take the rest of the light assembly out.There is another nut and bolt at the top of the light aperture. One more1/2 inch bolt just in the inside of the boot, near the boot floor and the bottom bolt that attaches to the rear lower tonneau. Let us know how you get on.

[Tom]

Thanks for all the advice. From what I can feel the top of the D post under the wing is sound - there is virtually no rust on the entire car, surprisingly (one reason for buying it)
I've read about panels manufactured on worn dies that are supposedly a bad fit but so far I've seen this only with front wings.
The wing was painted rather badly too, so obviously not an expert job.

Anyone having a PRND2D1L selector panel lying around, btw?

This is my 3rd P5 in 15 years by the way, and I'm still totally besotted with these cars.

happy rovering,

Tom

[glennr]

Try David Green. I am sure he has what you require.