Fitting new o/s front wing today

[JamesT5]

Today I'm planning to fit my new o/s front wing, well I say new, it's actually from a 2002 S60 in gun metal grey. The wing on the car right now, is to be quiet honest with you, just plain rusty with 2 rust bubbles and more hassle for me to repair on the car than buying a second hand wing and bolting it on. I think that the rust really lets that side of the car down so with a nice weekend in store it's time to take the bull by the horns and get on with it.

There's a whole load of work to do with this including taking off the headlamp wipers, disconnecting the fog lamps and removing the front bumper. But hopefully at the end of it all I'll have a better car for it and I look forward to the results. But part of me is thinking, 'is this going to be one of those jobs I wish I'd never started', well the only way to find out is to get on and do it which is my plan for later today.

I'll post updates on this thread later, including some pictures.

Regards

James

[Fubar1977]

Good luck James.
Hope all goes well!

[JamesT5]

Good luck James.
Hope all goes well!

Thanks, me too!

[V70 Graham]

Just take your time and it should all work out fine, good luck.

[JamesT5]

The old wing is now off and although there were a couple of glitches along the way, the car just needs a clean up to get the dust from inside the wheel arch area and I can bolt the new wing on after dinner.

But when I finally got a look at the back of the old wing, what I saw absolutely horrified me. First though, a picture of the old wing on the car showing the rust and peeling lacquer......







So I got the wing off (without removing the front bumper)......



Unfortunately the bottom 10mm bolt was so rusted in place that I ended up bending the mount whilst undoing it. A bit of WD-40 did eventually help shift it though....



And this is the condition of the old wing............







But thankfully my replacement wing is in MUCH better condition.....



I can't believe the donor car is only a 1 year newer than mine but the difference in the condition of the part is night and day. Makes me wonder how my wing got so rusty and also whether the other wing is in a similar condition underneath.

Anyway, installing the new wing will no doubt throw up some suprises and obstacles but I'll overcome them I'm sure. More updates later and hopefully some pictures of the finished article!

[Fubar1977]

Nice work James.
I have a small rust bubble on my NS front arch.
Not sure I fancy swapping the whole wing though.
I didn`t realise they were just bolted on, presumed some cutting/welding would be required so I might give it a go now I know it`s not a bumper-off and welding job.

I`m always worried what I might find under those plastic sill covers too, looks OK from the outside but you never know what`s lurking underneath.

[claymore]

I suspect the wing you took off was a replacement (perhaps after a small accident) and wasn't rustproofed prior to fitting.

[JamesT5]

The wing is fitted and my first ever pop riveting session went suprisingly well although it was very hard work to get the rivet gun to pop the rivet in (I now ache)! I managed to get the new wing on and all things considered it's on just as well as the old one (I hope).

There is a colour difference between the new wing and the rest of the side of the car because at some point my car has had a respray following a bash by owner number 1, and the paint shop obviously didn't do a very good colour match. But overall, l I'm pleased with the result and it took me around 6 hours in total, at least there's no rust now and if I'm honest I think the rust looked worse than a 1 shade difference in the paint colour.

To replace the wing, I found it was not necessary to remove the front bumper, just loosen the side of it and although it was a fiddle at times, I don't think it's any more of a fiddle than removing the bumper. All the car needs now is a good valet, I might buy a clay bar and some good wax on Friday and give it a 'detail' before Haynes.

Anyway, the results.......









Regards

James

[M-R-P]

Well done James mate It might be worth using some cutting compound on the wing to see if it brings the colour back a bit to match the rest of the car. TBH, it isn't that obvious in the pics.
Glad to see you managed it without removing the bumper too - well done Although it tlooks like you need to give the bumper a bit of a prod as it looks like it's not quite popped - in on the end of the wing. (mine pops out randomly and I just give it a push with my knee)

Top marks bud, you'll be changing your own gearbox soon

[V70 Graham]

Great work James, you can hardly tell the colour is slightly different, and as you say a great deal better than a rusty wing, looking forward to seeing her next week.

[JamesT5]

Although it tlooks like you need to give the bumper a bit of a prod as it looks like it's not quite popped - in on the end of the wing. (mine pops out randomly and I just give it a push with my knee)

You're right but both sides are exactly the same, I think the bodyshop bodged it and now neither side sits flush (you'll see what I mean on Sunday).

To be honest, the more I do to this car the more peed off I'm getting with the original owner. He had the service book stamped to death by a Main Stealer and obviously had the engine serviced regularly, but everything else maintainance wise was either neglected or done on the cheap. I think this is why I'm now paying for all the stuff he didn't do and having to put right all these hidden problems on the car. Why buy a £30K car from new and let it get in to this state......

Anyway, I'm glad it all worked out today, personally I'm pleased as punch with my efforts.

[M-R-P]

personally I'm pleased as punch with my efforts.

And rightly so mate, well done

[merc85]

Big pat on the back mate, Looks miles better,

[silverhorse]

Top job there James. Just got in and read your thread from the start and thought 'oh dear, this could end in tears', but fair play mate, you have done a cracking job. Well pleased for you.
Btw, the wheel arch liner. How is that fixed in position? I need to take one of mine off but don't know how. Dare not pull it too hard in case I bust it.

[JamesT5]

Top job there James. Just got in and read your thread from the start and thought 'oh dear, this could end in tears', but fair play mate, you have done a cracking job. Well pleased for you.
Btw, the wheel arch liner. How is that fixed in position? I need to take one of mine off but don't know how. Dare not pull it too hard in case I bust it.

It's riveted at the sides and then at the top there are some hook-like clips that sort of slide on to the wheel arch and hold it in place. You need to drill the rivets in the middle until they start spinning with the drill piece and then get a flat headed screw driver and lever them out. Saying that, mine had large rivets so levering them out may not be needed if you have smaller ones. You don't need to take the liner out, just drill the rivets and then loosen the liner.

[copie22]

you did a good job there well done

[JamesT5]

I made the right choice to fit a replacement wing as trying to repair the old one would have been a complete waste of time given the level of rot.

[Fubar1977]

Nice job James.
Glad it went to plan for you.

[JamesT5]

Gave the car a wash today, did the tyres with Meguires (oh that rhyms), and cleaned the windows up with White vinegar. It looks a million times better now and I can't wait to give it the full detail on the weekend.