Front wheel arches - best option?

[Cruz]

Who is the best option for replacing the nearside front wheel arch now that genuine panels are not available from anywhere including classic?

[xpress]

Get a cut from a breaker van but be sure if your body is early or late.

[16vmini]

just replacing my with VW heritiage ones , not sure who supplies them ( got german stickers on them )

not perfect pressings, will need a bit of filler to make smooth , but general fit seems good

Matt

[Cruz]

Get a cut from a breaker van but be sure if your body is early or late.

What's the difference?

[New Kentish Campers]

I tried Classic too but couldn't get any so ended up with a pair from Schofields. They aren't as good as OE obviously but with a little work with a hammer & dolly and a body file, they will look good enough.

[Plasticman]

The reshaping we can cope with easy enough, its the p**s poor metal thickness thats the problem
mike

[fidget]

Thats something Ive wondered about, Im new to this bodywork lark .

Why are repo panels so thin? I brought some panels for my old nova GSi years ago and they were repos but the same thickness as the origional bodywork?

Sorry if this is off topic just curious

James

[16vmini]

Thats something Ive wondered about, Im new to this bodywork lark .

Why are repo panels so thin? I brought some panels for my old nova GSi years ago and they were repos but the same thickness as the origional bodywork?

Sorry if this is off topic just curious

James

as far as i know its easier to press thinner metal , if you ever have seen the presses that ford/vw etc use they are HUGE !!! and costly ...

smaller panel companys just cant afford presses like these ..so to get the same shape ish , you need thinner metal so you can use a smaller press...

it also might be just down to money of metal as well in the end

i could be well wrong as well

Matt

[Aidan]

Dazzer and I used panels cut out of a breaker - same thickness steel, good quality and suprising well preserved as there's 1/2" of underseal on the back of them - getting that off takes more time than cutting out the panels

having seen the T5 plant at Hanover was well impressed with the press it's the size of a football pitch and higher than anfield, but the metal they use now is a lot thinner, then there are sections of specially heat treated stuff in strategic areas to reinforce, it's so hard you need special drill bits to drill through it; they make the panamera shells there and they are made of lots of composite alloy castings and various steels, very light, very strong, very hard to build and repair, good for crashing at 170mph but I wouldn't want to pay the repair bills for a little bump and it's getting to the point where the paint is a stressed load bearing component almost

[CovKid]

it's getting to the point where the paint is a stressed load bearing component almost

[xpress]

very intesting, thanks for that aidan. i used a bit of front arch off a breaker van, they seem to stipple generous amounts of seam sealer on the original arches. the repro panels are a bit thin and sometimes at parts you can see the sweetie wrapper creasing effect, i guess if you don't like the thickness of the repro panels you can put a load of seam sealer on the other side of them.

[xpress]

very intesting, thanks for that aidan. i used a bit of front arch off a breaker van, they seem to stipple generous amounts of seam sealer on the original arches. the repro panels are a bit thin and sometimes at parts you can see the sweetie wrapper creasing effect, i guess if you don't like the thickness of the repro panels you can put a load of seam sealer on the other side of them.

[Plasticman]

As you said
mike

[Cruz]

Maybe we need those in regular communication with classic to tell them to pull their finger out and remake the front arches

[xpress]

if more people had looked after these vans before our tenure then we wouldn't need em!

(but vw classic arches would have been good!)