UR wings - repair or replace?

[Daveymaclad]

After eight months in the shop my quattro's finally coming home tomorrow and I can get started on the cosmetic stuff.

One thing I need to sort out are the front wings that have had their arches rolled in a not so professional manner resulting in lots of unsightly folds, creases, flaked paintwork and surface rust.

If you were in my position would you:

a) - Get the panels repaired & resprayed at approximately £550-600 (quote)
b) - Buy fibreglass replacements and have sprayed up and sell the originals
c) - As b but repair the originals and sell
d) - As b but repair the originals and finally refit?

So far I'm interested in option b but would like to gauge opinion on the use of fibreglass for these panels. My bonnet is fibreglass also.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

[rtz62]

A slightly left-of-field answer (well my reasoning is!);
Repair them - originality us everything in my book.
Read any if the Classic mags at the moment (Octane thus month) which tells the story if the (in)famous Lindner-Knöcker E-type Lightweight; over 5000 hrs spent repairing, straightening and reforming the original aluminium panels. The easy option was replace or re-shell, but they didn't go the easy route.
Every mile that your car, it's drivetrain, panels, interior etc adds to the rich tapestry if it's history.
And if fibreglass is, IMHO, shite!

[rich.r]

i personally wouldnt fit fibreglass

i would rather see a rolled arch even if its not that good than the above but thats just me

anyway just think of the problems you would have when you hit warp speed with the fibreglass jobbies

[john johnson]

Not a fan of fibre glass wings tbh

[Daveymaclad]

I figured there wouldn't be a lot of love for the fibreglass! Just curious as to why you don't generally like them? Is it poor fit? Are they flimsy? Is it that when painted they settle as a different shade to metal panels? Like to gather as much information and opinion as possible before making a decision.

It's going to be a while before I do any of the options mind!

Thanks for all your input.

[john johnson]

A good painter can paint fiberglass andit's pretty indistinguishable, the edges of em give em away , I ain't a fan tbh . Quality can be very patchy but then again my new wings were ! They are cheaper and available easier but to me it's like saying do you like my Rolex ? Knowing its a fake

[msh]

I personally would consider fiberglass stuff as a substitute, and substitute is substitute...
Back in the soviet union, where spare parts for cars were scarce and the ones available were the ones, which failed in quality control in factory, several factories used to made fiberglass panels for cars, because very obviously there was great demand for them I've seen ZIM executive car with such fiberglass wings - well...

[Phil Payne]

Originally Posted by Daveymaclad

I figured there wouldn't be a lot of love for the fibreglass! Just curious as to why you don't generally like them? Is it poor fit? Are they flimsy? Is it that when painted they settle as a different shade to metal panels?

I've seen a set during an inspection that you wouldn't know were fibreglass unless you used a magnet.

[msh]

...or your finger. It's impossible to miss the sound of plastic body panel.