Desperate times!!

[mad4jags]

Just thought I'd share my concerns and frustration with you good folks over the complete lack of front wings for our little treasures.
I'm currently in the middle of a complete nut and bolt restoration of "Bullet" my silver 2002 1.7.
Having stripped her back to a bare shell she's in excellent shape,bar the lower part of the drivers side wing,which is just a little too far gone to repair.
Having scoured and trawled the interweb,Fleabay,gumtree etc the only decent examples of the Right hand side wings I could find were in the Netherlands and sadly unavailable for shipping...AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!
I eventually managed to source a decent replacement from a scrapyard nearly 150 miles away after weeks of searching in vain......this is sheer desperation!!!!
Oh how I wish Expressed steel would bite the bullet and start making these...I for one would gladly pay a premium for the fit and quality that they produce and I'm sure that I'm not alone.
The sill panels,rear quarters and rear arch repair panels are now all available from them,so come on Expressed Steel,a pair of front wings to add to the parts list if you please...not a lot to ask....I've 4 Pumas waiting for them!!! :grin: :grin: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[RICHARD MANSFIELD2]

Hi.
Indeed frustrating. They should have been making them about 10 years ago. It could be too little to late but I hope not. I agree with you time for them to get cracking.

 

[John Woodward]

Someone on Facebook and eBay is selling GRP repair panels for the front wings. I haven't seen them or know anyone who's fitted them, just saying.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394060851579?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=y0lJA8yVT1O&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=DwtQxX3aTd-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[mad4jags]

Well spotted there John,I suppose that's something and if fitted and painted correctly I should imagine that you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference...unless you were to get the old magnet out that is :wink:
The advantage I can see with this type of repair is there should never be a rust issue again in the future,and considering the amount of sand like shrapnel that collects in this specific area that can only be a good thing!!And it's bound to look better than a fibreglass and filler bodge,so I'd be happy to give this a go.
I did source a replacement wing,but the stress and sheer hassle involved in finding and then collecting it is something I don't want to repeat,so I think I will purchase these repair panels anyway and have a go on the original rusted out wing,just for curiosity's sake...I may just document the process and post it up here in the near future as I'm sure it would be of help to some of you.

 

[John Woodward]

The seller on Ebay also does rear arch repair panel, in steel, I do know 2 people who have them fitted by professional body shops with no problems. I believe the seller also has his own Puma.

 

[RICHARD MANSFIELD2]

https://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?t=32977

 

[RICHARD MANSFIELD2]

Hi.
Just a thought. Perhaps Expressed steel could make lower repair sections similar to what I had in mind. There are many benefits to this way of overcoming the problem. Firstly less tooling costs and time constraints on such a repair section so it could therefore come on line sooner. Secondly, it would be a cost effective way for the owner.
Regards,
Richard.

 

[mad4jags]

I've just this minute ordered a pair of these wing repair panels from the seller on Ebay,so thanks John for pointing this out.
He seems a nice guy who was happy to answer my questions and indeed owns his own Puma,having made these originally for himself through necessity.
I'm more than happy to do a repair on my buggered original wing,and the fact no welding skills are required is a huge plus for me at least!!
So I'll probably do a complete off the car repair and repaint(painting is something that I can do) just to let you guys see the finished article.

 

[mad4jags]

Hi.
Just a thought. Perhaps Expressed steel could make lower repair sections similar to what I had in mind. There are many benefits to this way of overcoming the problem. Firstly less tooling costs and time constraints on such a repair section so it could therefore come on line sooner. Secondly, it would be a cost effective way for the owner.
Regards,
Richard.

This would be ideal,however by the time Expressed steel eventually get round to making any,most remaining Pumas will be long gone.
I really hope these GRP panels are a worthwhile solution :clap: :clap:

 

[RICHARD MANSFIELD2]

Hi.
I agree we can't rely on expressed steel. The GRP ones should be okay if bonded on correctly. Perhaps step the original steel wing with a joddler then use a strong bonding paste and a layer of glass on the inside.
For those who wish to know what a joddler is
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125392946299?hash=item1d3200847b:g:IHMAAOSwP3JdzUyN

regards
Richard

 

[red]

That seller does seems to have improved... we had a real bad experience with him on here but that was 7 odd years ago now. Maybe time to stop beating that drum whenever he is mentioned.

 

[mad4jags]

That seller does seems to have improved... we had a real bad experience with him on here but that was 7 odd years ago now. Maybe time to stop beating that drum whenever he is mentioned.

Oh...I didn't realise he was known already....well here's hoping this works out well.Everyone deserves a shot at redemption :grin:

 

[RICHARD MANSFIELD2]

It will be interesting to see if his fiberglass skills have improved. last year I bought one repair arch section, the radius was slightly out.

 

[Simonavis]

I have used a pair of rear arch repair panels without any problems with radius. Only issue was the panels are flat and you have to panel beat the profile of the rear arch yourself.

 

[ItsAnArse]

I came across those repair panels and I cannot for the life of me work out how they would fit, at all! I honestly thought they had put up some random pictures that were wrong for the listing.

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

What happened to the Peugeot 206 metod for the rear arches? Pug wings NLA?