Wings

GYCougar

Active user
Aug 26, 2015
73
85
binbrook
Hi all,
In my quest to have my cougar as solid as possible have been on the hunt for decent wings for a while.
My wings have been welded at the bottom this year and ive not been totally happy with them, hence not had them painted yet.
Last week a silver frost came up on facebook for breaking, wings looked good from pics, about 30 mile from me, so off I went not expecting anything out the ordinary.
Arrived, bloke sorta breaking cars in his back garden, place a mess type.
Checked car over, bodywork in top condition, wings mint, no signs of rust, top bottom inside or out:whistle: so got them off, £20 each bargain:)
Noticed on the N/S wing it had a sticker were it bolts to the wing top, also no stone chip paint bottom area behind wheel.
The wing had been also bolted on with non standard oem bolts 8mm head instead of 10mm so assume it had been changed not many years ago for whatever reason.
Can anybody tell me last time new wings were available? cos I think ive got one
I was that happy I finally got a decent pair of wings, dropped them straight off at the painters on the way home, pick up Tuesday(y) ps the painter had never heard of melina blue lol
That's this next weekend sorted

Rich
 
Me either, but I can tell you that the RCOC have contracted with a fabrication company to produce pattern wings, sills and rear quarters. Kevin loaned them one of his cars for templating and, although their lead-times are a bit long, I've seen their work in the metal and it's fantastic.

kyatmKe.jpg


That's Tom offering up a bump-strip to make sure it fits correctly.

Given that the Cougar is basically as rare and unique as the Tomcat (and shares no body panels with any other car in the range, though the Tomcat can wear standard MkII bumpers at a pinch...) this might be something to look into. The big cost is the templating, but once that's done they can replicate as many as you want at fairly low cost.
 
Well as you've probably read, Tony is looking to the forum breaker to template the sills, which would definitely be worthwhile.

Wings are a different proposition though. While I have no doubt that he has the skills to manufacture them, I'm fairly certain that he lacks the time. Especially since he would be working by hand, panel-beating in the traditional way rather than sticking a sheet of metal in a press and pushing a button.

As I'm sure we all appreciate, that's artisanal work; not something that can be churned out, more's the pity. Wonder if I'm in the wrong profession?
 
I think, as panels (wings) require replacement, and the best available picked for the best cars, is there any appropriate treatment (galvanising maybe) to ensure that short of physical damage, they won't need replacing any more?

I think the ones on T241 are sufficiently good still, for this to be viable.
 
Yes I meant to protect a good set long-term on a car that deserves it, so that it stays good. Rather than seeking mild-steel / painted fabricated replacements when the unprotected set succumbs to rot.
And from my recent investigations into wing fitments on our Cougars, they are bolt-on only though the two front-bumper fixings and those below the wheelarch, tend to gain their own adhesive over time.
 
GRP pattern parts have been in existance for many years and short of steel parts i guess that would be the way to go. A good wing to take a mould is what you need and a good man for the job of casting bearing in mind the over/undersize peculiarities with this process. Also bear in mind Ford produced three variatins of our wings. I have one of each hanging up in my shed.
 
Not to dampen any enthusiasm for GRP parts, I'm sure they are great. But my recent application for insurance was very specific in trying to identify any panels that had been replaced by GRP. This didn't bother me as KRM may have a body kit, but it is polypropylene and simply added on top of existing panels. But I did make the mental note about replacing panels with GRP for the future. Yet again the loss adjusters try to creep in and invalidate our claims. I hope they sleep well at night...
 
Funny, I got the impression they were only interested in putting the premium up - but then I'm a cynic. I've just realised I didn't declare my UKC sticker ! I'll try a post a copy of that form if I can find it...

Ooh, I didn't know I could do that ! .pdf attached, see section 6 I love the bit about paint colour and stickers, they will make a lot of difference - not...
 

Attachments

  • Adrian Flux - Modified Vehicle Report - W685 KRM - June 2019001.pdf
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This happened after work tonight:)20190806_183426.jpg20190806_190612.jpg

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Then it rained a lot:cautious:
Then this happened, which makes me happy :whistle:20190806_192058.jpg

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and tomorrow i might get round to doing the nuts up(y)
 
One of my wings has just started to blister on the centre of the arch. I'm tempted to disc it out, fab a section and weld it back but it would need filler to bring it back, then paint, which would tempt me towards a full respray. They are gone underneath at the front of the sills but that's an out of sight repair so I'm not to concerned about that.
If I can get some replacements I'd be interested.
30 years or more I fitted GRP wings onto my then daily driver, a Sunbeam Rapier Coupe. Regretted it afterwards felt I'd devalued the car. Alas she went to scrap when the storage was lost ( I had 7 cars at the time )
I may know of someone to make grp ones if there is enough demand.