wing removal and grill front

[peetee59]

How easy is it to remove the wings and grill from my car,never ever tried it ???????
Pete

[chickenjohn]

Need to undo all the wing bolts, then unbolt the little nuts that hold the hockey sticks on, the chrome hockey sticks then come off and the wing can be removed (also disconnect the light wiring!)

Then remove the bumper assembly (two big nuts).

The front panel assembly is held on with two nuts and bolts to the inner wing front end corners and a line of six nuts and bolts hold the bottom of the front panel assembly to the engine bay lip. The Front panel assembly can then be further dismantled to get at the grille.

You really need a set of whitworth spanners and sockets to do this job and penetrating oil! Not difficult unless you encounter a rusted on nut or bolt.

[mogbob]

Pete
Chickenjohn is spot on.Get out there with the wire brush and Plusgas ( or penetrating oil ) clean off and soak everything you need to remove .Jack up the front corner and put on an axle stand, remove wheel for better access.
Several days soaking will help considerably.Work the nuts and bolts back and forth slowly until you get movement.As experienced hands will tell you " it's no guarantee " that you will not shear a bolt but every little helps when you are dealing with an old classic car.You will have to resort to a small angle grinder, if your lucks out.

If you leave the bolt, above the centre of the wheel, to last you then balance the weight of the wing with one hand before taking the last bolt out.Lay out an old blanket / sheet on the floor to put the wing onto.
Good luck with it.
Bob

[MarkyB]

Very much agree with what has been said so far, also don't confuse WD40 with penetrating oil, look for Plusgas or something similar.
The other thing is get some on the captive nuts that the bolts go into, on the all the wings most are easy to spot and you can work out where the hidden ones are from the bolt head positions.
The more time you give the penetrating oil to work the better, don't be shy about reapplying it every couple of days before you get stuck in.

Clean every bit of crud/underseal from around the bolt heads, use a 1/4 inch Whitworth RING spanner and give it a good tap to be sure it is well seated on the bolt heads.
A tap to get it started is highly recommended too.

[peetee59]

When chicken bob mentioned hockey sticks ,it has confused me what and were are they ???????
Pete

[MarkyB]

The chrome trims either side of the grille.

[bmcecosse]

The chrome 'hockey stick' shaped pieces at each side of the grille (not grill) - unless you have a barbeque on your car??

[moggylowlight]

The captive nuts can and often spin round while you are removing the wing bolts while you are under the wing thinking this is undoing easy, a locking wrench on the nut while turning the bolt prevents it from turning in the housing