Rear wings - pattern vs genuine

[Matt]

whats the difference between the genuine and pattern rears that the traders offer?

[SR]

hiya matt,ive got 2 from BM, they assure me that they r no different from genuine ,fit wise, i fitted one yesterday and its pretty good,steve

[Matt]

so why would people buy genuine ones?

[chickenjohn]

I bought a "pattern" front wing for the Traveller from BM, and the metal on it is rather thin- certainly much less than the typical ~1mm found on Moggies bodywork and I had some trouble getting it to fit properly, in fact I'm still not 100% happy, but the Trav is never intended to be a concours vehicle- it has to earn its keep!

OTOH, rear wings are a simpler shape than the front ones, so you might be OK.

[jonathon]

In our experience genuine and pattern wings are as bad as each other. The pattern ones are thinner steel but this is not detrimental to their purpose. Pattern rears are in our experience are a much better fit than Heritage ones, which have been upto 20mm short. I'd save your money on the Heritage ones and put it towards your bodyshop( if you are using one) so they can spend some time getting them to fit correctly.

[Alec]

Hello all,

surely 'genuine' must be as rare as hen's teeth, i.e. ex BMC made?
and so genuine cannot be genuine?

Alec

[Matt]

put it towards your bodyshop

you mean me?

[jonathon]

I think the term Genuine is related to Heritage, and not period items

[Alec]

Hello Johnathan,

That is what I assumed but I would rather they were described as Heritage. Genuine they are not, and if they are using the old dies then it sounds as if a spell in the tolroom is required.

Alec

[bigginger]

What's a tolroom?

[SR]

anyway,back to rear wings,here it is matt,loosly bolted on for paintstripping of primer to bare metal,very good fit really,not short at all,steve [/img]

[jonathon]

The problem we have had with the rear wings is that the return on the bottom edge of the wing is incorrectly formed and is not parallel but formed at an angle. This has been the case for the last 5 sets of saloon rears and it is not a problem with the car to which they have been fitted. Probably bad luck, but somehow I don't think so!
The front wings are normally badly formed around the top radius of the headlamp, also the front panel of the wing is often poorly positioned requiring it to be removed and refitted correctly.

[SR]

hiya jonathon, if u mean the bit that butts to the bottom of rear quater panel,this one is too ,forms a slight dog leg,but on mine not too noticable mate

[jonathon]

Hi, no this part is fine, on the wings mentioned above if you line this area up correctly then some of the wings have been upto 20mm short where they meet the bottom of the boot aperture. If you take a line from the from the back enge of the wheel arch to this point ,this should be parallel, but on the ones we have had ,there is an angled folding of the wing return.

[Alec]

Hello Willie,

"What's a tolroom?",, sorry, it's a mispelt toolroom .

Alec

[bigginger]

I thought I'd discovered something new

[ronwilson]

Hi, no this part is fine, on the wings mentioned above if you line this area up correctly then some of the wings have been upto 20mm short where they meet the bottom of the boot aperture. If you take a line from the from the back enge of the wheel arch to this point ,this should be parallel, but on the ones we have had ,there is an angled folding of the wing return.

Jonathan,
These problems sound like they happen often-too often. What's the best action to take on these shortcomings ? Thanks

[jonathon]

Yes, its a real pain on two counts, one the extra work in cutting the bottom of the wing and letting in section to make it fit, and secondly explaining to the customer that their 'superior' quality wing is infact quite the opposite, and will cost to put right. For this latter reason we sometimes recommend pattern wings ,to those on a tight budget ,in the knowledge that these will require work, but have cost considerably less to purchase.
I'd like it if the Heritage MD would stand up and be counted, as LMC MD did, this way some of these issues could be addressed.

[chickenjohn]

Just to throw the proverbial spanner in the works, if the Patterns are better than the so=called "genuine" article, but are thinner steel, and you have to cut and weld to the Heritage ones to get them to fit, then why not consider a third option.

Repair your existing wings!

I found my traveller rear wings had both rusted out in relatively flat sheetmetal areas, so I made up repair sections, cut out the rust and welded the new pieces in. A bit of filler (thin skim) and paint, and the result aint bad! Maybe not concours or up to JLH standards ;) but a person with more skill and experience than myself should be able to achieve proportionally better results to their satisfaction???

and its cheaper too!!

Takes time, yes, but if you have to modify the so called "Heritage" item, then that will take time too! and worth a shot if the original rear wings are savable and as a bonus its a way of stretching ones own skills, and quite satisfying too!!!

[jonathon]

John, normally we would try and save all original panels if it was financially viable. My main issue with the heritage panels is that they should be right from the factory, yes I expect a slight difference in fitting quality, as every minor is different. Also if a customer is spending a considerable amount of money to achieve the best quality rebuild, then its v.dissapointing if the new parts are sub standard, and require considerable re working. Adding significantyly to the buget. Job satisfaction is a great quality to persue, but sometimes economics dictate your chosen path,as unfortunately in the commercial world time costs money.