Fibreglass Panels

[youngun]

Ive been seeing a few mentions here and there of fibreglass panels, and was wondering are they much cop? I guess they would be a lot lighter than the normal ones, but what about damage? And, what is paint adhesion like as wouldnt they flex a lot more?

Cheers,
YG

[jonathon]

Quality, depends on where you buy them from. They are lighter, although there are two reasons for this, one the material has been skimped on or they have been produced using upto date materials giving superior strength with a light weight. Ask too about gel coat, most panels offer only a colour up coat, ie very thin, the better panels offer double gel coat layers ,which is ideal for flatting the panels, as you have a thicker more workable surface. Again you will need to find the correct supplier.
So long as the panels are correctly keyed then etch primed followed by high build primer and a good quality top coat, there will be no problem with the paint adhering, even if the panels flex.
Damage, glass fibre is a very forgiving product, and you should not have the age old problem of crazing, normally theonly damage caused is by flying objects from the road which might cause a star effect damage on the gel coat. A properly produced glass fibre wing should last 20 years before any chemical degradation, and if painted correctyl 25 years should be possible.

[stevey]

personally i dont like them, people have a tendance to learn on the wings at rallys, one guy nearly went through a front wing once!!!

but thats personal preference.

[paulhumphries]

I bought my first Minor to restore and was initially quite happy that it had fibreglass wings.
It turned out to be too far gone (distorated after accident as well as severe rot) so was dismanltled for parts.
I kept the wings thinking they could be of use in the future but in the end gave them away.
They "seemed" good condition but were in fact covered with spider web of small cracks which I think can be caused by stones being thown up from wheels (undersealing is supposed to help that problem).
The edges were tatty - again I suspect due to "wear & tear" of road debris over a period of time.
I don't know who made them but they were quite thick - maybe 1/4" in places.
One thing for certain is they were definatley not any lighter then steel !

Paul Humphries

[DaveC]

I'm going to give fiberglass ones a go (all 4) on my trav, as they come out at about half the cost of heritage ones. But I would suggest that you only buy from a reputable specialist, one who is experienced in these types of parts, and can advise on the spraying and fitting. Also some cheap ones that I have seen don't have the sharp feature line around the wing, and they look pants. The ones I am going to get look, and to some extent sound like metal.

The only drawback that I can see is that if you ding them you can crack the paint...as has already been mentioned..

Also if you do go down this route it is well worth replacing the headlight buckets with plastic ones as well, they only cost about £15 pair form the regular parts suppliers.

[kennatt]

just fitted fibre glass front and rear bumper valences. they look fine even close up, the steel replacement ones were rubbish when compared side by side.Was informed that original steel not available anymore ,more than pleased with the result. AND no more rust

[moggyminor16]

well my traveller has all 4 wings in fiber glass i have touched the garage wall ith them i got a nice scratch but if they was metal i would of got a nice dent as well

[dunketh]

You've also upped your power:weight ratio too.

Thats a tiny fuel saving and barely noticeable power gain all in one!

[Orkney]

The rear wings on Scabby the trav are fiberglass, noticed the other day that one was protruding more than the other - it bears a scar where it had been banged by the previous owner.
Just wondering if it was poorly fitted in the first place or of the impact has distorted it?
Its only a small mark with a series of cracks, but right on the rearmost lower curve - can see having to get a new one