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WN order and patchwork quilt

VWJake

Entry posted by VWJake

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I finally amassed a few bucks in my car account a few weeks back so I logged in at WN. Within about a week a box showed up with a pair of front fenders, 2 rear outer wheelhouse arches, 2 lower quarter panel patches, and a “tow sheet”. 

 

Over the last few months I’ve been cutting pieces from the shell of the ‘69. Some areas I was able to drill out the spot welds. In other areas it was easier to slice through a sacrificial panel with a body saw or an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel.

I carved out a few hours today for “car time”.

I started by removing the remains of inner aprons from the rain tray. 

 

I have all 3 right outer wheel houses removed from the respective cars and laying on the floor in the garage. I wire wheeled the seam sealer and the undercoating from all 3 began to assess what remains of them.

 

The general idea is that the ‘68 will be a stock bodied car and the ‘73 will get a turbo aero kit. The replacement inner arches are miserable looking pieces. I guess I shouldn’t have expected much for $30 a piece. The stamping are pretty irregular. 

 

I spent a half hour or so massaging the rear half of the outer wheelhouse from the ‘68. It’s generally rust free metal that was only mildly mangled when the car was T-boned. 

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CD45DA1F-A806-441B-A200-148DB34E7B8A.thumb.jpeg.915367335ba2e8a86dd16e35724b648c.jpeg

 

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My intention is to remove the tail end from the ‘68 panel and weld it to the ‘73 panel and make a few small patch pieces for the leading edge of the ‘73 panel and install the finished product on the ‘68. The arch from the ‘69 with get the straightened leading edge of ‘68 panel and another short clean section of the ‘68 panel the repair the trailing edge of that panel. The whole mess will then be installed on the ‘73. 

 

-‘73 wheel housing trouble spots

D4713B46-81BB-4845-884C-077378CD2736.thumb.jpeg.e2097655198c16539fb15a9a577c917a.jpeg

 

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-‘69 panel

 

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I know it’s a ton of work for panels that are only worth about $250 a copy but while I have neither time nor money, I have more time than money so this is the path I have chosen. Besides, if one or the other, or both turn out to be total abominations I can always log in at WN again and have some more shiny new metal at my door step. 

0EC8FDDF-15FC-4815-B461-A14A1A0D4FCE.jpeg

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D.martijn

Any pictures of the WN inner wheel well panels? are they really that bad quality?

Great work so far!

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VWJake

Well I think they’re pretty piss poor. 

 

The stamp that creates the lip doesn’t look like it’s consisent. The are areas that are formed tighter than others. The right lip is easily twice as wide as the left and has that wierd downward flare to it... 

 

i dunno, I’m sure I can use them, or at least parts of them. I was at least expecting two parts  that would look the same (minus being sided). I think the right sheet didn’t make it all the way in the die before they stamped it. The left part has a decent lip to transition into the top of the well. The right has little to no lip at all.10D27949-5148-4B89-839D-AF75D3A30CD4.thumb.jpeg.723e5e08afcc1ccb0ac70b772213a379.jpeg73F10D72-62D3-4BAB-8DE5-D5CBBEC42D50.thumb.jpeg.f2adf197f9bd5dd2e0dc46a783182ec5.jpeg9F69F8F8-FF1D-41EC-AA93-07A1789A8FD1.thumb.jpeg.5ab57426bde50a77d21325a0a373b0bc.jpeg

 

D39A177B-756B-47DE-A413-998C6A843B03.thumb.jpeg.956627c2ea923a49cc38aeb0526e22e8.jpeg

 

 

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D.martijn

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like I might have to make some patch panels on my own when replacing the out arches. 

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VWJake

I don’t mean to suggest that they aren’t worth the $30, but I just had higher hopes for them. If you’re welding/fab’ing patches anyway adjusting these likely won’t be a big deal. They are generally the correct shape/form.

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robspeed
On 6/8/2018 at 8:10 AM, VWJake said:

I don’t mean to suggest that they aren’t worth the $30, but I just had higher hopes for them. If you’re welding/fab’ing patches anyway adjusting these likely won’t be a big deal. They are generally the correct shape/form.

Perhaps contact WN and ask them about the inconsistencies?  Also imagine being a Coupe dude and having to pay $1000 (just a joke/guess) for the equivalent item.... ;)

 

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dhr.vdw

Wow nice project(s)! I really should start myself again, I really want to after this entry hehe.

Anyway, I think the patches like these are also extremely thin right? One advantage: weight reduction! Haha.

Stay at it!

JP

Edited by dhr.vdw
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VWJake
4 hours ago, dhr.vdw said:

Wow nice project(s)! I really should start myself again, I really want to after this entry hehe.

Anyway, I think the patches like these are also extremely thin right? One advantage: weight reduction! Haha.

Stay at it!

JP

Thanks for the compliments.

 

FYI the OEM panel thickness is .031" and the WN replacement is .027". It's in a spot that no one will likely see, and I doubt that .004" will add up to a whole lot in an accident. I'll use pieces of them if/when needed. 

 

I've got bigger fish to fry at the moment though.

Edited by VWJake
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