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I need advise before I go to the junkyard

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8.6K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  B202NUT  
L
#1 ·
What tools do I need to take off a fender?
 
M
#2 ·
A grinder would probably do. I believe they are spot welded on are they not?

I've never tryed to remove one, but I'm sure I could. ;)

Maybe a pry bar and some tin snips too. And a good assortment of wrenches and sockets to remove any grounds, headlights, bumpers etc that might be in the way.
 
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#6 ·
jetman said:
No bolts a grinder wont scare off!
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depends if you want to re-use the panel or not! (so if youre removeing a wing off a donor vechicle you do not want to grind it, but go ahead on the scrap one!)

You can buy a special drill bit for drilling out spot welds.

I've got a load of pictures from when i did mine. I was indending to do a write up but never got round to it!
 
#7 ·
Side on picture showing the spot welds. The door has been removed.
Image


When using a spot weld removal drill be very carefull not to catch it on the edge of the panel as it will snag and break the teeth off (making it useless). Drill far enough in to clear the edge. If you cannot quite get all of the spot do not worry as you can persuade it with a small chisel/screwdriver.

Below the bottom door hinge are 2 more spots along the bottom of the wing:
Image


view of the front of car with the bumper and sidelights removed:
Image


There are spots along here (5 on my car) but they are hard to see under the underseal. I chiselled a couple of them off.
It doesnt matter if you make a slight mess of the wing here as it will not show when it is on the car with the bumper and trim attached.
 
#8 ·
Now the wing is held on by the spot welds on the inside of the arch. It would be very hard to drill these, so i decided to cut right a long the arch and then i could reweld it easily onto the target car.
I used a nibbler to cut it off. First i drilled a big hole to start from:
Image


Then i nibbled round either way:
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It is easier to nibble if you scrape off the underseal first:
Image


This bit at the bottom can be a bit tricky. You may need to saw of grind it:
Image
 
#11 · (Edited)
I did lots of searching here before i did it and never found anything useful. I took lots of pictures as I was going to write it up properly along with the refitting - but i still havent done the refitting bit! :roll:

Also:
Image

This is a spot weld drill bit I cant remember exactly what size i used though - but i got through 2 of them after snagging them on an edge and loosing the teeth (you can turn the toothed bit round on those ones and use them twice). the pointy pin in the middle is sprung and you use it locate the toothed ring.
 
M
#13 ·
if you are going into a junk yard just bring a cordless sawzall and cut it right of then bring it back to the shop to break the welds
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Thats what I was thinking too. Just cut the whole thing off and then take back to the shop/house.

Thats a great write-up Tomarse, I've always wondered how to take it apart properly. :D Good job.
 
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#15 ·
How can I safely remove the fender from the wheelhouse, or the wheelhouse from inner fender without damaging?
 
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P
#16 ·
900t said:
How can I safely remove the fender from the wheelhouse...
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Not sure what you're asking here:confused: The above posts were meant to answer this question.


...or the wheelhouse from inner fender without damaging?
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Take a look at Tomarse's pictures above, and you'll see that you need to remove the outer fender; then, the front suspension on that side has to go; then, the wheel housing has to be separated from the inner fender and from the bottom frame rail. It's just not a realistic proposition:eek:
 
A
#18 · (Edited)
Just Checking up...

Have you done the refit yet Tomarse? I'm intrigued as to how you will weld it back on along the line you cut. According to Bentley there are spot welds along the top of the lip of the arch which join the wing to the wheel arch. You could drill these and then the new panel would offer straight up.

I'm considering a replacement on mine. But the easy option would just be to filler the dents. Guess I may just be being too fussy. But then I don't have the money to pay a really good bodyshop. Have to take waht I can get from the boys at work who are ok for vans, but not so good for cars. Either way, I will cut the wings off my parts car about to be scrapped in the event I want a perfect panel.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Not done the refit yet.

Welding it along where i have cut will be easy! I shall just cut off the existing wing leaving more metal than i need, then hold my replacement up to it and mark where i need to cut too.
I can then either cut them exactly flush (tricky but nicer), or leave a bit extra on the car and just put a lip on the edge (I believe 'joggling' is the correct term! :lol: ) and weld on top of that.

Is your current wing rusty or just dented?

If you just have some dents then it would be alot easier to knock them out as much as possible and then filler/respray

There are indeed spot welds along the outer lip of the wheel arch where the inner and outer parts join. But you will have a job getting all of these out tidily and without bending bits (I've done it!.)
Both sections are sealed together with seam sealer and will additionally have rusted to each other. Then you will have to locate the spots before drilling them and it will leave you with lots of filling/welding/grinding/sanding to do in obvious places.

I decided that i would rather leave the outer cosmetic bits untouched. All the welding if you replace it the way i have done is hidden, and can only be seen when the bonnet is open.
 
#20 ·
Tom has done a great job, very neat and probably the best way to remove a wing.

If your in a hurry you can cold chisel the wing off, that's what i ended up doing with the help of a Mexican guy, he was a God send;)

It takes about 20 minutes to remove a whole wing and you can leave enough of a lip on the old one to weld them together, not hard to do, just hard to get right.
 
M
#21 ·
If your in a hurry you can cold chisel the wing off, that's what i ended up doing with the help of a Mexican guy, he was a God send;)
Click to expand...
What was the Mexican guy doing in Scotland? :) Thats a bit far from the homeland. :D
 
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#22 ·
Matt88S said:
What was the Mexican guy doing in Scotland? :) Thats a bit far from the homeland. :D
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LOL, no i was a bit far from home in LA:lol: he said he was mostly Gabrielino and some Mexican, i understood the Mexican part at the time:), he did most of the work, i watched for 10 minutes and then as he was pouring with sweat i said "can i have a shot" i was dripping with sweat in 5 minutes and my arms were about to fall off!
 
#27 ·
last time I checked no power tools allowed in the yard and the yards I visit have zero source of electricity available to its patrons. Asking a pull n pay to have thier yard man get it off for you (at a cost of course) is probably the better option; if your not gunna just buy a donor, which is probably best.
 
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