Hi
Whilst looking on line for a pair of front wings for my NA I came across these.
Has anyone fitted these or similar, what are your thoughts ?
They seem cheap in comparison to a pair of steel wings…but does cheap = cheap ???
Thanks
Richard
The same company manufacture normal shaped front wings as well.
I will let you know how they fit next week as I have just bought a pair for my Autosolo Mk1
Look ok.Is that 140 pounds for pair or each?? No really clear on the ebay ad
I cannot comment on the particular product as not seen or fitted them myself.
I can tell you that previous dealings with Ivailo, the business proprietor have been very satisfactory.
He has been making fibreglass wings and other parts for some time now with mainly good feedback and continues to sell well.
They are fibreglass aftermarket parts, so I would expect some adjustment would need to be made when fitting and some preparation required before spraying.
Look forward to comments from others who have first hand experience of fitting these parts to their car.
I think it’s a very interesting idea. I wonder whether the seller could also fabricate fibreglass sill repair panels.
However, I’m a little put off by this sentence in the product’s description:
“PLEASE BEFORE YOU PURCHASE ASK ANY QUESTIONS, OUR POLICE DOES NOT ALLOWS PARTIAL REFUNDS IF YOU PLANNING ABOUT CHICKY REFUNDS PLEASE DON’T WAIST OUR AND YOUR TIME.”
It’s not the spelling and grammar that bothers me, but the aggressive tone.
Unfortunately fibreglass or plastic sill repairs would not pass an MOT.
Don’t be put off by the use of English. I have dealt with this man on several occasions in the past. He is Eastern European so English very much a secondary language. Polite, fair and pleasant with no aggression was my experience. Dealing with car parts does regrettably require one to be tough on occasions.
Are fiberglass wings for a road car actually much lighter than standard? I recall a few years back a white R-Limited came in with vented fiberglass wings, Autolinkuk might have had a few kicking around for ages. Carbonmiata does some carbonfiber ones that probably are actually lighter.
These things were popular in the 70s, because people were poor then, and bodywork only last a couple of years before rust through.
Well I’m only talking about the outer skin which I don’t believe most testers would regard as structural, although I accept these things are always a matter of judgement.
But if you’re right, then I’d assume that replacing a full front wing with a fibreglass equivalent would definitely constitute an MOT failure (assuming the tester noticed).
The outer sill skin is structural and repairs need to be welded steel. If you are in doubt check with your local MOT station.
Front wings are required to cover the front wheels/tyres and protect pedestrians from injury. They need to be free of damage that could cause injury but are not structural. On that basis fibreglass wings would not fail an MOT. There are a number of cars originally specified with fibreglass wings - reliant robin, reliant scimitar, etc.
Fiberglass based bodied cars ( full list) https://motor-car.net/fibreglass.
Some well known brands in that list.
Surprising number of well known cars on that list - ferrari eh!..
One car missing from the list. First road going prototype batch of NA MX-5s were UK built and fibreglass body.
Only one car, and V705 was more of a proof of concept design, which shared 0% commonality with the car that was manufactured.
They certainly didn’t rush into production of the MX5…
Which is probably why it ended up being a car with very few faults.
Anyone been to Santa Bargara?
Santa Barbara? Yes. Its just malls, estates and some nice houses. Nice view of the ocean, decent school there, if you are into oceanography.
LWS was go in 1984, by October 1988, pre-production cars were assembled, essentially identical to what followed a year later except for some minor changes. I’m not sure if back then, 4 years was a long time to design a car from the wheels up, or shorter. The original NA Miata was the first car to use finite element analysis (CAD) in its design, which ought to have meant time was shaved off the development. Mazda boasted they had used computer simulation to show the windscreen pillers could support the weight of the car, though no one had actually done any roll tests (because roll tests were not required for a convertible). NB design work started around 1994, NC design started in 2000, NB started in 2011. The design teams have undoutbetedy gotten bigger compared to the original LWS team, which was pretty much run on the side, and the access to design technology is much greater, in line with the increased importance of the MX5 to Mazda’s revenues… Quite possibly, depending on the phase you are looking at, the NA development was pushed through; started off slowly, because Mazda hadn’t fully brought into the idea, then a bit of a rush at the end when they realised they had forgotten Europe in the design (ie. brick foglight). Bob Hall famously quipped that Nissan spent longer designing steering for the March (Micra) than Mazda did n the manual rack for the MX5 (a 6 week rush job, and it shows).
Few faults probably because Mazda took a conservative line; a conventional body, a single long established engine and gearbox, stamped steel suspension parts. It was a simple formula that was hard to mess up.
I was going from memory and it’s not what it was!
V705 was based on one of the design studies during development of the MX-5. More of a concept proof than a prototype. Still the first road going vehicle in the MX-5 design process and UK built with a fibreglass body.
Going on from that I also seem to remember that the first pre-production metal bodied prototypes, very recognisable as NAs, were also UK built at IAD in Worthing and tested at MIRA.
But then I’m probably wrong on that too.
Well, at least this thread has prompted some lively discussion !
After getting the wings off my doner car. it seems they are in pretty good condition, so I am going to save a few quid to spend elsewhere ( suspension bill is mounting ! ) and use those …
Thanks to all