Aloha all,

I have finally removed the snailside wing that was on my car when i got it. ( car has been down for 2 1/2 years so i haven't been tooo embarrassed ) Anyways, it looks like a twelve year old didi the drilling for the mounting. The wholes are all stretched out and one in particular was done after a case of beer

What are some wayss that everyones body shops have filled theese holes.? I do all the work myself( but don't mind enlisting the pros if needed ) and was just wondering if tack welding the hole shut is OK( I think it may be too much heat and warp?) Or should i make a "patch panel" to put in place. My concern here is that the contour of the decklid will be lost. The holes are in a crucial transition part of the rear line.

I am against bondo for complete filling. That is OK for final finish but not the whole job.

Anyone that has gone thru this before please chime in. For the meen time I am going to fill the holes with rubber plugs and experiment with paints to get a match.( a little blue or purple pearl is in the clear coat) Then i plan on re spraying the decklid. After the repairs.

Mahalo for any suggestions all!

 

it's hard.... i did mine the wrong way. welded a patch panel and where each hole was, the metal was lifted from lifting the hatch up and down with the wing........ just get a used hatch with no wing.......

the contour of that hatch is a bitch to work with

 

Kinda what i was thinking. My holes are lifted as well from the multiple lifts of the wing.. Damn fast and furious kids!!!

I was thinking of the CF hatch. More for the races. Have you heard anything on how they seal? Water wise? that was the other thing... it was a freakin funnel for the water to go into the holes.

I don't really want a CF hatch for driving around all the time. I really don't like the look of it. Did you get a used hatch? How much did you pick it up for? My other issue is shipping as i am in Hawaii

I guess it is time to call ole' Ray again! He is like a crack dealer for us FD heads

 

I had mine done by the pros, but even if I wanted to do it myself, no time...

 

Thanks Jason!... I think Iam going to venture to one of the shops around here and pick their heads..about their work ethic. Most shops out here are run by Kimo the local rock wall builder they don't exactly have the touch I am looking for..haha!

But i think I would rather spend the cash to have it done to the lid I have in my posession and buy the CF lid for race days

BTW: Did the shop miss the outer holes on your lid? Or is that for a GT style wing mount. Or am I seeing things that are not there?

 

Nope they definatly didnt miss those. I have a FEED CF GTII Spoiler that goes there. As you can see they filled the holes for the wiper, antenna, and the water for the wiper.. Damn good job too.

 

I filled my own decklid holes for wing, wiper, rear washer. I used a $8.00 fiberglass repair kit and fiberglassed 2 peices of cloth under each hole. And then a thin layer of bondo on top. Some of the wing holes are a biatch to get to, some are right in the open. Probably wouldn't do it yourself though if you don't have a air compressor/sander to sand the bondo though. And be sure to wear a respirator or at least a dust mask when doing to fiberglass as well as some latex gloves as you don't want to get the fibers in your lungs and the hardner is hard to get off your hands.

 

What I did to get me by for this year was use a small piece of sheet metal for the underside with jb weld. After it dried, I used bondo for the top. Looks perfect but probably won't last. I only needed it to look good for a few months so that's why I cut the corners, a big one at that.

 

Good ideas with the Fiberglass underneath then bondo. Also the sheetmetal and filler. Here u=is what I have figured out for a temporary "plug"

I got some 5/16 allen head bolts and nuts, Fender washers, and some big rubber washers. These are the key to my master water proofing plan..

I ran the bolt thru the fender washer, then the rubber washer, then the decklid. Add a washer to the bottom side and nut. Tighten to decent clamping is spread out among the fenser washer. This will squish the rubber washers and form a seal. .... I Hope
I am also going to spray the hardware the color I am painting the car..( Really similar to current) And they will be much less of an eyesore. I had to use fender washers due to the drunken drilling that had taken place. The holes had been "dragged" around into a L shape on one of them...

I also did it this way to determine if I really do "not" want the wing. So i can remove and replace the wing and think.

 

If you can get a base model hatch locally, it will probably be cheaper. The contours of the rear hatch are a pain to work on. Especially if the wing pulled up on the hatch, thus raising the metal around the holes. If you plan on welding the holes, the metal tends to warp since it is so thin (if you plan on welding the holes yourself, remember to cover the rear glass prior to welding in order to protect it from splatter). What makes the hatch so hard to work with is the fact that it is not flat or even slightly rounded were wings are generally mounted. If you run your hand over area in the rear of the hatch, you will find that it has a slight dip then levels out. I had the holes from my R1 wing welded and filled, but I am also having a lot of other body work done on my car so I just decided to have everything done while my car is down.

 

my body guy just did a lot of very small tack welds on mine and used bondo to smooth it out. it didn't pull at all. you just have to be very careful and take your time