90 aftermarket outer wing panel quality

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Britcyclerider

Britcyclerider

Well-Known Member
Posts
211
Location
Dorset, UK
Has anyone fitted replacement outer front wing panels to a 90 and are happy with them? I see there are a number of sources, including those manufactured from ABS! Ideally I'm looking for original quality that will just bolt to the original fixing points and have the correct profiles. Too much to ask?
 
I would just consider that the originals did not fit that well and the tolerances were large. So even from the factory things were not a perfect fit.
My recommendation would be to get an Ali panel rather than various plastic/fibreglass options as they the. Have the ability to flex etc and if it ever does get knocked it will dent rather than cracking and need replacing again.
 
Thanks. The original panels on mine fitted surprisingly well, but I accept that probably isn't the norm! I don't think I would ever be happy with non-metal, but can anyone recommended a particular supplier?
 
As per @dag019 , buy original material wing panels....stay clear of plastic/GRP jobbies. There are plenty of outer wing panels for sale on FaceBook and eBay, or buy new from Paintman Panels. Paintman have very good panels/doors that fit correctly.

eta: they also offer very good customer service, unlike too many other panel suppliers.

Defender Panels Archives

Suppliers of the best quality British made Land Rover Defender Body Panels, doors and door tops on the Market and everything in between.
www.paintmanpanels.co.uk www.paintmanpanels.co.uk
 
dag019 said:
I would just consider that the originals did not fit that well and the tolerances were large. So even from the factory things were not a perfect fit.
My recommendation would be to get an Ali panel rather than various plastic/fibreglass options as they the. Have the ability to flex etc and if it ever does get knocked it will dent rather than cracking and need replacing again.
Click to expand...
How do you know the plastic will crack? It isn’t as if Birmabright doesn’t split too. Lots and lots of modern or modernish cars use plastic panels.

I haven’t personally tried the ones for LR’s. But it is a sweeping statement to claim they won’t survive a knock unless you have had some first hand experience.
 
300bhp/ton said:
How do you know the plastic will crack? It isn’t as if Birmabright doesn’t split too. Lots and lots of modern or modernish cars use plastic panels.

I haven’t personally tried the ones for LR’s. But it is a sweeping statement to claim they won’t survive a knock unless you have had some first hand experience.
Click to expand...
I have had first hand experience of fiberglass panels disintegrating on impact, and I also have lots of first hand experience of giving land rover ali panels significant crash damage that has been able to be beaten out with a hammer. I do not for a second believe that a plastic panel would stand up to the same level of abuse, and definitely is not reparable in the same way.
 
300bhp/ton said:
How do you know the plastic will crack? It isn’t as if Birmabright doesn’t split too. Lots and lots of modern or modernish cars use plastic panels.

I haven’t personally tried the ones for LR’s. But it is a sweeping statement to claim they won’t survive a knock unless you have had some first hand experience.
Click to expand...

All very true. But...there's always a but...every classic vehicle I've seen on road/on track after a knock and the ARB/GRP material's fooked and it looks bloomin' awful. Sometimes it can be GRP repaired in-situ but it's very messy and takes an age to repair properly.

On my MGBV8 Sebring the front dam spoiler and rear Sebring lower valence took a huge amount of work to fit properly. I spent days reinforcing and prep'ing these panels before final pre-fit and final spraying. The rear is near impossible to see any profile join and this took nearly a week to feather-in and to ensure the join would never crack. All this from someone who knows their way around a car body/bodywork repairs with dollies, surf boards, correct build/prep' materials and home spraying facilities.

Unless full on motorsport, my best advisory for Defender wings would be buy metal.
 
v8250 said:
All very true. But...there's always a but...every classic vehicle I've seen on road/on track after a knock and the ARB/GRP material's fooked and it looks bloomin' awful. Sometimes it can be GRP repaired in-situ but it's very messy and takes an age to repair properly.

On my MGBV8 Sebring the front dam spoiler and rear Sebring lower valence took a huge amount of work to fit properly. I spent days reinforcing and prep'ing these panels before final pre-fit and final spraying. The rear is near impossible to see any profile join and this took nearly a week to feather-in and to ensure the join would never crack. All this from someone who knows their way around a car body/bodywork repairs with dollies, surf boards, correct build/prep' materials and home spraying facilities.

Unless full on motorsport, my best advisory for Defender wings would be buy metal.
Click to expand...
Not sure what motorsport has got to do with any of this. The op hasn't said they are using the vehicle in motorsport. Also the panels are not GRP, which is very very different and will easily crack. They are ABS or other plastics and are as far from GRP as aluminium is.

For decades lots of Citroens have used this material on their bonnets. My 1999 Camaro uses plastic for the door skins and front wings and I've owned two Smart cars where almost all the body is plastic. None have had cracks or anything.

As said, I haven't tried the ones for the Land Rover, but if they are similar material I'd say they are far superior to the aluminium based Birmabright of the originals and would be far less prone to being dented or damaged on a light impact.

Birmabright is not very bendy and will tend to fracture and snap quite easily.
 
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