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14. Wings

Rear Wings

Despite being a little awkward to handle, the rear wings were quite straightforward to attach to the body and are a very good fit, although there were one or two minor difficulties.

The first job was to mark the reference points on the body sides (measurements given in the NG build manual). Then the inside flanges of the wings were marked and drilled to take the fixing bolts and screws (I replaced mine with stainless steel ones).

Running board brackets fitted - click for larger size

There are two running board brackets each side which bolt to the underside of the chassis (see chassis diagrams). With these brackets fitted, the running board and wing could be "rested" on them and positioned but a helper was needed to support the rear end while the position of the first hole was marked at the front.

Then, with the wing attached by this front bolt and supported by the brackets, it was possible to mark the positions of the holes up to the tops of the wings (supporting the wing slightly to line it up with the upper reference mark). Once these holes were drilled and the wing re-fitted, the remaining holes at the back were marked (measuring and adjusting each wing to make sure both sides matched).

Beneath running board - click for larger size

Having fixed the wings to the body there were just two holes each side to be drilled up through the running boards so that they could be fixed to the brackets with countersunk bolts. These holes should be equidistant from the side of the main body. With these final bolts fitted, the running boards feel very solid indeed!

Note that it is worth re-checking the position of the brackets (square to chassis and distance between them) and hold a block of wood on top of the running board to save splintering of the GRP when drilling through from underneath.

The running board part of each rear wing requires tread strips to be fitted. These are made from aluminium with rubber inserts.

One option for the rear lights is to use light pods fitted in the rear of the wings. I prefer this option as I feel it looks better with the back lighting spread out. It does, however, mean that some fibreglass work must be carried out - a new experience for me! I made a template to mark out the hole to be cut in the wings.

Front Wings

As with the rear ones, the front wing flanges were drilled to take the fixing bolts and screws (again I used stainless steel ones). Earlier models with equal length louvres in the bonnet sides, require a section of flange to be cut away to clear the front ones. However, the bonnet sides supplied to me have shorter louvres at the front so a cut away is unnecessary and instead I was able to provide an additional fixing. I used two holes in the flange which mates with the rear wing and then, clamping the wings together, marked their positions on the front edge of the running board. With these holes drilled, the wing could be temporarily attached at the rear while I focussed my attention at the front end.

After consideration I decided the best height at the front was so that the wing flange "rests" on the ledge in the front cowl (see photo). Any lower would require modification to the wing at this point, any higher and the wing brackets would not reach. Ensuring the wings were an equal distance from the front of the cowl, I marked the front screw hole on it. With this drilled and the wing re-attached, it was then possible to mark the rest of the holes. On each side there are 2 fixings into the body tub and 4 (including my extra one) into the bonnet side panel.

There are also wing brackets which are designed to support the wings and provide attachment points for a badge bar. Once fitted, the wings are considerably stiffened up but I later decided to make some additional wing support brackets for improved rigidity.

On final assembly after painting, wing piping was added as trim between the body and the wings.

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