6 replies to this topic

[Alice Dooper]

We put on 2 front wings and 'A' panels last year, filling the body seam between the scuttle and wings with a bit of filler.

It had good layers of etch primer, epoxy primer, base coat and clear coat (total car respray at a he time).

Since then, the paint keeps cracking over the filler / panel join. We dug out the filler and refilled it with polyurethane seam sealer, painting it by hand afterward and the paint cracked again.

Any ideas on the cause and a permanent cure please?

[sonikk4]

Has the wing my been welded to the scuttle underneath?? Also there should be a small L shaped angle that is welded to the wing and A panel on the arch lip. These things will help to stop the wing from flexing.

[cal844]

We used a non silicone sealant, still cracks! Will follow this!

[Dusky]

I'd check the subframe mounts too. When I filled mine I had the same problem. Got solid mounts now and haven't had a problem (yet)

[Alice Dooper]

Has the wing my been welded to the scuttle underneath?? Also there should be a small L shaped angle that is welded to the wing and A panel on the arch lip. These things will help to stop the wing from flexing.

Yes, all was done using plug welds.

[absx2]

Get a solid mounting kit for the front subframe, alloy for the tear drops and tower bolts and steel for the floor pans assuming its a 1976- rubber mounted subframe,

 

Don`t use poly bushes, they don`t work and its suggested the floor pans should be reinforced around the mount area. 

 

The rubber mounted subframes move all over the place. Get someone to move the steering slightly from side to side as you look under the bonnet and you will be amazed how much it moves which is why later models did not have sealed seams.

[tiger99]

Interesting theory about why the later models did not have sealed seams! I imagined that it was because the tooling was so worn that there was far too wide a gap to fill. The radius of curvature of the wing was far tighter than that of the scuttle, so the joint only touched at both ends and was about 6mm wide in the middle in my 1984 model. Or maybe that it was found that allowing water to drain right through reduced corrosion.

 

Maybe all of these are true. If so, it says a lot about how standards had declined since Issigonis retired. He would never have condoned structural flexing.