Brand new E24 ALUMINIUM front wings.

ron · Post by **ron** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 12:39 pm

The latest on the wings.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-6-series- ... 3a75d84c62

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-6-series- ... 3a75d849fb

Pod · Post by **Pod** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:33 pm

Its a shame that the project was abandoned. All credit to the guy for pushing it as far as he did.

Although I suppose a pair of fibreglass wings is better than nothing, I certainly would not fit them to one of my cars. At the moment there appears to be a plentiful supply of used wings in good or reasonable condition. I would rather restore a rusty wing than pay ?290 for fibregass - its just too much!

In the past, fibreglass wings were available for many English cars - and no doubt for foreign marques as well. However, the quality was always patchy, but they were "cheap as chips"! If he can sell them for less than, say, ?100 each then maybe he'll find a market for them.

The question is, how many people would want to buy an E24 with fibreglass wings? If you can't afford to keep your E24 original (It was the flagship car of the BMW range in its time, for God's sake!), then maybe you should be buying a cheaper Beemer?

Just my 2c

horsetan · Post by **horsetan** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:27 pm

What difference would they make to steering feel with less weight up front

Pod · Post by **Pod** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:21 pm

horsetan wrote:What difference would they make to steering feel with less weight up front

Obviously they are lighter, but on the basis that the original wings hardly weigh that much, would the difference be that noticeable

Six Mad · Post by **Six Mad** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:01 pm

Hi all, yes I'm back!
How does that saying go about life getting in the way of all ones plans?
I was suprised to see this topic was still near the top so thought I had better read up and make a contribution.
I had to give up on the aluminium wings because I just couldnt get them consistantly near the right fit. Simple!? things like the correct size and angle of the small crease that runs along the wing would be too square or too deep.
However they came out they would need the skills of someone good at panel beating and possibly ali welding which a lot of local body shops seem a bit reluctant to do.
My decision to go to fibre glass was rather oddly made when my wife reversed my pick up into her Porsche 944. The tow ball went straight into the front "bumper" and made a nice hole in it. On inspecting the damage I was suprised to find that it was made from Fibre glass!!
So whats good for Porsche is good enough for my BMW.
It does also mean they can be made in Carbon Fibre for those who desire such things but realistically do not offer much benefit over regular GRP.

I completely understand some of the comments made by contributors to this thread regarding putting proper steel on BMW's flagship model rather than GRP. Thank goodness many people do try and keep their cars as original as possible, I'm positive if I had the space I would have another 6'er to do just that.
But for me given the choice with the car I have and the desire to modify I would still prefer plastic especially since many other exterior parts of my 89 sixer are made from various plastics anyway.

I know I shouldn't say this on here but I do have a real love of what Singer do to 911's. Their web site is really worth a look all very inspirational. How about something similar with the 6er?

On the pricing issue, I do need to recover the costs of making the moulds etc. and I'm trying to get the costs down, but I do not want to sacrifice the quality. They are currently not far of the price of a second hand pair of steel wings, so i guess you pays your money and you takes your choice!

horsetan · Post by **horsetan** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:15 pm

Six Mad wrote:.... the skills of someone good at panel beating and possibly ali welding which a lot of local body shops seem a bit reluctant to do.....

Panel beating is a dying art, unfortunately, and has been ever since insurers made it more cost-effective to stick a new panel on rather than save an original.

Pod · Post by **Pod** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 1:06 am

horsetan wrote:Panel beating is a dying art, unfortunately, and has been ever since insurers made it more cost-effective to stick a new panel on rather than save an original.

Well, unless its a BMW panel

Anri · Post by **Anri** » Tue Aug 14, 2012 5:56 am

Six Mad wrote:Just a quick update.
It looks like the wings / fenders will be around the ?350GBP making a big saving over new BMW wings.
I will confirm all the prices including shipping this week.
Expect around ?35 for UK shipping.
Many thanks guys,
Miles

Can you provide the ACTUAL WEIGHT on this fenders ????

Anri

Brucey · Post by **Brucey** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 1:30 pm

I weighed an original steel wing a while back and if IIRC they were about 11 or 12 lbs. They are not heavy.

At the time a GRP one was about 9 or 10 lbs.

If you get them made lighter than that (for race use) then they typically won't be durable, cracking round the mountings and so forth.

If you really want to save weight then an integrated GRP front bumper/spoiler could shed 30-40lbs, easy.

cheers

Six Mad · Post by **Six Mad** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 9:23 pm

Hi, the original fenders weigh 7.5 Kg (depending on how much underseal is on them!!)
We are working on the all in one bumper/spoiler the rear is almost ready.
So watch this space

captpkelly · Post by **captpkelly** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 10:39 pm

I was told to "watch this space"

I subscribed to the thread, but just noticed that it went dead. Anyone want to breathe life back into it?

Pod · Post by **Pod** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 8:38 am

captpkelly wrote:I was told to "watch this space"

I subscribed to the thread, but just noticed that it went dead. Anyone want to breathe life back into it?

I think that after more than three years we should consider this one not only dead, but buried!

dwcains · Post by **dwcains** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:37 pm

I'm not sure I see the benefits, anyway. Negligible weight reduction, tougher to repair if damaged, and the possibility of galvanic corrosion between the dissimilar metals. Anyone ever own an old Austin-Healey with the steel fenders and aluminum center section of the body?

ron · Post by **ron** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 6:31 pm

This is the guy who was doing the wings.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-635-e24-H ... Sw5VFWOcbu

dwcains · Post by **dwcains** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 8:06 pm

That's actually a nice-looking piece, but if it's fiberglass, it's going to be a bit fragile. Not sure how flexible "GRP" is, but I've got an "FRP" nose for my 350Z, and it was cracked when some idiot tapped it in my work parking garage.

Pod · Post by **Pod** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 10:00 am

Nice-looking accessory, but I think he's left it a good 10-15 years too late as there aren't enough cars left to fit it on and make a worthwhile profit.

How many E24 owners would be prepared to spend that kind of money to make their car unoriginal

(That was my "Dragons' Den" bit BTW

)

bigcoupe.com

Brand new E24 ALUMINIUM front wings.

Re: Aluminium Wings / Fenders