The Front is Nearly Done!

Having fitted the near-side front wing last weekend, this weekend was all about the nose-cone panel and then the off-side front wing.

First stop was to finish prepping the various areas, such as the inner wing and drilling/punching the holes required for plug welding.

Top edges ground down to bare metal, then painted in weld-through primer...

...ditto the front wing after drilling out the holes for plug-welding.

Next was to align the nose-cone panel with the off-side wing clamped in place, door gaps correct. By grinding a bit off the lip where the nose-cone panel is spot-welded to the upper front of the car, I got the fit about right. The main problem is that with the door-to-wing gaps correct, and the bonnet-to-gutter correct, the wings are slightly out of alignment at the front. On the near-side, the front edge of the nose-cone panel will need building up slightly to nicely meet the "point" of the front wing, and likewise on the off-side it is the point of the front wing that will need building up to meet the nose-cone. I hope that makes sense! I plug welded it anyway.

This area had to sit slightly further forward on the panel underneath it.

Once I was happy with everything, it was time to lay a seam of weld where the nose-cone panel meets the front of the car, accessable via the headlamp void. Whilst I was at it, I welded the front lower panel to the near-side wing using a combination of MIG and spot.

Nice and strong welds under the nose-cone.

Front lower panel attached at the near-side.

One of the inner front panels which locates the front lower panel was starting to split along its seam, so I welded a patch over it. It is not the kind of repair I like doing, but laying a bead of weld along the split would have burnt through and just made it bigger.

Quick repair.

Next step involved plug-welding the top of the outer wing gutter to the inner wing. I also layed a few beads of MIG here and there to add strength, although it does not look too pretty.

Front wing migged on top edge.

Once that was done, the wing was offered up and plug-welded along the inner front wing. The plugs worked well, but I started having problems with the (you guessed it!) inner wheel arch panel. These panels just don't fit right, but I also think I was to blame here. I was getting tired, so sometimes the answer is to to simply switch the MIG off and walk away.

Plugs welds looking good...

...but the inner wheel arch lip just isn't right. Time to switch off and come back next weekend with a clear head.