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Cycle Wings 'boltless' fixing


Paul Drawmer

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A neighbour of mine is building his second Seven.

This time he has cyle wings and fancies trying to fix them without the bolt heads showing.

 

One concern is that the wings are pretty lightweight, and a non-rigid fastening would be less likely to craze over time/miles.

 

The plan at the moment is to use a 'L' shaped sub-bracket and bolt it to the wing carrier. The to glass or Sikaflex the bracket onto the underside of the wing.

 

How do you get the wing in the right place on the carrier?

As the carrier isn't pre-drilled, how do you get the holes in the right place?

How do you re-finish the carrier having drilled holes through the powder coating?

 

Any comments or advice gratefully received.

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You simply position the wings on the wingstays as you want them ie central over the wheels and approx 2" space from the front leading edge to the top front edge of the wingstay. Get someone to hold the wing whilst you mark the underside. Then apply a bead of gripfill gap filling adhesive to the wing where you have marked and on the wingstay, offer up the wing to the stay apply hand pressure and hold in place with masking tape. When you have it taped you can run a wetted finger over the excess gripfill squeazed out between the stay and the wing to form a neat radius of adehsive. I have also used thin strips of fibre glass mat and resin in the past but found it very messy.
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I (and many other racers) use Silicon sealant. Put the wing where you want it, and apply a bead of sealant on each side of each wingstay. Let this set (overnight), then build up the sealant on both sides of the stay. Works a treat, and if you bang a wing it (usually) comes off intact. Classic Carriage Company sell a super-sealant (but its rather pricey), but I'm sure standard clear car stuff will work nearly as well.
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Classic Carriage do indeed use a pricey super silicone sealant, which has kept my cycle wings on for over 2 years; I've heard (not just from Classic Carriage incidentally) that 'normal' silicone sealant can come unstuck within a few months.
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I too have mine bonded on a la Classic Carriage Co. I did it myself to begin with and they said (at post build) that I didn't build up enough around the stay. You need to make the stay and silicone as smooth as poss to avoid air getting under the stay and ripping of the wing. Mine now has loads of silicone applied by CCC.

Sort of like this...

_________

\( )//

\-//

 

There's a thread about what silicones to use on the se7ens website (www.se7ens.net), but the concensus was either the CCC stuff or sikaflex.

Cheers,

 

Davebo

C7 CAR

 

Edited by - davebo on 27 Nov 2000 12:53:35

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Any local windscreen replacement place will sell you their sealant. Sikaflex is the generic term used after the brand name, sort of like Hoover etc... I've stuck my wings on with this, and if the wings were strong enough you could lift up the car with it. It sets like tyre rubber but sticks to anything. Took 11 days to fully get it off my hands. My jumper was scrap afterwards.

 

Using a rigid fixing, like fibreglass, is not so good. It cracks over time. Tyre rubber doesn't.

 

Oh, it only cost 7 quid a tube and you'll need a mastik gun to pump it out. While you're scratching your head over the exact placement, drop the tube into a washing up bowl full of hot water. Makes it easier to pump out. Sets overnight.

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I have used a method which allows removal at any time without messing about with sealants or drills and bolts.

First position the wing where you want it and mark the underneath either side of the supports.SAND the fibreglass inside the support contact area,then cut several strips of fibreglass mat which are then resined along the sanded areas in the support contact area, but before applying the resin and mat tape 3 greased tie wraps at 90 degrees to the support under the resin and mat. When the resin has almost cured gently pull out the greased tie wraps. allow the resin to fully cure and then replace the tie wraps. It is then simply a case of putting on the wing and tighten the wraps around the supports, a strip of rubber or foam in between makes a better seating.

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Injeenerous!

 

The problem with the sealant idea is that if a wing is wrecked and you need to replace one in a hurry then the sealant way is no good as it needs at least 6hrs to go off.

 

Hmm, what happens if a f/g strip wing gets wrecked though ? Similar problem. f/g takes a wee while to go off too.

 

I reckon in an emergency situation you're going to end up with new wings bolted on and then live with it or get new wings bonded or f/g stripped on later.

 

B*gger! Although this only applies to nutters who regularly need wings replacing in a hurry. (E.g. Graduates, Roadsports, Superlights, Nudger,...)

 

Cheers,

 

Davebo

C7 CAR

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I suppose you're right D'bo, but I only lost my rear arches on that occasion. They were fixed on with the new super-duper placky bolts which sheered quite properly, leaving one of the wings in a perfect condition. The other one... the one driven into the side and rear of the car, was not so fortunate. That took more than the "overnight" amount of hours to put back on... smile.gif Caterham did it... along with the repanelling, new de Dion, and spray job.

 

Seriously, if you rip off a wing that's been stuck on with windscreen sealant, you'll be looking at more expensive repairs that simply replacing just the wing...

 

... I reckon... cool.gif

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I wouldn't bond the rears on. Mine are placky bolted on too and it works a treat. Sorry, I didn't know it was only rears you'd done.

 

When I bonded my cycle wings on I concocted a 'quick release' for the side repeater connections, but I reckon it wouldn't work anyway. Let's hope I never have to find out. (Yeah right).

 

Cheers, Dbo.

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