Triumph Spitfire Outer rear wheel arch

[Black Cat]

Hi,

I’m thinking about replacing the outer inner rear wheel arch of my Triumph Spitfire 1500 as there is quite a bit of corrosion on the bottom two edges. I have removed the outer rear wing completely and will be replacing this at a later date. The outer part of the inner wheel arch seems to be part of the inner wing, that is the strengthen panel which goes from the rear lights to the ‘B’ post and is a thicker steel section than the other panels.

My question is, do I cut the outer wheel arch off flush with the outer part of the inner wheel arch, and then is the new repair panel plug welded to the inner wheel arch or should I be doing something completely different.

I’m hoping that some of you may have done this repair work and can give me some guidance on the parts and some guidance on how to go about this.

The attached photo is not my car but hopefully will give you an idea of the are I'm talking about.

 

[Colin Lindsay]

14 hours ago, Black Cat said:

The attached photo is not my car but hopefully will give you an idea of the are I'm talking about.

 

Thank goodness as I was just about to say: you've done it now!

The inner wheel arch, from photos I've found on suppliers' websites, has a lip that sits flush with the rear strengthener. This to me says that it's flat in line with the inner panel.

From this pic of an on-going restoration it looks like the outer arch is the same and just butts up against the other side of the inner wing.

The bodywork experts will be along soon to advise as to what exactly you need to trim or keep but hopefully this gives you some idea of the layout and the replacement panels.

[Black Cat]

Think I may have found the part which Moss have Ref. TS50L at £132.90. And found a photo of a similar repair, which suggests the outer inner wheel arch is cut back flush with the inner wing panel and the repair section is then welded to the inner wing.

In the last photo, it seems as if the outer wheel arch is part of the inner wing panel and the inner wheel arch is spot welded to the inner wing panel on the other side.

So just want confirmation that I cut the outer wheel arch off from the inner wing panel, as the blue line on photo 3 and just spot weld the repair panel onto the inner wing as in the second photo.

Many thanks

 

 

[Colin Lindsay]

Take it a little bit at a time - keep offering up the new panel to make sure you're on the right track. It looks as though the replacement panel just welds to the inner wing, but keep checking as you go.