Please do not post questions in the Z3 Knowledgebase - it is for definitive answers only. Moved to correct forum by MF
Having a glance over my Z. I noticed that the wings and sills are bolt on items, are my observations correct? It would be good if they do as it would make a repair easier to do I think to my NS front wing. It has some nasty paint bubbling and starting to rust on the lip. I feel inspired enough and motivated to give this area a sanding and spray.
Anyone else had to remove any of their body panels and found it easy enough to do?
body panel removal
I think normally a respray to a wing would be done "in situ" as it would need blending into the adjacent panels to avoid obvious colour differences.
I had this done to a car many many many years ago. I went ballistic when I saw the car at the bodyshop as they had not blended in the respray and was so obvious, they had to redo
I had this done to a car many many many years ago. I went ballistic when I saw the car at the bodyshop as they had not blended in the respray and was so obvious, they had to redo
body panel removal
You are right, the wings & sills remove easily by unbolting. You need to remove the plastic wing liners first (the front one takes longer as it has screws that hold it to the front bumper and has 2 plastic nuts that are right underneath). Once these are out, you can get to the end screws that you need to remove to get the front wing off (4 screws, I think) and the back of the sill. You need to remove the plastic door trim off the sill and the curved plastic trim off the B post (be prepared to break some of the clips that hold these trims on, the clips are cheap and better to break them that the trim). Once these trims are removed, the screws holding the sill and rear wing are visible. Remove all the screws along the top of the sill and along the underside (don't forget to remove the jacking pads (2 phillips head screws each) and the sill can be removed by pulling outwards -don't forget the screw that is hidden away behind the botton curve of the rear wing otherwise the sill doesn't move! - you may need to slacken the rear wing off first to get a bit of space (or take it off altogether-really needs the rear bumper off to make it easy but this is only held on by 2 big torx bolts that can be seen from underneath and 4 plastic clips, 2 on each side attached to the rear wing. Make sure that you have the door open wide when you take out the botton rear bolt on the front wing or you might chip the paint and I certainly advise putting masking tape/duct tape round the front bottom edge of the door to avoid paint damage when removing the sill as there are several flanges that have to be wiggled past the door & rear wing. Sorry if this seems rather long winded but it is straightforward, especially when you have done the first side. We took about 3 or 4 hours to do one side but then ony an hour to do the other once we had sorted out the screw locations & the spanners needed to get to them. It is well worth doing as you can rust treat & waxoyl everything that is vulnerable to the dreaded tin worm. Good luck.
Re: body panel removal
I have a question, i have a 4-cyl prefacelift and i have all the necessary parts from a 2.8 prefacelift to make the swap, (2 rear fenders, 1 rear bumper, 2 side skirts), is it easy to make the replacement my self, or is it better to take it to a shop?
- dennisedlin
- Joined: Sat 24 Oct, 2009 06:39
- Posts: 140
- Location: Nottingham
Re: body panel removal
Do you also have the rear suspension, drive shafts and inner arch liners as I believe they are different on the wide body cars. Swapping the body panels is straightforward though.
Re: body panel removal
Assuming that the fixings & fixing positions that hold the wings & sills to the body are the same for the pre & post facelifts (perhaps someone on here knows), it would be an easy thing to do yourself. It might take a bit of time but at least it would give you a chance to look at the condition of the body-tub and inner wing panels whilst the bits are off.
Re: body panel removal
Arctic Silver '99 Z3 1.9 & Black '59 Frogeye 1275cc
Re: body panel removal
The suspension amd the rest is stock but the panels still fit i have checked it multiple times plus i have seen it in 2 friendsdennisedlin wrote:Do you also have the rear suspension, drive shafts and inner arch liners as I believe they are different on the wide body cars. Swapping the body panels is straightforward though.
Re: body panel removal
So if i understand well then i have no problem fitting them, i have actually checked every part number, rear fenders are the same in M and in 2.8, same goes with the sills, coupe, M, 2.8 and facelift all wore the same sills, 2.8 has the same rear axle as mine. My problem is that unfortunately i can't do the fitting myself, and a professional for painting plus fitting i'm afraid i will ask me around 1.000€. On the other hand these are just guesses... This thread was very helpful indeed!Robert T wrote:This might give you some clues:
http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... 32&t=28682
Cheers R.